Parcel 12 | 1001 Boylston Street | Back Bay

[Equilibria]

EPNF has been posted to BPDA website, so time to split the thread (and effectively end the other one, since we're out of projects).

http://www.bostonplans.org/document.../parcel-12-expanded-project-notification-form

Pretty pictures begin on p.59.

Highlights include the relocation of the I-90 onramp west down Newbury to narrow/simplify the Mass Ave intersection, as well as a Green Line headhouse using the reactivated pedestrian tunnel, though I'm puzzled why they chose to locate the bus stop at the other end of the block and put parking in front of the GL door. They do note that MassDOT would be planning and building (and presumably funding) the new onramp.

All the benefit of this one is really at street level. Aesthetically it reminds me of what Waterside Place was supposed to be, on a smaller scale.

I wish they'd included a render from the Pike, but eh.

EDIT: It would also be nice if when the station renovation happens here and on the Peebles side, the MBTA renames it "Newbury". It's not at the Hynes Convention Center, that's not where most conventions are anyway, and people call the station "Hynes", which contains no information at all about where the station is. If we can't go back to "Massachusetts" because the T doesn't want to duplicate the OL name, then let's go with the cross street.

 

[reverend_paco]

EPNF has been posted to BPDA website, so time to split the thread (and effectively end the other one, since we're out of projects).

http://www.bostonplans.org/document.../parcel-12-expanded-project-notification-form

Pretty pictures begin on p.59.

Highlights include the relocation of the I-90 onramp west down Newbury to narrow/simplify the Mass Ave intersection, as well as a Green Line headhouse using the reactivated pedestrian tunnel, though I'm puzzled why they chose to locate the bus stop at the other end of the block and put parking in front of the GL door. They do note that MassDOT would be planning and building (and presumably funding) the new onramp.....

I had no idea there already was a pedestrian tunnel to that side. Would be lovely to open that up.

 

[JumboBuc]

It would also be nice if when the station renovation happens here and on the Peebles side, the MBTA renames it "Newbury". It's not at the Hynes Convention Center, that's not where most conventions are anyway, and people call the station "Hynes", which contains no information at all about where the station is. If we can't go back to "Massachusetts" because the T doesn't want to duplicate the OL name, then let's go with the cross street.

Or go back to "Auditorium"

 

[Suffolk 83]

The city should be demanding bolder/better architecture here

 

[cjbski]

- Agreed on changing the T stop name. Newbury would be great. Why was it called "Auditorium"?

- Suffolk: I agree that better architecture would be great here given it's one of the first things people see when coming into town, but any project over the Pike here will be a win. Samuels has done a solid job, they hopefully can get it built.

This + 1000 Boylston + The Viola are going to be amazing!

 

[Equilibria]

The city should be demanding bolder/better architecture here

After 30 years of trying to do anything and failing, I think that normal architecture is fine.

 

[Czervik.Construction]

Why do they go through the trouble of including 1 Dalton in so many renders, but have the wrong height, 691' vs ~740+?

 

[datadyne007]

 

[datadyne007]

Why do they go through the trouble of including 1 Dalton in so many renders, but have the wrong height, 691' vs ~740+?

691 is the zoning height whether you like it or not.

 

[bigpicture7]

I actually really like this development, design and all

 

[DZH22]

691 is the zoning height whether you like it or not.

It was changed to 699' at some point. I still don't understand why that's what we always see though, the lines to the highest occupied floor while ignoring the mech tops.

Speaking of that, their line for the Prudential ignores the mech top. Does that mean the Pru might really be 760'+ and has been listed incorrectly this entire time?

 

[kmp1284]

It was changed to 699' at some point. I still don't understand why that's what we always see though, the lines to the highest occupied floor while ignoring the mech tops.

Speaking of that, their line for the Prudential ignores the mech top. Does that mean the Pru might really be 760'+ and has been listed incorrectly this entire time?

If you're going to obsess over this height crap, at least do it in the thread devoted to that project.

 

[elemenoh]

- Agreed on changing the T stop name. Newbury would be great. Why was it called "Auditorium"?

It was called "Auditorium" after the adjacent War Memorial Auditorium, which was renamed the Hynes Auditorium in the late 60s and then updated to Hynes Convention Center when it was renovated & expanded in 1988. So they changed the Green Line stop name then until it became Hynes/ICA (why, I don't recall) and then the ICA moved so it became Hynes Convention Center again.

I think "Parcel 12" has a nice ring to it for a station name! But Newbury would make the most sense, since it's unlikely to change again in our lifetimes.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

I really wish there was more to the residential portion. Given that it's ON TOP OF A T STATION they could easily get away with more height. Oh well, it's still very nice. Hynes MBTA stop is getting all the love these days.

 

[sm89]

Would the pedestrian underpass be used though? Seems easier to just cross the street. In my experience the underpass at Mass Ave station on the Orange Line is seldom used and people just use the crosswalk.

 

[Brookline-ish]

Would the pedestrian underpass be used though? Seems easier to just cross the street. In my experience the underpass at Mass Ave station on the Orange Line is seldom used and people just use the crosswalk.

The light schedule there crossing Mass Ave is easily a minute long wait. I'd take the tunnel every time, no matter the direction. Why wait?

 

[odurandina]

Great contributions DD..... Great project. Albeit a bit too squat.

 

[Smartiro]

Really nice project. Well thought out. I really wish they used a little less glass though - I'm tired of glass...

 

[datadyne007]

It was changed to 699' at some point. I still don't understand why that's what we always see though, the lines to the highest occupied floor while ignoring the mech tops.

Speaking of that, their line for the Prudential ignores the mech top. Does that mean the Pru might really be 760'+ and has been listed incorrectly this entire time?

No, it means they are architects working on a nearby parcel and aren't wasting their time (which = money) obsessing over the height depictions of parcels that aren't theirs. The Pru height is probably directly from the city's 3D CAD model.

 

[stefal]

I know we've continued to veer off the design focused discussion here, but this is the first time I'm seeing parcels 9, 10, and 11 outlined. Are those actually buildable? Isn't the pike "ground-level" here/how would people even access these?