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Boston Plans Twin High-Rises for Public Plaza Downtown

The competition leading to the selection of Pei Cobb was managed by HFF, Pittsburgh, a commercial real estate capital intermediary.

Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of Back Bay Association, said the project will bring new vitality and improvements to the plaza. Since the development is contained within the plaza, the project should have no long-term impacts on the adjacent neighborhoods, she noted.

"There has been strong support from the community overall," Mainzer-Cohen said. Since the master-plan concept has been approved, she says she expects the next round of public process will proceed in a positive way.

The Christian Science church began planning plaza improvements in 2006. The site's previous major redesign occurred nearly 40 years ago. According to the owner, the goal for the site program is threefold: to improve open space and environmental sustainability as well as identify opportunities for underused real estate.

Johanna Knapschaefer, ENR’s New England Special Correspondent, has been writing about trends in design and construction of buildings, bridges, tunnels and other infrastructure for more than a decade. She also profiles award-winning industry leaders and delves into broader construction issues such as workforce training, worker safety and health, climate change remediation and emerging offshore wind and tidal energy developments. Over the past two decades, her articles have appeared in Architectural Record, BusinessWeek, the Boston Globe, American Banker, Modern Metals, BusinessNH Magazine, Pittsburgh Magazine and many other publications. Johanna is fluent in Japanese, and taught English and academic writing in the Science and Engineering Department of Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, while living in Japan for eight years.

When not writing, Johanna enjoys mountain climbing, singing and playing her Spanish guitar.

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