401 Park Drive (née Landmark Center) | Fenway
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Shepard
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
I'm imagining a city made up entirely of landscrapers built on landscrapers, at varied heights and angles, a sort of modular landscraper jungle that actually ends up pretty dense and tall after all the layers are built out.
I'm imagining a city made up entirely of landscrapers built on landscrapers, at varied heights and angles, a sort of modular landscraper jungle that actually ends up pretty dense and tall after all the layers are built out.
Re: Landmark Center Expansion
Again, that larger rendering just confirms what a contextless disaster the whole plan is.
128 ribbion glass trash with generic glass box on top. Really? How could that possibly be a good idea? It would be a terrible idea out in some exburb, but to place it in the middle of Boston, in the literal shadow of one of the loveliest buildings in the entire city, sharing the name of one of the loveliest buildings in the entire city is well beyond the bounds of good taste.
I'm not inclined to blame the developer. They're in it to make money, not to argue with the city for a decade. In this business, arguing costs lots of money.
It's the culmination of Boston's slide into architectural mediocrity that comes from a broken, slow, piecemeal planning process that rewards City Hall connections more than vision.
We're talking about a planning process that told the Dainty Dot developers to make sure their plan was boring - lest it detract attention from the patch of grass in the highway median outside. In a functional city, that would have been followed by a round of laughter at the joke. Who would crush artistic vision and good urban design that would contribute something real to a city? Well Boston would. I'm guessing there was only an awkward silence and perhaps some shuffling out of the room after that directive came down.
That alone tells you everything you need to know about to what degree the city has lost the proverbial plot. The mindset and process is so dysfunctional that anything of real value that appears is simply stunning for the simple fact it was allowed to exist at all.
Find the most unimaginative corner of the urban universe. Go there in your mind. The most sedate, banal little office park you can think of. Acres of parking. Picture empty stretches of grass and shrubs. A little island of a style I'lll call (with more than a little hyperbole) "Pre-Lunch Architecture". Now find the largest thing there.
Good. You now know what you would be allowed to build in Boston. Don't forget to bring the parking.
In the past, you had to tear down the West End to get the new West End. Now you can simply throw the new Fenway on top of the old Fenway. Smother it in value-engineering. Pretend that you're not repeating the same mistakes of Urban Renewal.
Here on the banks of the Muddy, we have the city running the same river twice.
Again, that larger rendering just confirms what a contextless disaster the whole plan is.
128 ribbion glass trash with generic glass box on top. Really? How could that possibly be a good idea? It would be a terrible idea out in some exburb, but to place it in the middle of Boston, in the literal shadow of one of the loveliest buildings in the entire city, sharing the name of one of the loveliest buildings in the entire city is well beyond the bounds of good taste.
I'm not inclined to blame the developer. They're in it to make money, not to argue with the city for a decade. In this business, arguing costs lots of money.
It's the culmination of Boston's slide into architectural mediocrity that comes from a broken, slow, piecemeal planning process that rewards City Hall connections more than vision.
We're talking about a planning process that told the Dainty Dot developers to make sure their plan was boring - lest it detract attention from the patch of grass in the highway median outside. In a functional city, that would have been followed by a round of laughter at the joke. Who would crush artistic vision and good urban design that would contribute something real to a city? Well Boston would. I'm guessing there was only an awkward silence and perhaps some shuffling out of the room after that directive came down.
That alone tells you everything you need to know about to what degree the city has lost the proverbial plot. The mindset and process is so dysfunctional that anything of real value that appears is simply stunning for the simple fact it was allowed to exist at all.
Find the most unimaginative corner of the urban universe. Go there in your mind. The most sedate, banal little office park you can think of. Acres of parking. Picture empty stretches of grass and shrubs. A little island of a style I'lll call (with more than a little hyperbole) "Pre-Lunch Architecture". Now find the largest thing there.
Good. You now know what you would be allowed to build in Boston. Don't forget to bring the parking.
