Liberty Mutual Tower | 157 Berkeley Street | Back Bay

[underground]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Sadly, the current negativity is mostly masturbatory.

Fixed!

 

[statler]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

We disagree.

Too much real shit going on to get worked up about this right now.

 

[tobyjug]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

When will they install the gargoyles?

 

[Matthew]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Relevant, I think.

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/jo...essness-economic-development-incentives/4081/

Our biggest takeaway: there is virtually no association between economic development incentives and any measure of economic performance. We found no statistically significant association between economic development incentives per capita and average wages or incomes; none between incentives and college grads or knowledge workers; and none between incentives and the state unemployment rate.

 

[joebos]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

^ Nonsense, the public/taxpayers are getting a coffee cart in the lobby of the new building.

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Me too! I can't wait for the day when developers start bringing their A-game to Boston so we have something to gush about.

Sadly, the current negativity is mostly justified.

I wonder. Since Boston is by all accounts, going gangbusters right now in comparison to much of the US in regards to development. When do the A gamers take notice, and want to get in on the fun?

I know it's been discussed a number of times, that many outsiders don't want to deal with the political quagmire here, but it does seem a few more outside led developers have been dipping their feet here.

If this trend continues, and they find success.... can we anticipate an increased presence, and with it, bigger and better projects? Or, does the current bubble burst or wind its way down again before this could happen?

Maybe it's off track or off topic, but you made me think. That's a rare and painful thing for me, so I had to get it off my chest.

Now, by all means continue with the redundant negativity.

 

[czsz]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

There seems to be a lot of development right now in Boston, but a lot of it is relatively small potatoes, and North America's prosperous cities are heating up again. Keep in mind that in NYC there are three proposals for towers taller than the Empire State Building at least right now. Toronto has similarly dazzling tower clusters being planned. The "A-gamers" are not going to hire starchitects to come develop stub office buildings in the Seaport when they can be focused on that.

It also doesn't help that to get variances, etc., in Boston, it helps to be local and buddy-buddy with the mayor.

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

I agree, but there are a lot of those potatoes. There doesn't just seem to be.

I left out Canada as I know they still have a very good building boom going on in a bunch of places.

Also, some "starchitects" are not all huge size queens looking to build the next big one. Many of these so called stars make there hay on the relatively small scale buildings. The type that might very well fit within the limitations of our innovation districts. Particularly in the tech markets. Not so much the pharma's perhaps but the other tech companies that want a leg up on the competition, want an energetic, eye catching worplace to lure in new young talent.

And, when there is buzz and a few tall or supertalls which have been discussed or zoned for come online, they may well catch the eye of some of those size queens.

I get your point, but don't think it covers all bases. Also, those firms employ many architects. The name on the wall is not normally the person doing the work, and if they are, they are just the visionary. They review, critique, take the glory, yet don't do much work.

 

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Who are the A-Gamers you long for? Apollo, Trammell Crow, Trump (LOL).
For tower developers we've got Hines, Millenium, Boston Properties, Forest City, AvalonBay, Archstone, etc. They're all big boys.

I don't think it's so much the quality of the developers as it is the constraints placed on development.

 

[Matthew]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Can we first have some normal development to provide space for burgeoning home and business needs? And also buildings which play nicely with the public space, instead of more tower-in-the-park style masturbatory monuments to "starchitect" egos which leave dry, sterile, soon-to-be-crime-ridden holes in the city?

 

[underground]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Not sure how you could pretend the current development isn't a big deal. Boston ranked 6th in the country for construction underway according to Forbes a few months ago.

 

[DZH22]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Not sure how you could pretend the current development isn't a big deal. Boston ranked 6th in the country for construction underway according to Forbes a few months ago.

I didn't realize the "world" started and ended with the United States. It's 6th in the country, still impressive, but the title on that link is totally misleading. Some cities (like Toronto, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Guangzhou...) are building the equivalent of Boston's ENTIRE SKYLINE. 6th in the US is all good, but the US is also seriously lagging behind the rest of the world in construction at the moment.

EDIT: Looks like you changed it right before I commented

 

[underground]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Sorry for the confusion, I fixed it. Take the standing how you will, but it's not for nothing that you're comparison cities are the NYC of Canada and a bunch of spots ruled by Communist dictators. For a place that's not the NYC of anything and only run by Menino, we're doing pretty well.

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

I didn't realize the "world" started and ended with the United States. It's 6th in the country, still impressive, but the title on that link is totally misleading. Some cities (like Toronto, Tianjin, Shenzhen, Guangzhou...) are building the equivalent of Boston's ENTIRE SKYLINE. 6th in the US is all good, but the US is also seriously lagging behind the rest of the world in construction at the moment.

EDIT: Looks like you changed it right before I commented

Part of this has to do with the rest of the "world" catching up with us as the undeveloped world is becoming more and more developed. Boston can't build the equivalent of its own skyline cuz it already has it and doesn't have the room.

But, since I started this subtext, I did clarify in my musings that in comparison to the reat of the US Boston is going gangbusters, and referenced the other parts of the world that are booming much more than us.

 

[czsz]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

If we excised the NIMBYs, many unnecessary planning regulations, and relocated Logan, Boston could build the equivalent of its entire skyline based on demand for residential space in the city center alone, and it would help nearly halt creeping gentrification and suburban sprawl in search of cheap housing for a generation.

 

[kz1000ps]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Saturday:

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

Finish those few windows and it looks like the building has been there for years in those latest pictures.

 

[KentXie]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

If we excised the NIMBYs, many unnecessary planning regulations, and relocated Logan, Boston could build the equivalent of its entire skyline based on demand for residential space in the city center alone, and it would help nearly halt creeping gentrification and suburban sprawl in search of cheap housing for a generation.

Basically, if Boston followed the same path as Miami and actually built a significant amount of housing over a short period of time, it would have achieved those results. Alas, there are too many people here in Boston that sees that as a negative.

 

[Shepard]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

What irks me is that all the central T-accessible municipalities are fairly equally NIMBY - there's no such thing here as an Arlington, VA here where you can build tall and unfettered relative to the major city.

 

[stellarfun]

Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion

What irks me is that all the central T-accessible municipalities are fairly equally NIMBY - there's no such thing here as an Arlington, VA here where you can build tall and unfettered relative to the major city.

No longer. The FAA has said no more talls in Arlington VA (Rosslyn).