Pierce Boston (née The Point )| Boylston St/Brookline Av | Fenway

That photo shows what a huge opportunity the Star Market + Gulf parcel is.

It's not currently zoned to go very tall, but imagine if there was a pair of 25-30 story towers there. They could redefine this stretch of Boylston in a way that Pierce should have. The NIMBY's wouldn't have much of an argument since Pierce across the street is over 30 stories tall.
 
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FenwayResident said:
That photo shows what a huge opportunity the Star Market + Gulf parcel is.

It's not currently zoned to go very tall, but imagine if there was a pair of 25-30 story towers there. They could redefine this stretch of Boylston in a way that Pierce should have. The NIMBY's wouldn't have much of an argument since Pierce across the street is over 30 stories tall.
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The issue with this is that the Pierce site was explicitly intended to be taller than its neighbors as a "gateway" parcel. IIRC it may have even been rezoned that way, and it was agreed to by the neighborhood.

You'd be hard-pressed to change that now, especially as the neighborhood's rezoning was relatively recent.
 
Downburst said:
The issue with this is that the Pierce site was explicitly intended to be taller than its neighbors as a "gateway" parcel. IIRC it may have even been rezoned that way, and it was agreed to by the neighborhood....
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On the other hand, if they really wanted to create a "gateway" then wouldn't that imply having something substantial on both sides of the street?

Given the disappointing (for many/most of us) way the Pierce turned out, maybe a well enough designed tower will be able to get close to the same height to draw the eye away from this one a bit. Hell, with Walsh's reelection, it's mandate time! Let's go even bigger!
 
Idk how many other people feel this but that picture reminds me of how much I wish Boylston had gone straight through the fens and was a two way. That way going from one end of the city all the way in Longwood to downtown was easier and efficient. Right now the on off ramp area that cuts Boylston in half is a huge barrier that sends cars all over the place just to get to the other side in Fenway. I feel like it would have helped traffic to be able to go straight through vs winding all the way around the fens with no direct route just to get to the other side of a road your already on. Thats what Dubai does I dont think it should happen right here. Also Boylston being a full length two way street would add another to the extremely limited amount of roads that go west from downtown to be able to get to the back bay. I believe it would help double parking as well because each direction has less lanes with no way to go around. It could have went straight through with just sidewalks and no buildings and where the road is now they could have had more trees and made up for the loss on land. Walking on this road to me would have been nicer with the fens on both sides vs just one side and a mess of roads on the other.
 
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stick n move said:
Idk how many other people feel this but that picture reminds me of how much I wish Boylston had gone straight through the fens and was a two way. That way going from one end of the city all the way in Longwood to downtown was easier and efficient. Right now the on off ramp area that cuts Boylston in half is a huge barrier that sends cars all over the place just to get to the other side in Fenway. I feel like it would have helped traffic to be able to go straight through vs winding all the way around the fens with no direct route just to get to the other side of a road your already on. Thats what Dubai does I dont think it should happen right here. Also Boylston being a full length two way street would add another to the extremely limited amount of roads that go west from downtown to be able to get to the back bay. I believe it would help double parking as well because each direction has less lanes with no way to go around.
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Personally, I think the Fens is too big. I would like to see the road connect in a straight line, and then the left side of the pic can be redeveloped somehow. Right now the Fens acts as a huge barrier, separating urban areas in the city from downtown. It's also TERRIFYING to walk through there in the dark! At the very least, certain edges of it should be parceled off and built on, in order to lose the feeling of isolation, better connect the city, and make the whole place feel safer.
 
It would definitely make boylston more connected to both parts of the city and pull the back bay out farther. What do you guys think about it also being a full length two way? As it is now to get to the back bay from downtown theres no route that is within the "city" you have to go through the brownstone neighborhoods or the south end. Going from the back bay to downtown though you have Boylston and Stuart st. with no equal going the other way. Once the pike parcels are developed if this went straight through it would feel connected to the back bay with a small pleasant break in the street wall through the fens. I think it would be pretty nice and also very effective where you could easily navigate from the pierce to downtown in either direction. It already is but Boylston would become the definitive main street of downtown Boston.
 
