Lyra (née The Huntington) | 252/258/264 Huntington Avenue | Fenway

i approached the BPDA because i felt the appropriate "development entity" to approach Church of Christ Scientist about a possible International Student Village would be none other than the City of Boston itself–and none better.... I felt that not only would this type of development add significant density, without adding too much additional parking or vehicle traffic, it might be the type of improvement the Church could be persuaded to accept.

If they did, it would free up additional housing capacity for nearby colleges, and thus, the City.

i also thought the idea might gain favor with Mayor Walsh: i believe it's the absolute 'perfect thing' to place there, AS there is not only a desperate need for a large hostel in this general location, it has 10/10 transit access at a location where visitors new to Boston would find most easy to access. An International Student Village at this site is not only a worthy endeavor; it would be a home run.

Hufer said:
taking aside the greed of the developers, of course- I ask what is the rational of such project in the first place? completely out of scale & proportion, visually & unnecessarily aggressive, unpleasant & uninviting to the surroundings, I mean... Why?
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You gotta be kiddin'. Because city's grow... and they do such that precisely by going taller than what existed before and building out of scale of the neighboring buildings. The 14-16 floors i suggested is about halfway between the height of the Church of Christ Scientist building and the brownstones on the next block over.

Where were you when the Pru, Hancock, Mrs. Pru, 1 Dalton got permitted?

#UrbanizeBoston
 
If this is built it will be on the left of this shot coming down Mass Ave. There would be a pretty substantial amount of buildings in the back bay extending past the Pru with this added. The back bay skyline would go from around Liberty Mutual all the way to the Fenway, bridged by 2 charlesgate west, and ending all the way down at the Pierce. That would be pretty cool. Hell it evens tapers off past the Pierce with longwood/northeastern/mass art and if your looking from the Charles the BU towers. Regarding this shot though these towers along with The Huntington on the left of Mass Ave is already a massive upgrade from what it is now. With the brownstones right up against the street you almost cant see any buildings for most of the way down. It would be very different.


 
found5dollar said:
^ those are old. these are current.

The-Huntington-Avenue-Theater-Development-Tower-Residential-Retail-Fenway-Back-Bay-Boston-University.jpeg


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Any word on whats going on with this thing? This going up with all of the pike parcels, 1 Dalton, 40 Trinity, back bay garage towers, and maybe even Charlesgate West will really add a substantial amount of towers to the back bay and I hope all of these happen. I know this is probably in for a fight but whats the word on where this stands at the moment?

I dont think the residential is going up at Boston Medical Center anymore but if that was added too there really would be a lot going on in the area, Mass ave would almost be unrecognizable.
 
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Looking forward to the Mass Ave median with palm trees.
 
Lol I didn't even notice that. Wtf is that all about haha. They must have thrown that in as a joke to see if anyone would notice.
 
They should ask that as remediation, more trees are added to the median on Huntington Ave. a block away. That cement median outside the Pru/Colonnade is brutal!
 
sm89 said:
Looking forward to the Mass Ave median with palm trees.
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Not to mention the poor subway passengers who will have to swim through that pool just to get in and out of Symphony Station.
 
<pipe-dream rant> Can't they demolish Symphony Towers and build this thing on one (or, hell, both) of their lots?

Then we'd actually have this providing a net positive - versus a net negative - to the city's build environment...
 
stick n move said:
Any word on whats going on with this thing? This going up with all of the pike parcels, 1 Dalton, 40 Trinity, back bay garage towers, and maybe even Charlesgate West will really add a substantial amount of towers to the back bay and I hope all of these happen. I know this is probably in for a fight but whats the word on where this stands at the moment?

I dont think the residential is going up at Boston Medical Center anymore but if that was added too there really would be a lot going on in the area, Mass ave would almost be unrecognizable.
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Charlesgate west is dead.
 
odurandina said:
Approval this Thursday? :rolleyes:

Damn straight.
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The developer was super smart about this one. By offering the Huntington Theater a new 2nd floor lobby, and even keeping the old theater, it conflicted those people who have a motivation to complain about changing character.

We are saving a great theater, building and company, and putting in a significant building.
 
Awesome news. This tower looks good and the back bay needs to fill in. Like I shared before having 1 dalton and the pike parcels on the right of mass ave and this and parcel 12 on the left is really going to be amazing. Its really starting to fill in here and going to feel completely different in a few years. Great to see.


 
stick n move said:
Awesome news. This tower looks good and the back bay needs to fill in. Like I shared before having 1 dalton and the pike parcels on the right of mass ave and this and parcel 12 on the left is really going to be amazing. Its really starting to fill in here and going to feel completely different in a few years. Great to see.
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Why are you all saying awesome news. It hasn't been approved yet. Hold your horses.
 
Given the political capital spent on this solution by City Hall, the odds of this not being approved are vanishingly small.
 
stick n move said:
Any word on whats going on with this thing? This going up with all of the pike parcels, 1 Dalton, 40 Trinity, back bay garage towers, and maybe even Charlesgate West....
.....if (this) was added too there really would be a lot going on in the area, Mass ave would almost be unrecognizable....
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odurandina said:
^^Dec 14th Building Dept approval....
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dirtywater said:
Approved by BPDA Board.
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Walsh II @ 3 400' Back Bay towers approved within days of his landslide victory.
 
Comments are so annoying...like why do you care how tall it is??? There’s heroin addicts all over the place 2 seconds from here...maybe I should complain that it’s not tall enough ??? I don’t get it they prob don’t even live around there.
 
I truly love everything this project symbolizes.

THIS is a great win-win for Boston. This is what makes cities great.

In this day and age, it is obvious that a great project makes its environs better. A great project also enhances HUMAN LIFE at the street level.

There should be a ban on buildings that are windowless fortresses arrayed against pedestrians. Those buildings should be publicly shamed and forced to remodel their street levels. There SHOULD be an official movement for this.
 
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