The Bryant - 301-319 Columbus Avenue

P

PaulC

Senior Member
Joined
May 27, 2006
Messages
1,617
Reaction score
0
Looks like this project is getting started. The site has recently been fenced off.

The Bryant is a mixed-use, luxury, boutique condominium development that is designed with 50 residential units, including 9 au pair suites, 43 storage spaces and 2 ground floor retail spaces. The unit program and mix of units is 2 bedroom and 2 bedroom + study / 3 bedroom units with larger than average square footage and a variety of amenities.

The Bryant is located on 301-319 Columbus Avenue at the threshold of Back Bay and the South End of Boston, Massachusetts and offers easy access to public transportation, the Mass Pike, Route 93, Logan Airport, South Station, Boston's Financial District, restaurants and other urban conveniences.
Click to expand...

http://www.wrecapital.com/property.asp?project=5
 
...

currently its a one story commercial building and a fenced driveway.
 
For the lazy kids:

303columbus-thebryant_resized_web.jpg
 
I don't understand why name a building after Gridley Fox Bryant, and then make it look nothing like a building he would have designed.
 
It's ok. The building definitely has room for improvement, but I have seen buildings much worse. Maybe if the building had more drastic height changes or something, it just seems like another simple, flat roofed building for Boston.
 
Well, itll fit in....

I like the green top though
 
Re: ...

Merper said:
currently its a one story commercial building and a fenced driveway.
Click to expand...
This is what should happen to all one story commercial/retail buildings in the area. And there are plenty of them scattered around town.

Architecturally, I think the building looks pretty nice. It's as tall as they could easily get away with, and matches its neighbors while not outright copying them. The one thing I don't get is why the side of the green part has no windows. Are they anticipating the adjacent building adding a few floors?
 
The reason that there are no windows on the sides of the building is that it is against building code to construct windows within a few feet of a property line (and in this case ON the property line). There are also fire safety reasons for this rule, but if you think about this logically, if this were not the rule whoever built tallest first would preclude his neighbors from building to similar height. No matter what the zoning in place, this does not make sense - one variance should not preclude others.
 
^^
I would guess that fire can jump through a window quicker than through a wall.
 
But that's just as true for a front or back window as a side window.
 
The buildings on the side tend to be closer then buildings across the street or behind.

Granted, that's not alwas true but on average...
 
I'm not an expert by any stretch, but I think the gist of the rule addresses how fires spread - the statistic addressed by the building codes is the window-to-wall ratio, and you aren't allowed a high ratio if the building is close to a property line. And no windows at all if within 5 feet of the line, or something like that. Of course there are many buildings in Boston built before that code was written. However, you can't expand an existing window built on a lot line. As for egress, lot line windows are by definition not legal exits. From a practical standpoint, a window seven stories up that opened into an alleyway only a foot or two wide likely wouldn't help anyone but Spiderman anyway.

Implication, by the way, if you are condo shopping in older buildings in Boston is to pay attention to this ... what appears to be a bedroom may in fact really be a closet (without a legal secondary means of egress).
 
Construction is well under way here, with roughly half the site dug down about a floor or so, but they're still a ways away from any concrete being poured.
 
Sorry 'bout the sun, but I couldn't get access to the other side

 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top