Hong Lok House | 11-31 Essex Street | Chinatown
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
Actually, I'd like to apologize. While I was exaggerating and expressing a sarcastic opinion, it was through the fog of the flu and lack of sleep. I shouldn't have posted it, and it was utterly disrespectful to those who worked hard to realize the design.
Actually, I'd like to apologize. While I was exaggerating and expressing a sarcastic opinion, it was through the fog of the flu and lack of sleep. I shouldn't have posted it, and it was utterly disrespectful to those who worked hard to realize the design.
Beton Brut
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
And to be fair, my comparison the the Middlesex County Jail is a bit over the top. That said, a project of this scale succeeds or fails based on the materials. The renderings are helpful to see the form and size of the addition, but they make it look (for want of a better term) cheap. Precast concrete and Alucobond can be used in interesting ways. I wish it were the case here.
And to be fair, my comparison the the Middlesex County Jail is a bit over the top. That said, a project of this scale succeeds or fails based on the materials. The renderings are helpful to see the form and size of the addition, but they make it look (for want of a better term) cheap. Precast concrete and Alucobond can be used in interesting ways. I wish it were the case here.
R
RogersonCommunities
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Re: Hong Lok Project - Chinatown
The new Hong Lok House will be 8 stories, with a green roof with useable deck on top. The top four stories are set back to set off the original facades.
The original facades will be as they were: masonry veneer on the current housing, stone on the other standing storefront and the small storefront, which has already been restored and is in storage, is wooden.
The exterior cladding of the top four stories will be composite metal panel.
The new Hong Lok House will be 8 stories, with a green roof with useable deck on top. The top four stories are set back to set off the original facades.
The original facades will be as they were: masonry veneer on the current housing, stone on the other standing storefront and the small storefront, which has already been restored and is in storage, is wooden.
The exterior cladding of the top four stories will be composite metal panel.
tobyjug
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
^^^^ I give you credit for having the stones to wade into the forum. Also, good for you for keeping the facades.
The box behind the facadectomy doesn't look very good. But how much of that part will be visible from the street? The renderings aren't tailored to depict the way most people will see the property... on Essex Street, close or far, or from Boylston. So, a value engineering type question, not a comment: will the cladding, etc. of the box matter to the bystander's visual experience?
^^^^ I give you credit for having the stones to wade into the forum. Also, good for you for keeping the facades.
The box behind the facadectomy doesn't look very good. But how much of that part will be visible from the street? The renderings aren't tailored to depict the way most people will see the property... on Essex Street, close or far, or from Boylston. So, a value engineering type question, not a comment: will the cladding, etc. of the box matter to the bystander's visual experience?
R
RogersonCommunities
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Re: Hong Lok Project - Chinatown
Well, from our perspective, the plans are made, and funded as they are, so there is nothing to defend, only to share. Rogerson has spent five years on the back and forth with numerous agencies, and we do really want everyone to know what's coming. We've done the best we can with the complicated politics that abound and the funding available.
All that said, we truly believe that what will be perceived by the typical passerby will be the street-level facades and the four stories included there, (plus the mansard roof at what is the current Hong Lok House) and we look forward to their return to what once was. It is our fervent hope that it feels small scale as opposed to large. Rogerson has long been committed to historic preservation, even when it is not required, and we are pleased with the outcome of this design overall.
Chinatown has come a long way from the so-called "Combat Zone," (this building was once known as "Playland" and "Essex Liquors"), but it's not over yet, and the elders who worked in this neighborhood and continue to make their lives here will benefit from the establishment of the new Hong Lok House for many years to come. These are not individuals who can be relocated easily to any other neighborhood of our city, and they deserve a quality home in a community that can support them.
Anyone who is interested in attending the groundbreaking ceremony on August 4, please email me at smith@rogerson.org.
Well, from our perspective, the plans are made, and funded as they are, so there is nothing to defend, only to share. Rogerson has spent five years on the back and forth with numerous agencies, and we do really want everyone to know what's coming. We've done the best we can with the complicated politics that abound and the funding available.
All that said, we truly believe that what will be perceived by the typical passerby will be the street-level facades and the four stories included there, (plus the mansard roof at what is the current Hong Lok House) and we look forward to their return to what once was. It is our fervent hope that it feels small scale as opposed to large. Rogerson has long been committed to historic preservation, even when it is not required, and we are pleased with the outcome of this design overall.
Chinatown has come a long way from the so-called "Combat Zone," (this building was once known as "Playland" and "Essex Liquors"), but it's not over yet, and the elders who worked in this neighborhood and continue to make their lives here will benefit from the establishment of the new Hong Lok House for many years to come. These are not individuals who can be relocated easily to any other neighborhood of our city, and they deserve a quality home in a community that can support them.
Anyone who is interested in attending the groundbreaking ceremony on August 4, please email me at smith@rogerson.org.
