Plan Nubian Square Parcel P-3 (née Tremont Crossing) | Roxbury

Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Aren't these already approved? They have their tenants lined up... why would they go back to the drawing board?

EDIT: I do wonder about the BJ's Wholesale though. Is this going to be a different model of BJ's than I'm used to seeing? It's hard to buy in bulk if you're taking the Orange Line to the store... I'd hope for something like the urban Target that's opening in the Fenway, but I've never heard of BJ's doing anything like that. The 1500 parking spaces is making me think they're not using this as good TOD...
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

They both look like the "Innovation District" coming to Roxbury, just like the Mayor said!

edit - damn, I posted before I saw KentXie saying the same thing;

I hope they come up with something better. These buildings look like the belong in the Seaport next to the convention center.
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Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

KentXie said:
I hope they come up with something better. These buildings look like the belong in the Seaport next to the convention center.
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See, whereas I look at it, and think Fenway. This structure is far more faceted than the stuff in the Seaport, and does a Boylston St. type of thing, pretending to be multiple buildings.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Is there a plan to redevelop some of the Whittier Apartments? The massing on the right is obviously not what's there right now. Also, I hope this project does something with the abandoned (looking) Health Unit building on the property. Anyone know the story with that?
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Is there a plan to redevelop some of the Whittier Apartments? The massing on the right is obviously not what's there right now. Also, I hope this project does something with the abandoned (looking) Health Unit building on the property. Anyone know the story with that?
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i hope so.

dont think ive ever been back here (ruggles yes, whittier no), cool old "health building" on streetview
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.333...ata=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sw7SgrS04q19oJC1Hr6sDrA!2e0
and turn right and see how awful the intnl village looks from over here, yuck.


hope they break this site up with some streets... for god's sakes get some vehicles circulating into these roxbury superblocks
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Baker doubts moving MassDOT to Roxbury
By Casey Ross
GLOBE STAFF DECEMBER 23, 2014

Governor-elect Charlie Baker on Monday threw doubt into the state’s plan to relocate the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to Roxbury, saying a deal of such cost and complexity should be subject to a more detailed public review.

Baker did not outright oppose the effort to build a 24-story headquarters for MassDOT near Dudley Square. But he said the proposal, certain to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, is proceeding too quickly, given the enormous implications for Roxbury and downtown Boston.

“Governor-elect Baker believes a project of this magnitude and its impact on the neighborhoods in question warrant greater public input and discussion to ensure it is the best deal for taxpayers,” spokesman Tim Buckley said.

Details of the plan have come only in recent days. The Boston Redevelopment Authority on Thursday approved a land transfer that would allow MassDOT to move from Park Square to a development site on Tremont Street, across from Boston police headquarters.
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more ... http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...assdot-move/VSw7NvgHwFVuFtijZHhGSN/story.html
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Good for him. I see that MassDOT shows in the rendering a big swanky "MassDOT" sign and all the trappings of some overblown hyper-logo'ed office park company. It's not a great looking building, but there's a lot even in that one picture that makes me very skeptical of how the state would be being fiscally responsible in doing this. It would be great to free up the DOT building downtown, but the replacement needs to be conservative in price.

Not that Im not for developing these parcles 100%. But the whole Tremont Crossing plan, and this included, looked like big box crap from the get go. It's a mini Seaport all over again - parcel is way too big. If the state was smart and cared about good development, it would break up the parcel into a few smaller ones for piecemeal private development under a well-designed master plan - with new streets to restore the grid in any way that can possibly done through the Madison Park superduperduperblock - instead of two ugly boxes with thousands of parking spaces, and no through vehicular circulation.

Edit - the more I think about it, the more I hate this whole project. This could be the gateway link between Roxbury, JP and the South End. it shouldnt be squandered on bad development, not to mention something wasteful and overpriced.
 
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Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

FK4 said:
Not that Im not for developing these parcles 100%. But the whole Tremont Crossing plan, and this included, looked like big box crap from the get go. It's a mini Seaport all over again - parcel is way too big. If the state was smart and cared about good development, it would break up the parcel into a few smaller ones for piecemeal private development under a well-designed master plan - with new streets to restore the grid in any way that can possibly done through the Madison Park superduperduperblock - instead of two ugly boxes with thousands of parking spaces, and no through vehicular circulation.

