A proposed 277-room hotel at Boston’s Lewis Wharf that’s drawn protests from environmentalists and North End residents will move forward despite state regulators’ skepticism about whether the plans comply with waterfront development regulations.
John Moriarty, president of Winchester-based John Moriarty & Assoc., said developers will review recently submitted public comments and state regulators’ response before deciding whether to alter plans for the 5-story, 187,000-square-foot hotel.
Portions of the project would be built on a deteriorated piling field in Boston Harbor. The state Department of Environmental Protection issued an advisory opinion in September that areas containing broken piles and pilings that are under water at high tide should not be considered buildable.
“It would get radically changed,” Moriarty said at a ceremony Friday. “We tried to do a proposal that was completely as-of-right. We didn’t ask for a height variation like every other building around there has, we didn’t ask for a (lot) coverage variation, we didn’t ask for a density variation. So we’ve asked for nothing we wouldn’t be entitled to under the current zoning.”
Winchester-based JW Capital and Lewis Wharf owner Philip DeNormandie are partnering on the project with Moriarty & Assoc. which would be the construction manager. Spanning 9 acres, the site includes a parking lot which would be replaced with an underground garage.
The 277-room hotel’s design would be “radically changed” if the developers cannot build atop a piling field at Lewis Wharf, said John Moriarty, president of Winchester-based construction company John Moriarty & Assoc.
The hotel would occupy two buildings on separate piers jutting into the harbor and connected by a pavilion. The Conservation Law Foundation argues that the pile field has been abandoned through lack of maintenance.
The leader of Save Our North End Waterfront, a neighborhood group that opposes the hotel, responded to Moriarty’s comments Wednesday.
“We are deeply disappointed to learn that John Moriarty and Philip DeNormandie are continuing to move forward with an ill-advised proposal for a massive luxury hotel on Boston Harbor’s historic Lewis Wharf despite overwhelming neighborhood opposition and the state’s concerns with the proposal,” said North End resident Michael Malm in a statement, noting that more than 1,100 people signed a petition opposing the project.
Moriarty said the project should be considered in the context of other large waterfront development proposals currently seeking waivers from Boston officials and state regulators.
Boston-based Chiofaro Cos. is seeking to build two skyscrapers on its Harbor Garage property overlooking Central Wharf, while the owners of the James Hook & Co. lobster pound on Northern Avenue have floated preliminary plans for a 22-story residential tower. And the Boston Long Wharf Marriott has proposed a 20,000-square-foot ground-floor addition for new shops and restaurants.
Those projects would exceed maximum building height and lot coverage limits for waterfront sites under state Chapter 91 waterfront regulations.
The Boston Planning and Development Agency is reviewing a draft municipal harbor plan that would open the door for taller structures in a 42-acre district between Atlantic Avenue and Christopher Columbus Park if the developers pay for public accommodations such as ferry waiting rooms and renovations to Central Wharf.
“It may not be in that district, but it all ties together. And certainly planning should be on a grander scale and not a smaller scale,” Moriarty said.
