Dorm Tower @ Emerson College | 1-3 Boylston Place | Downtown

Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

Losing restaurants/night life with no replacement in the new project? Just a "lounge" for residents? Ugh.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

Hoping this one doesn't go through. Sure, Boylston Place isn't utilized to its fullest potential as far as I've ever seen. If you could squeeze some cafes with outdoor seating in there and do something to hide (Emerson's) loading docks at the end it would make for a great spot. Reminds me of some of the lanes of carriage houses in Brooklyn Heights or London.

Bulldozing 19th-century masonry buildings to construct a 15-story dorm does not help your charm factor.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

Seems like Emerson desperately wants to change The Alley from a popular nightclub destination to a sterile quad that's only used by students and people who work in the Transportation Building.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

On the bright side, the Tavern remains and there will soon be two liquor licenses that can be put to vastly better use.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

Good God, they are packing those poor kids in there like sardines. The bedrooms are legit the length of a desk, bed, and closet and the space between the beds is legit the width of the door. The suites also have no common area, nor do the floors. They are giving each suite of 6 two complete bathrooms though.

KZ - the windows are aligned!!!
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

kmp1284 said:
On the bright side, the Tavern remains and there will soon be two liquor licenses that can be put to vastly better use.
Click to expand...

Seems like a small bright side compared to deadening what's currently a lively courtyard.

Also, what's a vastly better use? One's a popular nightclub and the other is a popular tavern.
 
Last edited:
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

The PNF report alleges a benefit of this project by stating something to the effect that by removing the outdoor seating area from Sweetwater Tavern pedestrians will have more room to maneuver on the sidewalk. Well I guess that is one way to put a positive spin on removing sidewalk cafes!
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

commuter guy said:
The PNF report alleges a benefit of this project by stating something to the effect that by removing the outdoor seating area from Sweetwater Tavern pedestrians will have more room to maneuver on the sidewalk. Well I guess that is one way to put a positive spin on removing sidewalk cafes!
Click to expand...

What a scam... the Alley is a dead-end pedestrian zone...
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

Ings would not comment on the fate of the establishments currently at the address, including The Estate nightclub and Sweetwater Tavern, other than to say the college is in contact with the owners. She said Emerson does not plan to have a bar on the ground floor of a dorm.
- See more at: http://bostonherald.com/business/re..._back_boylston_dorm_plan#sthash.1ybGiVyE.dpuf
Click to expand...

Hah. Yeah right "no comment." "We don't plan to have a bar" and "we're in contact with the owners" is a comment saying "they're gone."
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

Northeastern has Punters in the ground floor of a dorm.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

datadyne007 said:
Northeastern has Punters in the ground floor of a dorm.
Click to expand...

Officially, no. Punters is a single-story, stand-alone building not owned by the university.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

datadyne007 said:
Northeastern has Punters in the ground floor of a dorm.
Click to expand...

And Punters is almost certainly on its way out with NU's next phase of improvements, whenever they happen.

Although my recollection is that the owner, Steve, considers Punters to be something of a 'hobby' bar for him.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

No performance space or dining hall, but hey the height reduction means no shadows on the common...who are these people with such pull with the BRA?
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

^ Back Bay/Beacon Hill folks who want their front yard devoid of shadows from the city that they choose to live in...

Honestly this decision by the BRA makes this project even worse than the original. They made Emerson take out the two parts of this project that would keep Boylston Place somewhat lively. This permutation of the plan just sucks sucks sucks.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

datadyne007 said:
Good God, they are packing those poor kids in there like sardines. The bedrooms are legit the length of a desk, bed, and closet and the space between the beds is legit the width of the door. The suites also have no common area, nor do the floors. They are giving each suite of 6 two complete bathrooms though.

KZ - the windows are aligned!!!
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking as well. There isn't even enough space for a chair. Terrible....
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

palindrome said:
That's what I was thinking as well. There isn't even enough space for a chair. Terrible....
Click to expand...

Some asshole consultant once posited that constructing small dorm rooms with the minimum footprint possibles encourages students to go out into the community and collaborate and innovate and socialite with each other. And that's maybe a semiplausible theory if you have a campus in the rolling hills of western who cares where there's space and a donor base to build community gathering centers. Doesn't work so well in an urban setting. Jeeeesus, these idiot boards and college presidents keep falling for it though.
 
Re: Emerson college expansion into Boylston Place

If you read the PNF, it looks as though they estimated there would be an insignificant (my word) addition of shadow on the Common.

Something doesn't add up.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top