archBOSTON ARCHIVE

[Mike]

I know there is already a thread for the tower proposed by Weston Associates but this other proposal deserves its own thread.



Preliminary tower plans floated for Chinatown


Developers are hoping to build two separate high-rise residential projects in Chinatown, including one on the site of a subsidized housing project.

Trinity Financial Inc. has briefed neighborhood activists and residents on a plan to build two adjacent towers -- one that is 24 stories tall, the other 20 stories -- along with a midrise building at Mass Pike Towers. The proposal is Trinity's third in recent years, and this one, like the others, is meeting with resistance from the low- and moderate-income residents who live in the existing buildings.

Meanwhile, Weston Associates is holding similar discussions with the neighborhood about its plan to build a $100 million, 28-story tower on Stuart Street, next to the Jacob Wirth restaurant.

The first six stories would be used for offices or a 112-room hotel, and the remaining floors would be a mix of condominiums and apartments.

Both plans represent further high-rise encroachment on Chinatown, represented most vividly by the tearing down of the Gaiety Theater for the construction of Kensington Place, a 30-story, 346-unit apartment tower on the corner of Washington and LaGrange streets. Neither developer has filed plans with the Boston Redevelopment Authority yet.

"We're just going around to some of the local community groups, and if things go well, we would file in about two months," said Mark Donahue, a principal with Weston.

Trinity officials did not respond to request for comment.

The company, which is planning a nine-story building with 200 condos in Bulfinch Triangle, bought the Mass Pike Towers property in 2000. It struck a deal with the tenants association to give tenants an opportunity to buy the property when the tax credits it receives on the property expire in 2015, said Michelle Yee, the group's past president.

"There were all these assumptions and things in writing about how things would be kept affordable," Yee said.

Two years ago, Trinity surprised the tenants by proposing a 13-story, 214-unit building that stretched along Marginal Road, but withdrew it in the face of local opposition. It then unveiled another plan for a 26-story tower connected to a midrise building, but backed off that one, too.

The towers would be built on the corner of an existing parking lot, at the intersection of Marginal Road and Shawmut Avenue. Trinity also would demolish an existing 3 1/2-story building and replace it with a five-story structure of three-bedroom units. Trinity has told residents that 13 percent of the new units would be affordable.

The other project would be located on a commercial stretch of Stuart Street across from the Tufts-New England Medical Center and the Wang Center for the Performing Arts.

Weston signed a deal with Jacob Wirth owner Kevin Fitzgerald four or five months ago for the building and adjacent parking lot, located on a 25,000-square-foot parcel.

Neither Donahue nor Fitzgerald would disclose the sale price. The restaurant and the historic building that houses it would stay put, both parties say, but Weston said it will trim a bit off the rear of the building and upgrade the kitchen.

The design by Elkus/Manfredi Architects Ltd. envisions a 303-foot structure. Building heights in that area are limited to 155 feet, Donahue said, though he said projects like Kensington Place have already shown the city's willingness to waive that restriction in the area.



Link

[dudeursistershot]

[ZenZen]

[dudeursistershot]

[ZenZen]

^ and that's a real problem in this god-for-saken state.

[briv]

This is an interesting development. I believe this is the current Turn Pike Towers II proposal designed by The Architectural Team. Its last (and Im guessing abandoned) proposal can be seen in this previous thread.

Seems like theyve actually increased the proposals size. Would anyone happen to have a rendering?