DZH22 said:
Personally, I think the Fens is too big. I would like to see the road connect in a straight line, and then the left side of the pic can be redeveloped somehow. Right now the Fens acts as a huge barrier, separating urban areas in the city from downtown. It's also TERRIFYING to walk through there in the dark! At the very least, certain edges of it should be parceled off and built on, in order to lose the feeling of isolation, better connect the city, and make the whole place feel safer.
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This will never happen (not in any of our lifetimes, at least). And personally, I am thankful for that.
 
DZH22 said:
Personally, I think the Fens is too big. I would like to see the road connect in a straight line, and then the left side of the pic can be redeveloped somehow.
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Boston is an archipelago.

What this connection needs is a monumental bridge - not continuation of the surface road.
 
How about a wide, well lit path in-line w/ the street, for bikes & pedestrians? (emergency vehicles if necessary.)
 
If you're talking about the area where the garden plots are, this will never, ever happen. Those are extraordinarily coveted garden plots by the local residents...some have been with the same family for decades.

Personally, I think a bridge is a wonderful idea. I agree that the pedestrian connectivity sucks in this area.

I wish there were a way to reach compromise and put some sort of bridge (or path), but, seriously, there would be massive community resistance here if any of the garden plots were affected (and you can imagine that shade/shadow concerns would be raised even for plots not directly impacted).
 



bigpicture7 said:
If you're talking about the area where the garden plots are, this will never, ever happen. Those are extraordinarily coveted garden plots by the local residents...some have been with the same family for decades.

Personally, I think a bridge is a wonderful idea. I agree that the pedestrian connectivity sucks in this area.

I wish there were a way to reach compromise and put some sort of bridge (or path), but, seriously, there would be massive community resistance here if any of the garden plots were affected (and you can imagine that shade/shadow concerns would be raised even for plots not directly impacted).
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I agree it would never happen, but I just wish in this city things like this were considered. Those plots can always be moved, there can always be compromises. I just feel like things like this never happen here, we have been building more than usual, but nothing "out of the box" has really happened like connecting Boylston and making it a 2 way street. Im sure theres all different things around the city that I cant even think of that are not the norm that could be proposed and make this city better for everyone.
 
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stick n move said:





I agree it would never happen, but I just wish in this city things like this were considered. Those plots can always be moved, there can always be compromises. I just feel like things like this never happen here, we have been building more than usual, but nothing "out of the box" has really happened like connecting Boylston and making it a 2 way street. Im sure theres all different things around the city that I cant even think of that are not the norm that could be proposed and make this city better for everyone.
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I agree. One thing that frustrates me about aB is that there's a lot of criticism of people who desire bold action as if we're all in the same category as the height fetish people. It's simply not true. Some of us just really want to see Boston take bold steps toward serious improvement of our urban realm. This is NOT the same is simply wanting supertalls all over the place.
 
Actually Ill walk back a bit on what I said they did propose the gondolas for the Seaport which is pretty out of the box. I thought it was ridiculous when I first heard that proposal but after seeing a show where they are used in Medellin Columbia I warmed up to it more. Anyways Im bringing the thread off topic so thats enough of that.
 
Although they do not own air rights across the street, the biggest NIMBYs for a 30 storey tower at the gas station site will be Pierce residents.

OH, THE SHADOWZ! I AM GONNA SUE FOR RESIDUAL VALUE IMPAIRMENT!! SIGHT POLLUTION!!!
 
Czervik.Construction said:
Although they do not own air rights across the street, the biggest NIMBYs for a 30 storey tower at the gas station site will be Pierce residents.

OH, THE SHADOWZ! I AM GONNA SUE FOR RESIDUAL VALUE IMPAIRMENT!! SIGHT POLLUTION!!!
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The Shaws/Gulf parcels along Boylston will likely get buildings as tall as the Harlo / Van Ness / Viridian / Fenway Health building / etc (which are all roughly the same height). That's what zoning allows along this stretch, and Fenway zoning is generally sensible and appropriate (maybe the best zoning in Greater Boston?). And the chunk of the Shaws/Gulf parcel along Peterborough will likely get built to about 7 stories (again, reasonable).
 
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