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

bigeman312 said:
What program/software do you use?
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Dave lays out the roads and sidewalks in CAD and then imports them into SketchUp (to do the color filling) which links into Google Earth for the overlays.
 
Three companies on Friday submitted proposals to build large complexes on the 50,000-square-foot lot, across from the Hynes Convention Center: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/11/07/developers-pitch-plans-for-back-bay-property/1I2FbTLXybJuScuwXTaSkN/story.html

Among the bids: Peebles proposed a curvy, $330 million complex that would include 181 residences, a 156-room hotel, and 20,000 square feet of retail space. The complex, designed by Handel Architects of New York, would rise to 11 stories and contain 138 parking spaces as well as 6,800 square feet of community space. It would be called Viola Back Bay, a homage to the adjacent Berklee College of Music.
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Peebles%20Parcel%2013.jpg


Trinity Financial of Boston proposed a multitiered building that would rise to 21 stories along Boylston Street. The $223 million development would include 350 apartments, retail space, and about 100 parking spaces.
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Boston Development Group also submitted a proposal for the property, according to state officials, but executives with the company could not be reached for comment on their plans Friday.
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But don’t expect construction to start right away.
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bostoneophyte said:
Three companies on Friday submitted proposals to build large complexes on the 50,000-square-foot lot, across from the Hynes Convention Center: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/11/07/developers-pitch-plans-for-back-bay-property/1I2FbTLXybJuScuwXTaSkN/story.html

"Among the bids: Peebles proposed a curvy, $330 million complex that would include 181 residences, a 156-room hotel, and 20,000 square feet of retail space. The complex, designed by Handel Architects of New York, would rise to 11 stories and contain 138 parking spaces as well as 6,800 square feet of community space. It would be called Viola Back Bay, a homage to the adjacent Berklee College of Music."

Peebles%20Parcel%2013.jpg
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This render is of the Peebles proposal I presume?


Trinity Financial of Boston proposed a multitiered building that would rise to 21 stories along Boylston Street. The $223 million development would include 350 apartments, retail space, and about 100 parking spaces.
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The nature of the site means that these would be above ground.

Boston Development Group also submitted a proposal for the property, according to state officials, but executives with the company could not be reached for comment on their plans Friday.
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How do you manage to not have anyone available for comment on the day the bids are due? Amateur.
 
I want trinity's proposal based on height, amount of residential, and slightly less parking. The render of Peebles' proposal looks good though and the variety of uses is also good. I want to see a render of Trinity's proposal though.
 
The Peebles render makes it look like they moved Baker House to Boston, but could only afford to move 5/6ths of it.
 
Pretty good overall. I'm disappointed to see that they couldn't pull the northbound bus stop off-street as had been dangled in the original press releases.
 
RandomWalk said:
The Peebles render makes it look like they moved Baker House to Boston, but could only afford to move 5/6ths of it.
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I got this impression too, but it looks like they chopped off that part to reduce the building mass directly over the Pike.
 
The winning bidder will also be required to overhaul the MBTA’s Hynes Convention Center stop on the Green Line. Transportation officials want to relocate the entrances to the station, modernize its layout and architecture, and add elevators and new turnstiles, among other improvements.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ay-property/1I2FbTLXybJuScuwXTaSkN/story.html

Did anyone catch that bit about relocating the Hynes station entrance? I know there was talk about moving the bus stop out front, which would be wonderful, but I hadn't heard anything about a total relocation.
 
Savin Hill said:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ay-property/1I2FbTLXybJuScuwXTaSkN/story.html

Did anyone catch that bit about relocating the Hynes station entrance? I know there was talk about moving the bus stop out front, which would be wonderful, but I hadn't heard anything about a total relocation.
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I think its another account of the globe's continuing downward slide in clarity and fact checking. A requirement is to rebuild and reopen the Boylston St headhouse, as well as reopen the passage under Mass Ave to the bus shelter. You really can't move the entrance anywhere else.
 
I had a prior post vanish; if it appears and we get a double post, apologies.

davem said:
I think its another account of the globe's continuing downward slide in clarity and fact checking. A requirement is to rebuild and reopen the Boylston St headhouse, as well as reopen the passage under Mass Ave to the bus shelter. You really can't move the entrance anywhere else.
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You can see the MassAve entrance reconfiguration described in the MassDOT RFP and the BRA slide show at this site:

http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/getattachment/0be90b4a-a522-4c69-8b89-881902eedc8a

The mezzanine level of the station stays put, as you're right, you can't really move that. But the entrance into 360 Newbury on Mass Ave is replaced by a new entrance on the side of the building that faces the Pike. In the rendering of one proposal in the Globe that BussesAintTrains posted, you can see a short triangular building with a green canopy wedged into the space between 360 Newbury and the new building. That looks a lot like a T entrance. Nicely set back a bit to give the scrum out on the sidewalk more room, less danger of someone getting knocked in front of a bus (I've seen close calls there). Ticketing and turnstiles would be at street level. New elevators, too.