Edit - the more I think about it, the more I hate this whole project. This could be the gateway link between Roxbury, JP and the South End. it shouldnt be squandered on bad development, not to mention something wasteful and overpriced.
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I agree with all of this. I never liked this BJs and garage and the shopping mall vibe. Send this back to the drawing board.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Agree - this project needs a redisgn and/or some review. But I do think relocating city/state services out of downtown in mixed use buildings with more efficient layouts and perhaps with reduced footprint is ideal for Boston. I'm thinking of about the Transportation building, Mental Health Building in West End and State Police HQ in Gov/ Center, etc. What spaces would be better than Ruggles (assuming transit access is mandatory)? JFK Umass?

These buildings are out of date and poor uses of downtown real estate. Plus, the mental health building/land monster is only using 50% of space. That's a efficiency crime.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Isn't MassDOT being downtown a GOOD thing since it serves the entire state and is currently very accessible from I-90, I-93, and local and regional transit?
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Forgive my ignorance, but how often does the average taxpayer use MassDOT building or in-person facilities? I understand your point, but Ruggles or JFK isn't exactly non-highway accessable. Both even have commuter rail for suburban carless folks.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Reznor said:
...Mental Health Building in West End....Plus, the mental health building/land monster is only using 50% of space. That's a efficiency crime.
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Mass DOT definitely, and State PD, probably - both could do fine outside of downtown. The mental health building houses homeless DMH clients (who live there, in 5 different shelters) and outpatient services for low income/DMH folks in the Boston area. The people whom it serves really do need it located here (they come from all directions and the shelter folks are helped in finding jobs and housing). This would be much, much harder out in Ruggles. Not that the building itself does them any justice, being as inhuman as a building can be (though I like the architecture and would be sad to see it replaced)!
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

Reznor said:
Forgive my ignorance, but how often does the average taxpayer use MassDOT building or in-person facilities? I understand your point, but Ruggles or JFK isn't exactly non-highway accessable. Both even have commuter rail for suburban carless folks.
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They regularly have public meetings there for various projects. The MassDOT Board meets there, whose meetings are open to the public. The Transportation Library is also there for the public to access. And if I understand correctly, MassDOT employees from other districts across the state visit on a somewhat regular basis.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

The Transportation Library is no longer in the MassDOT building. Its contents were carted off a few months ago to unknown whereabouts, and even a state librarian I know has not been able to determine what has happened to it.

While it's not quite as central, four stops down the Orange Line isn't that much of a hardship. You still have to walk a while or transfer from the Blue and Red lines currently.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

FK4 said:
Mass DOT definitely, and State PD, probably - both could do fine outside of downtown. The mental health building houses homeless DMH clients (who live there, in 5 different shelters) and outpatient services for low income/DMH folks in the Boston area. The people whom it serves really do need it located here (they come from all directions and the shelter folks are helped in finding jobs and housing). This would be much, much harder out in Ruggles. Not that the building itself does them any justice, being as inhuman as a building can be (though I like the architecture and would be sad to see it replaced)!
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Thank you for providing this important perspective on the need to have DMH facilities downtown.

The EGE said:
The Transportation Library is no longer in the MassDOT building. Its contents were carted off a few months ago to unknown whereabouts, and even a state librarian I know has not been able to determine what has happened to it.

While it's not quite as central, four stops down the Orange Line isn't that much of a hardship. You still have to walk a while or transfer from the Blue and Red lines currently.
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That is a shame to hear. That library was critical in my research on the Southwest Corridor my senior year of college. The woman there was very nice and gave me her business card. I came across it cleaning out an old wallet recently and I'll see if I still have it. I might have tossed it.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

I like what I'm seeing,
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335 feet. And with the Northeastern dorm coming up on Burke St at 230 feet, this area of Tremont might become a mini-spine like Boylston in Fenway.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

You know, reading through the previous posts, this area is not that scary guys. Desolate yes, crimewise... it's really not that bad. Then again, the Boston area in general is safer than most cities in the US.
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

The most disturbing part of this project is the garage for 1,600 cars when it's right next to commuter rail and the orange line...

The link posted above for the developer's presentation didn't work, so here's a shortened one:
http://bit.ly/1K7G60x
 
Re: Tremont Crossing in Roxbury

^ Ugh that does suck with all those cars. That area of Tremont is already a headache
 
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