BU Development Thread

Agreed. I think there's been a change of attitude somewhat fairly recently. I heard from one official that they are now seeking to "de-car the Charles River Campus" and are seeking to develop the surface parking lots.
 
Matthew said:
Agreed. I think there's been a change of attitude somewhat fairly recently. I heard from one official that they are now seeking to "de-car the Charles River Campus" and are seeking to develop the surface parking lots.
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Good. Those lots hung around as long as they did because the parking revenue intake was too easy for them to pass up, especially over summer when they could freeload off the Sox on those lots closest to Kenmore. It was a point of consternation when I was an undergrad over a dozen years ago that they seemed to be taking the easy way out on land use by cheaping out for the easy money in Kenmore on those last golden parcels while hyper-focusing on West Campus and trying to storm the gates into annexing Brookline.

Then again, it's probably better they waited till after Silber was gone and discredited before filling central campus. Otherwise we'd just get more SMG-esque beige boxes as a monument to his eternal contempt for architecture.
 
While they are at it, they should demolish the godawful former HoJo motel at 575 Comm Ave. Even a parking lot would look better than that pile of 1960ish cement.
 
TomOfBoston said:
While they are at it, they should demolish the godawful former HoJo motel at 575 Comm Ave. Even a parking lot would look better than that pile of 1960ish cement.
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It's effective enough dorm space to be a parcel of least concern for the moment. I agree they could do something better there ultimately, but they're getting good bang-for-buck out of the land use with the bodies they're packing in there. It's a much higher priority that they make good on the land use for barely-utilized parcels like the near-Kenmore parking lots and executing the plan to raze that whole crappy row of 2-story classrooms on Cummington for denser academic space than it is contemplating a more-perfect HoJo's. Fix the poorly utilized lots on the front-burner first then let makeovers like this occupy their attention in the 2020's.
 
OK, agreed. If they built on the corner lot at Kenmore it would hide the HoJo a bit. rRght now it is the first BU thing you see from the Square.
 
The Hojo is one of the nicest dorms on campus. No way its going down.
 
TomOfBoston said:
OK, agreed. If they built on the corner lot at Kenmore it would hide the HoJo a bit. rRght now it is the first BU thing you see from the Square.
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The Kenmore lot and the HoJo are not in the long range BU campus plan.
 
TomOfBoston said:
That is the saddest commentary on BU that I have ever read.
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If youre a student, who gives a shit about the outside?

A/C, and private bathrooms for doubles put it heads above every dorm except the stuvi ones.
 
Jass didn't word it well. Sometimes I get annoyed with Jass negativity of bashing BU (though it been a couple of years since the last Jass BU bashing). But in this case, he's just framing it poorly.

BU Students love HoJo because it's central (especially to SMG students), has A/C, many rooms giving good space, private bathrooms and priced much closer to Warren Towers than StuVi. Semi-Luxury at a much more reasonable cost. It doesn't have the best looking exterior, but trading for a better exterior with likely StuVi prices is not exactly desirable. That's not a sad comment, it's a comment about functionality and wallets.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
Then again, it's probably better they waited till after Silber was gone and discredited before filling central campus. Otherwise we'd just get more SMG-esque beige boxes as a monument to his eternal contempt for architecture.
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My understand of Silber was he was against the abstract architecture that was especially prevalent from the 50's to the 80's. You know, the mentality that lead to Boston City Hall. Or the Law Tower? SMG is a box, but it's a nice box that works well compared to the Law Tower that works 2 hour-ish a day while being a huge pain for class space, travel, and heat/ac.
 
I'm interrupting the negativity with a moody winter photo of the BU skyline;

12460482745_06b04314cc_b.jpg
 
bdurden said:
The Kenmore lot and the HoJo are not in the long range BU campus plan.
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I don't dislike the HoJo like others here but that Kenmore lot is a disgrace. They should develop a nice contemporary style focal point tying in Kenmore and Boston University, retail on the ground floor, expensive StuVi style residences above, target of 5-8 stories.
 
ant8904 said:
Jass didn't word it well. Sometimes I get annoyed with Jass negativity of bashing BU (though it been a couple of years since the last Jass BU bashing). But in this case, he's just framing it poorly.

BU Students love HoJo because it's central (especially to SMG students), has A/C, many rooms giving good space, private bathrooms and priced much closer to Warren Towers than StuVi. Semi-Luxury at a much more reasonable cost. It doesn't have the best looking exterior, but trading for a better exterior with likely StuVi prices is not exactly desirable. That's not a sad comment, it's a comment about functionality and wallets.
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Yes, exactly this. It wasnt about negativity or some ridiculous comment about students, it was about how the building is very functional inside.

If youre a student on a budget, Hojo is the best bang for your buck. Period.

It also puts you closer to Kenmore square = better T connections
 
I like how they broke up the massing with this one.
 
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