Kendall Common ( née Volpe Redevelopment) | Kendall Sq | Cambridge

George_Apley said:
The progress of this development makes me think it's increasingly unlikely that there's a Stranger Things-style portal underneath the Volpe building. Disappointing.
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I mean... they do experiments here. There might well be a portal into some alternate dimension where they pull over tech, policies, and practices to implement in this universe for their clients...

whighlander said:
cambridge-volpe-redevelopment-project-east-elevation-view-1080x1080.jpg
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Holy cow this rendering of the east face makes this building look great. Having recently been up close and personal with the building to wait for a friend who works here, there's no doubt that the new building will comparatively have a better relationship with the street, even though it'll still be set back a considerable distance from the street. The 4-storey atrium and open lobby will make it feel more inviting and less hostile. The blank face on Binney isn't doing anything to help activate the street.

When I zoom in to the street level on this render from the site whig linked, it definitely feels like the loading dock/back of house of an SOM skyscraper plucked from NYC's financial district...

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This is hot. Just saying.

cca
 
What's with the "1 2 3 4 5 6" on the facade, I wonder? A placeholder street address?
 
These photos would give the outsider the impression that Kendall Square has a lot of land that is still undeveloped.

This parcel is really massive.
 
Czervik.Construction said:
These photos would give the outsider the impression that Kendall Square has a lot of land that is still undeveloped.

This parcel is really massive.
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14 Acres -- it is massive -- that's why MIT paid about $750 M for the land and on top of that MIT has to build the replacement for the Volpe Center
So when the 4 acres is subtracted [new Volpe] and the cost of tearing down the old Volpe and building the New Volpe is added MIT bought about 10 net acres for about $800 M
but as MIT has said it's a once in a generation opportunity to transform the area right behind MIT














mIT
 
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Walked through Kendall Square the other day... there is truly a lot of vacant land and a ton of underutilized space. The traintracks (Junction) are not even used for regular scheduled service, lots of factories, and tons of vacant parcels sitting there. Glad MIT is developing a good handful of these sites.
 
Massachoicetts said:
Walked through Kendall Square the other day... there is truly a lot of vacant land and a ton of underutilized space. The traintracks (Junction) are not even used for regular scheduled service, lots of factories, and tons of vacant parcels sitting there. Glad MIT is developing a good handful of these sites.
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I'm guessing your definition of Kendall Sq is different than that of most people -- old vacant lots are parking lots or construction projects just getting started [such as the former Metropolitan Pipe & Supply site]
There are still at the margins some under-utilized [by some definitions] buildings [mostly owned by MIT] which actually are used by start-ups that can't afford the fancy priced buildings
As for the train tracks -- not used for passengers but there are quite a few specialized freight hauls through the Grand Junction Line

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MIT is deducting the cost of new Volpe from the auction price. If new Volpe costs $350 million, the net cost to MIT for ten acres will be about $40 million per acre. MIT doesn't pay a cent until new Volpe is completed and the final construction cost determined.
 
Ugly and uninviting... about what I expect from the Federal Government.
 
Refined SOM minimalism. A vast improvement over the current brick box that at least looked decent enough until the absurd PoMo crown made a joke of it. The downside is it's off-putting setback which functions as a psychological moat if not an actual one. How necessary really is the fortification, it's overkill.
 
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