MassDOT Pike Parcels 12 - 15 | Boylston St. and Mass. Ave | Back Bay

[Equilibria]

It's Boston and it's an air rights deal. Four years is optimistic. If they secure permits and financing and are actually under construction four years from now, it will represent an extremely rare success story for a MassPike air rights deal. Actually, it'd be the first since ... when, all you Bostonians who've been here longer than me? Am I right in saying no one's pulled one off since the Pru Center / Copley Square stuff?

So, what I'm saying is, the big question isn't "why so long?", it's "can they really pull this one off at all?

This proposal looks just great all around. I'm crossing fingers and toes.

Well, to be accurate, there haven't been any air rights projects U/C over the Pike since 1983 (Copley Place), I think. We don't really know how long the permitting will take .

 

[West]

Well, to be accurate, there haven't been any air rights projects U/C over the Pike since 1983 (Copley Place), I think. We don't really know how long the permitting will take .

I thought it was something like that, thanks.

Just since I moved here in 2001, there's been several that have made it through the permitting. It's the financing, or insufficiency thereof, that kills them off.

 

[whighlander]

Some examples of the transformation of the Pru area

Boston and Albany Rail Yard near Copley Sq in the 1930's
http://www.bostonstreetcars.com/copley-square.html

The B & A RR's yard in 1932, looking west towards Brookline, prior to the development of the Prudential Center. The domed building up ahead is Boston's Christian Science Center, and at left is the Mechanics Building, the predecessor to the Prudential Center and a significant landmark in Copley Square

Aerial view before the Pru

looking toward the Old John Hancock Tower [the one with the weather beacon]
Pru site just as construction was about to begin 1957

Construction well underway [essentially the same view]

about 10 year later [essentially the same view except the height of the observer]

September 30, 1969: The 28-story Prudential office building under construction is viewed from the 28th floor of the Pru Tower. The Massachusetts Turnpike and the Back Bay business area are at left.

 

[BosDevelop]

They probably didn't start detailed drawings or engineering until they were selected. I wouldn't be surprised if their plan is a brochure with renderings at the moment.

All that engineering and construction planning will need to be approved by MassDOT since they're over the Turnpike, not to mention your typical BRA process.

Air rights project and all, I still don't think all those things (i.e design/permitting etc.) take 4 years. I think it's simply a case of $. They have already been working on this proposal for over a year. Surely they could have shovels in the ground in 1.5-2 years if they had their financing in place. 4 years is a lot. Think about the difference in the economy just between 2009 and 2013.

 

[Randomgear]

From the MassDOT newsletter, today:


MassDOT, MBTA Approve Parcel 13 & Hynes Station Deal

MassDOT and the MBTA have approved a real estate deal that will leverage more than $30 million in private development funding for the delivery of a state-of-the-art, fully accessible Hynes Convention Center Station on the Green Line in Boston’s Back Bay.

The MassDOT Board of Directors voted on October 21, and the Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) of the MBTA voted Monday to approve a deal with The Peebles Corporation for the development of Air Rights Parcel 13 at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street. The air rights development will be integrated with accessibility and reliability improvements to the adjacent Hynes Convention Center Station to be carried out by Peebles.

"On behalf of the Baker-Polito Administration, we in the leadership of MassDOT and the MBTA are excited to move this project forward," said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack. "This is exactly the kind of creative and innovative partnering with the private sector we should be pursuing to help fund MBTA improvements in a time of constrained budgets."

Parcel 13 comprises approximately 54,500 square feet of air rights over the Massachusetts Turnpike and portions of the MBTA Green Line tunnel across the street from the Hynes Convention Center. Hynes Station is the busiest Green Line station not currently accessible to people with disabilities. An average of 8,950 customers each weekday enters Hynes Station, which is also an important transfer point for the busy MBTA Route 1 bus.

