ACC/NU Residence Hall | 840 Columbus Ave | Northeastern University

Looks like the project was held up by Wu but they’re restarting the process:

“840 Columbus Ave, which will hold 800 student beds and five stories of academic space when opened, is restarting its permitting process after delays with the city.

“[The project’s been] tied up in city politics and the transition to a new mayoral administration, [and] there’s been a general slowdown of new projects getting approved,” Nedell said. “[There’s] still a long way to go before [we] actually [get a] shovel in the ground.” (source)

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Does this mean that the community meetings will have to start over from scratch and we get to listen to the NIMBY's complain about gentrification, shadows etc. again?
 
Zash said:
Missed this originally, and the meeting ended up being cancelled, but there was a task force meeting scheduled for 6/22. Wonder if it’s a sign that the ball might get rolling again on this project sometime soon.

CANCELLED - 840 Columbus Avenue Joint Task Force & Public Meeting | Boston Planning & Development Agency

Stay informed and involved. See news, press releases, and more.
www.bostonplans.org www.bostonplans.org
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For a second I read your comment as saying the project had been canceled--glad that's not the case!
 
Looks like it shrunk some. Worst iteration to date, but probably the one that will get built. It's listed as 255' + mech, which makes me think it's maybe 275' at best.

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Seems like they're just going to keep changing it until it gets built. This is what, the fourth iteration of the design? Feels like this one will stick, at least.

I was more partial to the third design.
 
Zash said:
Seems like they're just going to keep changing it until it gets built. This is what, the fourth iteration of the design? Feels like this one will stick, at least.

I was more partial to the third design.
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The changes are to appease the NIMBY's who are afraid of all those students living in "their" neighborhood.
 
Northeastern has requested/received a three-year delay in filing its next 10-year master plan. Their intention is to concentrate on 840 Columbus before undertaking any other projects not in the current plan.

Skimming through the submission it appears that plans to have the first five floors be academic space have been eliminated.
 
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Czervik.Construction said:
Sort of gives off a Warren Towers vibe and that is not a compliment.
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ooof! that's the absolute furthest from a compliment.

been wondering when they'd re-clad, tear down, or otherwise address warren towers since before i *went* to BU. remarkably offensive complex.

and now that you've made that comparison, i can't unsee it!
 
As long as they don’t reuse the cladding vendor from the St Botolph residence hall, it should be able to avoid abject failure.
 
I kinda like these materials and the massing break up seems to work. Just getting this built will be transformative. Ground floor activation with real retail for everyone would be a cherry on top.
 
curcuas said:
I kinda like these materials and the massing break up seems to work. Just getting this built will be transformative. Ground floor activation with real retail for everyone would be a cherry on top.
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This whole section of Columbus has been devoid of commercial activity for eons. Even with the retail opening up in Lightview and ISEC finally getting a replacement coffee shop, it still feels like it's still missing something. Wonder what it'll take to get things feeling "right."
 
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