Cambridge Infill and Small Developments

Globe: Harvard Square Theater would be replaced with new building, cinema

Boston Globe said:
The former Harvard Square Theater, a cornerstone of Cambridge’s signature neighborhood for decades before its closure in 2012, would be demolished and replaced with a five-story office and retail complex under a new plan floated Wednesday by owner Gerald Chan.

And in a significant concession to neighbors, Chan plans to include a new, two-screen cinema in the below-ground level of his 50,000-square-foot development. The theater business would likely be managed by Richard Fraiman, the owner of independent theaters in Arlington and Somerville’s Davis Square.
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Merge_01theater01_biz.jpg


EDIT: Ninja'd by bigpicture...
 
Now THAT is good architecture. Highly contextual, but modern with its own identity & presence.
 
I agree - just saw this in the Globe.
Natural light is good for employees.
And, I especially like the small retail fronts... too often these sorts of developments focus on one or two big blobs of space.
 
I assume that the office space would be absorbed by Harvard, like most of the space in the square.
 
After traveling around the country this past month, I have to say that Boston is really going hard in the architecture game lately. These new infill buildings and proposals from the past few years are high-quality. We might still be missing the giant statement buildings downtown, but infill is looking great compared to the rest of the country. Let's hope that developers continue to invest in better architecture going forward as land gets harder to find.
 
So, if the theatre is back...
Can we again have rocky horror showings Saturday at midnight again with the Full Body Cast?

Pretty please.
 
Just dawned on me, but it looks like Cambridge is set to add 3 300'+ buildings over the next few years! Compare this to the current total of....1? 0? 2? This doesn't even include the 2nd MXD 395' tower, or any of the Volpe complex. I believe all 3 are in prep phase.

I searched for all years, Cambridge only on the faa site and sorted by height. This is going to be a pretty serious visual upgrade for Kendall!

One Broadway (MIT) 300'

All 3 links listed 300' structure height on the dot. Here's one.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328511418&row=11


I believe the site is going to be the right side of this shot, sourced from here:
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/marc72/sets/72157625895092864/

one broadway by David Z, on Flickr

More info on this thread:
http://www.archboston.com/community/showthread.php?t=4893&page=9

I think this is it:
Lrfox said:
mit1_zps0ajjjvvj.jpg
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145 Broadway
4 links all showed 300' on the dot. Here's one.

https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=330383104&row=10

This is the shorter MXD Tower by Boston Properties. See more here:
http://www.archboston.com/community/showthread.php?t=5335

Equilibria said:
ofr5ti.png
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MIT Building at 264-292 Main Street. Height 334' (or 381', or 382'?)

This one has radically different heights at different corners. I have no idea where or what the high point is. Here's the total list, shortest to tallest.

NW Corner 313'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902657&row=6

NE Corner 314'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902684&row=5

SW Corner 334'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902656&row=19

"High Point" 381'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=328902687&row=13

Filing a couple months earlier for 382'
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=323543956&row=12

I believe it would be the 381' over the 382', but the only question is what actually comprises this height. So it's either 381' or 334'.

It's this thing. See this thread.
http://www.archboston.com/community/showthread.php?p=280533#post280533

34f34f said:
112816i-new-MIT-dorm.jpg
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stellarfun said:
CyVu-NzUsAETzC3.jpg
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If the 381' is to the top of the box on the right side of the second picture I would say that's the height.

Wow. Prepare yourselves for the next evolution of Kendall Square.
 
I know this probably isn't everyone's favorite project to track in Cambridge, but it is exciting because that part of Albany Street - whilst nonetheless becoming surrounded by glitzy biotechs - is marred by a particularly dumpy stretch of rusty industrial views, surface lots, and a poor pedestrian experience.

New news story out this week says:
As part of the project to upgrade MIT's Central Utilities Plant, the streetscape along the perimeter of the plant will be improved with new lighting on public walkways as well as new public seating, bicycle racks, trees, and other plantings.
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MIT%20COGEN%20SOW2%2007%2010008E.jpg


So basically it's a utilities plant development, but they're (thankfully) going to take the opportunity to stitch the urban fabric together a little better in that area.

