Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street | Cambridge - Kendall Sq

[briv]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

I split this off from the Cambridge thread.

Here are a few renderings from the project's site:

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

MIT has an initiative focused on 2030 that pomises much more street-level urbanity

I believe that 610 Main is the first non-MIT campus building to try to comply with the concepts

Here's the website for the initiative

http://web.mit.edu/mit2030/index.html

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Susan Hochfield invites you to go fly over the campus and its Cambridge environs (mostly owned by MIT) --- Haaaaaahvd must be crying in their tea cups for buying the wrong land outside of their original campus

"MIT 2030 is not a fixed plan. Rather, it's an ongoing process, a tool for envisioning — and inventing — a vibrant future for our physical campus and the innovation district close by. Through this evolving website, we're eager to share findings and ideas from our initial and ongoing discussions. For a sense of the big picture, I encourage you to view the campus flyover, as well. I look forward to working with the MIT community and with our neighbors as we imagine and build a campus that will help MIT succeed in its perpetual quest to help invent the future.
Susan Hockfield, President, MIT"

So buckle your seat belts and take off on an overview of MIT's physical impact on Cambridge now and on toward 2030

http://web.mit.edu/mit2030/flyover.html

PS: the "Osborn Triangle" she refers to in the flight seems to be partitioned between 610 Main and a future nano-fabrication facility -- perhaps the old industrial buildings back toward the corner with Albany St. are the future home of nanotech

 

[briv]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

This site is now fenced off and they're tearing up the asphalt parking lot.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

This site is now fenced off and they're tearing up the asphalt parking lot.

thar makes sense as I walked by on Saturday and there were some things stored in the lot near to the Portland St. and Mass Ave corner, which looked as if they might be construction related:
1 -- 1 blue porta...
2 -- 2 shipping containers

 

[statler]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

they're tearing up the asphalt parking lot.

Always a delight to hear those words together.

 

[BostonUrbEx]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

1 -- 1 blue porta...

Blue porta-potties are a 90% guarantee of construction. If it's green, exactly the opposite, 90% chance it is for an event or is semi-permanent public restroom.

Or so, that's my hypothesis... Still trying to secure $50mil in federal grants to test this.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Blue porta-potties are a 90% guarantee of construction. If it's green, exactly the opposite, 90% chance it is for an event or is semi-permanent public restroom.

Or so, that's my hypothesis... Still trying to secure $50mil in federal grants to test this.

Urb -- I'd bet with the low level of overall construction activity that you could probably borrow some Blue units -- say 100
paint 50 green
leave 50 blue

take 25 of each color and set them up at some construction venues
take 25 of each color and set them up at some civic events

make some careful observations of the length of the various lines in front of the various colorred facilities

I'd bet that with the high level of unemployment, availability of clip-boards, etc.

You could do this phase of the study for less than $10M -- I'll be happy to design the rest of your study for you for a slim $5M

 

[crash575]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Lots of work is underway at the 610 Main Street. There has been a decent amount of utility work (MWRA and Cambridge DPW cutting water lines) along Albany Street. The parking lot is now completely torn up. Two cranes are now driving sheet piles right next to the Shire building.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

We have comparable in size projects (within factor of 2 or so) just starting in Cambridge:

1) 610 Main @ MIT;
2) Alexandria @ Binney St;
3) Skansa @ 2nd;
4) Novartis @ MIT;
5) EF building @ Northpoint

How about a pole / pool --- which will top off first?

 

[Mike]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

MIT begins building Pfizer facility
Research at Kendall Square site will focus on drugs for diabetes, Alzheimer’s
By Casey Ross | GLOBE STAFF NOVEMBER 19, 2011


Pfizer Inc. on Monday will add its name to an ever-growing list of corporate giants expanding research operations near the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as it kicks off construction of a new complex in Kendall Square.

The company will move into a 230,000-square-foot building that MIT is building at 610 Main St., where it will conduct research on drugs for type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and schizophrenia, among other illnesses. About 400 employees will work in the building.

“The objective is to take advantage of a revolution going on in biology and make better decisions about the therapeutic targets we’re working on,’’ said Rod MacKenzie, vice president of research and development for Pfizer. “When you’re dealing with really big medical problems like diabetes and Alzheimer’s, it takes a lot of people coming together to make an impact.’’

Pfizer is the latest of several large biotechnology companies looking to tap the deep reservoir of scientific talent in Kendall Square. Biogen Idec is expanding its office and research complex in the area, and early next year Novartis AG is scheduled to begin a $600 million facility next to MIT. In addition to its roster of pharmaceutical companies, Kendall Square also hosts offices for Google Inc., Microsoft Corp., and a wide range of technology start-ups.

MIT officials said that once the Pfizer building is completed in late 2013, they intend to develop a second building at 610 Main St. Together the buildings will contain about 500,000 square feet of office and lab space, along with retail stores at street level. The complex is expected to cost about $300 million.

In addition to the commercial development, MIT is also planning $1.5 billion in upgrades to its campus in coming years, including several new academic buildings. In recent decades, the university has gradually redeveloped many of the old industrial buildings around Kendall Square, beginning a transformation to a burgeoning mixed-use neighborhood with offices, homes, and a growing list of retailers and restaurants.

University officials said the work is central to creating an environment attractive to the world’s leading companies and researchers. “If we do it right, we will build powerful innovation cluster,’’ said Steve Marsh, managing director of real estate for MIT. “We have huge momentum in that area right now.’’

Link

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Mike -- I drove by on Main St. today (at sunset so I didn't get a really good view and it definitely was too dark for photos)

But It certainly seemed that there was quite a bit of construction equipment on the site including some small cranes and there is (as I believe someone noted earlier) already some sheet piles in place

Anyone have any further info on the status of the project?

 

[crash575]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Here is a photo from last week of the site. They've nearly finished driving all the sheet piles and have excavated about a third of the site.

We should be seeing similar activity from the Novartis site soon.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Here is a photo from last week of the site. They've nearly finished driving all the sheet piles and have excavated about a third of the site.

[/IMG]

Excellence vantage point to watch the progress

Where from the pix?

 

[crash575]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

One of the Tech Square buildings.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

One of the Tech Square buildings.

Crash -- keep shooting

This will be an interesting project to watch in progress

 

[whighlander]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Lots of work is underway at the 610 Main Street. There has been a decent amount of utility work (MWRA and Cambridge DPW cutting water lines) along Albany Street. The parking lot is now completely torn up. Two cranes are now driving sheet piles right next to the Shire building.

Crash -- drove by yesterday -- multiple excavators at work

On the other Cambridge sites:

Skansa site -- multiple digging going on and some foundation work is complete

nothing apparent inside the fence at the Alexandria site

Novartis has a bunch of equipment on site

there also seems to be some activity around 6th and Binney St. -- not sure what

 

[crash575]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

The hole is getting bigger...

From Sunday:

 

[kz1000ps]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Yesterday:

 

[BostonUrbEx]

Re: Six Ten @ MIT | 610 Main Street, Cambridge

Interesting soil. Is that clay? Or is it sandy?