Northeastern University - Institutional Master Plan

HelloBostonHi said:
It's an MBTA owned right of way, kept clear for an eventual rapit transit urban ring that never came. That's why Ruggles St has the setbacks it does, and why it looks so wrong. The current plan for the area is a multituse path instead. https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.n.../1522780697/BTD_Rox-Fen_Poster.jpg?1522780697
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Oh that's perfect! That's exactly what I had in mind thinking of that area. Great little two way bike/pedestrian path. Is there a timeline for it?
 
Thanks (to @HelloBostonHi) I'm using the image function to put that picture inline.
BTD_Rox-Fen_Poster.jpg
 
Bananarama said:
This stretch of Ruggles is pretty anti-urban on both sides. For some reason there's a 20' setback to West Village with some great trees, but it's just sort of dead space? No paths weaving between or places to sit and hang out (walking down between the 2 rows would be beautiful but it's just...grass?). And then everything south is overfilled with parking and access roads.
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Agreed, but with West Village being relatively new and Alice Taylor being very old, I guess I was more hopeful that the south side of Ruggles could evolve to be more urban in my lifetime vs the north side.


Arlington said:
Thanks (to @HelloBostonHi) I'm using the image function to put that picture inline.
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You mean there will FINALLY be a 4th crosswalk at Parker and Huntington? Hallelujah!

The sidewalk on Parker where it meets Ruggles is kind of narrow. I’m surprised they can fit a 2 land bike path there without getting rid of the on-street parking.
 
It's amusing/frustrating that pretty much every design deficiency that advocates have pointed out when a roadway is being reconstructed ends up being revised/corrected later on. (In this case, the missing 4th crosswalk.) Why can't they just do it right the first time?!
 
The original IMP mentioned restructuring the concrete monstrosity that is the Richardson Plaza (I actually never knew this place had a name) near the Law School. I don't know if this is a final solution, but the university just released this article about enhancing that space. In both the original IMP and this article, they acknowledge that this failed space is a remnant of the past and needs to be changed. Work will begin this week and will be done before the semester begins. Apparently, they were going to move forward with this back in March but the pandemic obviously put this project on hold. Interesting to see this unfold as it's essentially the first project from the IMP that is north of the OL.

Based on what the article says, it sounds like this is a temporary fix to provide more outdoor seating for students, but will evolve to become a more permanent change.

richardson 1.jpg


richardson 2.jpg
 
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cden4 said:
It's amusing/frustrating that pretty much every design deficiency that advocates have pointed out when a roadway is being reconstructed ends up being revised/corrected later on. (In this case, the missing 4th crosswalk.) Why can't they just do it right the first time?!
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I've had my hat in both rings (transportation advocacy + transportation planning), and it's been enlightening... I want to take a crack at your question.

While I don't know the full history of work at this intersection, I can share a few likely reasons a project like an intersection improvement 'wasn't done right the first time.'

