Avalon Exeter | 77 Exeter Street | Back Bay

Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

briv said:
In the years to come I wouldn't be surprised to see a super-tall or two proposed here.
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That exact location is pretty good for a super-tall. I'd make sure there's a nicer interface at street-level in lieu of the Hynes.

The Western Half of the Back Bay has never really equaled the Eastern Half. It's because there's no major anchor down there, just that worthless Hynes facade.

If the tower could fix that, and properly channel the western half of Back Bay vis-a-vis the tower, the impact in terms of residential real estate value and accompanying tax income for the city would be immense.

It's the most "Boston" place to build one. Low-slung brick residential, understated retail, erudite super-tall. It's a formula that works.

In contrast to the South Station and Transnational Place locations -- which mimic Chicago or New York formulas: glass-tower residential, glass-tower commercial, dirty-street retail.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

datadyne007 said:
Yeah, I don't see the Hynes going anywhere. It has the best location you could possibly EVER have. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the most centrally-located convention center of any city in the country. BCEC is a gorgeous facility, but it's near absolutely nothing. I hate how shows like PAX East leave all these kids that fly into Boston to go to it with the impression that "Boston" is the dead Seaport and BCEC. It's not....

There's also a reason why CollegeFest is held at the Hynes and not the BCEC too... starts with L... ;-)
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OK, I'll play. Library?
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

datadyne007 said:
It has the best location you could possibly EVER have. I wouldn't be surprised if it was the most centrally-located convention center of any city in the country.
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For the record, I think Philadelphia wins that title for "most centrally-located convention center of any city int he country", with Los Angeles at a close second. Just google map "Philadelphia, PA" and count the feet away from City Hall/Center City.

Still, I agree with your point. Hynes isn't going anywhere. Maybe it'll get a face lift in 10-15 years, but it is the quintessential convention spot thanks to the business-friendly amenities immediately around it (i.e. thousands of hotel rooms, overflow ballroom event spaces, premiere steakhouses/restaurants, transportation access, etc.).

Regarding the new tower for the Pru plaza, my biggest concern is if/how it will affect the farmers market that currently sets up there a couple days a week. It rotates days with the Copley farmers market and from what I gather does pretty good business. I just hope they hire a damn good landscape architect to maximize the use of a reduced-size plaza there.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Are there any other examples of major convention centers attached to a giant mall in the heart of a city? I think that's really where the Hynes and Pru combo shines. LA is centrally located, but doesn't have the connected availability of other amenities. It's in the auto-centric wasteland that is LA. Philly, ok, I had a feeling that there was a similar situation. It's in the street grid and has a lot of connections.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Moscone Center in SF? Adjacent to the humongous Westfield Centre shopping mall and the Metreon, with BART and MUNI access at Powell (also of cable car fame). A stone's throw from Union Square.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Ron Newman said:
Not sure what you are objecting to here?
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I'm objecting to the design, Ron, not the functionality. Hence my wanting it replaced with glass.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

datadyne007 said:
Are there any other examples of major convention centers attached to a giant mall in the heart of a city? I think that's really where the Hynes and Pru combo shines. LA is centrally located, but doesn't have the connected availability of other amenities. It's in the auto-centric wasteland that is LA. Philly, ok, I had a feeling that there was a similar situation. It's in the street grid and has a lot of connections.
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Someone hasn't been to LA in awhile.

The LA convention center is next to LA Live....packed with restaurants, and 2, soon 3 hotels. Also adjacent to Staples Center and the Nokia Theater.

Isnt the NYC convention center in midtown Manhattan?

Convention centers like bayside are the exception, not the norm...id say most are downtown.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

jass said:
Isnt the NYC convention center in midtown Manhattan?
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Although in midtown Manhattan, the Jacob Javits Convention center is located in probably the most desolate place on the island. Its between 34th and 39th streets but on the westernmost edge next to Route 9A.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Between the runaway success of the High Line park, plans to build over the west side yards, and the soon to be open 7 extension to the Javits front door the meat packing district is seeing a bit of a renaissance. When I was there for the NY auto show last year a bunch of abandoned and dilapidated tenemants had construction fences around them and the area was obviously getting a decent amount of money dumped into it.

The walk from Penn Station to the Javits is about the same as South Station to the BCEC, and they are both in former industrial areas undergoing a transformation. In terms of location I would say they are on equal footing, the biggest difference is that while the Javits is a bit of a dump, the BCEC is amazing inside.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

The Columbus, Ohio, convention center is at the edge of its downtown, on its major street (High Street). This is not as good a thing as it may sound, as downtown Columbus has lost all of its shopping. The saving grace is that the Columbus convention center is also where the city's Short North arts and shopping district begins.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

brucepf said:
Although in midtown Manhattan, the Jacob Javits Convention center is located in probably the most desolate place on the island. Its between 34th and 39th streets but on the westernmost edge next to Route 9A.
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AKA, right next to the biggest redevelopment project in the country?
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Elsewhere in New England, the XL Center is in downtown Hartford, and the DCU Center is in downtown Worcester.

Back to Hynes, I note that there are a decent handful of developable sites west of the convention center, between garages, empty lots, and air rights over the Pike. Shame that that's essentially the backside of Hynes though.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

A couple of those empty lots are about to be built on as part of the Christian Science redevelopment (see that thread for more info).
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

jass said:
AKA, right next to the biggest redevelopment project in the country?
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I realize there have been some improvements in that area and many more major ones in the works. But currently I dont imagine many people go to a trade show at the Jacob Javits center and afterwards decide to spend much time exploring that neighborhood.(Theres a reason why this is the biggest redevelopment project in this country.)
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

datadyne007 said:
Are there any other examples of major convention centers attached to a giant mall in the heart of a city? I think that's really where the Hynes and Pru combo shines. LA is centrally located, but doesn't have the connected availability of other amenities. It's in the auto-centric wasteland that is LA.
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You are thinking of the LA Convention Center 15 or 20 years ago. Now there is a light rail line, and the LA Live development zone right across the street. There is a lot going on in that part of LA, and it's only minutes away from downtown, which has been moving in the direction of the convention center anyway.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Location.

But ok. Thank you everyone for your responses about convention centers around the country. I guess my view of LA is still stuck in the 90s.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

To boot, here's a Curbed LA article from today talking about all the residential growth happening just to the east, in what is now called South Park. Things there are changing as quickly as anywhere else in the country.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

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