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Again, I'm not disagreeing that Boston isn't booming but Boston has height restrictions have and will inhibit what can be built. Boston has literally a handful spots where you can even build genuine skyscrapers at now, Philly doesn't have these problems.
The second Philly gets into any sort of construction stride there is nothing Boston will be able to do to keep pace it's just the unfortunate side affect of Logan airports proximity to the core
Boston will have to knock stuff down or build over stuff to build tall as opposed to philly that likely has more empty lots...I’m a fan of removing the brutalist stuff garages etc..
Like this hideous thing
I actually really liked that rendering. The problem is that there is that it was a nonstarter. It's not airport operations, it's an FAA height limit, so you can't force them to work around it. It's just was never going to happen. Menino probably pushed because he wasn't fully aware of the restrictions and the fact that there's really no way around them. It's also a no-lose political situation. No matter what he appears to be making the effort to push Boston forward. If he loses, it's because some big bad Federal agency won't budge even though he was sticking it to them.
It's also not Boston's last chance. I think in the next decade you'll see 1,000 feet proposed in the Back Bay by the Pru. But I don't know that it'll actually happen.
imo, 65 Martha Road is probably the very last site with any realistic chance to go tall in Boston. The FAA height limit is 870'. 1000' isn't happening in Boston. There's no more significant height to be added in Back Bay without running afowl of the amended Shadow Law. The Shadow Law isn't going to be amended again in the next few decades (at least).
Where Boston builds 700', Philly builds 1,200'. Where Boston builds 500', Philly builds 775'. Where Boston builds 340' (neighborhood supertalls), Philly builds 430'. Where Boston builds 240', Philly builds 370'. Miami is getting close to its theoretical limits for FAA limits and traffic. That leaves only NYC and Chicago that will have bigger skylines than Philly in the coming years. Philly has enormous appeal for luxury highrise construction, as you can commute into NYC and DC via the new, 170mph Acela trains (coming soon, incl upgrades to the catenary that will make top speeds possible). In the coming years, Philly will have the 3rd most TOTALLY INSANE skyline in USA.
Boston; construction over 390' is gradually wrapping up.
Boston currently has only 1 tower proposed over 370'!!!! (w/ about 12 approved).
Philly skyline fans grab your socks and hose and pull: Philly is pulling away...........
Philly has a several tall towers set to go u/c, and nearly 2 dozen proposed in the 500~800' range!!
imo, 65 Martha Road is probably the very last site with a realistic chance to go tall in Boston. The FAA height limit is 870'. There's no more significant height to be added in Back Bay without running afowl of the amended Shadow Law. The Shadow Law isn't going to be amended again in our lifetimes.
Where Boston builds 700', Philly builds 1,200'. Where Boston builds 500', Philly builds 750'. Where Boston builds 340', Philly builds 430. Where Boston builds 240', Philly builds 360'.
Boston; construction over 390' is gradually wrapping up.
Boston currently has only 1 tower proposed over 370'!!!! (w/ about 12 approved).
Philly skyline fans grab your socks and hose and pull: Philly is pulling away...........
Philly has a several tall towers set to go u/c, and nearly 2 dozen proposed in the 500~800' range!!
Ohy oure on the archboston forum, i know you.... constantly bitching about towers in Boston not bing tall enough for you
Boston has a good amount of towers u/c / through the pipeline: (These arent exact, just memory)
Winthrop Square Tower: 691ft
South Station Tower: 677ft
Bulfinch Office Tower/State Street: 628ft
1000 Boylston: 544ft
Bulfinch Residential: 528ft
Garden Garage Tower: 480ft
Hub On Causeway Office: 440ft
Raffles Boston: 400-450ft Im not too sure
252 Huntington: 400ft
Kenmore Square Tower: 380ft
After this wave, there wont be much u/c in Boston, because once this roundof towers are completed by 2024 .... the only ones I cansee being under construction are Bromfield Tower (IF it comes back with a new design),
Focus most likely will shift to Cambridge...
They have a chance to build a 1,000 ft building on the Volpe Redevelopment site. Currently Cambridge is REDOING and RAPIDLY expanding its skyline. Before 2018 its three tallest buildings were 295ft, 285ft and 270ft tall. Below is the list of Cambridge Buildings U/C, Approved or Proposed.
Volpe Redevelopment Site: 500ft+
MXD Residential South: 365ft
MIT SoMa #4: 363ft
NoMa MIT: 295ft
145 Broadway: 294ft
Proto Kendall Square: 284ft
MIT SoMa #5: 280ft
325 Main Street: 275ft
75 Ames Street: 263ft
Parcel I: 255ft
Parcel G: 244ft
MIT SoMa #2: 240ft
MIT SoMA #3: 239ft
Mass and Main: 210ft
Yes, Cambridge hasnt had a solid proposal in almost two years now.. but once this new wave of buildings comes up and pierces the skyline... im sure well see some more great proposals to Cambridge.
1) Lord and Taylor Boylston Street: 900ft MAX
2) Hynes Convention Center: 900ft MAX
3) Sheraton Boston Hotel: 800ft MAX, could be redone and built so much better.
4) Tufts Medical Center Garage and Lot (HUGE parcel): 550ft MAX
5) NW Corner of Marginal/Washington St, Across from the Mass Pike... HUGE parcel with an ugly brutalistic style building: 600MAX
6) Look at Image Attached Below.. There are about 8-15 parking lots which could be transformed into 300ft buildings in the South End by the Mass Pike. Even more space when you add in the outdated Brutalistic Buildings.
