9/1/10 To the editor:

I would like to respond to Ms. Pierce’s letter of August 25th, which contained her criticism of a 12-story high rise coming to Gloucester. By way of introduction, I am the architect for the concerned BirdsEye building. The first, and most important point, I would like to make is that the permitting we are requesting has specific limits that guarantee the Birdseye construction will not become the monolithic block that one associates with "high rises". The 125-foot maximum height that is worrying Ms. Pierce is limited to, at most, 15% of the footprint of the built area. The purpose of this height is to provide the general public with an observation tower that offers a 360° vista of our gorgeous Cape Ann. Another reason for the height request is to allow for pitched roofs at the top levels of the structure. These roof lines will facilitate a building shape that mimics and blends into the present Gloucester sky line.

The silhouette of the BirdsEye building will bob and weave with the skyline. This is because the floors above the building’s present height will be limited in area by the necessity of providing natural light and views. These upper floors are likely to contain residential, overnight accommodations, and other view-dependent uses. We are limiting the narrower widths of these structures to a maximum of 70 feet, with 30 feet to 40 feet of spacing between the structures. A width of 70 feet will allow, for example, full daylight penetration for two 30 feet deep units on either side of a 10 foot wide central corridor. Because the BirdsEye site has such commanding views, it would be self-defeating if we did not take full advantage of them. To this end, we have designed the site and structure’s ground level to have numerous view corridors and pedestrian access routes from Commercial Street to the harbor. On the upper levels are green roofs, outdoor balconies, and decks that will help establish the human scale and facilitate a dialogue between the building and the surrounding community.

In closing, it is worth noting that BirdsEye’s industrial neighbors, on the opposite side of Commercial Street, inhabit windowless buildings whose "view" will not be impacted by a taller neighbor. Our residential neighbors, whose homes are high enough, currently look across a rooftop of large industrial compressors on the now decrepit Birdseye freezer buildings. The alternative vision, developed through a process of community input, is for a multi-use building bustling with activity while offering great views and economic productivity.

Richard Griffin, architect, & the BirdsEye Team

August 31, 2010 - Jobs for Bill Johnson

Bill Johnson was an eloquent spokesman for the handful who opposed the BirdsEye project at the mid-July public hearing. He’s a thoughtful guy and his constructive input at our BirdsEye community meetings has been much appreciated. He says he’s concerned about the lack of decent jobs, the kinds that will support a family, preferably jobs that don’t require a long, expensive commute. He’s afraid that the BirdsEye project will take away a building that might have provided working waterfront jobs for him and his peers.

The sad truth is, jobs that provide a living-wage are disappearing from our local economy. In the last thirty years we have witnessed the departure of the Elliot Freight import business, Gloucester Concrete, Mighty-Mac Manufacturing, Rule Industry, and Kona/Dynisco Heat Pipe Technology. Presently there is significant down-sizing at Gloucester Engineering, right-sizing at Varian, and all out attrition in the cold-storage industry. Our fresh-fish industry, the only industry which totally depends on waterfront access (which BirdsEye is not), has suffered severely with a 50% fleet reduction and a 75% reduction in landings since 1980. And truth be told, a lot of the waterfront jobs that presently exist are of a minimum-wage type, often serviced by hard-workers from temp employment agencies. You’ll see their vans entering and exiting the waterfront from employment bases such as Lawrence, Haverhill, and Lowell.

When I first bought the BirdsEye parcel there was a 40,000 sq. foot manufactory that had not been in use for over ten years. It had gone begging in the marketplace for that entire time with no takers for rent or sale. The adjacent 35,000 sq. foot freezer plant was employing three to six people, not at exactly executive wages. The owner was paying his rent, we were in positive cash flow, and I was in no hurry to move forward with creative development plans.