8-10 Waldo Street | Coolidge Corner | Brookline

I both like and dislike how "The Hotel" building seems to pay homage to the extremely weathered gray buildings on that corner.
 
It looks halfway decent from the inbound angles on Beacon/Pleasant, but it ruins the prospects from everywhere else. Nothing will ever make me like this project. Coolidge is charming because of the low rise character... this thing hulks and looms over the shops from every other angle and will dominate the overall aesthetic. Developing the Center St lots with mid rises (and Waldo with mid rises) would be a much better plan. Leave the tall buildings to literally any other lot on Beacon St and leave Coolidge alone.
 
I personally like this far more contextual render and Waldo/Pleasant really is far enough east of Harvard Street - - to not really feel like an intruder so much on Coolidge Corner. Preserve Harvard Street for sure.


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I refer back to my original post of this very thread 5 years ago, to fully get perspective on what a nuclear bomb we have avoided here..........

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I personally like this far more contextual render and Waldo/Pleasant really is far enough east of Harvard Street - - to not really feel like an intruder so much on Coolidge Corner. Preserve Harvard Street for sure.


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I refer back to my original post of this very thread 5 years ago, to fully get perspective on what a nuclear bomb we have avoided here..........

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Look at the renders from Harvard Street. I agree and said as much that from the angle you quoted there it looks fine. It still dominates/looms from the other angles of Coolidge.
 
Look at the renders from Harvard Street. I agree and said as much that from the angle you quoted there it looks fine. It still dominates/looms from the other angles of Coolidge.

Absolutely - - and you were right there on that first page 5 years ago decrying the spaceship - no argument.

Just looking at the updated renders, we went from a soul killing spaceship to a far more contextual (albeit hulking) project. Is it perfect? No. But they went from a butt ugly and non-contextual -5 to a pretty decent 6 with this one. The only real demerit is the bulk. And when you look across Pleasant/Waldo there is already 1284 Beacon - - all 8 marvelous stories of it. In that particular location I really don't see such an eggregious sore thumb.

I just don't think the Corner is "virgin territory" anymore. Harvard Street? Yes. But not the overall area.



 
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Wait, hold up. They used to park cars on top of this building?
 

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