- Right Of Way (ROW): a big component of any every transportation improvement project is ROW. Who owns what? Who has the rights to what? Who are all of the stakeholders for this proposed project, and what will it mean to make the project happen as envisioned? At an intersection like Huntington Avenue (MA Route 9) and Parker Street, ROW stakeholders (off the top of my head) range from MBTA, MassDOT, DCR, Northeastern, WIT, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Water & Sewer Company, private land owners, MWRA, National Grid, Eversource, Comcast, and potentially others. Again, this is just for ROW: entities that have property or public utilities that criss cross the intersection. Coordination with so many stakeholders with multiple different considerations and uses of the intersection that must be considered takes a long time, and thus contributes to...
- Cost: It might sound like a cliche, but project cost is a massive barrier to fully realizing every desired goal with a transportation project. Projects cannot advertise for construction until 100% of funding has been identified, and even then project bids may come in higher than their originally estimated construction costs, which means certain features may need to be trimmed from the project scope (i.e. a crosswalk, landscaping, prettier materials, etc.). Costs can increase for a slew of reasons: labor shortages, high labor cost (especially union), material shortages, high unit cost of materials... I'm not about to make this political, but I had a great conversation with someone that didn't understand how the President's trade tariffs impacted his daily life. When the cost of foreign materials our communities depend on for transportation infrastructure have an additional tariff slapped on them, it artificially increases its unit cost. Amplify that across millions of products and parts that our local/state governments purchase for domestic infrastructure improvements, and suddenly you begin to realize how it may yield higher sticker price for a less-than-anticipated product. Another consideration for complex transportation projects is that funding may come from numerous sources. The second federal funding becomes involved, there are strings attached with how those funds can be programmed. And, conversely, there may be limitations to how they can be programmed.
- Timing: Remember all those ROW stakeholders above? Say a project is ready to be funded and constructed beginning in March 2021 at Huntington Ave and Parker St./Forsyth Way. The project is anticipated to have a 7-month construction timeline, but then the universities come in and say, "We cannot have this intersection out of commission through September. Students arrive from mid-August forward, it would be a cataclysmic disruption!" The compromise might then become, "Okay, we can complete this job in under 6 months, so a mid-August completion as not to disrupt the incoming students for fall semester. However, to accommodate the faster timeline we will need to increase on-site labor and remove something from the project scope (the eastern Huntington Avenue crosswalk)." That's a factor. A utility reconstruction project is a factor (replacing sewer, burying fiber-optic cable/powerlines, etc.). MBTA Green Line (E) work is a factor.
- Project Input: Advocacy works. Maybe not 100% of the time, but I guarantee you if you have thoughtful considerations early on in project development that have the community's best interests at heart, it is often possible those considerations can be integrated into a project (barring complications raised in three previous bullet points). You and your colleagues can dream days on end for protected bike lanes and raised crosswalks at every intersection project in Boston, but they will only ever come to fruition when you (and your colleagues) go on the record with your project input--be it written/emailed, made apparent during the appropriate design public hearing(s), or through persistent consultation with local decision-makers.

One last note I'll make to your comment, cden4, is that the community's transportation needs of today may will be very different from its needs in the future. "Complete Streets" as a term is only a teenager, and USDOT has officially only been supporting bike/ped projects with federal aid since 2010. The proliferation of Transportation Network Companies (Uber, Lyft), bikeshare programs (BlueBikes), micro freight delivery (Amazon, UberEats, DoorDash, Instacart), electric micromobility (e-bikes, e-scooters, one-wheels), and even mainstream electric vehicles (Tesla et al)--these have all descended upon our streets in the last decade. Pause to think about that for a moment. Really.

When it comes to our built environment, I've learned it's best to make the environment itself--and the way we use it--as adaptable as possible. And accept that in time, it'll be time to go back to the drawing board once again.
 
Zash said:
The original IMP mentioned restructuring the concrete monstrosity that is the Richardson Plaza (I actually never knew this place had a name) near the Law School. I don't know if this is a final solution, but the university just released this article about enhancing that space. In both the original IMP and this article, they acknowledge that this failed space is a remnant of the past and needs to be changed. Work will begin this week and will be done before the semester begins. Apparently, they were going to move forward with this back in March but the pandemic obviously put this project on hold. Interesting to see this unfold as it's essentially the first project from the IMP that is north of the OL.

Based on what the article says, it sounds like this is a temporary fix to provide more outdoor seating for students, but will evolve to become a more permanent change.

View attachment 6875

View attachment 6876
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According to the IMP Kariotis, Cargill and Stearns will eventually be demolished and be replaced with a much larger building. Richardson Plaza is the roof of Cargill Hall. That would be at least a decade away though.
 
TomOfBoston said:
According to the IMP Kariotis, Cargill and Stearns will eventually be demolished and be replaced with a much larger building. Richardson Plaza is the roof of Cargill Hall. That would be at least a decade away though.
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Oh, definitely. The giant lecture hall in Cargill had some major water leakage problems last year. I know the university spent some money and had crews come in and fix the roof (the part not overlaid by the plaza) just before the pandemic hit. Wouldn't make sense for them to do those renovations now if they were planning on tearing down that building any time soon.

For those curious, this was the concept art that NEU included in the original IMP way back when for a new academic building to take the place of Cargill. Naturally, I doubt this is what it'll look like when it's actually built since it might be upwards of twenty years between this drawing and construction, but figured it couldn't hurt to share.
1598813462067.png
 
This was linked in the thread about the new residence hall at 840 Columbus. It has information about other Northeastern projects too:

Box

bpda.app.box.com bpda.app.box.com

Looks like the link is now invalid.
 
