Luxury Homes

City is set to allow a 600-foot tower to replace this old garage

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is recommending a green light for developer Don Chiofaro to build a 600-foot tower overlooking Boston Harbor.

The Harbor Garage, which could be replaced by one of the tallest towers in the city. David Ryan/Boston Globe

June 10, 2015

1 minute to read

Things are looking up for Don Chiofaro, with the long-time Boston developer winning a preliminary nod to build a soaring tower on the city’s bustling waterfront.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority is recommending a green light for Chiofaro to build a 600-foot tower overlooking Boston Harbor. The skyscraper would take the place of the hulking parking garage next door to the New England Aquarium, according to Nick Martin, a spokesman for the authority.

The tower would be one of the tallest ever built in Boston, with Chiofaro having laid out plans for a mix of super luxury condos, office space, and shops.

Redevelopment concept from Atlantic Avenue and East India Row. Renderings of the new towers developer Don Chiafaro is proposing for the site of the Harbor parking garage on the Boston waterfront next to the Greenway. – Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

The city’s recommendation, to be delivered today to a panel of waterfront planners, is also a personal vindication for Chiofaro, whose ambitious plans, years in the making, appeared all but dead after repeated public clashes with the now late Mayor Thomas M. Menino over his building plans.

Catch up on the full back story here.

But Chiofaro’s fortunes shifted after the election of Mayor Marty Walsh in 2013, with the new mayor pledging to take a fresh look at the developer’s harborfront proposal.

Redevelopment concept from Greenway. Renderings of the new towers developer Don Chiafaro is proposing for the site of the Harbor parking garage on the Boston waterfront next to the Greenway. – Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates

Still, Chiofaro won’t be getting everything on his wish list. City officials have reduced the overall size of the project to 900,000 square feet, down from 1.3 million.

It’s also not clear whether Chiofaro will be left with enough space to build two towers, as he has pushed for, instead of just one.

Nor is the approval process over yet, with months of additional city and state reviews left before Chiofaro can even start thinking of building.

That said, for Chiofaro, who first bought the Harbor Tower Garage site for $153 million in 2007, it’s a big step forward.