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To the editor:
I would like to respond to Ms. Pierce's letter (The Times, Aug. 28), which included her criticism of a 12-story high rise coming to Gloucester.
By way of introduction, I am the architect for the concerned BirdsEye project.
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 percent 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-degree 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 skyline.
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 to 40 feet of spacing between the structures.
A width of 70 feet will allow, for example, full daylight penetration for two 30-foot 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 the BirdsEye project'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 former 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
Salem
