Hurley Building Redevelopment | 19 Staniford St | West End

Mike said:
I want it to get the Congress Street garage treatment.
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Same put this thing out of its misery once and for all. There is no way to modify the existing monstrosity to make it pedestrian friendly and welcoming. Ground level is the most important part of any building and thats where this thing is world class bad.
 
Fellow aBers, we do realize that this same exact "let's implode the Hurley" / "we must save the Hurley" debate erupts every single time there's an update on this, correct? (Just checking that I'm not trapped in some space-time-distortion-loop).
 
Count me amongst the few who actually like the details of the Government services Center (Granted, I actually like the Lindemann - I don't care about the Hurley as much.) I personally feel it's a good building epically let down by how the state uses it. This approach, through the building into its courtyard should have been celebrated, not turned into a chain link parking lot. The plaza parking lots on the corners are truly terrible - this is what it was supposed to be.
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That said, I like the form, not the structure of it so I'm in favor of thoughtful redevelopment. Even that sculptural entry is vastly under activated... But some grass and trees, perhaps a water feature between the wings and that would be actually a really nice small public park. But that central courtyard... That is just built at a wholly inappropriate scale - I've never seen more than one of the many designed seating areas occupied. Most of those semicircles should have been punctuated by retail spaces connected to the building itself. The central premise that it being available would cause people to hang out in a concrete bowl was grossly overestimated.

Keep the exterior, the "monumental" approaches, but do *something* with the courtyard to create a reason to be there.
 

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bigpicture7 said:
Fellow aBers, we do realize that this same exact "let's implode the Hurley" / "we must save the Hurley" debate erupts every single time there's an update on this, correct? (Just checking that I'm not trapped in some space-time-distortion-loop).
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Yes. And it's gone on since long before even the first proposal for the site, really.

To be fair, my stance has evolved over time. I'm leaning towards "blow it up." I appreciate the art, the artist, and I think there are many examples that could/should be saved. I would still welcome any redevelopment that utilized some of the more unique elements of the complex. But I don't think there's a realistic/feasible scenario in which that happens. And preserving either or both of these whole structures doesn't benefit the city as much as carving up the block and adding a mixed-use development.
 
Are they going to have enough people biting at this? Haven't seen large scale residential talked about in a while, and most small-scale developers I know are holding off for better rates. I imagine it's the same story for the big developers.
 
Mike said:
So the whole ugly thing is going to go not just half of it? This is very exciting!
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That wasn't intimated..
stefal said:
Are they going to have enough people biting at this? Haven't seen large scale residential talked about in a while, and most small-scale developers I know are holding off for better rates. I imagine it's the same story for the big developers.
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"Skate to where the puck is GOING TO BE" Wayne Gretzky

 
Mike said:
I want it to get the Congress Street garage treatment.
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So long as they preserve frogface!

Though I guess I’d be okay if they tore down the lindemann and kept that bit as a standalone sculpture.
 
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