4/1/98
MASSPORT today presented its plans for a hotel and office tower in the Seaport District to the Waterfront Committee. The two towers, which both are projected at heights of 170-250 feet, exceed the 150-foot IPOD restrictions currently in place however MASSPORT indicated that it can mitigate the height violations by including a 2-acre park.
On the same day that these two seaside towers were proposed, the BRA announced that it was delaying publication of its Seaport District Master Plan until November.
Comment:
MASSPORT must concentrate on Boston's failing port system (see Boston's Port / Risky Busines) and airport, not on hotel, retail, office and stadium projects.
This proposal is yet another indication that the Seaport District master planning process is being quietly ignored by the City, Seaport developers, the Postal Service (hotel development), the GSA, MASSPORT, MEPA and the BRA --through its tacit approval of numerous inappropriate waterfront projects.The BRA, when regarding its Seaport District Master Plan, refers to the 150-foot height limit as a "restriction" to allow for proper waterfront planning. With reference to actual seaport projects, however, for example the MASSPORT proposal, this 150-foot limit is referred to as a "baseline" height and is not restrictive.