One Canal (formerly Greenway Center) | Bullfinch Triangle | West End

Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Seems to me that Shaw's (at Prudential) already has a good model of an urban supermarket. Stop & Shop, not so much, since they let go of the Charles River Plaza and Symphony locations (both now Whole Foods).
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Ron Newman said:
Seems to me that Shaw's (at Prudential) already has a good model of an urban supermarket. Stop & Shop, not so much, since they let go of the Charles River Plaza and Symphony locations (both now Whole Foods).
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Stop & Shop has One Brigham Circle
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Ron Newman said:
Seems to me that Shaw's (at Prudential) already has a good model of an urban supermarket. Stop & Shop, not so much, since they let go of the Charles River Plaza and Symphony locations (both now Whole Foods).
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Also the Shaw's / Star Market at University Park...
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Ron Newman said:
Seems to me that Shaw's (at Prudential) already has a good model of an urban supermarket. Stop & Shop, not so much, since they let go of the Charles River Plaza and Symphony locations (both now Whole Foods).
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I find that Shaw's the antithesis of a model supermarket. Turkish spice bazaars have better organization and service.
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Brad Plaid said:
I was with you until the cornice thing. There's way too much of it, PoMo exaggeration.
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I find this comment interesting. To me, that's barely barely big enough to be considered a cornice. Or maybe that comment was meant to be sarcastic.
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

KentXie said:
I really hope that Whole Food relocates to the North End because their store in Charlestown makes absolutely no sense. A significant portion of the population in Charlestown lives in government housing, of which, very few can afford shopping regularly at an upscale supermarket such as Whole Food and the majority are going out of their way to shop at cheaper supermarkets such as the Market Basket in Chelsea. My prediction (or hope): Whole Foods in Charlestown shutters in 5-7 years.
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Kent, take a swing through the southern half of Charlestown sometime. I think you'll find your perception of Charlestown is dated. I say that as someone who has moved from Southie to the South End to Charlestown in the last 8 years and couldn't be happier with my current location....
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Charlestown has absorbed an 'upscale' population, but this statement is still true:
A significant portion of the population in Charlestown lives in government housing, of which, very few can afford shopping regularly at an upscale supermarket such as Whole Food
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That population has been hurt by the departure of Johnnie's Foodmaster.
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Tombstoner said:
I find that Shaw's the antithesis of a model supermarket. Turkish spice bazaars have better organization and service.
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Publix and the Fresh Market have much better organization in their urban locations than I have experienced with Shaws, STAR market, or Stop n Shop.

Fresh Market is slowly expanding their footprint in the Northeast; unfortunately it appears that Publix is not expanding outside the Southeast.

I was impressed by the ease and accessibility of their urban location in downtown Orlando:

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Notice that the supermarket entrance is just large enough to handle store traffic; retail lines the rest of the building to encourage a pedestrian scaled streetwall.

This is the antithesis of the Shaws Prudential -- a suburban design (both interior and exterior) transported to a city center. The lack of additional retail along Huntington is especially egregious.
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

If we can't get urban super markets... how about more markets in general. Does it necessarily have to be one stop shopping? There's produce and farmers markets around. There's a "bread market" that pops up on City Hall Plaza. Get some more meat and dairy shops, like McKinnon's, into the city.

It'd be easier and arguably better to get some small, focused outlets instead of some mega-location to suck up an entire block with only one permeable point.
 
Re: Greenway Center (Bulfinch Triangle)

vanshnookenraggen said:
@Justin7: It looks like it's the same building just front and back.
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To me it looks like in the first image you can see the Beverly St. side on the far right, which is where the second image is centered. Maybe I'm seeing it wrong.
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Yes, and considering the structure of their logistics and supply chain, getting truckloads of stuff in to the city actually requires some work as does ensuring the correct product mix on the shelves. Strangely, very few US brands have been able to achieve this. In the UK, Tesco and Sainsbury have been able to figure out how to operate stores sized from big box suburb shops to smaller urban convenience store outlets.

All these stores have suburban style business plans. It's a big risk for them to open an urban market, believe it or not. There needs to be proof that it would work economically. There is more to it than "people in the neighborhood want it". Rents in the city are so much higher than some strip mall. And space is constrained so they'd need to engineer a multi-level store. None of this is really difficult to do... just more expensive than a box off the highway.
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Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

On the BRA agenda for tomorrow's meeting (5/16):

Request authorization to establish a “demonstration project” under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 121B, Section 46(f) for the One Canal Project; authorization for the Director to adopt an Order of Taking and execute a Deed for air rights parcels and subterranean parcels, and to clarify zoning and use, and all other related actions relating to the One Channel Project.
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Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

So that means it not getting built anytime soon?
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

type001 said:
So that means it not getting built anytime soon?
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Not at all. Once approved (presumably tomorrow), the transfer of the air rights can occur quickly. If anything, this is probably a clean-up item that may signify that construction is imminent.
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

^Thanks for the clarification!

I was walking through the area this morning. With the Merano alone almost completed, this area is looking so different. I also asked one of the construction workers if there was another building planned for the temporary parking lot parcel next to the Merano, and he said another condo building was starting soon there as well (not sure of there is a thread for that one).
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

type001 said:
^Thanks for the clarification!

I was walking through the area this morning. With the Merano alone almost completed, this area is looking so different. I also asked one of the construction workers if there was another building planned for the temporary parking lot parcel next to the Merano, and he said another condo building was starting soon there as well (not sure of there is a thread for that one).
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I'm confused. Do you mean The Victor? I thought Merano is the one scheduled for a lot next to Victor...
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

Smartiro said:
I'm confused. Do you mean The Victor? I thought Merano is the one scheduled for a lot next to Victor...
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That's correct. The Merano also has business with the BRA tomorrow.
 
Re: One Canal (formerly Greenway Center, Bullfinch Triangle)

My bad. I meant the Victor. I forgot that the Merano was going next to it.

DENSITY!!!!!
 
Re: Greenway Center (Bulfinch Triangle)

Boston02124 said:
^
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The big One Canal changes from the above 2005 fanciful architectural imagination of the Greenway Center have been the elimination of the Middlesex Canal plaza at the corner of Canal and New Chardon, elimination of the fifth-story roof garden, and an increase from 10 stories to twelve.

One Canal no longer has 4th - 10th floor balconies inset from the New Chardon facade as shown on the Oct. 27, 2011 PNF. The balconies now project from the facade. Is there an update to the 2011 PNF available?

The Greenway Center's public plaza at Canal/New Chardon is now an enclosed addition to the apartment building with a third floor roof deck, the walls of which are of even height with the adjacent terracotta building. The commemoration of the Middlesex Canal as water coursing from New Hampshire into the pool of Boston Harbor, is not part of the two-story space under the roof deck.

This, my first post, is based on my interest in the canal of Canal St. See http://middlesexcanal.org/towpath/towpathtopicsMar2008.htm At the link, scroll down to the article, "The Canal that Bisected Boston" by David Dettinger (1919-2011).
 
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