A replacement for the Garden Garage on Lomasney Way in the game-change-y West End-North End borderlands has been a long time coming. The original plans from developer Equity Residential called for replacing the four-story carpark with two towers, one 31 floors and another 24. That proposal withered a few years ago under neighborhood opposition; and the developer returned in early 2015 with a new, single-tower design from busy, busy architect Elkus Manfredi. That plan called for a 46-story spire with 482 apartments.
More opposition followed. Some residents, simply put, saw the would-be garage replacement as too big, too expensive, and too out of context for the area. So Equity Residential scaled it back again, this time to 44 stories and 470 apartments (and fewer parking spaces), plus some $1,200,000 for the city's affordable-housing efforts as a deal sweetener. No dice. Opponents packed a Boston Redevelopment Authority meeting last month to prevent a vote on the Garden Garage project; and the BRA tabled the decision for a few weeks.
Zero hour arrived Thursday evening: The BRA signed off on Equity's latest plan, green-lighting a project first proposed in 2008. Stay tuned for construction and pricing details.
· BRA Approves 44-Story West End Tower [Globe]
· How Boston's Busiest Architects Are Changing Their City [Curbed Boston]
· Behold, the 46-Story Replacement for the Garden Garage [Curbed Boston]
· The Five Boston Neighborhoods Everyone Should Be Watching [Curbed Boston]
Loading comments...