BU Development Thread

When the Dental School project was announced many moons ago another project was announced at the same time: an addition to the Questrom building on Bay State Rd. Since then BU built a research building and the data science building is under construction. I can find no reference to the Questrom project anywhere on the BU website. BU even got a $10 million donation to plan and design the addition. Anyone know anything about that project?
 
Since the search function has shit the bed, I went digging for the most generic BU thread.

Knowing my volcanic hatred for John Silber, my college roommate sent me this clip from WCVB, circa 1982. Just listen to this asshole:


Imagine an elected official, never mind a univesity president, saying this sort of thing today.
 
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Welcome refurb - that is one foreboding building in its current state.
 
Interesting program requirements that it have a sally port and secured beds and surgical facilities for Department of Corrections patients.
 
Since I am not bumping the thread I will ask if anyone has heard the status of BU's planned addition to the Questrom building. It would face Bay State Rd. It was first announced the same time as the Dental school project. That is complete now and no word on the Questrom project.
 
The Shattuck Hospital (Newton Pavilion) building is owned by the state, not BU so should be in a different thread
 
Since I am not bumping the thread I will ask if anyone has heard the status of BU's planned addition to the Questrom building. It would face Bay State Rd. It was first announced the same time as the Dental school project. That is complete now and no word on the Questrom project.
Does this mean they are going to bulldoze the (not Warren) Towers dorm?
 
President Brown reflects on the highs and lows of his 17-year presidency

"We have a plan to build a COM building next to the Booth Theater. We own that whole block of small buildings. It would make a great partnership between the Booth, the gallery on the other side, the 808. It’d be a great place for COM."
Reading that article Brown also talks about wanting to demolish the "lone brownstone" building that houses social work. That may get push back from preservationists. If a new Pardee building is built on the adjacent parking lot, demolishing the social work building would greatly expand the BU Beach. Does anyone still call it Alpert Mall?
 
Reading that article Brown also talks about wanting to demolish the "lone brownstone" building that houses social work. That may get push back from preservationists. If a new Pardee building is built on the adjacent parking lot, demolishing the social work building would greatly expand the BU Beach. Does anyone still call it Alpert Mall?

While I typically do not agree with demolition of older buildings, I could see a rationale in this instance. The Pardee building will no doubt be another statement building and the expanded greeenspace would completely change the functionality of the mall.
Also, the social work building is truly not functional as an academic building.
 
While I typically do not agree with demolition of older buildings, I could see a rationale in this instance. The Pardee building will no doubt be another statement building and the expanded greeenspace would completely change the functionality of the mall.
Also, the social work building is truly not functional as an academic building.
It’s a great old building and they’d be insane to demolish it.
 
Since the search function has shit the bed, I went digging for the most generic BU thread.

Knowing my volcanic hatred for John Silber, my college roommate sent me this clip from WCVB, circa 1982. Just listen to this asshole:


Imagine an elected official, never mind a univesity president, saying this sort of thing today.
I had to laugh at 1:10 when the resident owner feared that her property value would decrease!
 
That video is a truly great find. There should be a YouTube channel dedicated to his interviews.
 
It’s a great old building and they’d be insane to demolish it.

I do appreciate bdurden's points -- and Brown's -- but I still think there should be considerable thought to solutions *other* than demolition. We already lost a BU-owned pre-war building that served as a gateway to Kenmore and the city in favor of the WHOOP mess; while the potential fuckup at this address would be less visible and less soul-crushing, it'd still be a real loss of some of the characteristic architecture that makes Boston what it is.

Screenshot 2023-04-29 at 3.10.29 PM.png
 

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