Columbus Center: RIP

[philip]

Columbus Center, Boston, MA

This 35-story tower development would take shape on a deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike and would include an upscale hotel, multimillion-dollar condos, parks and an array of neighborhood shops. The $500 million mini-neighborhood would be one of the largest highway air-rights projects ever built in the country.

Status
Approved - Not yet under construction

Architects
cbt architects

Stats
Name: Columbus Center
Project Address: 101 Clarendon Street & 100 Berekley Street
Map & Plan Links: View aerial map (large file) : View plot map
Neighborhood:South End/Bay Village
Uses:Hotel, Retail, Residential, Ownership
Land Sq. Ft.: 44,734 ft
Building Sq. Ft.: 1,302,000 ft
Residential Units: 343
Applicant: Columbus Center Associates
Project Description: 493 residential units w/ 15% affordable (10% on, 5% off), 199 hotel rooms, and 917 parking spaces-over Turnpike Air Rights Parcels 16, 17, 18, 19 Zoning-exempt due to MOU. MOU Determinations approved 7/10/03. Voluntary PDA

Source: Development Projects - Boston Redevelopment Authority

Images





Articles
- Developer Disappointed With Mass Turnpike's Offer, 2006
- Deal Near To Give Columbus Center A Boost, 2006
- Columbus Center Wins Tax Credit Worth Millions, 2006
- South End News - Columbus Center Moves Forward, 2006
- Columbus Center Gets Key Financing, 2006
- Columbus Center Wants $50M in Aid, 2005
- Columbus Center Seeks Public Financing, 2005
- Columbus Center Air Rights Moves Forward, 2003
- Progress? Columbus Center could start in '04, 2003

Links

- Official Columbus Center Condo Website
- Project Information on Boston Redevelopment Authority
- Interactive Graphic of Columbus Center from the Boston Globe

- Columbus Center - archBOSTON Wiki

[philip]

Home > Business Today > Business News > RSS Feed
By Scott Van Voorhis/ Dealmakers
Friday, May 26, 2006 - Updated: 01:38 AM EST

Whew! That was a close one.

Retired Judge Herbert Wilkins has found no special treatment when it comes to a key state subsidy for the $600 million Columbus Center air-rights tower complex.

Apparently, developer Arthur Winn’s status as a big Gov. Romney campaign contributor played no role in the special assistance the 400-foot-high condo and hotel skyrise complex won.

The conclusion, delivered quietly earlier this month, will hardly come as a shocker.

After all, it is our good governor with the big White House dreams who launched the review in the first place.

And to be fair, there was never any evidence of any undue influence, other than the fact that Winn has been a Romney supporter.

Rather, for a local politician with national aspirations, it was that old maneuver called covering your tail.

If the measure is just another silly government exercise, then I guess no harm was done.

That is unless you take into account the big picture surrounding the hotly contested Columbus Center plan, which would deck over an ugly Turnpike highway canyon that for decades has divided the Back Bay and South End.

While the goal is noble and ambitious, the project prompted years of fierce opposition from South End and Back Bay neighbors angered over the sheer scale of Winn’s creation.

And let me tell you, there were reviews galore, with the builders routinely grilled at more than 100 meetings - spanning years - by their prospective neighbors.

Still, by this spring, that gauntlet was history as Winn and Cassin prepared to pull the trigger on the complex financing package needed to get the long-delayed project into construction.

Then came the Romney review, and yet another - albeit minor - delay.

Now it’s time to see whether we are talking about a real plan, or just another Boston big development pipe dream.

International Place developer Don Chiofaro is ready to take another shot at what he likes to do best - building big.

He wants to build a giant new office, condo and hotel sky-rise that would soar, at its highest point, nearly 500 feet into the Boston skyline, city officials say.

The developer has an option to buy an unsightly parking garage strategically located on the new Greenway Park system and next door to the New England Aquarium.

Chiofaro will need room to build, with his plan typically outsized: 800,000 square feet of offices, 125 luxury condos and 175 hotel rooms - not to mention a huge, underground garage.

But the size of Chiofaro’s plan is likely to raise the hackles of waterfront activists eager to preserve public access to the waterfront.

So look for some stormy weather ahead.

[castevens]

The more of the highway that they cover up, the happier castevens becomes

[kz1000ps]

^ Yeppers! My room overlooks the highway where it crosses under Mass Ave, and although it gives me a much more expansive view than can normally be achieved from a 3rd floor window, all the concrete is not too pretty. I wish Boylston Place or whatever it was called went through, because by now it would have been done and I wouldn't have had to put up with construction noises! On the other hand, I wouldn't even want to begin imagining what traffic would be like on the arterials around here with that addition...Mass Ave is clogged enough as is, and Boylston is just the same heading east (west is at maybe 40% capacity).

The only good thing about the highway is that at nighttime, the ebb and flow of cars whooshing by is almost kinda sorta soothing. Like a perverse ocean or something....

[castevens]

I wish Boylston Place or whatever it was called went through

Going retro on us, eh?

For those who don't know, "Boylston Square" was supposed to rival the Prudential center in height, and go right on top of the Mass Pike on Mass Ave between Newbury St. and Boylston:

[quadratdackel]

Originally Posted by kz1000ps_#2

On the other hand, I wouldn't even want to begin imagining what traffic would be like on the arterials around here with that addition

The only way to make it work would be if we somehow managed to populate it with lots of people who work in Back Bay, MIT, BU, NU, etc, even Longwood, who would mostly be walking to work. These are the same people who drive/T to the neighborhood every day causing all this traffic, so moving them into the tower would actually ease traffic. Of course, I'm not sure how you pull that off, especially since the apartments would probably have been on the high-end side, which means it'd probably pull lots of downtown workers, which would be bad for traffic, either car or Green Line.

Columbus Center, on the other hand, is close enough to downtown that many will walk, and others will take the Orange Line, which on that end is I believe substantially under capacity. This could be built to the sky without really messing up traffic so much.

[kz1000ps]

Originally Posted by castevens

Going retro on us, eh?

Heh I guess. I just wish I could be able to say, "I live across the street from the 3rd tallest building in Boston! And I live in a student slum! whoop-dee-doooo!"

..But keep in mind, it was noted in the Bizjournal, I believe, maybe up to a half a year back that somewhere deep down in Millenium Parters' lair, this proposal is alive and being contemplated, but of course at (the) reduced height (proposed after the initial backlash).

[LeTaureau]

This thread has been quiet for a while. Construction was supposed to start this spring. Anybody notice any activity yet? Boston.com has a cool info-graphic set up:

http://www.boston.com/news/specials/.../flash_graphic

[kz1000ps]

I walked by the site today. I'm happy to report that there are weeds growing ( :roll: ) on the plot that, if I remember correctly, is to be a playground (Clarendon and Stanhope). Anybody know what is going on with that, e.g. is work on that contingent on Columbus Center getting built?

I saw absolutely nothing going on concerning Columbus Center.

[Mike]

Well this was in the Globe on May 27th:

Columbus Center receives Turnpike Authority OK

Columbus Center, the mixed-use project that will rise above a deck over the Massachusetts Turnpike, has cleared the last big hurdle in the permitting process, a spokesman for Winn Development said. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority said it executed ground- and air-rights lease agreements after the governor's office signed off on the deal. With an estimated cost of $624 million , the project envisions 450 residences, a hotel, retail space, and public parks. Construction on the deck should begin within a month, and the project could be completed by 2010 . (Chris Reidy)

Link