Rendering of One Congress Street depicting two proposed towers that would replace the Government Center Garage.
Before the Government Center Garage can be replaced with a 52-story skyscraper as tall as the Prudential tower, Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the community will have to be convinced.
“Fifty-two stories?” Menino said. “That seems like a lot of density for that proposal. Height is good in certain locations, but whether this is the right place for it remains a question. I don’t want to prejudice the case yet.”
Last week, Raymond Property Co. revealed its preliminary proposal for One Congress Street, a 3.3 million-square-foot, mixed-use development that includes a pair of office towers near Government Center. The tallest tower would be the same height as the Prudential Building at 800 Boylston. The other would reach 42 floors.
Under the proposal, District A-1 Police Headquarters and another city-owned building would be razed to make way for the transit-oriented development adjacent to Haymarket MBTA station. A spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority said a final decision has not been made to include those properties in the project.
Extending The Financial District
The Boston firm revealed its $2.3 billion plan to about 100 North and West End residents at a meeting in the garage offices late last week. On the parcel closer to the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, four buildings are proposed for housing and retail, ranging from 8-14 stories. The buildings would be wrapped around a garage masked by the project.
“When we bought the garage we always envisioned it as a prime location to expand the Financial District,” said Stephen G. Kasnet, Raymond’s chief executive officer. “This is a very large site, and it’s comparable in terms of mass and height to what exists in the Financial District.”
But Jane Forrestall, a West End resident and member of the Downtown North Association, a group of businesses, condominium associations and community organizations, said the garage is closer to the West and North End neighborhoods where the tallest buildings are the Longfellow Place apartments on Staniford Street. The twin towers are 38-stories.
Forrestall said she was not surprised that Raymond proposed two buildings that were taller than the 24-story John F. Kennedy Federal Office Building at City Hall Plaza.
“Developers always show the worst-case scenario first,” she said. “We understand that they have to build a certain amount of square feet to make this economically viable, but the height will come down. If at the end of the community process it’s still 52 stories, there will be an issue with the neighborhood.”
Still, Menino is not afraid of height. In 2006, the mayor called on developers to propose a 1,000- foot tower in the Financial District that symbolizes “Boston’s greatness.” But so far, plans for the 75-story Winthrop Square skyscraper by businessman Steven Belkin has stalled.
“The problem with building tall towers is the acquisition costs for the developer,” Menino said. “But it’s not my job to make developers rich; it’s my job to make Boston work.”
