Avalon Exeter | 77 Exeter Street | Back Bay

Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

I also think it's too bad that they didn't try a bit harder to create a more unified streetscape along this stretch of Exeter. And that steps/garage entrance arrangement looks uncannily like the one along that dead stretch of Congress St. at City Hall. Not great design, IMO. But even with its obvious shortcomings, this will be a massive improvement to this very dreary existing streetscape.

I just wish the Exeter building was maybe 50% taller to break up that oppressive monotony of the BB skyline. As proposed, this building will only add to that effect. Too bad.

888 Boylston, on the other hand, is oafishly proportioned. It looks like something out of Longwood. I actually think it was better at 12 stories. Not a big fan of plazas in general either. It wouldnt bug me one bit if this proposal got torpedoed.
 
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Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

This building doesn't add anything to the skyline, nor given its location, should it.

This is not a bad location for a plaza. Open space does have its place.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

I too am not liking what 888 brings to the table. It's proportioned like a steroid using suburban office building, and brings little if nothing to the table while blocking off a sightline to the Pru. It's something I like to think of as the Philadelphia effect, where there are no direct sightlines to some of the tallest/best buildings in the city (Liberty Place 1 and 2 especially) which really curtails the ability of these buildings to "soar" and instead makes them look more stumpy than anything else.
This type of development does indeed belong more in Longwood, or Cambridge (which could use a signature tower or 2 of its own in Kendall).
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

"oafish" is a good description for the proposed 888 building. My first thought was that it was sad losing the plaza. But I walk through it every day when I'm finished at the gym and it's not used very often. I wonder if the outside dining area for the food court is going away with this proposal.
 
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Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

12345 said:
But the company could soon be making its mark in Boston. An 850-unit Prudential Center tower is on the drawing board, and other Boston projects are being planned, Blair said.

http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2008/07/09/straying_from_the_blueprint/?page=2

Is this the 30 story proposal? 850 units is alot.
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Yeah, there's no way this building has 850 units. Either multiple towers are going to be proposed or that's a typo.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

eaalkaline said:
Yeah, there's no way this building has 850 units. Either multiple towers are going to be proposed or that's a typo.
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There's also no way it is going to have thirty stories either. This proposal really should have seven to ten more stories. Also, is it shown sitting upon the back end of Lord & Taylor?

The building at 888 Boylston isn't merely oafish; it looks bloated.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Banker & Tradesman - August 18, 2008
Developer Blinks: Whacks Two Stories Off Controversial Prudential Tower Plan
By Thomas Grillo
Reporter


The developer of a controversial tower at the Prudential Center has agreed to lower the height by two stories, according to a source familiar with the project.

Boston Properties is expected to file an amended plan for 888 Boylston St. today with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) for a 17-story office building. The city asked the developer to revise the $115 million high-rise following com-plaints about height from the Back Bay neighborhood and the Prudential Project Advisory Committee (PruPAC). The 25-member panel was founded to advise City Hall on development at the Pru.

The lowered height is strong evidence the developer has taken the criticism seriously, according to Betsy Johnson, Pru-PAC?s chairwoman.

?This will be looked at as an act of good faith on the part of the development team,? she said.

The project, to be built between the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Cen-ter, has been in the works for years. In 2002, the BRA approved the office building at 11 stories. But the 287,000-square-foot high-rise never broke ground. Last year, Boston Properties sought approval for a 19-story tower.

That proposal drew opposition from the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB), which argued that the building would be out of character with the historic district. NABB has organized its opposition among members of PruPAC.

Elliott Laffer, PruPAC?s vice chairman and NABB?s representative on the committee, said he has not seen the revised proposal.

?But it sure doesn?t sound like much of a reduction,? he said. ?Without seeing the impacts of shadows and wind, it?s diffi-cult to comment.?

Privately, some members of PruPAC are weary of NABB?s opposition.

?People told them they were getting to the absurd as they came back with more and more requests,? said the source, who asked not to be identified. ?It came across as they just want to kill this. Even without the lowered height, PruPAC was inclined to support it.?

Laffer disputed the claim.

?PruPAC has never taken a vote, but I disagree that the panel supports the project,? he said.

Also included in the BRA filing is an enhanced plaza in front of 888 Boylston, according to Michael A. Cantalupa, senior vice president of Boston Properties. In addition, the residential tower proposed for Exeter Street with Avalon Bay Communities will be reduced by three floors to 27 stories.

?The project is improved as a result of the public review process,? he said in an e-mailed statement. ?In light of this initial review, we have further evaluated the public spaces that will be created, putting a tremendous amount of energy and re-sources into their design. The new plaza on Boylston Street will be a signature element that will fill the streetscape with life and vitality, and will be a public space the city of Boston will be proud of.?

In an interview with Banker & Tradesman, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he has not seen the new Boston Properties proposal and is reserving judgment.

