Hotel | 7-9 Hamilton Place | Downtown

Equilibria

Equilibria

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Technically an SPRA, but this seems prominent enough to get a thread.

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Love this. It's the right building for the right spot; an alley that's needed an upgrade for decades. And the chance to reopen ground floor windows and create a more alive and historical area.
 
What a great proposal. I'd love to see it happen. I REALLY wish Boston had the equivalent of a Belden Place in San Francsicso or a Stone Street in NYC. I had hope (and still hope) that Quaker Lane would go that route. But this would be a good spot too.
 
I'm a fan - you can see it respecting its context/the urban fabric while using some new stuff and interpretations as well, especially the derivations from the traditional bay windows. Also interested to see how the terra cotta turns out.
 
I love this plan of changing these little alleys, the way the former alley around the corner on Boylston (where the nightclubs used to be and is now, I believe, an Emerson building) was before it got developed. The design is cool and echoes MT and soon Winthrop, but dare I say, it could be a bit taller so as to reach a bit above the lowrises around it, just a bit, like maybe 50 feet or so.
 
gac108 said:
but dare I say, it could be a bit taller so as to reach a bit above the lowrises around it, just a bit, like maybe 50 feet or so.
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This is how you know they probably have a high-integrity attorney.

A duplicitous attorney would say, "sure, I can easily get you zoning relief if you want to build above the as-of-right height [125'] for that zoning district. Why, back in law school, they used to call me 'Lionel "Mr. Zoning Relief" Hutz.' The cost in time and expense will be miniscule!"

The honest attorney says, "if you guys can hit your necessary ROI without violating the as-of-right height [125'] for that zoning district, then I strongly urge you to do so. The development politics in the Ladder District are so contentious, that this actually happened. It will be incredibly costly and time-consuming for you to seek that kind of zoning relief, and you will likely expose yourself to severe, bitter criticism and condemnation from a variety of quarters, and will probably make enemies you can ill-afford."

[Now, whether that as-of-right height of 125' ought to be changed--I don't know; I leave that to the BPDA and the constellation of community stakeholders invested in such matters.]
 
DBM said:
This is how you know they probably have a high-integrity attorney.

A duplicitous attorney would say, "sure, I can easily get you zoning relief if you want to build above the as-of-right height [125'] for that zoning district. Why, back in law school, they used to call me 'Lionel "Mr. Zoning Relief" Hutz.' The cost in time and expense will be miniscule!"

The honest attorney says, "if you guys can hit your necessary ROI without violating the as-of-right height [125'] for that zoning district, then I strongly urge you to do so. The development politics in the Ladder District are so contentious, that this actually happened. It will be incredibly costly and time-consuming for you to seek that kind of zoning relief, and you will likely expose yourself to severe, bitter criticism and condemnation from a variety of quarters, and will probably make enemies you can ill-afford."

[Now, whether that as-of-right height of 125' ought to be changed--I don't know; I leave that to the BPDA and the constellation of community stakeholders invested in such matters.]
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I was just speaking aesthetically, but being as buildings mere feet away from it are over 125', it seems silly for that one spot not to be. I just think bumping it closer to 200' would give it that much more visibility and popularity when viewed from the Common, which would be a strong selling point for the hotel and a few potential nice views.
 
gac108 said:
I just think bumping it closer to 200' would give it that much more visibility and popularity when viewed from the Common, which would be a strong selling point for the hotel and a few potential nice views.
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Possibly, but then again, for me at least, the guilty pleasure found in alley buildings is that you turn a corner, having no idea that it's there, and then, bam, it's right in your face. If it's visible from a distance, it lacks that mysterious factor.
 
beck4537 said:
Hope this hotel has a roof deck. Boston needs more roof decks to hang out on.
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At the roof deck level, the west side of the building mass is sculpted away and stepped back from the Common. In addition to creating an open-air amenity roof deck overlooking the park, this massing move alleviates any shadow impacts on the Common as well as breaks down the scale of the structure within the Tremont Street skyline. p1-11.

Looking forward to this!
 
gac108 said:
I was just speaking aesthetically, but being as buildings mere feet away from it are over 125', it seems silly for that one spot not to be. I just think bumping it closer to 200' would give it that much more visibility and popularity when viewed from the Common, which would be a strong selling point for the hotel and a few potential nice views.
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Shadows on the Common are probably a concern, real or otherwise.
 
This had actually been withdrawn and was resubmitted today. There don't seem to have been any architectural changes.
 
www.bostonglobe.com

12-story hotel could rise in downtown alley next to Orpheum Theatre - The Boston Globe

A low-rise building a stone's throw from Boston's historic Orpheum Theatre could be transformed into a 12-story hotel.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

"..... The development team is avoiding casting new shadows on the Boston Common — an issue which has bedeviled other taller buildings in this neighborhood — by pulling back a portion of the building’s roof, which also allows for creating an open-air roof deck with park views....." - - - open-air roof deck? (y) :)

Other notes of interest:

- Hotel will be 80 rooms
-Ground floor cafe
- No car-parking, but an 8 stall bike storage area.
-gaol: construction starts early 2023 finished by late 2024

WOW!!! Talk about optimization of a location.
 
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> - No car-parking, but an 8 stall bike storage area.

Ok .... i really did laugh out loud when I read that. What a useless perk for a hotel.
 
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