7) Thomas O Neill Federal Building: That could be knocked down and transformed into a high rise complex or a high rise with some interesting shopping/dining spots. MAX: 700ft
8) Whatever that disgusting building is next to the courthouse in Boston (Image Attached Below). If Boston got smart, they could sell off this land to developers and build massive 700ft towers supporting offices, residential units and space for their needs in one of the towers with the money they receive from developers. You could technically fit atleast 10 buildings in that space between Merrimac, Staniford and New Chardon. Prime Location. For god sakes Bowdoin and North Station surround the complex!!!! MAX: 750ft? View: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3622...7i16384!8i8192
9) The Garage next to Ducali Pizza. Cant exactly build a skyscraper, but something that phases out Boston's high rise district here. MAX: 250ft
10) One Bromfield Site: Lets hope it comes back to the drawing board with something MUCH nicer. 200 Condo Units, 3 floors of retail and throw in maybe 120 hotel rooms on floors 4-15 and you have yourself a great proposal. MAX: 800ft.
11) Macy's Washington Street: You could easily build a 600ft skyscraper ontop of Macy's in Downtown Crossing. Make it a luxury hotel with 150 residences (20 deemed affordable) and boom you can start to revitalize Downtown Xing. MAX: 700ft
12) Kenmore Army and Navy Building Downtown Crossing: Across from Macys, you could technically stick a 500-600ft Building here. Maybe more residences? Maybe a cheaper hotel? MicroUnits? SOmething different, where people dont have to use cars and they can make Downton Xing lively again. Keep ground retail and have 40 floors of units? Boom. MAX: 700ft.
13) ANY of the Mass Pike Parcels over i-90 when they sell those off.. that will FOREVER change Boston, and can support 550 ft building on/adjacent to it like Parcels 12 and Parcels 15 going up in Boston as we speak.
(For #6)
PS. There is a new grid street pattern coming to Boston on the Allston / Beacon Yards with height limits of 1,000ft. This area will be perfect to add a few 700ft+ buildings during the next building cycle given its proximity to Harvard and BU with direct Green Line and Commuter Access... with a huge Train station called West Station being proposed there. This could be something big.
So.. Boston HAS the parcels, and space to build on. Its the damn NIMBYism and will to not build thats holding it back. You cane easily transfrom the core of Boston into something special... buuutt
Ohy oure on the archboston forum, i know you.... constantly bitching about towers in Boston not bing tall enough for you
Boston has a good amount of towers u/c / through the pipeline: (These arent exact, just memory)
Winthrop Square Tower: 691ft
South Station Tower: 677ft
Bulfinch Office Tower/State Street: 628ft
1000 Boylston: 544ft
Bulfinch Residential: 528ft
Garden Garage Tower: 480ft
Hub On Causeway Office: 440ft
Raffles Boston: 400-450ft Im not too sure
252 Huntington: 400ft
Kenmore Square Tower: 380ft
After this wave, there wont be much u/c in Boston, because once this roundof towers are completed by 2024 .... the only ones I cansee being under construction are Bromfield Tower (IF it comes back with a new design),
Focus most likely will shift to Cambridge...
They have a chance to build a 1,000 ft building on the Volpe Redevelopment site. Currently Cambridge is REDOING and RAPIDLY expanding its skyline. Before 2018 its three tallest buildings were 295ft, 285ft and 270ft tall. Below is the list of Cambridge Buildings U/C, Approved or Proposed.
Volpe Redevelopment Site: 500ft+
MXD Residential South: 365ft
MIT SoMa #4: 363ft
NoMa MIT: 295ft
145 Broadway: 294ft
Proto Kendall Square: 284ft
MIT SoMa #5: 280ft
325 Main Street: 275ft
75 Ames Street: 263ft
Parcel I: 255ft
Parcel G: 244ft
MIT SoMa #2: 240ft
MIT SoMA #3: 239ft
Mass and Main: 210ft
Yes, Cambridge hasnt had a solid proposal in almost two years now.. but once this new wave of buildings comes up and pierces the skyline... im sure well see some more great proposals to Cambridge.
I have no confidence that the South Station Tower will ever be built.
The biggest impediments to Boston development are and will continue to be NIMBYism and severe lack of land on which to build more densely (and no, the answer to everything isn't complete redevelopment and "Manhattanization"--at some point there is definitely a loss of intimate human scale that makes Boston so appealing in the first place).
That's not to say that there aren't some great and ambitious projects in Boston, because there are and will continue to be. But it's hard to argue against the fact that Philadelphia currently has much more potential for truly transformational development.
In a way, though, why fix what isn't broken? Philadelphia has so much more to gain economically than Boston by bolstering its development pace and scale, whereas Boston is doing perfectly fine as is (in fact, it would run the risk of making the city unlivable, as it was never designed to be a city of, say, 2 million).
Should we entice growth for growth's sake, or should it have a meaningful purpose?
Center City Philadelphia is 2.2 miles wide. Philly has 15 skyscrapers (492ft+) and only 2 of them are located in the eastern 1.4 miles of Center City.
So literally more than half of CC is a skyscraper desert and looks like it hasn't changed since the 1920s. There's absolutely no restrictions to building skyscrapers east of City Hall so I don't know why they aren't built there.
I have no confidence that the South Station Tower will ever be built.
In the past few months things have been improving. Steel has been ordered, and the phasing has been laid out. Hopefully it starts in October... its the tentative date of construction commencement
8) Whatever that disgusting building is next to the courthouse in Boston (Image Attached Below). If Boston got smart, they could sell off this land to developers and build massive 700ft towers supporting offices, residential units and space for their needs in one of the towers with the money they receive from developers. You could technically fit atleast 10 buildings in that space between Merrimac, Staniford and New Chardon. Prime Location. For god sakes Bowdoin and North Station surround the complex!!!! MAX: 750ft? View: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.3622...7i16384!8i8192
Ugh. PLEASE. That whole complex really needs to go.
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