?We will take a serious look at the revised plans for 888 Boylston and see how it fits with the overall scheme of development for the Pru,? he said.
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Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Ugh, I don't much like that drawing of 888 Boylston. I'd much rather have it match the height of the building to its left. Why not instead add floors above the Hynes?
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

How these meager "concessions" improve these projects or benefit anyone is beyond me. They don't really seem to address the problems of either one of these proposals. 888 Boylston is still just as clumsy as it was before and the Exeter building is actually made worse by making it more stumpy.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

I wish we had a Mayor.

"I dunno what to say. I haven't seen the plans. I don't have a position."

Bull shit, Menino. Why didn't Tom Grillo (the reporter) "report" and needle him on that crap answer?
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

briv said:
How these meager "concessions" improve these projects or benefit anyone is beyond me. They don't really seem to address the problems of either one of these proposals. 888 Boylston is still just as clumsy as it was before and the Exeter building is actually made worse by making it more stumpy.
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Briv, I couldn't agree with you more. The ONLY "benefits" to be obtained are to those members of the population who crave validation for their control issues.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

And Boston Properties that I'm sure was eyeing 17 stories the entire time....win-win, sort of.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

Pru project size cut, height fight goes on
By Scott Van Voorhis | Tuesday, August 19, 2008
33480572d5_prurendering08192008.jpg

Photo by Boston Redevelopment Authority


Boston Properties has scaled back the height of its planned Prudential campus expansion in a bid to calm neighborhood concerns.

Chaired by media mogul Mortimer Zuckerman, the publiclytraded real estate company has shaved two stories off its proposed 888 Boylston St. office complex, bringing it down to 17 stories.

Boston Properties also reduced the height of its planned Exeter Residences from 30 stories to 27. That project is slated for a site near the interior of the Pru campus along Exeter Street by the Lord & Taylor loading docks.

Whether the reductions will be enough to win over skeptics in the Back Bay remains to be seen. At least one elected representative of the neighborhood suggested yesterday that further cuts are needed.

Now at 17 stories, 888 Boylston St. was originally approved by City Hall in 2002 as an 11-story office building.

?The height reductions are very modest,? said state Rep. Marty Walz (D-Back Bay), in an e-mail. ?The proposed height of 888 Boylston Street continues to violate the Prudential Center?s master plan and I see no reason to vary from the plan.?

The reductions come after push-back from some neighborhood residents and a call by Mayor Thomas M. Menino for a re-drafted proposal from Boston Properties that would address these concerns.

Jessica Shumaker, a spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, said City Hall is taking a wait-and-see approach to the Pru owner?s revamped proposal.

?It depends on how well it is received,? she said.

However, Boston Properties, in its latest proposal, defends the added height as necessary to attract top-tier tenants.

The changes make it ?a viable office building to meet today?s office standards and tenant demands for office space in the Back Bay,? Boston Properties? proposal reads.
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Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1113724
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

That rendering makes it look like Oscar night and the ceremonies are being held at 888 Boylston. Seriously, what's up with the strange bluish tint (glow?) radiating from the building. "888 Boylston, Boston's new 17 story lava lamp!"
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

That's a signature plaza, huh? hmmmmm.....
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

For the height issue, the developers should just shave the floors but keep the height, like make the lobby 3 story tall. The NIMBYs will think that the height has been reduce when in fact, it has not. However, they should redesign some of the towers. Many look ugly.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

NIMBY's don't actually know how to read, so yes Dark, I believe your plan will work
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

I always find it ironic when towers in the back bay which are near the two tallest in Boston are considered too tall. I can understand the issue of blocking a historically awesome view, but wont this thing cast the same shadow as the pru, or if anything cast a shadow on the pru?

I want to confront these NIMBYs but I feel like an argument with them would be as aggravating and pointless as trying to reason with a terrorist that has a holy agenda.

At times I wish things were as easy as they are in China, but then that'd be no fun =/.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

People are simply paranoid about 'ruining the historical fabric' of the Back Bay. I completely understand and respect that position, but I find it humorous how little these residents actually want built. If the city remains stagnant, it will die. In Boston, companies need to expand up, because there is not enough room to expand out (unless you deck the pike, which is being evidenced as a complete nightmare - see CC).

I can understand why they would want to maintain a historical fabric, but it seems like they pick and choose the wrong fights. This is a great place for height, and it wouldn't require the destruction of any buildings of historical value (unless I am mistaken). Yet these people can't seem to care about the incredibly valuable SC&L building that will be replaced by a static cookie cutter design if it isn't saved. The lack of consistency is what kills their reputation.
 
Re: New Tower(s) Planned For Prudential Center

This site is currently vacant, and has always been vacant. Before the Prudential Center it was part of a railroad yard, and before the railroad yard it was water.
 
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