Cambridge Infill and Small Developments

^^^ I believe this is the Skanska lab building that Skanska is building on spec. But the Skanska spec building should not have a "huge hole", just a modest-sized one.

Now, much changed from previous renderings:
home_image.jpg


Previous rendering:
http://www.usa.skanska.com/Projects/Display-project/?pid=1296&lang=en-us

Site URL:
http://www.150second.com/index.html
 
the hole was'nt deep but is the size of the left part of the building,almost haft the block
 
More useless, dead space for Kendall Sq.
 
briv said:
More useless, dead space for Kendall Sq.
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Briv -- I disagree -- this kind of building -- which is high-investment spec construction is a huge improvement over the acres of parking lots there today

It also eaily beats the 1 story buildings for the pet supply, matress shop and even a couple of restaurats in that area between 3rd, and ist streets north of Broadway
 
Excavation for 225 Binney, Biogen Idec, begins this month. 100,000 cubic yards to be hauled out. Schnabel is the foundation subcontractor. Excavation to be done by June 2012.

This is an Alexandria Real Estate building.

http://nerej.com/51458
 
briv said:
More useless, dead space for Kendall Sq.
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Just because it doesn't add to the walkability/hip urbanity of the area doesn't mean it's useless. Adding more lab space to a lab/research area has plenty of value. Kendall isn't a cool place to be for people seeking restaurant/bar options (though hopefully at some point it will), but it's the most prominent biotech cluster on the planet.

The fact that it's being built on speculation means there's a chance there will be a smaller start up company filling this space instead of a big behemoth. Who knows, maybe the next Genzyme or Biogen Idec will be there.
 
Surprisingly (or not?) Kendall is emerging as more hip - I'd say that when following Grubstreet nearly a third of all openings are in the Kendall area. Some are cafes, some are upscale dining and some are really great new bars like Meadhall (100+ beers on tap). I'm going to guess that in five years Kendall will be in the tourbooks as a dining and nightlife hub.
 
Shepard said:
Surprisingly (or not?) Kendall is emerging as more hip - I'd say that when following Grubstreet nearly a third of all openings are in the Kendall area. Some are cafes, some are upscale dining and some are really great new bars like Meadhall (100+ beers on tap). I'm going to guess that in five years Kendall will be in the tourbooks as a dining and nightlife hub.
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That would be great. To be honest, I had no idea it was so improving so quickly. I knew that was the grand plan, but didn't know it was already happening. Either way, I still think this is a good build for the area. I believe it's about three blocks away from Kendall...right?
 
tmac9wr said:
Kendall isn't a cool place to be for people seeking restaurant/bar options....
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Shepard said:
Surprisingly (or not?) Kendall is emerging as more hip - I'd say that when following Grubstreet nearly a third of all openings are in the Kendall area.
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My lovely assistant and I frequent Atasca and Hungry Mother. Emma's Pizza is damn good. And the Friendly Toast's Cambridge location is a cool new addition.

Kendall is full of dehumanizing mega-blocks, and is pedestrian hostile, but at its northwestern fringe (near the Cinema), there's some great food.
 
Microsoft is not near Third Street. They are in the last building on the right as you approach the Longfellow Bridge.
 
Ron Newman said:
Microsoft is not near Third Street. They are in the last building on the right as you approach the Longfellow Bridge.
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Ron -- I know that -- its just Msoft is an iconic reference for the low number end of the Knowledge Strip -- aka Main St. from intersection with 3rd to Central Sq.