This involves a swap of floor area within 360Newbury. They seem to lose overall square footage but gain more street frontage, and that wee tiny slice of frontage they now have between T entrance and Pike becomes useful frontage. It always seems to be empty when I'm there, which isn't often; useless little retail wedge to most stores. I'm guessing a retail leasing broker would say the 360 Newbury owners are getting a mild net gain on income, but I am guesstimating.

I also do not know if all this is certain, I haven't pored over the RFP yet. But it seems at least one respondent included it. Looks like an improvement to Hynes Station. Now if any of this will ever get built......
 
Yeah, I didn't actually look the first time. It looks like they are adding unnecessary bloat to what should be a straightforward renovation project.

There is nothing wrong with the existing headhouse, other than a lack of elevators. The new design has less turnstiles, fare vending machines, and room before entering the fare controlled area (which gets pretty mobbed as it is).


It would be called Viola Back Bay, a homage to the adjacent Berklee College of Music."
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...except that its next door to the Boston Architectural College, who held an option on a ton of space in the last iteration (and I'm surprised isn't in these versions).
 
West said:
The mezzanine level of the station stays put, as you're right, you can't really move that. But the entrance into 360 Newbury on Mass Ave is replaced by a new entrance on the side of the building that faces the Pike. In the rendering of one proposal in the Globe that BussesAintTrains posted, you can see a short triangular building with a green canopy wedged into the space between 360 Newbury and the new building. That looks a lot like a T entrance. Nicely set back a bit to give the scrum out on the sidewalk more room, less danger of someone getting knocked in front of a bus (I've seen close calls there). Ticketing and turnstiles would be at street level. New elevators, too.
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I wonder if that pocket on the Boylston side of the building is another entrance to the same ground level lobby. That might make things more cost efficient while fulfilling the Boylston St. headhouse requirement (did it actually say they had to use the same headhouse?) It would make a nice pedestrian cut through if the fare gates don't wall off the middle portion of the lobby.
 
Equilibria said:
I wonder if that pocket on the Boylston side of the building is another entrance to the same ground level lobby. That might make things more cost efficient while fulfilling the Boylston St. headhouse requirement (did it actually say they had to use the same headhouse?) It would make a nice pedestrian cut through if the fare gates don't wall off the middle portion of the lobby.
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I could not find floor plan details of this on the Peebles website, but I think that pocket on the Boylston side that you refer to is indeed the new access to the Boylston headhouse. On the BRA concept drawing, the headhouse basically gets replaced by a slightly larger section of the new building's lobby. Access down to the tunnel I assume stays in the same place or something real close to it. The angle of approach to where the headhouse was will be at a 90 degree angle to Bolyston, instead of angling away from Boylston along the underlying train ROW, as it does now.

Even without seeing the Peebles design, I think the new Mass Ave entrance will be too far from the Boylston entrance to connect through internally. Unless the developer was willing to give up a lot more ground space to a cut-through.

when rummaging around in this thread for some other background, I came across a post from F-Line a few months ago, calling for the side entrance to 360 newbury: I'd have done the hat tip routine if I hadn't come to the thread so late and missed that post.
 
West said:
IEven without seeing the Peebles design, I think the new Mass Ave entrance will be too far from the Boylston entrance to connect through internally. Unless the developer was willing to give up a lot more ground space to a cut-through.
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I don't know about that. The render suggests that the low-rise concourse will extend at least to the back of 360 and the pocket looks to go almost as far in from the other side. The bend in the building that makes that pocket is lined up perfectly with the left-hand wall of the concourse from Mass. Ave. That leaves only about 125 feet to go inside the building that could easily double as the lobby for both mid-rise blocks.
 
mm, could be, I see what you're driving at (or should I say walking at?). I rummaged around on DOT's website to look for the Peebles and other two responses, no luck. I can find the RFP page but not the responses. Might be too soon for them to have been released in any form other than the snippets to the media.
 
This seems like the best proposal.
1) no parking (that was mentioned)
2) student housing, much needed and will probably do more to create more affordable housing than any money put (and languishing) in the fund by opening up current buildings.
3) I like the step up being away from Mass Ave and on Boylston. From the rendering, it looks like the residents at 360 Newbury would be most happy with the view.
 
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