The Hub on Causeway (née TD Garden Towers) | 80 Causeway Street | West End

[KentXie]

Still not enamored by the office portion but at least they tried to incorporate a spire. The base and street level looks great however.

 

[chrisbrat]

pretty disappointing that the most interesting (office) tower of this project is in a virtual tie for "most interesting" (least "meh") of what will be the three defining towers of this area if/when all goes to plan (with avalon). not offensively bad and the street-level looks very-good-to-truly-inspired, depending on how it actually pans out, but boston deserves better and should demand better from skyline-defining projects. with all this almost pre-emptively-defensive talk of how boston is a "world-class city" (it is! cmon! it is -- really!), then how about demanding designs befitting such a global center, rather than settling for projects that would get citizens of albany saying, "uh... yeah, that tower will be good. sure."

 

[fattony]

To each their own regarding matters of taste, but that tower does not look like it came from Albany. Just scroll to the top of this page to see the truly yawn-inducing bullet we dodged.

I happen to like the office tower. People harp on how we don't built iconic towers, well, this one has all the elements to become an icon:

- Prominent on the skyline
- Adjacent to an arena - going to be in a lot of aerial shots on TV
- Adjacent to an existing icon (Zakim Bridge)
- Design language emphasizing the vertical
- A distinctive silhouette and spire

But I guess it doesn't have a boner-inducing floor count...

Much like 111 Huntington, like it or not, we all are going to be seeing a lot of this tower.

 

[DZH22]

The problem isn't the office. We knew we were going to get something fat and stumpy here, with the proximity to the North End especially.

The problem is the residential was supposed to be the stand-out tower, and instead pre-emptively lopped off 150' for no good reason! We're stuck with a plateau 495' tower instead of the 600'+ this was ALREADY APPROVED for.

pretty disappointing that the most interesting (office) tower of this project is in a virtual tie for "most interesting" (least "meh") of what will be the three defining towers of this area if/when all goes to plan (with avalon)................"

4 defining towers, you forgot the 485' one at the Garden Garage. In typical Boston fashion, every tower in close proximity is pretty much the exact same height as the others. We love our plateau('s) here.

 

[stick n move]

I personally HATE the residential. Its way too busy for a lackluster final product. A blue glass rectangular sleek box would have looked better than this hodge podge. Why try so hard just to fail. Sometimes less is more....Hancock. Im fine with the office tower.

 

[ShawnA]

Typical Boston Properties. If this was Millennium Partners they would have definitely went for the Tallest Possible.

 

[goldenretrievers]

replace the spire with a slanty roof

 

[JeffDowntown]

4 defining towers, you forgot the 485' one at the Garden Garage. In typical Boston fashion, every tower in close proximity is pretty much the exact same height as the others. We love our plateau('s) here.

One of the BPDA planners (I won't mention the name) once waved his hand over a model of the Theatre District towers, and made the comment that we really like giving the city a "buzz cut". He was very frustrated that the Ava (under review at the time) wouldn't ask for 10 more floors to break the plateau.

Developers have learned from experience though, NIMBY's tend to win the height fights. Fall into the "crowd" and you have air cover.

 

[KentXie]

replace the spire with a slanty roof

We already have that (and a spire).

That being said, the office portion is basically a rehashed Atlantic Wharf with a spire in the middle instead of the corner.

 

[stick n move]

Millennium would have absolutely delivered a masterpiece at this site (a slanty masterpiece, but a masterpiece nonetheless), I don't even want to think about that.

The office tower at least looks like a regular tower with a crown. Nothing special, but we have minimal crowns. Seeing how from route 2 Avalon NST is the most prominent building on the entire skyline, the same when coming into the city on 93, this is going to dominate. The crown looks good, it will be lit, and its in the most prominent location of the entire area. No complaints from me.

The residential has so many clashing pieces that it never comes together. Its one giant mashup of miscellaneous pieces that don't flow together at all and create a weak final product. Luckily it will be in the background essentially as far as towers in this area go. The residential reminds me of 888 boylston. Its so busy and clashing that you never reach the end of it. It feels like your looking for where all of this will come together and then it just stops. I've said it above and before and it especially applies here, sometimes less is more. Sometimes less is much more. The office tower is clearly the defining piece of the area. When you have that you need to support it well with a good supporting cast. Not try to overshadow it with an extremely lackluster glass clusterfuck that happens to also be shorter. It looks like 15 different architects designed this as a puzzle that was put together at the last second.

Anyways...

All that shit being said this is a win and when it comes to Boston ground level rules out, and here is a shining example. Also Im very happy to get a spire in a prominent location. Ill take it.

Also as a poster above noted, I did not even realize that the old garden layout will be laid out on the floor. Thats a really interesting touch, and the small details are often the important ones. Im excited for this. I wish we could get a true render of the entire area with the garden garage included to really get the full effect of what we are getting here. Either way we all know that this is going to pan out well, and its the freaking west end after all. Having a lit spire welcome you into the city from the north is going to be powerful, especially with the Zakim right there. Build it.

Also........As DZH22 pointed out somewhere else on this forum, I fully agree with him that I love the stepped effect of our skyline. Im not that mad about the residential being knocked down. We will have the Govt Center office tower right behind this crowning the area (which is a true masterpiece). Overall this is a wonderful project.