The project will integrate improvements to Hynes Station with the development of the adjacent air rights, leading to a more cost-effective and efficient design and construction process. The station improvements will include the construction of redundant elevators and stairs to both the inbound and outbound sides of Hynes Station, making it fully accessible. The station design also will relocate the Massachusetts Avenue entrance to the station within the Parcel 13 Air Rights building, create a new Boylston Street entrance to the station, and replace aging electrical equipment.

The Peebles Corporation will pay more than $30.5 million in rent to develop the Parcel 13 air rights, which will be used to fund the station improvements. In addition, Peebles will provide space within the air rights building for the new MBTA station entrances and for relocating Green Line electrical equipment, as well project and construction management services for the station – all at no cost to the MBTA.

Preliminary cost estimates for the station work are $45.7 million. MassDOT is expected to fund station costs above the rent to be paid by the developer. Both the MassDOT Board and the FMCB will determine whether to proceed with the station improvements after station design is complete and final cost estimates are complete and again when station construction bids are received.

Permitting and design are expected to begin in 2016, with construction of improvements to Hynes Station estimated to begin by 2019.

 

[whighlander]

Air rights project and all, I still don't think all those things (i.e design/permitting etc.) take 4 years.... They have already been working on this proposal for over a year. Surely they could have shovels in the ground in 1.5-2 years if they had their financing in place. 4 years is a lot.

BosDevelop -- the story provided by RandomGear on the deal explains a lot:

The project will integrate improvements to Hynes Station with the development of the adjacent air rights, leading to a more cost-effective and efficient design and construction process.
The station improvements will include:

• the construction of redundant elevators and stairs to both the inbound and outbound sides of Hynes Station, making it fully accessible.
• relocate the Massachusetts Avenue entrance to the station within the Parcel 13 Air Rights building,
• create a new Boylston Street entrance to the station,
• replace aging electrical equipment

The Peebles Corporation will pay more than $30.5 million in rent to develop the Parcel 13 air rights, which will be used to fund the station improvements. In addition, Peebles will provide space within the air rights building for the new MBTA station entrances and for relocating Green Line electrical equipment, as well project and construction management services for the station – all at no cost to the MBTA.

Preliminary cost estimates for the station work are $45.7 million. MassDOT is expected to fund station costs above the rent to be paid by the developer.

Both the MassDOT Board and the FMCB will determine whether to proceed with the station improvements after station design is complete and final cost estimates are complete and again when station construction bids are received.

Permitting and design are expected to begin in 2016, with construction of improvements to Hynes Station estimated to begin by 2019.

Seeing as the project encroaches on both the footprint of the Green Line and the Turnpike as well as having to rebuild the Hynes Station -- You are going to have to do a lot of permitting and serious geotechnical and structural engineering in addition to final architectural design before you can put a shovel into the ground -- its not just drawing renders

One really positive feature -- the developer is responsible for the construction of the T work -- that will put very solid cost controls into the process

As a PS: It's too bad the turnpike is between the Hynes and the Hynes Station -- there should be a weather protected pedestrian connecting passage and I doubt that the Back Bay NIMBYs would tolerate a Gerbil Tube in that area

 

[bbfen]

BosDevelop -- the story provided by RandomGear on the deal explains a lot:


Seeing as the project encroaches on both the footprint of the Green Line and the Turnpike as well as having to rebuild the Hynes Station -- You are going to have to do a lot of permitting and serious geotechnical and structural engineering in addition to final architectural design before you can put a shovel into the ground -- its not just drawing renders

One really positive feature -- the developer is responsible for the construction of the T work -- that will put very solid cost controls into the process

As a PS: It's too bad the turnpike is between the Hynes and the Hynes Station -- there should be a weather protected pedestrian connecting passage and I doubt that the Back Bay NIMBYs would tolerate a Gerbil Tube in that area

MassDOT required the winning bidder of Parcel 13 (Peebles) to reopen the Boylston Street entrance diagonal from the end of the Hynes collonade. That's one of the complicating design factors, as well, sinking redundant elevators down into the site at the currently-closed headhouse.

