Academic Building @ Suffolk U | 20 Somerset Street | Beacon Hill

Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

To capitalize on the 'sustainability' fad and the performing arts meme, why not a giant LED illuminated windmill and bill it as Beacon Hill's Moulin Rouge? It would harken back to the historical days of yore on old Mount Whoredom. It would also be quite poetic next to the State House, with the statue of General Hooker and all......
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

If this project were ivy related the neighborhood would be jumping on it. There are a lot of other socioeconomic factors that contribute to the perpetual downfall of any such proposed project in such an insular section of the city.

I personally feel it would be a great addition. I'm concerned with historic preservation just like anyone but that idea gets to a point where people have to step back and actually realize the potential impact they're having on the future of their city.
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

sidewalks said:
You're probably right about the NIMBYS...but, please let's stop calling this Beacon Hill. It's not Beacon Hill. As a result of the Government Center redevelopment in the 60s, Beacon Hill EFFECTIVELY starts on the north western side of Bowdoin street. The NIMBYs lay claim to Somerset, but that defies all common sense. It's a bit of NIMBY 'truthiness'...say it enough and people will start to believe you're right.
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One of the way's that Suffolk got this building through at all is by making a distinction between Beacon Hill and "residential" Beacon Hill. Eventually, they got the BHCA to agree with the demarcation, along with a promise to move classroom activity OUT of current buildings in "residential" Beacon Hill to the new building.
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

City group OKs building demolition
By Greg Turner | Thursday, October 16, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Business & Markets

Suffolk University?s plan to put up a new academic building on Beacon Hill has cleared a key hurdle.

The Boston Landmarks Commission approved the demolition of the 76-year-old brick building at 20 Somerset St. that used to house the headquarters of the Metropolitan District Commission.

The unanimous vote Tuesday night was a big win for Suffolk?s proposed $68 million, 10-story building that would house the university?s art school and classrooms.

The commission waived a 90-day demolition-delay period after Suffolk agreed to conditions including paying tribute to the now-defunct MDC inside the new building and outside at the adjacent Roemer Plaza.

?The Landmarks Commission made sure that we commemorate the MDC in a proper way, but at the same time paved the way for what is going to be an exciting building for the neighborhood and, most importantly, our students,? said John Nucci, Suffolk?s vice president for external affairs.

But a wrecking crew is not about to hit the abandoned MDC building.

The project still needs backing from the Massachusetts Historical Commission. And the Boston Redevelopment Authority is still reviewing the design of the proposed academic building.

But Suffolk has come a long way from the high-rise dormitory it pitched two years ago. Strong opposition from Beacon Hill neighbors forced the school to scrap that plan.

Town-gown relations improved further in June when the city supported Suffolk?s 10-year master plan for expansion. The school agreed to refrain from growing into most of Beacon Hill in exchange for support on certain projects from the powerful Beacon Hill Civic Association.

Suffolk will pay the state $10 million for the former MDC property, and the school has targeted fall 2011 for the opening of its new building.

The BRA?s public hearing process should stretch into January, Nucci said. He said it was unclear how long the state review will take.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1125855
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

ChunkyMonkey said:
City group OKs building demolition
The commission waived a 90-day demolition-delay period after Suffolk agreed to conditions including paying tribute to the now-defunct MDC inside the new building and outside at the adjacent Roemer Plaza. ?The Landmarks Commission made sure that we commemorate the MDC in a proper way..."

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1125855
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I can't wait to see what this tribute looks like.
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

tobyjug said:
I can't wait to see what this tribute looks like.
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Bronze hammocks? A statue a guy in a union suit, leaning on his broom, smoking a cigarette? Broken playground equipment? A sandbox full of litter?
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

A giant stone tree with carved dollar bills for leaves and an inscription on the trunk "MASSACHUSETTS TAXPAYERS" with a bronze MDC Union worked statue raking several fallen dollar bill leaves into an eternal bonfire. To be environmentally friendly the eternal bonfire could be lit from the statehouse's sewer gas.
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

tobyjug said:
I can't wait to see what this tribute looks like.
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I caught the tail end of Suffolk's presentation to the BCDC last week. From what I saw, the tribute as proposed will consist of various notable place-names and dates associated with the MDC being engraved in the pavement and steps around the new plaza in a similar fashion to those found in many places along the Greenway. They may have included engravings of maps and other images as well, but I'm not too sure.
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

Suffolk University wins approval for Beacon Hill project

January 30, 2009 07:24 PM
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff

City officials yesterday approved Suffolk University's plans for a $68 million academic building on Beacon Hill that will house the university's art school, including a first-floor art gallery.

The Somerset Street building will replace the former Metropolitan District Commission headquarters, which has been unoccupied for several years.

Suffolk plans to begin construction next year and open the facility in 2011. The university is also building a theater and dormitory at the Modern Theatre in Downtown Crossing.

Last summer, city officials approved the broad strokes of the university's expansion plans after an agreement between the college and the chief Beacon Hill neighborhood group.

Link
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

20 Somerset gets green light for construction

By Alex Pearlman and Rani Smith

In an effort to unify the New England School of Art and Design with the rest of the Suffolk campus, Suffolk University's plans to expand into the former Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) building at 20 Somerset Street, and are now one step closer to being realized after the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) unanimously approved Suffolk's $68 million plans for the project at a BRA board meeting last Thursday, Jan. 28.

"This building will be a shining example of the community process at its best," said John Nucci, Suffolk University's vice president for External Affairs in a recent press release. "[20 Somerset] has been designed in close collaboration with task force members and neighbors who have shared the goal of creating a building that will benefit Suffolk students and the city of Boston for generations."

In addition to art studios and a gallery, 20 Somerset will also hold faculty offices and state-of-art classrooms for the College of Arts and Sciences and will have energy-efficient lighting and heating.

The proposed plans include not only the 112,000 square foot, ten-story building, but also the renovation of Roemer Plaza, an unused, abandoned space on the north side of the building. The plaza will be renovated into an open space with grass and benches for student use and will commemorate the MDC's record of preserving parks and other green space in the city.


..more in link

20 Somerset gets green light for construction (Suffolk Journal)
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

Wait, did that LED board make it?
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

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:confused:

2 guys putting up some 2x4's today...
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

They were still at it 2 days later (yesterday)...

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Any idea what they're doing?
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

It's pretty ridiculous they're knocking down buildings on a block full of empty plazas.

This city is on quite the pre-War-building demolition spree. Each case taken in isolation may not seem significant, but when you consider it in its entirety I think it's very alarming. We're essentially in the midst of an ongoing piecemeal Urban Renewal.
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

I hate to see this building go! what was on either side of it before the plaza's
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

Why was Suffolk unable to adapt this building?
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

I think the only thing I'd truly miss is the bottom part of the street-facing side, where there's a nice mix of stone and brick work. I'd like to see a couple of really nice lamps drilled into the circular stones on both sides of the doors instead of the obviously much-later-added ones that are there. Scrub the place down real good, and add some more windows around the sides, and replace all the old ones.

I wonder what the inside is like...
 
Re: Suffolk Plans for Beacon Hill Arts Center

the inside was awful /well the lobby was nice and they had great marble/tile restrooms and the elevator's were cool.lots of brass
 
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