Midtown Hotel Redevelopment | 220 Huntington Avenue | Back Bay

The numbers have probably penciled out during his watch, but there is so much more at stake than just dollars and cents. Word is he's a good guy. Doesn't matter. Our street-scape, our unique urban brand (no exaggeration) has been repeatedly blandified by his department's choices. The Mayor should fire Brian Golden.
 
sidewalks said:
Honest to god...the BCDC is the absolute worst. Every bloody time they get their hands on the designs they get markedly less attractive.
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Honestly, I thing in general they have a good impact on projects, but I don't get the issue with this one. It's a nice project and a fantastic replacement for that edge (although, I'm in the keep 1 Cumberland camp).
 
stefal said:
Does any single person at the BCDC actually think these projects are improving in design under their watch? This week has been atrocious in their reviews...
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My general impression is they always feel like they have to do something regardless of need. I see the before-afters here and so often it seems like their changes are simply just arbitrary and subjective tweaks forced because they can force them. I tend to think the befores are generally superior to the afters in most cases.

But I'll admit my opinion is that of a distant bystander.
 
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SlothofDespond said:
My general impression is they always feel like they have to do something regardless of need. I see the before-afters here and so often it seems like their changes are simply just arbitrary and subjective tweaks forced because they can force them. I tend to think the befores are generally superior to the afters in most cases.

But I'll admit my opinion is that of a distant bystander.
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I agree - the BCDC and its subcommittees have to justify their existence in a sense which leads to meaningless changes and tweaks. Meanwhile there are a handful of projects that could have really benefitted from design review and the BCDC did nothing. If there is no workable middle ground I would rather just scrap this committee entirely and take the good with the bad - at least it would speed up the process.
 
Are Architects simply able to re-present with a strengthened argument in response to the BCDC comments? "You think this way, but this is really the design intent." Is that approval-suicide?
 
7/27/21
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Czervik.Construction said:
That could be dope if it is up to Echelon level of quality (sort of looks like Echelon).
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Agreed; Boston needs facades that have texture and depth without being gimmicky. In this past development wave, we've gotten a lot of boring glass boxes or gimmicky facades that try to over-compensate for all the glass boxes. Designs such as this have promise in being neither of the above.
 
Northeastern has closed the White Hall dorm on campus due to structural problems that need to be repaired. Students scheduled to be housed there will be relocated to The Midtown Hotel for at least the Fall semester. So this project is nowhere near getting underway.
 
Thanks for the update. I guess not too surprising. New housing construction, particularly in high cost central locations, is basically slowing to a trickle with interest rates and whatnot.
 
jpdivola said:
Thanks for the update. I guess not too surprising. New housing construction, particularly in high cost central locations, is basically slowing to a trickle with interest rates and whatnot.
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I would not be surprised if a year or so from now there is news that Northeastern has bought the Midtown and are planning to build a new residence hall there. ;)
 
bdurden said:
Let’s hope that is not the case. This is a prime location for a true mixed-use development contributing to the city’s tax base.
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If the residence is built by ACC it will pay taxes. A dorm would not preclude retail/restos on the ground floor.
 
bdurden said:
Let’s hope that is not the case. This is a prime location for a true mixed-use development contributing to the city’s tax base.
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Actually it is a poor location for true mixed use, because of the lease restrictions from the Christian Science Church. Hard to site a restaurant here, for example, because of the strict no-visibility requirements for any liquor licensed establishment.
 
JeffDowntown said:
Actually it is a poor location for true mixed use, because of the lease restrictions from the Christian Science Church. Hard to site a restaurant here, for example, because of the strict no-visibility requirements for any liquor licensed establishment.
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How does that work with the bars/restaurants facing the CSC on mass ave? Also, doesn't one Dalton also have a Japanese restaurant with a bar? Same thing goes for the restaurants at the Pru center facing the plaza.
 
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