Wentworth Dorm | 630 Huntington Ave | Fenway

DrFreewind said:
This has been on Wentworth's radar for a little while now, here's a grab from the 2017 IMP.

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Great catch! I have to wonder if they will connect it to 610 and/or Baker... I'd say connection to 610 is more likely with Baker probably getting torn down upon completion.
 
HenryAlan said:
I think you might be missing his intended point. My reading of the statement is that if we fight a temporary park being reverted to built structure, then the incentive for building the temporary park is gone. When a land owner has a gas station or other unsightly structure that they aren't ready to replace with new development, they will just leave it as is, rather than risk a fight over the temporary park when the time comes to build.
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If that was the point, I disagree with that as well. In this case, the landowner is Wentworth. No university would ever purchase a gas station located in the middle of its campus, and then just let the property fall apart.

As for other situations… I think it’s unrealistic to ever assume that people will not protest the removal of parks, whether temporary or permanent.
 
datadyne007 said:
I suspected they are talking about Evans Way/Tudbury and some of the other random leased properties in the Fenway that, like Northeastern's, were not ever designed to be student housing, are subpar, and should be returned to the real estate market.
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Evans Way was OK... certainly better that Baker (which I luckily was not subjected to).
 
Baker Hall (~220' wide site) looks good for maybe 2/3 of the lot going 14~18 stories/multi-college.


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I like it, wish the site was a little less tight so the street programming could be more robust but otherwise looks pretty good.
 
The lack of a cafe or similar is a bummer- that stretch of Huntington can feel walled off. But it does look like it'd be difficult to accommodate on such a tight space.
 
208 beds, 102,000 sf..

Other interesting notes:

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While this was known, I didn't think building more and spending more would be the smartest moves, especially for a smaller school like Wentworth. They should be embracing their size rather than trying to compete with schools like Northeastern. Chances of Wentworth, as much as I like the school, competing and innovating over other private four-years are slim, to be honest. Everyone is getting new dorms, likely at the same rates. What might actually give them a leg up is if they add more affordable options and selling their small size as an advantage over other schools.

They also note their goal for 2020-2030 is to bring more students back on campus, which should be highlighted more.
 
stefal said:
208 beds, 102,000 sf..

Other interesting notes:

View attachment 3595
While this was known, I didn't think building more and spending more would be the smartest moves, especially for a smaller school like Wentworth. They should be embracing their size rather than trying to compete with schools like Northeastern. Chances of Wentworth, as much as I like the school, competing and innovating over other private four-years are slim, to be honest. Everyone is getting new dorms, likely at the same rates. What might actually give them a leg up is if they add more affordable options and selling their small size as an advantage over other schools.

They also note their goal for 2020-2030 is to bring more students back on campus, which should be highlighted more.
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But what is the percentage of students living off campus? Given this is Boston I'd say it's still high which means that eats into the market housing stock. Maybe colleges don't need to build more dorms to attract new students but rather to help the current levels. Afterall, they gotta live somewhere.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
But what is the percentage of students living off campus? Given this is Boston I'd say it's still high which means that eats into the market housing stock. Maybe colleges don't need to build more dorms to attract new students but rather to help the current levels. Afterall, they gotta live somewhere.
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It should definitely be a priority to get students from off campus, rather than to attract more students; hence why I mentioned they should look into adding more affordable options rather than continuously adding more 'competitive' ultra-modern living situations, which not only attracts current off-campus students back on to campus, but also attracts more potential students who are a little less well-off/more financially mindful.

We can probably calculate that percentage; a google search says 2,162 beds are available at Wentworth, with 4,516 enrolled (4,341 undergrad, 175 grad). Assuming every on-campus bed is taken, they can get a little under 50% housed on campus. This building is also a 1:1 bed replacement of Edwards & Rogers Halls, so it presumably won't be making a direct dent in that regard.
 
stefal said:
208 beds, 102,000 sf..

Other interesting notes:

View attachment 3595
While this was known, I didn't think building more and spending more would be the smartest moves, especially for a smaller school like Wentworth. They should be embracing their size rather than trying to compete with schools like Northeastern. Chances of Wentworth, as much as I like the school, competing and innovating over other private four-years are slim, to be honest. Everyone is getting new dorms, likely at the same rates. What might actually give them a leg up is if they add more affordable options and selling their small size as an advantage over other schools.

They also note their goal for 2020-2030 is to bring more students back on campus, which should be highlighted more.
Click to expand...


Looks like a very non-dorm looking building that they could turn around and sell at a nice profit down the road, though........Which may be part of the motivation if they need to consolidate in the future.

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Such a difference from the usual Wentworth buildings, in a good way. Sorta looks like the style they proposed for the field site on the corner of Ruggles.

If they would replace Edwards and Rogers with the same massing and close to the same height this block of Huntington would be so much better than when I went to Wentworth back in the late 90s early 2000s. Someone mentioned above about a cafe. More small retail here, ie cafes and small general store would go along way for that area. Brigham Circle isn't too far but far enough.
 
stefal said:
208 beds, 102,000 sf..

Other interesting notes:

View attachment 3595
While this was known, I didn't think building more and spending more would be the smartest moves, especially for a smaller school like Wentworth. They should be embracing their size rather than trying to compete with schools like Northeastern. Chances of Wentworth, as much as I like the school, competing and innovating over other private four-years are slim, to be honest. Everyone is getting new dorms, likely at the same rates. What might actually give them a leg up is if they add more affordable options and selling their small size as an advantage over other schools.

They also note their goal for 2020-2030 is to bring more students back on campus, which should be highlighted more.
Click to expand...

Disagree. Worked at Wentworth back in the day. The demographic crunch is worse in New England than nationwide. So it is the local schools that are getting crushed.

Wentworth so far avoided that by creating a short cut to middle class life for poor or academically weak local students. Lowish prices plus coop program and focus on practical skills.

However, the demographic crunch will continue to get worse, so there is a need to raise the profile and recruit nationwide, and part of that is building housing. Wentworth has already significantly raised its profile I believe.
 
Hydrobus said:
Disagree. Worked at Wentworth back in the day. The demographic crunch is worse in New England than nationwide. So it is the local schools that are getting crushed.

Wentworth so far avoided that by creating a short cut to middle class life for poor or academically weak local students. Lowish prices plus coop program and focus on practical skills.

However, the demographic crunch will continue to get worse, so there is a need to raise the profile and recruit nationwide, and part of that is building housing. Wentworth has already significantly raised its profile I believe.
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As a STEM school Wentworth is well positioned to survive. As opposed to a school that trained pre-school teachers and social workers e.g. Wheelock.
 
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