CambridgeSide Galleria Reno/Redev | First Street | East Cambridge

[BeeLine]

IMG_0130 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_0131 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_0133 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_0136 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_0134 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr

 

[bigpicture7]

IMG_0134 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr

^Great shots Beeline. Btw, it's clear that on the Macy's side they were doing foundation and structural prep work for the new lab building within the old structure before they took it down. This is allowing for the new steel to be rising almost immediately after the demo was completed.

 

[BeeLine]

IMG_0124 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_0126 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr

 

[shmessy]

In hot market for lab space, a biotech startup to replace the former CambridgeSide Sears - The Boston Globe

CambridgeSide, one of the most successful malls in Greater Boston before the pandemic, may see new life with a burgeoning biotech company seeking redevelopment in the complex.

www.bostonglobe.com

In hot market for lab space, a biotech startup will replace the former CambridgeSide Sears
Prime Medicine signs lease for three floors in shuttered East Cambridge department store
By Anissa Gardizy and Tim Logan Globe Staff,Updated January 13, 2022, 9:46 a.m.

 

[bigpicture7]

In hot market for lab space, a biotech startup to replace the former CambridgeSide Sears - The Boston Globe

CambridgeSide, one of the most successful malls in Greater Boston before the pandemic, may see new life with a burgeoning biotech company seeking redevelopment in the complex.

www.bostonglobe.com

In hot market for lab space, a biotech startup will replace the former CambridgeSide Sears
Prime Medicine signs lease for three floors in shuttered East Cambridge department store
By Anissa Gardizy and Tim Logan Globe Staff,Updated January 13, 2022, 9:46 a.m.

Nice that lease activity is kicking up here as the project continues. But, man, you gotta love Globe headlines these days: "Prime Medicine signs lease for three floors in shuttered East Cambridge department store." Really? That makes it sounds like Sears vacated and then they rolled out the lab benches onto the retail floor. Prime Medicine is not "leasing three floors of Sears." The developer basically demo'd the entire freaking building and are spending hundreds of millions to build an entirely new facility. Biotechs don't just lease space in Sears's.

 

[navigator4]

Nice that lease activity is kicking up here as the project continues. But, man, you gotta love Globe headlines these days: "Prime Medicine signs lease for three floors in shuttered East Cambridge department store." Really? That makes it sounds like Sears vacated and then they rolled out the lab benches onto the retail floor. Prime Medicine is not "leasing three floors of Sears." The developer basically demo'd the entire freaking building and are spending hundreds of millions to build an entirely new facility. Biotechs don't just lease space in Sears's.

The article makes that clear. It's the Globe's horrible headline writers who apparently don't bother to read the articles before adding the headlines.

 

[RandomWalk]

Seritage Growth Properties (Eddie Lampert’s REIT holding many old Sears properties) would jump at leasing to biotechs, but none of them are dumb enough to fall for his grift.

 

[bigpicture7]

Sears side (today, 1/22). Massive boxed-web columns being welded into place into the existing structure, presumably to carry the load of the added floors. This is a different approach than the Macy's side where they did a total demo and the new structure will be much taller.

 

[kz1000ps]

 

[bigpicture7]

Gilbane press release on the 60 First St. project (former Sears parcel):

Gilbane Begins Construction Phase Activities at 60 First Street in Cambridge

Cambridge, MA (PRWEB) January 31, 2022 -- Gilbane Building Company, a leading builder of life sciences and commercial facilities in Massachusetts, has begun

www.prweb.com

Pointed to a 60 First development webpage I hadn't seen before:

https://60firstcambridge.com/

...Which included several renders of the Cambridgeside development and 60 First building that I hadn't noticed on aB before:

 

[BeeLine]

IMG_1455 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_1461 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_1462 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr
IMG_1463 by Bos Beeline, on Flickr

 

[Brad Plaid]

This has evolved nicely from a too-red dullard to something a bit more stylish. And the roof mechs look articulated / integrated rather than the usual unconsidered afterthought.

 

[bigpicture7]

Big design review set posted today. These are two designs that we've not (to my knowledge) seen previously, posted in advance of a March 8 Planning Board meeting.

PB-364

special permit application

www.cambridgema.gov

The first is for 150 Cambridgeside Place which is the corner parcel currently occupied by Best Buy (presentation link):

The second is for 80 First St, which is the middle parcel on the First St. side, currently the above-ground parking garage (presentation link)

 

[RandomWalk]

The first render of 150 looks heavily inspired by the Four Seasons on the Public Garden.

 

[bigpicture7]

The first render of 150 looks heavily inspired by the Four Seasons on the Public Garden.

I can see some resemblance; more importantly, though, I'm just glad there's no staggered windows

 

[stick n move]

If you look close they still squeaked in colossal order, with the brick framing the windows in pairs of 2 floors each. It looks fine though but its just funny that they still got it in there.

The vertical masonry lines with black floor plates harkens back to the stylistic language of art deco towers and its a great touch. Idk why weve gotten so far away from this lately, but I hope we start seeing more of this. Of course they didnt use colossal order, but if this is the next evolution of colossal order Im all for it.

 

[bigpicture7]

New steel starting to go vertical atop the (heavily reinforced) remnants of the old Sears structure @ the 60 First parcel. A large crawler type crane is (a bit annoyingly) occupying most of First St.

 

[RandomWalk]

I wonder if two tower cranes would have interfered with each other too much.

 

[bigpicture7]

I wonder if two tower cranes would have interfered with each other too much.

Yeah, possibly. Also, on the other side of the building there's basically zero space available. They built a protected walkway/tunnel for people to get to the food court, and that basically consumed the available flat land between the former Sears footprint and where the landscaping starts around the head of the canal.

 

[Arenacale]

2/20/22