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Zash said:
Richardson Plaza is seeing some more renovations. For what it’s worth, the last round of renovations discussed in this thread weren’t so much “renovations” as much as throwing down some green furniture.

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It appears that the first round was a trial. Now Northeastern appears to be expanding the changes and making them permanent.
 
Don’t know if this is the right thread for it, but NEU is using two Wentworth buildings (Edwards and Richards) for housing purposes this year. I’m assuming they’re only leasing them out because of the over admitting issues they’re having this year, but I can’t help but wonder if the over admitting this freshman class will potentially expedite some of the other housing projects (in addition to 840 Columbus).
 
Zash said:
Don’t know if this is the right thread for it, but NEU is using two Wentworth buildings (Edwards and Richards) for housing purposes this year. I’m assuming they’re only leasing them out because of the over admitting issues they’re having this year, but I can’t help but wonder if the over admitting this freshman class will potentially expedite some of the other housing projects (in addition to 840 Columbus).
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Hopefully. Northeastern needs a new large traditional dorm similar to East Village.
 
Anyone know what the deal is with 840 Columbus? Is it stuck in approval purgatory right now? Feel like I haven't heard anything about it since May
 
shmorkin said:
Anyone know what the deal is with 840 Columbus? Is it stuck in approval purgatory right now? Feel like I haven't heard anything about it since May
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Last I heard it was still under review. I think they had originally wanted to break down
Zash said:
Don’t know if this is the right thread for it, but NEU is using two Wentworth buildings (Edwards and Richards) for housing purposes this year. I’m assuming they’re only leasing them out because of the over admitting issues they’re having this year, but I can’t help but wonder if the over admitting this freshman class will potentially expedite some of the other housing projects (in addition to 840 Columbus).
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As a follow-up to this point, NEU is continuing to rent out the Westin Hotel and all (or just half now?) of the Midtown Hotel and, new this year, is renting out the Sheraton Hotel as well. With them having two WIT buildings, three hotels, and all of their remaining leased properties, I can’t help but wonder if they might prioritize some housing projects a bit more, specifically with regards to the Punters’ lot and the Ryder lot. With a larger than expected incoming freshman class, they need to build more on-campus housing, and fast. 840 Columbus simply won’t be enough.
 
Zash said:
Last I heard it was still under review. I think they had originally wanted to break down

As a follow-up to this point, NEU is continuing to rent out the Westin Hotel and all (or just half now?) of the Midtown Hotel and, new this year, is renting out the Sheraton Hotel as well. With them having two WIT buildings, three hotels, and all of their remaining leased properties, I can’t help but wonder if they might prioritize some housing projects a bit more, specifically with regards to the Punters’ lot and the Ryder lot. With a larger than expected incoming freshman class, they need to build more on-campus housing, and fast. 840 Columbus simply won’t be enough.
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The Midtown is slated for demolition soon so that option will disappear.

For the upcoming admissions cycle Northeastern needs to lower its acceptance rate to maybe 10% and have a smaller entering class in 2022. If they are short of that reduced goal they can admit students off the waitlist..
 

Northeastern University Ryder Hall Entry — STUDIO ENÉE

www.studioenee.com www.studioenee.com

It's a minor, minor thing, but they're "renovating" the Ryder awning at the entrance. I'm 99.99% sure it's entirely unrelated to any of the IMP's plans regarding the Ryder Lot and potential renovations of the existing Ryder Hall, but figured it couldn't hurt to share.
 
Zash said:

Northeastern University Ryder Hall Entry — STUDIO ENÉE

www.studioenee.com www.studioenee.com

It's a minor, minor thing, but they're "renovating" the Ryder awning at the entrance. I'm 99.99% sure it's entirely unrelated to any of the IMP's plans regarding the Ryder Lot and potential renovations of the existing Ryder Hall, but figured it couldn't hurt to share.
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The IMP showed two possibilities for Ryder Hall. One called for it being integrated with a new building to be built on the Ryder parking lot. The other called for the demolition of Ryder and a new building to be built on its site and the parking lot. There has been no further word on the project.
 
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