 

[CSTH]

As a PS: It's too bad the turnpike is between the Hynes and the Hynes Station -- there should be a weather protected pedestrian connecting passage and I doubt that the Back Bay NIMBYs would tolerate a Gerbil Tube in that area

n.b. you can get there indoors via prudential station already

 

[cden4]

It will be interesting to see what the station costs are when a developer is on the hook for the bill. Will the developer be able to keep the contractors' prices reasonable given the T can't seem to do it on pretty much anything?

 

[davem]

n.b. you can get there indoors via prudential station already

And back bay

 

[CantabAmager]

It will be interesting to see what the station costs are when a developer is on the hook for the bill. Will the developer be able to keep the contractors' prices reasonable given the T can't seem to do it on pretty much anything?

They should be, West St is expected to clock in at $25mil, Assembly at $25 as well, Brighton Landing at $12, and the Lechmere relocation above that (but I forget the final cost) - those are all pretty reasonable, all feature significant private contributions, and almost full funding from Federal in the case of Assembly which came in around the initial expectated outlay. There'll be some overruns, but if prior experience is any guide, the cost controls should be a bit more strict.

 

[Charlie_mta]

Looks a lot like this building on Memorial Drive:

 

[Randomgear]

Yes, an homage to Alvar Aalto's Baker House at MIT. Aalto's reason for the curves was to give a majority of students a better view of the Charles. Not sure what the majority of tenants will be looking at with the new building. And I'm too lazy to look up Berklee College of Music's latest plans.

 

[Tombstoner]

As usual, something is better than nothing (especially on a tough parcel like this where the structural challenges suck the air out of the room). Just a shame that the "something" is always so unimaginative and dull. I think the shape could work if the materials were more lively/light and less monotonous. This kind of façade could be attractive on a smaller scale infill project.

 

[stefal]

Yes, an homage to Alvar Aalto's Baker House at MIT. Aalto's reason for the curves was to give a majority of students a better view of the Charles. Not sure what the majority of tenants will be looking at with the new building. And I'm too lazy to look up Berklee College of Music's latest plans.

It looks to me that the curve(s) in this building are for structural purposes. The angled wall appears to run along the side of I90, making it easier and less costly to build, rather than a straight wall spanning diagonally across I90.

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

n.b. you can get there indoors via prudential station already

And back bay

The biggest advantage for the Hynes to have direct access here is the volume of trains that serve it already and for the benefit of attendees of conferences at the Hynes. The biggest reason I can see the MCCA not wanting to make any sort of additional entrance (aside from there being a rent-paying restaurant in that corner) is that they would have to secure yet another ingress during large conventions, like Anime Boston.

At present, they only open the Boylston St Hynes station entrance for a handful of events every year, including AB. My boyfriend used to run registration and had turnstile counts on each the Pru entrance and Boylston St entrance. I think a large number of people try to enter by the Pru, but many more will arrive via Hynes station because of its frequency of service and proximity to the convention center; they then walk in through the Sheraton. Suffice it to say, an indoor pedestrian connection would only really serve a pressing need that's at most a couple of weeks out of the year.

It'll be interesting to see how they manage construction phasing of the Boylston St portal while maintaining its utility during high ridership events.

 

[whighlander]

n.b. you can get there indoors via prudential station already

CSTH -- only for the E branch -- The access to the Hynes is not very convenient if you are coming from the West on the B,C, D as you have to go all the way In-bound to Arlington and switch to the E then travel back to Pru -- that's not very convenient

Although if the weather is bad enough -- then it is an option along with going to Back Bay on the Orange and then taking the long path through Copley Place

 

[Beton Brut]

Charlie & Randomgear - the allusion to Aalto's Baker House is quite apt.

I really dig this project in every respect. The scale, architectural language, and materials are stylish and appropriate to this site. This is exactly the sort of thing we should have built in the Bulfinch Triangle.

 

[DigitalSciGuy]

Pike median work is wrapping up under this parcel:


What's our timeline on development once this finishes?

 

[CSTH]

To my untrained eye, it doesn't look like that median includes a bunch of load bearing columns....please don't tell me that the mass pike median work didn't get coordinated with provisioning for the Viola development....