Hurley Building Redevelopment | 19 Staniford St | West End

Reading the article it does sound like theyre going to demolish the building when they talk about connecting the streets better. But since they dont say it outright it has me nervous. They talk about adding ground floor retail, a tower that “was in the original plan”, and adding pass through streets. This could mean they throw a tower in the courtyard, punch out a few walls for a couple cross streets, and add some ground floor retail. It wouldnt be too far off from that abomination of a render that came out before. I wish they would just come out and say directly “this building is going to be demolished” or “this building is going to be reused in some capacity”. Trying to read between the lines just makes it seem like theyre deflecting from the fact that they may try to save this trash can of a building. They need to just spell it out that way people can make their case for what should go here.
 
Last edited:
And if you’re not going to build to the precise specifications of suburban height fetishists, don’t even bother submitting a proposal.
 
A middle of the night thought, but this could be an opportunity to put a couple new streets in and chop up that megablock. Cambridge is doing that with the Volpe redevelopment, which is a similar size.

Here's what the area between Merrimac, Chardon, Cambridge, and Staniford Streets looked like before Urban Renewal.

1751615495283.png
 
This feels premature (or perhaps too late from the last building surge) for posting an RFP. Very few projects are penciling right now with how rates are going and construction costs staying high. I can't imagine developers committing to a "redevelopment" that maintains the building, or a plethora of 600 foot tall towers replacing the complex.
 
Unless I’m missing something, there’s a big demand for more housing. This a prime location. I think a good handful of developers can pull this off if they tear the whole thing down.
 
Need to build a serious urban corridor on Congress St. With the bits there already, the bones are there for something great.
 
type001 said:
Unless I’m missing something, there’s a big demand for more housing. This a prime location. I think a good handful of developers can pull this off if they tear the whole thing down.
Click to expand...
Demand for housing =/= penciling out, unless you are charging quite a pretty penny for the housing. With how Boston's high end residential sales have cooled down, I'd be weary introducing a few hundred more to the mix.

It's been a struggle to design (albeit- simpler, smaller) residential reno projects that pencil out the past few years. Rates and construction costs are really hurting things from what I see.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top