Renovations / Conversions

[xec]

There's a number of renovations going on, some of them fairly substantial. It's too much work -- and not worth -- creating a thread for each so they're all getting lumped together here. It's even too much work (OK, I'm lazy) to get the exact addresses so they're listed by street intersection. The pics are a mix of recent and not so recent.

Corner of Arlington and Marlborough streets. A recent Courant article said the penthouse, which overlooks the Public Garden, sold for a hefty sum.

Corner of Clarendon and Columbus.

A Tufts building at the corner of Harrison and Kneeland.

Corner of Kneeland St and Albany St (or Surface Rd). Offices.

Corner of Harrison and Beach. The sign says residential and office condos.

Forecaster Building, 127 Portland St. Lofts per BRA site.

 

[ablarc]

Thirty years ago, an owner intent on developing these properties would have replaced the buildings with something new.

 

[statler]

^^ Progress!

 

[ablarc]

^ Pessimism about the potential for new architecture to improve the environment.

 

[JoeGallows]

The Omni Parker House is undergoing an exterior renovation which, in my daily passings, seems to involve stripping the remaining ornament from the building and hauling out the fragments in pickup trucks.

 

[Cojapo]

I can't understand renovating the Danty Dot building. I was there yesterday and that building doesn't strike me as one that should be saved/renovated.

 

[czsz]

The building at Harrison and Beach used to be stuffed with tenants. In fact, it had an awesome little food court of various Asian food outlets on the second floor. I assume that's all been wiped out...progress indeed.

Whenever a prewar building gets these sort of gut renovations, the inevitable result is a streetscape-deadening expansion of retail square footage and a series of uniform awnings. Small businesses, if invited to return, almost never do well when hidden amongst repetitive signage (NB: Boston and Cambridge actively encourage this by funding "facade improvement programs"). It takes decades for the building to begin to host diverse retail again, and that's if the landlords aren't committed to maintaining newly carved out spaces for big box chains.

They may help to retain detail on upper stories, but renovations often have the same effect on streetlife as the construction of a new building.

 

[whighlander]

Masssive Renovation at McCormack

Anybody know much about the massive renovation by the Federal GSA at the McCormick Building [Former Post Office and Federal Court House} in Post Office Square.

I saw a huge long reach mobile crane lifting large steel to the top of the parapet a couple of weeks ago.

Westy

 

[JoeGallows]

The exterior renovation of the Omni Parker house looks like its starting to wrap-up... or should I say unwrap as the mesh and scaffolding is finally coming down. It seems like all the original ornament was removed (see my previous comment about the pickup trucks) and replaced with reproductions (i.e. the balustrade), so it looks all shiny and new. Other pieces, such as some seals, which seemed to have removed years ago and closed up with color-mismatched bricks also have been restored, looking pre-aged (or maybe they got that dirty that fast).

 

[JoeGallows]

Didn't want to keep the daycare company tower thread off topic, so I suppose this is a better thread for this. Anyway, as of this morning, there's scaffolding on the High Street side of the old hardware store building, so it looks like the old signs are coming down from that side too. (For those who didn't see the other thread, the large yellow signs in the picture below were removed Wednesday the 27th) Small potatoes, I know, but the visual oddity was a nice distraction in this rather bland area.

 

[Boston02124]

Didn't want to keep the daycare company tower thread off topic, so I suppose this is a better thread for this. Anyway, as of this morning, there's scaffolding on the High Street side of the old hardware store building, so it looks like the old signs are coming down from that side too. (For those who didn't see the other thread, the large yellow signs in the picture below were removed Wednesday the 27th) Small potatoes, I know, but the visual oddity was a nice distraction in this rather bland area.

This would be a cool spot for a skinny tower!

 

[GMACK24]

yeah all signs were removed as of yesterday.
sheesh I am out sick all last week and missed all of this : (

 

[GMACK24]

Didn't want to keep the daycare company tower thread off topic, so I suppose this is a better thread for this. Anyway, as of this morning, there's scaffolding on the High Street side of the old hardware store building, so it looks like the old signs are coming down from that side too. (For those who didn't see the other thread, the large yellow signs in the picture below were removed Wednesday the 27th) Small potatoes, I know, but the visual oddity was a nice distraction in this rather bland area.

joe where is the other thread about this project ?

 

[Lrfox]

http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=1943

 

[GMACK24]

Well Folks Here is the BACK

 

[GMACK24]

here is the Front

 

[GMACK24]

and an old photo of the front of the store

 

[briv]

So does anyone know what's going on with this building?

 

[GMACK24]

I assume just cosmetic.
There are no official signs in the window authorizing renovations so as others have mentioned probably just cosmetic / Safety issue.

If anyone knows differently please chime in : )

 

[Suffolk 83]

that building has seen better days...