🔹 What's Happening With Project X?

I doubt 380 Stuart can go much higher due to the 1990 shadow law. I wouldn't be surprised if it was proposed at max height from the start.

One of the planned Back Bay garage towers could maybe receive a height increase without violating the shadow law, but I can't say for sure.
With Baker gone, any possibility of Healey and her administration repealing the ridiculous shadow law? Feel like that's a huge hinderance on housing development in Boston as a whole that is just another asinine Massachusetts thing. Take a look at NYC. Central park south has super talls and the world hasn't ended there. end rant.
 
Anyone know if there is any chance that 272 Dorchester Ave will have the construction materials removed or anything? OR is there any course of action to getting the city to complete the repairs on the sidewalk and remove the barriers since construction stopped and now its just a permanent dangerous section over that bridge for bikers and walkers?
 
I drove through Watertown Square into Newton for the first time in years and saw a big beautiful building on the Newton side nearing completion

It has the right massing to be either a high school or a lab building.🙄 It is buff colored. What is it?
 
I drove through Watertown Square into Newton for the first time in years and saw a big beautiful building on the Newton side nearing completion

It has the right massing to be either a high school or a lab building.🙄 It is buff colored. What is it?

Do you mean this project? 66 Galen St
 
Do you mean this project? 66 Galen St
Yes, that one, thanks! See what I mean about Lab or High School ?
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Has anyone heard anything recently about exchange south end?

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This was moving pretty fast for a while, went through all the approvals, they even demolished the structure on the site, started prepping it and were ready to start construction soon and then all of a sudden it stopped and I havent heard anything about it since. Neither good news or bad news just nothing at all, I wonder if its stalled?

Current site status. Flower exchange is demolished.
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Flower Exchange is completely stalled and was awaiting approval for the connection to frontage road. I would wager a guess market conditions would sink this project now even if it got the connection approvals. I would say shame its not happening but I forgot the designs are suspect at best; this crap belongs out on 128 not in the south end
 
I am not one to fear-monger on lab/residential proximity, but that standalone building surrounded by grass in the map shot above is the NEIDL, one of the few BL4 labs in the US. It's a critical piece of our R&D ecosystem and very important for pandemic surveillance and readiness, and there's a bit of a reason it stands out there on its own, surrounded by nothingness. For once, lab buildings make sense in this area, and I could imagine new housing in that plot being hampered by its location, especially after the pandemic (whatever you think of its origins). Even just one lab buffer building might be enough, with future housing then feeling more part of the Albany South End area.
 
I am not one to fear-monger on lab/residential proximity, but that standalone building surrounded by grass in the map shot above is the NEIDL, one of the few BL4 labs in the US. It's a critical piece of our R&D ecosystem and very important for pandemic surveillance and readiness, and there's a bit of a reason it stands out there on its own, surrounded by nothingness. For once, lab buildings make sense in this area, and I could imagine new housing in that plot being hampered by its location, especially after the pandemic (whatever you think of its origins). Even just one lab buffer building might be enough, with future housing then feeling more part of the Albany South End area.
Is that building being used? I thought I heard it was supposed to be a "BL4" but it never came to fruition
 
It is very much in use since it got final approval in 2017. Check the video at this link for a tour inside the BL4 facility. A lot of COVID research went on here, testing treatments and studying immunology in animal models of the disease.


Also a little story about their shift away from serious pathogens to focus on SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic.

 
The should switch the whole project to residential and make some more dents in the housing stock. This is a huge lot where don't need more lab space.
Both/And probably the way to go here. It's next to NEIDL as mentioned above as well as BU Med. Lab space is hot in the South End, but there's no reason we cannot accompany it with lots of housing in a very popular n'hood. Plus, will keep Albany st active at more hours.
 
It is very much in use since it got final approval in 2017. Check the video at this link for a tour inside the BL4 facility. A lot of COVID research went on here, testing treatments and studying immunology in animal models of the disease.


Also a little story about their shift away from serious pathogens to focus on SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic.


I never knew wtf was up with that building being set back so far and surrounded by astro turf, really cool to know! Things like this really give me a lot of pride about boston and how important it is in the global bio-medical industry. That video was a pretty cool watch. I definitely agree that a lot of these projects should just be switched to housing.
 
Given the degree of opposition that thing faced (it took like 4 years of sitting empty from it being built to get approvals to operate even at BL2) Its one of the few sites I wouldn't be opposed to it being more isolated and buffered out by anything other than housing. The more forgotten about, the better for things like this - sort of like the nuclear reactor in the middle of Kendall.

That said, while I certainly get why the NEIDL was plunked dead center in it's site, looking at the site hardscaping and access road layout it certainly looks as if it's been provisioned for outlying buildings, one along Albany and one where the BU employee lot is. Does anyone know if that was part of the original plan?
 
It will be interesting too see which projects start picking back up given the recent news from the Fed regarding interest rates.
 

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