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One Bromfield is not happening until the zoning in that area changes...the condo association in the Jewelers building basically put a gun to the owner's head and demanded a barrel full of dough or they would litigate. Since anything over 155 feet requires variances that is a deal killer. But I...

Re: BU Data Sciences Center | 700 Commonwealth Avenue | Kenmore Square shrink the floorplates by 50% and go up ten more floors.

Elkus has defined its signature style as an incoherent mish-mash of unrelated architectural styles.

I think what we all agree upon is that, while increasing congestion was an inevitable result of positive growth, a concurrent effort needed to be made to address transit. Cambridge and Boston have a street system that is not designed to support widespread adoption of bus lanes. Bikes, given the...

It's probably been mentioned here several times...and I apologize if it has...but the brown color they selected is one of the most hideous shades I could possibly imagine. For starters, the notion of slavish historical restoration, down to the colors strikes me as fetishizing the past. Is it...

You say it doesn't make sense to own a car in Kendall? That's debatable. We aren't Manhattan. One can definitely survive without a car and there are certainly ways to make it work with uber and delivered groceries or other such creative options. It may well be cheaper. But we in East Cambridge...

I've lived in Kendall for the last seven years. What almost nobody seems to be discussing is how outrageously these new projects are overwhelming the transportation infrastructure. We are putting twenty gallons into a five gallon bag. It used to be that I would cross over the Mass Ave Bridge and...

My guess is that midwood may way to see how the rezoning of downtown plays out. Right now they are beholden to variances and potential litigation from abutters...with zoning changes that may no longer be the case.

I agree that great cities developed before capitalism, but most of the examples we can point to today are from the era of private enterprise. I suppose there are some remaining vestiges of the feudal era, but those are few and far between. Most of the great cities of Europe were built between...

You're in the "Development Projects" category of the forum. And while architecture is of major concern to most everyone who posts here (see my comments above as example), almost every discussion here is centered around new construction and development. Not coincidentally, every great...

Amazon would change the dynamic over night. SL3 may eventually change the dynamic, but perhaps not in quite the way you may think. Our project was based next to an SL3 station, so that part of it was already baked in. The city's insistence on a 1:1 parking ratio artificially limits the density...

First, my comment about costs in Boston is a relative one. IE: why are costs in Boston exorbitantly high in comparison to other American cities? So unless those other cities aren't subject to "capitalist profiteering" the premise of your statement doesn't make much sense. Second, it's highly...

I have been focusing on areas close to transit and I do like the bones of the downtown. I think Chelsea has a bright future and it's a good hold for appreciation, but the numbers don't work in this cycle any more. Not with the affordable requirement. The rents and condo values aren't high enough.

You may not like the style, but it generally has some swagger and design sense. At very least it's made of concrete, which will age better than these matchboxes.

Is this sarcasm? I can't quite tell. Whatever the case, I think there should be an inquiry by some entity to determine why costs are so outlandish and how we can bring them down. A union project costs $400 per square foot here even if it's stick built low rise product. Factor in land, soft...

I disagree. When I travel I see much better quality of construction and design. For starters, other parts of the world (and many parts of America) do not use cheap stick built construction techniques. I suppose it's the cost of labor, but Miami builds far cheaper with concrete than we do with...

No funds are received. There are other programs one can participate in to secure tax credits but that requires a higher ratio of units to be affordable- at least 25%. The losses are simply a cost that is added to the project. The units cost far more to build than they can be sold for...

sixth street...couple blocks away from Broadway right on new silver line

I was recently looking at doing a 50 unit project in Chelsea. I ran into two major problems. First, even though the project would have abutted a new Silver Line station that powers that be will not allow anything to be built with less than a 1.0 parking ratio. Second, in their great foresight...

I had the same thought as you, Beton Brut. This disposable cookie cutter crap that is proliferating like weeds all around the metro area is depressing. This doesn't happen in a place that cares about quality or design. This would not be built in Europe or Australia or even Chicago or Seattle or...