Midtown Hotel Redevelopment | 220 Huntington Avenue | Back Bay

Cortes said:
I am in agreement that this will probably end up like the Collonade. My hope is different. I see no reason that there should not be TWO taller buildings here, separated by the extension of Blackwood St. though St. Boltoph to Huntington Ave. Two buildings the same height as 116 Huntington, with a podium of 5-8 stories. If anything close to this happens I would be shocked. It makes too much sense.
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To extend Blackwood Street through to Huntington, you would have to take out a rowhouse or two on St. Botolph, and that is not going to happen.

Also, that would be a horrible point on Huntington for an intersection, as it is the start of the tunnel under Mass Ave.
 
Cortes said:
I am in agreement that this will probably end up like the Collonade. My hope is different. I see no reason that there should not be TWO taller buildings here, separated by the extension of Blackwood St. though St. Boltoph to Huntington Ave. Two buildings the same height as 116 Huntington, with a podium of 5-8 stories. If anything close to this happens I would be shocked. It makes too much sense.
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Cortes -- I do like the idea of a continuous podium of 4 to 6 stories with a few [3 or 4] 16 to 24 floor towers set back about 1/2 way from the neighborhood and slightly from Huntington Ave.
 
JeffDowntown said:
To extend Blackwood Street through to Huntington, you would have to take out a rowhouse or two on St. Botolph, and that is not going to happen.

Also, that would be a horrible point on Huntington for an intersection, as it is the start of the tunnel under Mass Ave.
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Arg, I did not articulate correctly at all. You are right on every count.
The added "street" was not Blackstone but a parking lot (area of non parallel spaces) next to 145 St. Boltoph. And yes it would be a complicated land deal (maybe some spaces in the garage?) but not as complicated as bulldozing row houses. It could become a pedestrian way, not an intersection. It doesn't halve the block, but it would go a long way towards solving the landscaper problem, and would actually probably appease the neighbors.

Speaking of the neighbors, they did a actually choose 118 Huntington the way it is, opting for what is there instead of a taller slimmer version. I don't know what that says about them, but struck me as odd enough at the time that I still remember it.
 
Cortes said:
Arg, I did not articulate correctly at all. You are right on every count.
The added "street" was not Blackstone but a parking lot (area of non parallel spaces) next to 145 St. Boltoph. And yes it would be a complicated land deal (maybe some spaces in the garage?) but not as complicated as bulldozing row houses. It could become a pedestrian way, not an intersection. It doesn't halve the block, but it would go a long way towards solving the landscaper problem, and would actually probably appease the neighbors.

Speaking of the neighbors, they did a actually choose 118 Huntington the way it is, opting for what is there instead of a taller slimmer version. I don't know what that says about them, but struck me as odd enough at the time that I still remember it.
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It would be great to break up the landscraper effect. That block is long and thin.

I know the rationale behind the original Colonnade and Greenhouse height is that the buildings cannot be seen from St. Botolph Street (projected angle). Hence they do not "mar" the historic character of the street.
 
B&T has a National Development proposal for 325 units in a 10-story building (I refuse to call it a "tower" as they do).
 
Posted this already in a "Boston Architecture and Urbanism" thread, but it's a proposed development now.

Per B&T on Twitter - 10 stories, 325 units.
 
JumboBuc said:
There's another thread for this in "Development Projects" here:

Midtown Hotel redevelopment | 220 Huntington Avenue | Back Bay

It would be nice to see that old sign saved and reused somewhere.
archboston.com
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I searched before I posted and somehow missed it.

[EDIT] Mods, the referenced thread is caught up in a search bug - I can't see it no matter how I search (it's happened before). Maybe merge it in here and hope this one isn't corrupted?
 
Found them both in a search. Merged the old one into here.
 
The Midtown site would be a good place for another Northeastern residence hall! :):);)
 
Expect a by-right zoned building that looks very similar to the Church Park apartments here. Definitely not a tower but definitely more density than a one floor hotel. First floor retail and ground floor activation.
 
It will be interesting to see if this finally happens. This redevelopment has been floated about once per decade for the past 40 years.
 
Sorry but I can't get excited about a 10 story project in what is supposed to be Boston's high spine. This wouldn't even be considered "high" in Worcester or Providence. It's another architectural let down, regardless of the design.
 
DZH22 said:
Sorry but I can't get excited about a 10 story project in what is supposed to be Boston's high spine. This wouldn't even be considered "high" in Worcester or Providence. It's another architectural let down, regardless of the design.
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Perhaps settling low because dislodging that tacky eyesore has been an exercise in futility for so long, and at this point something substantially denser sooner is more preferable than pure perfectionism? Let's face it...the Roach Motel's true "height" measure comes from the body count of redev proposals it's managed to successfully repel over 4+ unbroken decades. It's one of those hexed locations that just seems to eat every proposal thrown at it for lunch. Sometimes the only way to beat a hex is by making contact with base hits, not swinging for grand-slams with no one on base. Of course we all hope for better, but if winging it on a tower just guarantees the Roach Motel's next vaporware meal while it persists for yet another decade in mocking of its surroundings I'll take the surer-footing mid-density replacement on pure "Out, out damn spot!" grounds.
 
DZH22 said:
Sorry but I can't get excited about a 10 story project in what is supposed to be Boston's high spine. This wouldn't even be considered "high" in Worcester or Providence. It's another architectural let down, regardless of the design.
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Per the masterplan for the Christian Science Center, this location is a step-down from the high spine. It has been designated as such for 5 decades. It directly abuts a designated historical neighborhood (St. Botolph Street). So planning efforts, for decades, have recognized this side of Huntington as a transition zone from this high spine.
 
I actually like this approach - it will continue the street wall at roughly the same height as Greenhouse apartments. Hopefully will provide a bit wider sidewalk...
 
JeffDowntown said:
Per the masterplan for the Christian Science Center, this location is a step-down from the high spine. It has been designated as such for 5 decades. It directly abuts a designated historical neighborhood (St. Botolph Street). So planning efforts, for decades, have recognized this side of Huntington as a transition zone from this high spine.
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yeah -- this location is absolutely not part of any real or imagined high spine in Boston any more than the commonwealth mall is.
 
Hopefully they make Huntington Ave. less of a concrete jungle and add a green median like on Seaport Blvd.
 
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