Don Chiofaro

Brian McGrory reports this morning that Don Chiofaro's latest plans for the Aquarium garage would keep the garage in place (no word on the stupid red ribbon) and stick 12 stories of condos and apartments on top of it. That would keep the thing at the 200-foot level Mayor Menino insists is the tallest anybody can build along the Greenway (and a far cry from the 48-story complex Chiofaro proposed a couple months back).

But here's an idea:

Just yesterday, Barry Bluestone proposed a multi-university student village in Downtown Crossing aimed at grad students. And City Councilor Mike Ross marveled at Harvard at Trilogy, which provides housing for Harvard types who want to be near the medical area in one of the city's more successful recent residential projects.

Now where could you find the land for a place to house a few hundred grad students in Downtown Crossing? Yep. Why not get Bluestone, Chiofaro and Ross in a room with the BRA to work out a land swap: the Filene's Memorial Hole for what will become the Menino Memorial Park Next to the Other Park. Bonus for Chiofaro: Bluestone's proposal calls for some luxo-units for rich foreign students.

Then again, this is Don Chiofaro and Tom Menino we're talking about. The city would take ownership of the garage and then the BRA would promptly enact emergency regulations barring any projects taller than two stories along Washington Street.