The Beacon | 819 Beacon St. | Fenway

areiss said:
This project has a new look. The plaza was broken up into a smaller 'pocket park' in the front and a terrace in the back. There is also now retail on the corner of Beacon and Maitland.

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2021-06-04_Draft Project Impact Report (DPIR)_819 Beacon Street.pdf | Powered by Box

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Im not a drum banger for parks parks parks, but in this location, I’m very sad to see that larger and very useful park (unique as a resting point along that stretch of Beacon) go away. I saw that as a real plus for the area. A nice and spacious amenity for bikers and pedestrians along that stretch.
 
Now someone tell them not to use the factory made brick panels used at Kenmore Square North and this will have a nice street front presence.
 
A nice surprise here is the number of balconies. Practically none of the new residential buildings in the Fenway have proper balconies (though some have Juliet balconies), and seeing them here is a breath of fresh air.

Especially along the S side facing the to-be-expanded multi-use path, the balconies will make this building read "people live here."
 
Woah. They are going to build out over the tunnel after all? That's going to make this building much more expensive.
 
This is much better. It's like they read this thread and decided to address our complaints.
 
found5dollar said:
Woah. They are going to build out over the tunnel after all? That's going to make this building much more expensive.
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Based on the dashed outline, most of it runs right alongside it, which I'm sure the geotech and structural engineer didn't like calculating, and the remaining portion is 7 stories, so I don't think it will be much more expensive.


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Did anybody catch the number of affordable units and whether they are on or off site?

I'm a big proponent of affordable housing in general and in the core in particular, but at this site, I'm think I'm willing to fudge a little and accept off site to make sure of an appropriate quality exterior. That or add 2/3 (or 10, this place will sell out immediately) floors to the complex . Kenmore has been sterilized to the nth degree because of poor facade decisions. We have to turn the tide somehow. The Red Sox are doing their part on Brookline Ave, and BU is trying on Comm Ave. High hopes that this allows One Kenmore to position itself as an architectural statement rather the accounting exercises across the square.
 
Huge improvement from the prior design. Glad to see it gain a couple floors in height too. My only qualm is that it looks a lot like the Emmanuel dorm down the street. Variety is the spice of life. Still, this one will be solid win for the area!
 
stefal said:
That's a plaza has all of the qualities of a true and successful urban plaza. Hope they follow through on it.
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Both of the "plazas" seem very private to me and not successfully urban. There's no connection through/over them - they just dead-end into the residential entrances.
This new plan does better at creating an edge along Beacon and breaks down the scale well enough. But it lost some of the more public gestures of the old one.

Luckily this is a half block further away from the pike, but the usability of outdoor space in general here is pretty f'd by noise pollution. The plaza and passthrough of the direct neighbor, 725 Beacon, is always a ghost town (albeit they're in the absolute worse spot). If a proposal for Parcel 6 would come in soon I'd be sooooo happy...
 
Is it too soon to be all negative and worry all that textured brick facade will be VE'd and look like Kenmore North?
 
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