In the past, you had to tear down the West End to get the new West End. Now you can simply throw the new Fenway on top of the old Fenway. Smother it in value-engineering. Pretend that you're not repeating the same mistakes of Urban Renewal.
Here on the banks of the Muddy, we have the city running the same river twice.
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Beton Brut
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
Paul Rudolph proposed this for Lower Manhattan in the 60s.
Today, this looks like a job for Thom Mayne...
Paul Rudolph proposed this for Lower Manhattan in the 60s.
Today, this looks like a job for Thom Mayne...
Beton Brut
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
^ Is it too late to "LOMEX" the Greenway?
^ Is it too late to "LOMEX" the Greenway?
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
Seriously people, seriously?
Seriously people, seriously?
Beton Brut
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
Van, I'm not expounding the virtues of this project and it's impact on Lower Manhattan. Better that it didn't happen. Same for I-695 here in Boston.
That said, it is a pretty interesting concept to cover highway infrastructure with housing. Might work for the Pike. The A-frame shape would mitigate shadows.
Van, I'm not expounding the virtues of this project and it's impact on Lower Manhattan. Better that it didn't happen. Same for I-695 here in Boston.
That said, it is a pretty interesting concept to cover highway infrastructure with housing. Might work for the Pike. The A-frame shape would mitigate shadows.
Beton Brut
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
^ Word.
^ Word.
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
No I won't. I hate what these areas have become but that doesn't mean they should have an elevated highway running through or worse a crazy spaceship city built on top of it.
No I won't. I hate what these areas have become but that doesn't mean they should have an elevated highway running through or worse a crazy spaceship city built on top of it.
KentXie
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Re: Landmark Center Expansion
I think Corbusier proposed massive city towers all at the same height with parks seperating each tower.
I think Corbusier proposed massive city towers all at the same height with parks seperating each tower.
Re: Fenway Area Redevelopment
Looking to expand his empire
Boston developer Steve Samuels closes in on $530m deal to buy marquee Landmark Center
Developer Steve Samuels is said to be negotiating the purchase of the Landmark Center for about $530 million.
By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / November 19, 2010
Boston developer Steve Samuels is near a deal to buy the massive Landmark Center office and retail complex near Fenway Park, an acquisition that would give him another marquee property in a neighborhood where he already owns many of the largest buildings.
Landmark Center would be Samuels?s biggest deal yet, giving him control of a 1.5 million-square-foot complex that is home to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and retail stores such as Best Buy.
Executives with knowledge of the deal said Samuels is negotiating a purchase from the owner, Abbey Group, for about $530 million.
Neither Samuels nor Abbey Group, which spent $115 million renovating the former Sears, Roebuck & Co. warehouse into the Landmark Center in the 1990s, would comment.
?We are in discussions regarding Landmark Center, but as of now nothing is finalized,?? they said in a joint statement issued by a spokesman.
Abby Group has a proposal to add an eight-story extension for offices pending before Boston officials.
Samuels has been a key developer behind much of the recent activity that has turned this portion of the Fenway into a much livelier area.
He owns about a dozen properties in the neighborhood and has redeveloped several.
He built the Trilogy apartment and retail complex across from Landmark Center and 1330 Boylston, another large residential and retail building just down the street.
He has also revitalized several buildings that now host restaurants and retailers, such as the Guitar Center, Tasty Burger, and Basho, a sushi restaurant, all on Boylston Street.
He is also proposing to build 150 apartments, stores, and offices on the site of the former Goodyear Tire store and two adjoining properties.
Samuels is also in a joint venture with developer Steve Weiner to try to buy the Howard Johnson hotel property on Boylston Street. The pair had previously floated the idea of replacing it with a new hotel and adjoining residences and offices.
Abbey Group triggered this latest revival of the Fenway with the unusual renovation of the Sears warehouse, which had been shuttered for more than a decade. Its redevelopment cleared the way for a 13-screen cinema and the retail stores that now anchor the site.
