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

I haven't even tried that location because I assumed parking there would be much more nightmare-ish, whereas I've never had a problem getting a spot in CX.
 
Suffolk 83 said:
The park in the middle is nice but it was a ghost town and I suspect it will sorta always be
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On an overcast weekend afternoon, it wasn’t busy enough to be “interesting” but it did have folks out for a stroll on the paths or playing fetch with their dogs—another uncanny hybrid between placid and interesting.

for me, it argued / foreshadowed that more residents and more employees and more visitors arriving by GLX (plus nicer weather for being outside) will have the potential to make it interesting in the future
 
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Arlington said:
...for me, it argued / foreshadowed that more residents and more employees and more visitors arriving by GLX (plus nicer weather for being outside) will have the potential to make it interesting in the future
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IMO, what it will take to convert that potential into reality will be 1) a streetwall that hugs the central park (meaning that the remaining empty land parcels surrounding it will need to be built), and 2) that there's a serious active effort to fill the many vacant ground level spaces in the existing + new buildings

With large gaps in active ground floor use, be they hundreds of feet of postered-over vacant storefronts and large land gaps (both intentional and due to un-built spaces), I just can't see this area as having the density of attractions to become "a draw". This has nothing to do with me endorsing retail materialism or a privileged lifestyle of eating out all the time: it's just that only so many people who don't already have to go to CX for home/work are going to go out of their way to get there for a couple of cafes and a store and a park.

I say "active effort" above because developers/landlords who can become profitable just based on lab or apartment leasing aren't necessarily going to put in the extra effort toward their ground floors to cut attractive deals with retailers, market the retail opportunities heavily, etc. They have to believe in the mutual benefit of a maximally active use environment.
 
Arlington said:
On an overcast weekend afternoon, it wasn’t busy enough to be “interesting” but it did have folks out for a stroll on the paths or playing fetch with their dogs—another uncanny hybrid between placid and interesting.

for me, it argued / foreshadowed that more residents and more employees and more visitors arriving by GLX (plus nicer weather for being outside) will have the potential to make it interesting in the future
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+1. Exactly. This seems to be taking the same worry pattern as the Seaport........people came once stuff got finished and populated. This one has the additional outlier of the pandemic (which should ease as time goes on). Let it complete and settle before judging the souffle.
 
shmessy said:
+1. Exactly. This seems to be taking the same worry pattern as the Seaport........people came once stuff got finished and populated. This one has the additional outlier of the pandemic (which should ease as time goes on). Let it complete and settle before judging the souffle.
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This neighborhood took the exact opposite approach than Assembly. CX went for big tenants, big retail footprints, and construction throughout the development. The PLAN was for it to take a decade to fill up and feel complete. FRIT's business model is phased sector construction, initially populated by an outlet mall filled with established businesses for a guaranteed mixed use density from day 1. Hopefully both are successful, since they both are creating TOD hubs.
 
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Feels right, @Equilibria. It reminds me of a spot where friends live in München (or one of the revitalized neighborhoods in Stuttgart).

Equilibria said:
I was having lunch with a European co-worker here in the summer, and he said "this looks like Germany".

Boston is famously the "most European" American city, but I hadn't thought of it that way ;)
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bigpicture7 said:
Breathing some more life into this area, hopefully

www.boston.com

Lamplighter Brewing Co. officially opens its second taproom this weekend

Starting this Friday, people can visit Lamplighter's taproom at Cambridge Crossing. Read more at Boston.com.
www.boston.com
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Cool, I'll check this out soon. I rode my bike over to CX when the REI opened, expecting to be able to hit the brewery afterward. Somehow I had missed the fact that it wasn't open yet. Next time I'll be good for a beer or half dozen!
 
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