Cambridge Crossing (NorthPoint) | East Cambridge/Charlestown | Cambridge/Boston

Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

How much are these going for?

Prices start at around $300,000 for a studio. I have seen some sell for a little less than that but the developer does not seem to be reducing prices that much. Of course persons who qualify for the affordable units get them for much less but all of these are sold. The highest price that I have seen is in the $700,000 range for one of the penthouses.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

I toured the units back in.....2007? Good location, nice units, but way too overpriced.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Get ready for a shitload of pictures....

So today I took a tour through the two new parks in the Lechmere area, wanting to see how they're filling out now that a few years have passed since they were finished. There's the park in this development (does it have a name?) and North Point Park, which confusingly enough is the park along the water that was part of the Big Dig and has nothing to do with either North Point or Northpointe. Got it??

We'll start at North Point Park, the one along the Charles:

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Just to keep things straight, that big tower is part of North Pointe.

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I forget...is this the beginnings of a pedestrian bridge?

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Then I headed over to the park at North Point....

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North Pointe, as in not Northpoint

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All sorts of weirdness here

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Random mockup...?

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Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

"All sorts of weirdness here"

The path will continue over the drainage channel to the swale. The stone blocks form the drainage channel and an abutment for a boardwalk over it. There's probably a different contractor or a scheduling SNAFU that has resulting in the unfinished state perplexing you.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Nice photos. North Point Park has yet to be discovered by many people. It is popular with dog walkers and persons that work nearby. The park in North Point (second park) looked empty when you took the photos. However it does get used by many persons who live nearby. Once development occurs on the other side of the park it will help to define the area. The large Archstone building is not part of the North Point development. They are supposed to develop the empty lot near the elevated green line tracks at some point.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Are those wetlands part of the Muddy River that was brought to the surface? Or is it just a retention pond?
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

I don't know the answer to that question, but you mean Millers River, not Muddy.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

It's a great park - when the trees grow tall this will be another Esplenade. I wonder if it will still be apocolyptically empty then, though...

I've been confused about the different developments here. I understand that the tall deco-ish tower is the Archstone. What are the awful gaudy brick(?) towers with the gables?

Which development is aiming for a build-out over the rail yards, and how much of that exists already? Which development is nearer to the park by Museum Way?
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Which development is aiming for a build-out over the rail yards, and how much of that exists already? Which development is nearer to the park by Museum Way?

That is North Point, the Archstone tower is unrelated. There are so far just two buildings built, which personally I really like.

This area has insane potential for development and in a generation once it's been built out these parks will see a lot of use.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

It's a great park - when the trees grow tall this will be another Esplenade. I wonder if it will still be apocolyptically empty then, though...

I've been confused about the different developments here. I understand that the tall deco-ish tower is the Archstone. What are the awful gaudy brick(?) towers with the gables?

Which development is aiming for a build-out over the rail yards, and how much of that exists already? Which development is nearer to the park by Museum Way?

The pond is just a retention pool. The brick towers with the gables are Museum Towers. They used to be rental units but now they are condos. They also are not part of North Point. So far the North Point development has two buildings-Sierra and Tango. Tango is the building with the glass side and colored panels. Sierra is the smaller building with loft condos. We were told that an apartment building about 20 stories will be the first development on the opposite side of the park from Sierra and Tango. They are supposed to break ground within the next 18 months.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Is there where your handle comes from?
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

That first park, i used to look at forlornly when i interned at the museum of science. i so wanted to go over there, but it wasn't open yet. happy to see some pictures now. It also seems to be very reminiscent of parts of Roger Willliams Park in Providence. The little stone lined waterways and grassy areas bring me back to being a kid and going to the Roger Williams Park Zoo.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Nice pictures, kz, but all I can think is "Move along folks, nothing to see here, move along now..." There really isn't much to go on for an architecture & urbanism buff like myself. Just perfectly inoffensive and anonymous "green space" surrounded by buildings that are barely there, despite their bulk.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Seem like pleasant parks, though a bit more sculpture, fountains or other art of some kind would be nice. The dreary architecture surrounding them is a bit soul-deadening.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Besides sit in them, or walk/jog through them, there is not much to do. No flat space for activities. Its all hills, makes great for looking at, but not so much for doing something in.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

That first park, i used to look at forlornly when i interned at the museum of science. i so wanted to go over there, but it wasn't open yet. happy to see some pictures now. It also seems to be very reminiscent of parts of Roger Willliams Park in Providence. The little stone lined waterways and grassy areas bring me back to being a kid and going to the Roger Williams Park Zoo.

I just went there the other week for the first time; it was great! Loved the place. :)
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

That park should see its usage and visibility explode when the Somerville Community Path reaches Boston via the Green Line extension. Right now the design joined at the hip with the extension only gets it as far as the McGrath Hwy. bridge over the Fitchburg Line, but there'll be a separate tack-on project independent of the GL extension to bring it directly connecting to NorthPoint. It's supposed to travel directly under the GL viaduct and new Lechmere station, then turn into NorthPoint via Industrial Park Rd.
 
Re: NorthPoint Cambridge (The one that was train yards, the big plan.)

Once the trees and brush grow in I'm sure it'll become the next hot cruising spot. :rolleyes:
 

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