Microsoft NERD down on the River (One Memorial Drive) is the icon closest to the 3rd St end of Main (since Main doesn't connect to 2nd or 1st due to the Canal)

However -- recently complicated by the NERD's expansion into 1 Cambridge Center (Main & Broadway) next to the Marriott

On the other end of Main aka the Knowledge Strip at Mass Ave is Centra Sq. -- Novartis is not quite at Central Sq. -- but its the best icon for the other end of the Knowledge Strip

In between the best icon is Google (same #5 Cambridge Center as Legals) and then comes the Hub of the Knowledge World -- aka the Intersection of the Knowledge Strip with Vassar St. (border of / potal to the MIT Campus) and across Main -- Tech Sq. followed by the soon to be 610 Mass Ave and possibly the nMass (nano fab)
 
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Wow that was fast

Less than a month and a half since Faces thankfully bit the dust (11/10/2011) and a crane and pile driver appear on the scene
 
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There might be an Amazon in your future Cambridge
Amazon scouting for 40,000 sq. ft. in Kendall Knowledge Strip

from WBUR website
http://www.wbur.org/2011/12/22/amazon-boston

Amazon Seeks Brick-And-Mortar Presence In Boston Area
BY SACHA PFEIFFER AND LYNN JOLICOEURDec 22, 2011, 6:26 PM5 COMMENTSE-mailTwitter (17)facebook (18)
LISTEN NOW
BOSTON — Good news for the Greater Boston technology sector: Amazon may be coming to the area.

The company — the largest online retailer in the world — is reportedly scouting for office space in Kendall Square and could be looking to hire as many as 150 employees there. If Amazon sets up a brick-and-mortar shop locally, that would mark its first physical presence in the state.

WBUR’s All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer spoke about this development with Boston Globe technology columnist Scott Kirsner, who broke the story online Thursday.

Scott Kirsner: It sounds like Amazon is trying to open something by Feb. 1, and I would imagine it would start pretty small, with a handful of engineers. But they’re looking for enough space long-term – about 40,000 square feet in Kendall Square — that you could fit 100 to 150 employees. So this is not some small little branch office. This seems like it’s a pretty significant outpost for Amazon.

Sacha Pfeiffer: Why would Amazon want to come here? It’s based in Washington state, of course.

Yeah, founded in Seattle. I think the reason that they’d come to Cambridge is really all about talent. It’s about hiring research scientists who probably come out of MIT and Harvard, and also hiring software developers, which are, in many markets in the Bay Area and probably in Seattle, just hard to come by.
 
Amazon will move here. Create thousands of jobs, donate millions to local causes, and pay lots of conventional taxes. Then the greedy idiots in the State House will decide to tax internet sales and Amazon will leave in protest.
 
So you don't even pretend to care about leveling the playing field? That's revealing.
 
Lurker said:
Amazon will move here. Create thousands of jobs, donate millions to local causes, and pay lots of conventional taxes. Then the greedy idiots in the State House will decide to tax internet sales and Amazon will leave in protest.
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Lurk -- if you read the story -- there is a comment about the likelihood of the Congress will pass legislation authorizing all states to collect sales taxes on Internet purchases by the citizen of the state who is purchasing the product

The motivation for the Congress is that there is likely to be a 1% or something like that Federal Sales Tax attached to any mail, phone or Internet order

As for the thousands of jobs -- doubtful - more like a few hundred in the initial 40,000 sq ft to perhaps 1,000 over time in a larger space -- this is not going to be a warehouse full of books and products with forklift operators -- the Amazon facility will be cubes with gnerds working on new software for servers, aps for mobile phones, etc.

Of course if Amazon was to buy Akamai -- then thousands might be the right kind of number
 
^ Actually I don't think the impending legislation is relevant here. If Amazon opens shop in MA, that would clearly establish a physical presence and force them to implement a tax collection mechanism under the Quill ruling.[/not a constitutional law scholar]

This is unlike the California case, where the legislature tried to argue that Amazon's third party affiliates - not a big brick and mortar engineering office - established a physical presence in the state. Oh and by the way, Lurker, despite initial protests after the CA state legislation passed, Amazon reinstated its affiliate program after two months.
 
I am merely stating my concern that the state will quickly overreach as usual in its greedy hunger for funds to further the patronage empire and kill what could be another golden goose. I also would be quite furious if I had to start paying a sales tax on Amazon orders because they had a physical office presence in the state.

Boston's retail scene has become more and more homogenized over the past two decades; and even though there are more retailers, they all sell the same stuff. I don't want to have to drive out of the city to buy certain items, which can't be found at local stores, and the internet is a savior in that regard.
 
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