Progress

Dear Friends,

Thank you to those who submitted letters supporting the Harbor Garage proposal. Your voice is critical in this process. We filed our letter of intent in January 2009, followed in April by the filing of our Project Notification Form (PNF) with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Environmental Notification Form (ENF) with the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Agency. The comment period ended in July 2009, during which time the proposal received hundreds of letters of support. The city and state released their scoping documents shortly after that deadline, outlining the next steps for the redevelopment proposal. We are excited to be moving forward in the City’s Article 80 process, and have made important changes to the design based on community input, including:

·        Reduction of Height and Density: The Chiofaro Co. has expressed a willingness to be flexible and reduce the height to 625 feet to align with Massport’s guidelines, and to reduce the density by 10-13 percent. The design eliminates the architectural “skyframe” that connected the two buildings.

·        Exploring an Observatory: The Chiofaro Company is studying the addition of an observatory to the Harbor Garage redevelopment. The idea, which was first broached by a member of the Boston Civic Design Commission during a public meeting earlier this year, would create a new destination point in the heart of downtown Boston, drawing tourists and residents, activating the Greenway, and driving visitors to Aquarium and Harbor Islands. An observatory will offer breathtaking 360-degree views of the city and the ocean.

 

·        Ground Floor Experience: The redevelopment proposal is a mixed-used project, offering a luxury hotel, condominium homes and commercial office space set above an atrium of retail, which will service the local community and broader public.

 

We look forward to continuing to engage in the public dialogue. We welcome your input and encourage any comments that you may have. In addition we hope we can count on you for written support in the future at the appropriate time.

Sincerely,

 

The Chiofaro Company