Boston Landing | New Balance Complex | Brighton

Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

davem said:
From yesterday,
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I have a great view of the site, but the sun shines right through my window all day and it's near impossible to get a good shot. I need to find my real camera...

Anyway, big mountains of dirt, and they are down a good 12' or so below grade. The excavators have been moving pretty quick the past few days, I wonder if they are going to carry construction through the winter.
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Davem -- while winter slows construction in Boston -- these days: heaters, lights, wind shrouding all allow nearly all the traditional construction to continue, limited really only by really severe wind problems with hoisting large flat things
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

BeeLine said:

Boston Landing (NB)12/28 (Rendering of MBTA Station)
Until seeing this rendering I did not understand that the MBTA station would be behind the Stop & Shop strip mall. Anyone know why they would put it there?
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The answer is on your attached photo. The new MBTA station will have a direct connection to the Everett Street overpass and, therefore, a direct link to Lower Allston. It's saving them millions of dollars from having to build a new pedestrian overpass and elevators connecting the station to Lower Allston.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

Yes, it's an Everett Street station. They considered two locations, basically: Market Street and Everett Street. For better or for worse, they opted for Everett Street.

The advantage of Everett Street is that it serves Allston as well as Brighton. It's just a 5-10 minute walk from Union Square, really. And being right behind Stop'n'Shop is a great thing for the local neighborhood, because it makes trip chaining a breeze. Hopefully that massive parking lot will be redeveloped too.

The disadvantage is that restoring the Allston depot station is probably right out the window now. Too close. And there's no bus connections at Everett Street. It's not a historical site for a railroad station.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

The 64 does run via Guest Street, so there's at least that. And Union Square is only two-tenths of a mile away. So if it's not-quite-perfect station location versus no station at all, I'll take the former.

Some interesting history: Cambridge Street and Market Street were later additions to the Boston & Worcester RR, sometimes around 1857. They actually replaced a single station, added in the 1830s... at Everett Street. At 157+ years, this might the the longest time for the revival of a station!
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

Today; two mobile cranes and a concrete pump on site.

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Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

Beeline,

In your top photo, looking across the 'Pike, have they started dismantling the building where the Boston Skating Club will build its new rink complex? The top floor looks to be skeletal steel.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

stellarfun said:
Beeline,

In your top photo, looking across the 'Pike, have they started dismantling the building where the Boston Skating Club will build its new rink complex? The top floor looks to be skeletal steel.
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Nope ... its always been that way.

cca
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

stellarfun said:
Beeline,

In your top photo, looking across the 'Pike, have they started dismantling the building where the Boston Skating Club will build its new rink complex? The top floor looks to be skeletal steel.
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They never finished the building, the steel is the unfinished penthouse. From what I've heard the temporary roof failed a few years ago and the building is starting to rust out. Huge waste, I had always hoped someone would offer it to the Jack Young Co, would be a perfect swap.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

I happened to take some pictures of the decrepit building and the future commuter rail station site on Saturday...

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Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

No, I wouldn't characterize it that way. I think there was cautious optimism about the new facility. It would be preferred that the closest parcels to the new commuter rail stations weren't this, but if it has to be, then make it nice, and they don't want big events streaming 2,000 cars down Lincoln Street and into the site. Which won't happen since they're only building about 250 parking spaces I think.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

What's the story behind that abandoned building anyways?
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

meddlepal said:
What's the story behind that abandoned building anyways?
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As I've come to understand, it was built during the dot com fad as a "telecom hotel", basically a massive server and data storage facility. It was designed with really massive floor plates, low ceilings, large HVAC systems, and to support very few people (I think a staff of a dozen or so, max). When the bubble burst the project was abandoned before it was completed, hence the unfinished penthouse and facade (the concrete facade panels aren't sealed, you can look through half inch gaps and see inside).

There were attempts to sell it for reuse, but because of the special way it was built it would be expensive / impossible to modify. Meanwhile the elements got in because the project was never expected to be stalled for so long and not sealed up well, and I've heard from multiple people that its rusting away from the inside out. Eventually Harvard bought it, but just as a pawn in their big game of real estate chess.

Hence why its sat there for so long doing nothing, and why I think it would be great for a warehouse. Its probably a moot point by now though, if the rumors as to its condition are true, its already as good as gone. Which is a shame, because its not that bad looking (far better than the skating club design), gives Everett St a nice streetwall that makes it seem less desolate than the stop and shop side (which will be replicated with the skating club design), and is a massive waste of time, money, and resources. I have to wonder if Harvard didn't just let it rot if some use couldn't have been found. There are a few other buildings in the area that do fine with light manufacturing.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

Interesting... there's an awful lot of windows for a secure hosting facility. I would never have guessed it was originally intended as a data center.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

I actually like that building's overall design. It would make a great school building whether it be K-12/BPS or higher ed since Harvard owns it. Just need to add windows on the ground floor in addition to the interior fit out. Stick some advanced labs in there and take advantage of the 3' high ceiling cavities and give the MEP engineers a break haha.
 
Re: New Brighton Landing | New Balance Complex

The other two things it had going for it was that they used the footprint for the most part of the warehouse that was on the site, so limited project review and construction delays in a time when defensive leasing was rampant and the Level 3 cable that runs along the Pike was right outside the door.

Let's hope all those skaters don't destroy the fragile beauty that is Allston.
 
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