The prominent piece is right where we need it. Front and center. This is a great "welcome to Boston" tower in my opinion. Don't forget you will also see the Govt center office tower in this shot just to the left of the office tower which just may be the greatest tower in Boston when complete, behind the Hancock. This whole are is going to go from the red headed step child of Boston, to a heavy hitter. We have multiple great gateways into the city and this was the final frontier. Its going to be great.

Sorry to drag this out to almost unnecessary lengths-but I am on topic, but the view from the first picture I posted on this page (the skydeck of the residential), when the GCG office tower is complete, is going to be one HELL of a view.

 

[dshoost88]

Typical Boston Properties. If this was Millennium Partners they would have definitely went for the Tallest Possible.

Yeah... I'm calling BS. Say what you want about Boston Properties' other projects, but don't knock them for 'lack of height' here. I met them 10 months ago and asked about this. They are huge proponents of height and would've loved to "build another [San Francisco] Salesforce Tower there if we could!" See bolded notes/comments from post several months back.

Oh boy, where to begin...



I'm pleased to say I attended the BCDC meeting for this mega development, and by the look of it I was the lone member of "the public" in attendance (or at the very least the only non BP/BCDC member to speak).

Highlights:

- The rendering Downburst shared of the office tower (from the 11/24 BCDC meeting) has been changed. To quote the architect, they did a "reboot" for the site taking into account the site, the BCDC's feedback, and neighborhood concerns. "We want to strive to be taller, more iconic, and reflective of history and the character for this part of the city. Transformed into a modern architecture looking forward."
- Unfortunately, they cannot go higher than 420' for an occupiable floor... but they can put a spire.
- residential tower will have highly reflective glass similar to (identical) to the Intercontinental Hotel on Fort Point Channel, as well as transparent glass on the sides facing Causeway St + the north.
- The hotel and office are being called "The Hub on Causeway"...
- Adamant about a 'green' or sustainable feature on the roof, so there will be wind turbines and I think PV's atop the building (photovoltaics? they didn't elaborate)

I chimed in at the end of the meeting to share some of AB's sentiments about the site (go iconic, taller, be bold, etc.). A couple BCDC members noted they actually frequent this website, so that was exciting to hear. I suggested if they're going to do a spire, to consider something more central on top of the building like One Liberty Place in Philly (the developer smiled when I said this, but confessed upon trying that initially it didn't look good from all vantage points because the building is 12 stories too short for it to work properly). I also suggested some sort of nod to Boston's marine heritage... something more marine than the fishing pole-like spire feature they've got now. I told them to look up "The Address" in Dubai for inspiration on how to tie together the North and South sides of the building while still having a spire feature facing the Zakim, and to integrate wind turbines into the body of the crown's "sail".

 

[BosDevelop]

I don't like how from certain vantage points the top looks unfinished. Like they got to the very top of the building and ran out of money/materials.

 

[stick n move]

I don't like how from certain vantage points the top looks unfinished. Like they got to the very top of the building and ran out of money/materials.

Its because it has to be airy enough to allow enough light to pass through to the solar panels. They were exposed in some of the first renders-and it looked like shit. The current iteration is much better. Just think...this could have been built as the gateway from the north. Bullet dodged.

Thats the purpose, although Im not sure if just clear glass would have been better or worse. It still would have had a sort of unfinished look to it. I think they did a good job on the current version.

Old render via dirtywatermedia:

 

[Beton Brut]

...look up "The Address" in Dubai for inspiration...

Isn't that the hotel that burned like a Duraflame log last New Year's Eve?

 

[odurandina]

Brian Golden and the Board deserve a lot of credit for drawing the Ace of Spades (GGT) for compromising with West End nimby over height at TD Garden... If we can get a 5th tower as close to the cluster as possible, going 740-780', built by HYM or Millennium Partners on the State Service Center site or possibly another parcel could give us a 2nd peak + downslope with what's going up.

If Michelle Wu is stopped from unseating Martin, there's no telling what the future holds.

 

[pel_north]

Its because it has to be airy enough to allow enough light to pass through to the solar panels. They were exposed in some of the first renders-and it looked like shit. The current iteration is much better. Just think...this could have been built as the gateway from the north. Bullet dodged.

Thats the purpose, although Im not sure if just clear glass would have been better or worse. It still would have had a sort of unfinished look to it. I think they did a good job on the current version.

Old render via dirtywatermedia:

I really would've rathered this, but without the stupid lattice at the top.

 

[stick n move]

Thats what the new tower is. Its essentially the same tower and instead of the lattice it has a crown.

 

[pel_north]

@stick, I know I am going to be crucified upside down for saying this, but as the project stands, I'm not a fan at all. It looks very sophomoric and lacks the signature stays that it needs for such a prime location. Very disappointed.

 

[Suffolk 83]

@stick, I know I am going to be crucified upside down for saying this, but as the project stands, I'm not a fan at all. It looks very sophomoric and lacks the signature stays that it needs for such a prime location. Very disappointed.

You wont get crucified by many, I think you're correct. The office tower was gimmicky before the city asked them to spice it up and they came back in the cheapest way possible and made it even more gimmicky.

 

[pel_north]

+1 on that Suffolk. I remember the meetings, what a circus.