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
From Boston.com. There's also an accompanying graphic "new on the block" on the site.
Article:
By Kaivan Mangouri
Globe Correspondent / August 4, 2011
Ruth Moy has dedicated almost 40 years to finding housing for Chinatown’s many elderly residents, but she has often been frustrated getting them into available units in this densely packed neighborhood.
“They all have waiting lists, huge waiting lists, and they have closed their application processes,’’ said Moy, founder and executive director of the Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center.
Now Moy has something to celebrate: the ground-breaking today of the Hong Lok House, a $33 million redevelopment on Essex Street that will provide 74 low-cost apartments for seniors, plus space for social services for Chinatown’s other elderly residents. The current Hong Lok House, opened in 1978 and run by Moy’s agency, provides housing for 35 elderly residents and was previously a burlesque joint, a remnant of the days when Chinatown hosted portions of the adult entertainment Combat Zone.
The redevelopment was years in the making, stalled by the economic recession that dried up funding for most sizable real estate projects. But the developers cleared a key hurdle when they sold $17 million in government-provided low-income housing tax credits last month to Boston Capital Corp.
“It’s the most important project that we’ve done because of where it is, what it is, and who it’s for,’’ said James F. Seagle Jr., president of Rogerson Communities, the nonprofit housing provider building the Hong Lok in partnership with the Golden Age Center. “We were ready to go in 2008, and all of a sudden the low-income tax business basically came to a halt.’’
Although Hong Lok will put a dent in the housing issue, there is still work to be done, he added.
“The low-income in Chinatown are the poorest of the poor, and many of them don’t speak English,’’ Seagle said.
The Hong Lok is one of several developments that will try to address Chinatown’s acute need for affordable housing, especially for senior citizens. There are other senior housing options in the neighborhood - nearly half of the subsidized housing there is for elderly - but it is not enough.
Some 14 percent of Chinatown’s population are elderly, many of whom are extremely poor, according to US Census data. Meanwhile, the few recent developments in and around the neighborhood have been pricey modern projects that have added to the pressures on that tiny real estate market.
The new Hong Lok site encompasses two existing buildings and two adjacent empty lots. Construction will proceed in phases, with one of the sections expected to be available for occupancy within a year. The old Hong Lok will then be razed and replaced by the larger eight-story main building.
Once finished, Hong Lok will have about 80 residents in 74 apartments. The Golden Age Center expects to also double its day program and other social services with the larger building. Hong Lok will offer physical activities, such as tai chi and ballroom dancing, on a huge roof deck and green space, an unusual haven in one of the city’s most crowded districts.
Because they depend on the Chinatown community for their basic needs, Moy said, residents are especially excited that they will not be displaced during construction, which was a prime consideration for designer Chia-Ming Sze Architects.
The developers are also required to preserve several of the older building facades, and they have raised $5 million so far for preservation from private donors including State Street Corp., Tufts Medical Center, and Bank of America Corp.’s Charles H. Farnsworth Trust.
Jeffrey W. Sacks, a partner at law firm Nixon Peabody LLP who has represented Rogerson since the Hong Lok project’s inception, said the new building will enhance the lives of residents.
Sacks added that a complex project such as Hong Lok required collaboration among government officials, philanthropists, and developers, many of whom will be on hand for today’s ground-breaking.
“They all had to be aligned properly to get this project under construction,’’ Sacks said. “It’s only by teaming up and working together that a project like this gets done.’’
Kaivan Mangouri can be reached at kmangouri@globe.com.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/business/arti...n_housing_addresses_acute_need/?p1=News_links
From Boston.com. There's also an accompanying graphic "new on the block" on the site.
Article:
By Kaivan Mangouri
Globe Correspondent / August 4, 2011
Ruth Moy has dedicated almost 40 years to finding housing for Chinatown’s many elderly residents, but she has often been frustrated getting them into available units in this densely packed neighborhood.
“They all have waiting lists, huge waiting lists, and they have closed their application processes,’’ said Moy, founder and executive director of the Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center.
Now Moy has something to celebrate: the ground-breaking today of the Hong Lok House, a $33 million redevelopment on Essex Street that will provide 74 low-cost apartments for seniors, plus space for social services for Chinatown’s other elderly residents. The current Hong Lok House, opened in 1978 and run by Moy’s agency, provides housing for 35 elderly residents and was previously a burlesque joint, a remnant of the days when Chinatown hosted portions of the adult entertainment Combat Zone.
The redevelopment was years in the making, stalled by the economic recession that dried up funding for most sizable real estate projects. But the developers cleared a key hurdle when they sold $17 million in government-provided low-income housing tax credits last month to Boston Capital Corp.