If Abbey strikes a deal to sell, then one major wrinkle Samuels would soon face is the future of Blue Cross Blue Shield, whose lease ends in 2015.
The area is seen as attractive for office development because of its proximity to many of the city?s largest hospitals and medical research institutions in the Longwood Medical Area.
Abbey Group, which is co-owner of the Boston Celtics, has recently struggled with its large 45 Province St. development in Downtown Crossing, a 32-story condominium tower that opened in the midst of the real estate downturn.
So far, Abbey Group has sold about 25 of 137 units on the site, with several others under agreement, according to representatives of the firm.
It recently secured a three-year loan extension on the property from Helaba Bank.
http://www.boston.com/business/arti...oses_in_on__530m_deal_to_buy_landmark_center/
Looking to expand his empire
Boston developer Steve Samuels closes in on $530m deal to buy marquee Landmark Center
Developer Steve Samuels is said to be negotiating the purchase of the Landmark Center for about $530 million.
By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / November 19, 2010
Boston developer Steve Samuels is near a deal to buy the massive Landmark Center office and retail complex near Fenway Park, an acquisition that would give him another marquee property in a neighborhood where he already owns many of the largest buildings.
Landmark Center would be Samuels?s biggest deal yet, giving him control of a 1.5 million-square-foot complex that is home to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and retail stores such as Best Buy.
Executives with knowledge of the deal said Samuels is negotiating a purchase from the owner, Abbey Group, for about $530 million.
Neither Samuels nor Abbey Group, which spent $115 million renovating the former Sears, Roebuck & Co. warehouse into the Landmark Center in the 1990s, would comment.
?We are in discussions regarding Landmark Center, but as of now nothing is finalized,?? they said in a joint statement issued by a spokesman.
Abby Group has a proposal to add an eight-story extension for offices pending before Boston officials.
Samuels has been a key developer behind much of the recent activity that has turned this portion of the Fenway into a much livelier area.
He owns about a dozen properties in the neighborhood and has redeveloped several.
He built the Trilogy apartment and retail complex across from Landmark Center and 1330 Boylston, another large residential and retail building just down the street.
He has also revitalized several buildings that now host restaurants and retailers, such as the Guitar Center, Tasty Burger, and Basho, a sushi restaurant, all on Boylston Street.
He is also proposing to build 150 apartments, stores, and offices on the site of the former Goodyear Tire store and two adjoining properties.
Samuels is also in a joint venture with developer Steve Weiner to try to buy the Howard Johnson hotel property on Boylston Street. The pair had previously floated the idea of replacing it with a new hotel and adjoining residences and offices.
Abbey Group triggered this latest revival of the Fenway with the unusual renovation of the Sears warehouse, which had been shuttered for more than a decade. Its redevelopment cleared the way for a 13-screen cinema and the retail stores that now anchor the site.
If Abbey strikes a deal to sell, then one major wrinkle Samuels would soon face is the future of Blue Cross Blue Shield, whose lease ends in 2015.
The area is seen as attractive for office development because of its proximity to many of the city?s largest hospitals and medical research institutions in the Longwood Medical Area.
Abbey Group, which is co-owner of the Boston Celtics, has recently struggled with its large 45 Province St. development in Downtown Crossing, a 32-story condominium tower that opened in the midst of the real estate downturn.
So far, Abbey Group has sold about 25 of 137 units on the site, with several others under agreement, according to representatives of the firm.
It recently secured a three-year loan extension on the property from Helaba Bank.
http://www.boston.com/business/arti...oses_in_on__530m_deal_to_buy_landmark_center/
Re: Landmark Center Expansion
Keep an eye out for the filing...
"More apartments proposed for Fenway"
By: Thomas Grillo
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/08/more-apartments-proposed-for-fenway.html
Keep an eye out for the filing...
"More apartments proposed for Fenway"
By: Thomas Grillo
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/real_estate/2013/08/more-apartments-proposed-for-fenway.html
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