Ink Block (Boston Herald) | 300 Harrison Avenue | South End

Hotel moving forward


A year after first announcing the project, construction is set to move forward with the AC Hotel by Marriott at National Development’s Ink Block development in Boston’s South End.

National Development this week transferred the ownership of the land between an entity that controls Ink Block’s land acquisition and a second that controls development and financing, said Kathy McMahon, the firm’s vice president of marketing and communications. The $10 million deal for 223 and 227 Albany St., the site of the hotel, closed on Feb. 23, according to a Suffolk County deed.

National Development will start demolition on the site in 30 days, McMahon said. Construction on the 200-room hotel is scheduled to be finished in late 2017, she said.
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http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...evelopment-moving-forward-with-ink-block.html
 
Mike said:
Hotel moving forward


http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/r...evelopment-moving-forward-with-ink-block.html
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Mike if it's anything like the AC Hotel being built near Alewife off Rt-2

In Cambridge the AC Hotel is a large part prefab wood panels with 2X4 structure that is sitting on a poured concrete foundation. There is very little steel or concrete above the ground floor -- and it rises almost as fast as typical residential framing -- I predict that it will be up and near complete by the time the leaves finish falling
 
Looks decent.



Its density Ill take it.

Image is from Boston Business Journal, they apparently wont let you link photos so I ripped it uploaded it to photobucket. Cant hold ArchBoston down, sue me.
 
stick n move said:
Looks decent.


Its density Ill take it.

Image is from Boston Business Journal, they apparently wont let you link photos so I ripped it uploaded it to photobucket. Cant hold ArchBoston down, sue me.
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Stick -- drive or take the T to Alewife -- the exact same AC hotel is going up just off Rt-2

4255783.jpg

apparently it is opening in August this year

However, it is much further along in the process with the exterior cladding finally being installed -- for a while I thought that the exterior was going to be Blue Fiberglass ;)
 
Not bad, but I'd call for more height in this spot (in fact I think it was approved taller). Not height for heights' sake, but I wish this was going to be about the same size as Troy next door, as a means of almost blocking/creating more of a physical and psychological barrier separating 93 from this section of the South End. I'd like to see anything close to the highway on future parcels (I'm looking at you, Boston Flower Exchange) to have more height closer to the highway and maybe step down as it approaches Albany street in the case of flower exchange.
 
Deetroyt said:
Not bad, but I'd call for more height in this spot (in fact I think it was approved taller). Not height for heights' sake, but I wish this was going to be about the same size as Troy next door, as a means of almost blocking/creating more of a physical and psychological barrier separating 93 from this section of the South End. I'd like to see anything close to the highway on future parcels (I'm looking at you, Boston Flower Exchange) to have more height closer to the highway and maybe step down as it approaches Albany street in the case of flower exchange.
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The Harrison Albany Corridor is zoned that way for exactly the reason you outlined. This developer, for whatever reason, is not using the available zoning height.
 
^because they don't want to block the view of the beautiful highway for the people paying top dollar for their condos on the other side of the block.

In all seriousness, I think I understand why they're not building more keys into this building? The greatest demand for hotel occupancy is conventions and sports games, all of which are just far enough from this hotel to be annoying to get to if you're visiting the city without a car and need to walk or take transit and at the going rate that we're not building safe biking infrastructure, we can bet most tourists aren't going to be using Hubway to get from here to a con or game. Hotel shuttles can be more useful than even dedicated shuttles for big events, but I can't see that factoring into a lot of people's decision-making process when picking a hotel for a big event.

They're probably hedging their bets on any dramatic change in accessibility to heavy hotel use from this site and have apportioned the number of keys that they know they can fill on general tourism alone.
 
I don't think that's right. Even low-mid price hotels in industrial Somerville go for $200-$300 a night due to demand from business travelers. Boston has the tightest hotel market in the continental US - it's not just sports/convention visitors.
 
Ink Block isn't exactly a transit desert, is it? It's less than half a mile to either Tufts Medical Center or to Broadway (admittedly not the most pleasant walk). Not to mention SL Washington, which, though a joke, is at least on the subway map and therefore "tourist accessible"

The Flower Exchange development, for example - that will be very far from transit.
 
If anything, Ink Block being a "transit desert" goes to show how much of a mental barrier highways can be. The Pike and the Expressway make you feel like you're on a little bit of an island down there, although, like Shep said, you're totally not.
 
I'll agree, it's far from being a desert, but it's also not what I consider easy to get to. I'll walk to Ink Block occasionally, but only because I know how to get there from any number of directions.

Might the developer be going low over construction costs? Is it a sound issue?
 
Before living in the south end I didn't like the silver line either but it's actually quite good. If you can get over it's a bus and not a subway that is. Its more reliable than the subway because dead busses can be driven around and they come more frequently! I rarely wait more than 6-7 minutes and I'd say that average is about 4. Its not a transit desert
 
I'll echo the positive comments about the SL and reiterate that Broadway is VERY close.
 
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