“It’s the most important project that we’ve done because of where it is, what it is, and who it’s for,’’ said James F. Seagle Jr., president of Rogerson Communities, the nonprofit housing provider building the Hong Lok in partnership with the Golden Age Center. “We were ready to go in 2008, and all of a sudden the low-income tax business basically came to a halt.’’
Although Hong Lok will put a dent in the housing issue, there is still work to be done, he added.
“The low-income in Chinatown are the poorest of the poor, and many of them don’t speak English,’’ Seagle said.
The Hong Lok is one of several developments that will try to address Chinatown’s acute need for affordable housing, especially for senior citizens. There are other senior housing options in the neighborhood - nearly half of the subsidized housing there is for elderly - but it is not enough.
Some 14 percent of Chinatown’s population are elderly, many of whom are extremely poor, according to US Census data. Meanwhile, the few recent developments in and around the neighborhood have been pricey modern projects that have added to the pressures on that tiny real estate market.
The new Hong Lok site encompasses two existing buildings and two adjacent empty lots. Construction will proceed in phases, with one of the sections expected to be available for occupancy within a year. The old Hong Lok will then be razed and replaced by the larger eight-story main building.
Once finished, Hong Lok will have about 80 residents in 74 apartments. The Golden Age Center expects to also double its day program and other social services with the larger building. Hong Lok will offer physical activities, such as tai chi and ballroom dancing, on a huge roof deck and green space, an unusual haven in one of the city’s most crowded districts.
Because they depend on the Chinatown community for their basic needs, Moy said, residents are especially excited that they will not be displaced during construction, which was a prime consideration for designer Chia-Ming Sze Architects.
The developers are also required to preserve several of the older building facades, and they have raised $5 million so far for preservation from private donors including State Street Corp., Tufts Medical Center, and Bank of America Corp.’s Charles H. Farnsworth Trust.
Jeffrey W. Sacks, a partner at law firm Nixon Peabody LLP who has represented Rogerson since the Hong Lok project’s inception, said the new building will enhance the lives of residents.
Sacks added that a complex project such as Hong Lok required collaboration among government officials, philanthropists, and developers, many of whom will be on hand for today’s ground-breaking.
“They all had to be aligned properly to get this project under construction,’’ Sacks said. “It’s only by teaming up and working together that a project like this gets done.’’
Kaivan Mangouri can be reached at kmangouri@globe.com.
© Copyright 2011 Globe Newspaper Company.
http://www.boston.com/business/arti...n_housing_addresses_acute_need/?p1=News_links
Boston02124
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
today
today
Boston02124
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
JohnAKeith
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
Oh. Guess this is kind of a repost, then.
Oh. Guess this is kind of a repost, then.
Boston02124
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
yes but I like ur's better today>
yes but I like ur's better today>
Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
Small new render from Boston.com gallery:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/boston/downtown/gallery/downtown_boston_transformed?pg=8
Small new render from Boston.com gallery:
http://www.boston.com/yourtown/boston/downtown/gallery/downtown_boston_transformed?pg=8
SeamusMcFly
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
Is it really going to be a metal panel building above and behind the "historic architecture" of the facades?
Awful.
Is it really going to be a metal panel building above and behind the "historic architecture" of the facades?
Awful.
stellarfun
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
To me, it looks like one facade preserved DC-style, two new Potemkin facades (resembling what was there before) erected, and the new building behind all three.
To me, it looks like one facade preserved DC-style, two new Potemkin facades (resembling what was there before) erected, and the new building behind all three.
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
http://www.rogerson.org/current_projects.php?cat=5#HongLok
From what I understand it (the current senior center) will be gutted. The next section will be new front entry for the complex. The next is the a preservation of what you see in the render and the fourth facade (which is currently in storage) and next to the Registery Building will compete the west end street face of the complex. The new building will be built behind and above. I found the attached which may help.
http://www.rogerson.org/current_projects.php?cat=5#HongLok
Boston02124
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
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Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
Shot of the Hong Lok crane from the southeast. I was standing on the bridge above the entrance to the I93 tunnel.
[/url]
Chinatown Crane 4/29 by snagshead67, on Flickr[/IMG]
Shot of the Hong Lok crane from the southeast. I was standing on the bridge above the entrance to the I93 tunnel.
Chinatown Crane 4/29 by snagshead67, on Flickr[/IMG]
Re: Hong Luk Project - Chinatown
Hey, BeeLine, thanks for showing the shots on aB rather than requiring a click through. It's appreciated.
(The code you grab from flickr actually already includes the IMG tags so you can just copy and paste it into your post, rather than surrounding it with another set of tags. Not a big deal, but it will save you a second or two per shot.)
Hey, BeeLine, thanks for showing the shots on aB rather than requiring a click through. It's appreciated.
(The code you grab from flickr actually already includes the IMG tags so you can just copy and paste it into your post, rather than surrounding it with another set of tags. Not a big deal, but it will save you a second or two per shot.)