Ferdinand Building Renovation + Addition | Dudley Sq | Roxbury

Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

From the Bus Depot
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Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

davem said:
I really hate the font. Its got an industrial-chic feel that's great in the north end and seaport, but doesn't historically apply to Dudley. It should be something jazzy
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Would a font more like this be better:
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Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

davem said:
I really hate the font. Its got an industrial-chic feel that's great in the north end and seaport, but doesn't historically apply to Dudley. It should be something jazzy
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Do you realize that amount of industry that used to be in Roxbury? You could jump from smokestack to smokestack from Centre Street in JP up Columbus Avenue and then east to City Hospital a hundred years ago.

My fossilized self remembers watching a factory burn behind what is now the Reggie Lewis Track Center in the early 70's.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

JohnCostello said:
Do you realize that amount of industry that used to be in Roxbury? You could jump from smokestack to smokestack from Centre Street in JP up Columbus Avenue and then east to City Hospital a hundred years ago.

My fossilized self remembers watching a factory burn behind what is now the Reggie Lewis Track Center in the early 70's.
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I'm not talking about all of Roxbury, but Dudley Square itself. My understanding of the area is that it was the commercial and entertainment center of Roxbury, while industry was on the periphery.

Needless to say, my complaint about the sign is that the vertical scale is too high, the horizontal scale is too small, and it could use a degree or two of skew.

I put this together quick.
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Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

Davem, I totally agree that the proportions are weirdly off. But I also agree that a jazz-age typeface would kick every other style's ass.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

Not sure I "get" why having the name "Dudley" in lights is a good idea. Neighborhood pride? To prevent confusion with Copley? Dunno. Seems odd.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

Tombstoner said:
Not sure I "get" why having the name "Dudley" in lights is a good idea. Neighborhood pride? To prevent confusion with Copley? Dunno. Seems odd.
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To enhance the Genius Loci (sense of place) in this forgotten area undergoing rebirth. It's a great branding strategy.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

That's how I always know when I'm in Citgo Square.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

I think a jazzier font would look more like a déclassé billboard atop a roof. What they're proposing is more of a complete and integrated - and purposeful - package. The DUDLEY letters they're planning speak nicely to the vertical orientation of the fenestration creating a nice unity of aesthetic. I think it's going to work out great.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

datadyne007 said:
To enhance the Genius Loci (sense of place) in this forgotten area undergoing rebirth. It's a great branding strategy.
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I agree, and think that as long as they pick a font and stick with it, almost any font will work as the "Dudley Font"...they are free to reclaim/evoke any (one) era from its past: Gilded, Vaudeville, Deco, Mid-Century, Greek Revival, Romanesque.

It probably matters more that it be *unlike* any other square, that it be *like* Dudley (since we don't really know what Dudley "is"....yet). It probably should be slightly quirky to ensure that it remains "unlike" stuff that others pick in the future.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

Just when I thought this development couldn't get any better. Looks great.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

I love this!
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

This is one of a few projects where the renderings don't do the final product. Justice
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

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Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

Was liking everything about this project, but wow, those window treatments on the side facade are awkward and unattractive.
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

Dudley Square’s comeback tied to historic structure
Overhaul of Ferdinand Building spurs business, development plans

Dudley Square has fallen a long way since the days of Frank Ferdinand, the 19th-century entrepreneur who opened a popular furniture store that once made Roxbury a retail destination. It has battled back in recent years, but still suffers from scattered graffiti and boarded-up storefronts, and razor wire around some property tells of crime that still lingers.

A $120 million effort to rehabilitate Ferdinand’s namesake commercial building in the heart of Dudley has brought the first real signs of a renewal. Starbucks wants to open in the building. So do the owners of Tasty Burger, Parish Cafe, and Salvatore’s restaurant.

Businesses and developers are proposing new offices, hotels, restaurants, and retail boutiques. A supermarket is also being planned, along with hundreds of residences.

“Everything is changing in Dudley, and in a good way,” said Humayun Morshed, a young businessman who owns several convenience stores. He is proposing to open an ice cream shop in Dudley Square named after Ferdinand himself.

The Ferdinand Building, a prominent Baroque and Renaissance Revival structure built in the 1880s, is propelling a revival that has been inching along for years. When the restoration is completed next year, the building will become the new home of the Boston Public Schools administration, and six new retail spaces will open on its ground floor.

An open house last Thursday for retailers vying to fill those spots brought out a range of businesses, including a representative from Starbucks and franchisees for Dunkin’ Donuts and Burger King. Local retailers, such as the Asian restaurant Bon Me and fashion boutique Touch of Class, also came to make their pitches.

A committee of city officials and neighborhood representatives will select winning bidders from a pool of 22 businesses that made proposals to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Officials said they were impressed by the turnout and hope to announce the winners within months, in plenty of time for the building’s grand reopening next year.

In addition to hundreds of school employees who will move into the square — it sits at Boston’s geographic center — Mayor Martin J. Walsh said he is hoping to boost employment in the area by attracting companies from growing sectors like biotechnology.

“I think there’s an opportunity for light manufacturing and office space,” he said. “If we can create an economy there and jobs and stability, you’re going to see more people in that neighborhood buy homes and invest in their homes.”

Earlier this year, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began an effort to open startup space in the square for technology entrepreneurs. The project, named Smarter in the City, still needs funding.

Change won’t happen overnight. Much of Dudley Square is still suffering from the urban blight that took hold in the 1950s and ’60s, emptying the area of thousands of residents and many of its once-popular retailers. Crime, drugs, and poverty are still evident, fueling occasional bursts of street violence.

The Ferdinand Building closed in the 1970s after years of declining business. It opened in the mid-19th century, and owner Frank Ferdinand expanded over the next two decades, constructing a block-long store that became a predecessor — in size and popularity — to the Filene’s Building that would later open downtown.

A Boston Globe article on the expanded store’s opening celebration in September 1887 reported that guests included “nearly everybody of social and political importance in Roxbury.”

Today, business people say its resurrection as a retail mecca is crucial to the broader success of the square.

The range of businesses operating there is limited — a few clothing shops, a couple of cellphone stores, take out restaurants, and a Rent-A-Center.

“If you have players like Tasty Burger, Starbucks, and Parish Cafe, it’s going to get everyone’s attention,” said Darryl Settles, a restaurateur who is proposing an Italian restaurant for the building. “I think it’s going to come together this time.”

In addition to the restoration of the Ferdinand Building, a new police station has been built and a public library branch has been refurbished. The area is also home to the MBTA’s Dudley Station, one of the busiest transit stops in the city.

Several long-vacant parcels around the square have attracted bold development proposals.

At the former Bartlett bus yard, developers have won approval to build more than 100 residences, a parking garage, and commercial space. A vacant lot on Melnea Cass Boulevard has attracted plans for a Tropical Foods supermarket, stores, and residences.

Edna Freeman has been waiting to see signs of renewal for more than 60 years. The lifelong Roxbury resident attended the retail open house last Thursday and chatted with business owners she has known for years.

“It’s good to see that we have a diverse group and a lot of people who are going to be vying to open up in this building,” she said. “I’m hoping that some of these businesses will be able to employ the youth of this area. We need to show them that there is a path to reaching the top.”
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...dley-square/Yum2wcS2kAT0MDkqVtEuoK/story.html
 
Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

lynqueezy said:
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The window placement on the facade on this side of the building was changed since the last rendering. It's a matter of opinion, but I prefer the original design. It's a fairly minor change and overall, this is well executed project. Older rendering here:

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Re: Dudley Sq's Ferdinand Building to be Restored/ Renovated

wow... i love this
 
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