Avalon Exeter | 77 Exeter Street | Back Bay

ablarc said:
Will they redeem the street with shops?
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by my count 3 of 6: the hotels are not bad, but the library, L&T and the supermarket's sides are no good. (i'd give the garage opening a pass since it had to happen somewhere). The Library isn't going to change. that's 1/2 the block.
 
The most recent Boston Courant has an article about high-rise developments in the Back Bay.

Apparently in addition to 888 Boylston and the Exeter apartments, sometime in the fall the Prudential people are going to propose a 50 story mixed-use building to be built where the Neiman Marcus is (Copley Center is the building ). The article noted there are no height limits there, but they may need a zoning variance anyways.

The article also stated that the Christian Science Center may build a high-rise hotel on their complex (but that is not this thread).

Alas there does not appear to be an online version of the Courant as far as I can tell.
 
Others were quick to make clear that they hate the idea, in no uncertain terms.

Peter M. Sherin, chairman of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, (NAGG), said his organization hadn?t heard anything about the project, but still went on record with some comments.

?We would be concerned about plans for any building of that height,? he said. ?It would cast shadows that fall on historic properties, create darkness and wind in the area , be out of scale with the surroundings, and overload already congested streets.?
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I just LOVE how nobody has even seen the actual proposal, but the call to arms has been sounded. "Villagers of the Back Bay, get your pitchforks and torches ready...let us call on the mystical forces of Shirley Kressel to send these heathens back to their place in the underworld... "
 
Peter M. Sherin, chairman of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, (NAGG),

Freudian Slip or deliberate typo? Either way, very appropriate!
 
I also agree that this proposal will be out of scale. I mean, at 50 stories its probably going to be around 500-550ft. It doesn't fit in between the 750 ft Pru and 790ft JHT. It's too short. In order to make this more to scale, they should increase its height to at least 650ft+
 
Another thing about out of scale. The reason why these towers are out of scale is because NIMBYs like these people prevent anything towers reaching that height which mean all the other towers will be around the same height. If they allow towers to be build taller or at various height, then these towers won't be out of scale. If it wasn't for those towers back in the 80s luckily enough to be built or the PRu and JHT, anything above 200-300ft would have been out of scale.
 
Wow, my bad. i didn't know I was bringing up old news.

Still, I think the key difference is the height, the old articles mention 20-30 stories.
 
I don't see how the Prudential can build on top of Neiman Marcus when they don't own it.
 
I believe simon properties wants to build at the neiman marcus site, and they do own the property.
 
?

"The tower would be built in front of, and on top of, the existing Neiman-Marcus department store, on what is now an empty lot."

uhm, i'm having difficulty figuring out where this 'empty lot' is....
 
By "empty lot" do you mean the little brick plaza across the street from Back Bay Station? To me, that's not a buildable lot, it's a public amenity, the gateway to the Southwest Corridor linear park. I'd hate to see it encroached upon.
 
Nopee...

The location is in front of the entrance to Neiman-Marcus - there's a piece of art there (I think it's horses?) and some concrete planters / barriers, right where Dartmouth Street meets Stuart Street, across the intersection from the Healthworks building (with Starbucks on the first floor).

Tight spot.
 
Oh, there? My feeling is that is shoehorning a building where it doesn't belong. Not as bad as the location I thought you meant, but still.... couldn't it be South End-scaled, 4-5 stories?
 
Here is a view of the proposed site and immediate surroundings from Live Local.

BB_Station.jpg


The area around Copley Place may be the single most pedestrian-inhospitable streetscape in Boston. There is a large swath that doesnt even have sidewalks. I would totally support any development that attempted to remedy this problem as part of a larger project.

Also, the proposal's proximity to Backbay Station(local bus, commuter rail and Amtrak), the Orange and Green Lines, and easy access to the Mass Turnpike definitely warrant a very high density. Probably much higher than is even being proposed.
 
Ron Newman said:
...couldn't it be South End-scaled, 4-5 stories?
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Sure -- three questions:

1.) For what purpose?

2.) Who's going to finance a project of this scale?

3.) Seeing as this site isn't in the South End, why should that neighborhood's scale influence its height?

And just so no one thinks I pop a rod every time someone post a blurb about a new tower, I think this site would be just as appropriate for a glazed pavilion for a farmer's market.
 
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