Full story here:
http://news.mit.edu/2017/mit-upgrading-cogeneration-plant-to-improve-campus-resiliency-0807

Also a cool video about it:
https://youtu.be/DQZUbxHZ8dw
(note the highly optimistic view of a train whizzing by on the Grand Junction)
 
The expansion has been in talks for a while, and it will be nice to see it actually happen if it will improve the streetscape.

Here's my question, though: Why is Albany Street even necessary at all after it branches into Portland? It connects Portland Street to Main Street, but...those are already connected less than a football field away.

I'd love, love, love to see that stretch of Albany transformed into a small greenway/plaza, effectively connecting the Pfizer campus to Tech Square. You'd need is a little access road for the garage, but there should then be ample room for landscaping.

Thinking forward, Pfizer campus will eventually be part of MIT, and Tech Square probably eventually will as well, MIT I think would want to do something like this. However, I don't know if MIT can actually convince the city to do this even if they wanted to.
 
Gameguy326 said:
The expansion has been in talks for a while, and it will be nice to see it actually happen if it will improve the streetscape.

Here's my question, though: Why is Albany Street even necessary at all after it branches into Portland? It connects Portland Street to Main Street, but...those are already connected less than a football field away.

I'd love, love, love to see that stretch of Albany transformed into a small greenway/plaza, effectively connecting the Pfizer campus to Tech Square. You'd need is a little access road for the garage, but there should then be ample room for landscaping.

Thinking forward, Pfizer campus will eventually be part of MIT, and Tech Square probably eventually will as well, MIT I think would want to do something like this. However, I don't know if MIT can actually convince the city to do this even if they wanted to.
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Tech Square is already part of the official MIT Campus: NE 45; NE 46; NE 47; NE 48; NE 49 -- campus building numbers.

https://whereis.mit.edu/
 
Gameguy326 said:
Here's my question, though: Why is Albany Street even necessary at all after it branches into Portland? It connects Portland Street to Main Street, but...those are already connected less than a football field away.
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The triangle between these streets will be interesting to watch - in my mind it would be an ideal location for a mid-/high-rise combination of grad student and market rate housing.

Last I checked, MIT doesn't have firm plans for the block, but I expect them to continue the lab space expansion here. Happy to be pleasantly surprised by more residential though.

From MIT's 2013 Town-Gown report to Cambridge (PDF):
Its location and scale make it an attractive site for academic uses. e site provides an opportunity to improve street frontage in an area with retail and restaurant space at Tech Square and new retail planned for the future north building on the 610 Main Street site.
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^ I love the ideas being tossed here by all of you...

So your concepts would be to develop this triangle into something mixed-use (e.g., not all biotech lab)...maybe with some height and much needed residential...
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/42....@42.3621995,-71.0939554,18z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e0


AND meanwhile, to perhaps close off that last stretch of Albany to cars (the right-most leg of the triangle in the above map) and make it a pedestrian arcade or a grassy mall/lawn of sorts. That would be SO cool.

In general, I am just perplexed why MIT has been sitting on these fantastically located dilapidated properties for so long. It is so painful to walk by this as everything else develops around it:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.362...=78.04273&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!7i13312!8i6656
and,
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.362...4!1svMsUEHaQoBTJOUIGlGZIFw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

The most insultingly hilarious of them all is the blighted structure that is wrapped in canvas with a photo of itself on the canvas. For crying out loud...
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.362...4!1siktFYUpXZywfjRq5b-V_kA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Does anyone know what is up with that?
 
FYI, ground level at One Broadway is entirely gutted down to the frame with a construction fence around it. Seems that awful renovation is being redone after a short lifespan...however, the alucobond cladding still extends up beyond where they've demo'd, so maybe that is staying.

Either way, ground level is completely demo'd.
 
bigpicture7 said:
FYI, ground level at One Broadway is entirely gutted down to the frame with a construction fence around it. Seems that awful renovation is being redone after a short lifespan...however, the alucobond cladding still extends up beyond where they've demo'd, so maybe that is staying.

Either way, ground level is completely demo'd.
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Are we sure this doesn't have something to do with the MIT expansion next door?
 
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