West Cambridge / Alewife Area Infill & Small Developments

It is interesting in a, "if your into that kind of thing" , kind of way. The other interesting thing about this was its modular construction. Very cool to see the legos get dropped one on top of each other.

cca
 
cca said:
It is interesting in a, "if your into that kind of thing" , kind of way. The other interesting thing about this was its modular construction. Very cool to see the legos get dropped one on top of each other.

cca
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Modular construction could go a long way in bringing down housing costs around here. We need to see more if it. (The Trades hate it, though.)
 
Modular construction is not cheaper. I spent about 4 months going through a serious analysis of when it makes sense. There are only two scenarios in which it becomes economically advantageous. It is when there is a limit to "on-site" construction time ... OR ... there is a limit to "on-site" lay-down or construction space.

This is why you might see a college or university flirt with modular so that they can get projects in the ground taking the academic calendar into account, or projects that were just competed in Brooklyn NY where the site logistics make things very complicated.

The actual construction cost is not where you see the savings. It is in the general conditions on the Contractors side that it can be a savings.

It is true that the Unions complicate things as well.

cca
 
anything cantilevered, no matter how small is a win for the boston area
 
Is it real or is it sketchup?

I would really have preferred it if the black lines at every single corner didn't exist. More like a building and less like an artichokes line drawing.
I do, however, really like play of masses and the yellow/orange lining on the insides of the green panels. Kinda looks like the lining of a smoking jacket.
 
Digital_Islandboy said:
I watched it go up.... Those walls are plywood. If they only have one little fire I would be praying hard for those occupants..... I think the city should BAN the use of so much plywood in a multi-unit dwelling like this. It is practically a chimney.
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I tend to agree ... less on the fire resistance side of things (since it does all meet building code and UL testing) but simply on a durability side of things. This is likely a building that will perform well for about 20 years and then major maintenance will start to slam whoever is left holding this property. It will likely not be the person who built it. Buyer beware I say.

cca
 
"The developer will contribute $25,000 to the City of Cambridge towards planning for an Alewife bicycle and pedestrian bridge and commuter rail station. The developer will also contribute $25,000 to the City of Cambridge towards a Hubway station for the area."
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Gee... $25,000. Still need to pay for the bridge, but sure. Until they have it, I wouldn't call this TOD. It's 3/4 of a mile to Alewife by the time you find your way around the electrical substation and get on the Parkway bridge. It's transit accessible, but not TOD.
 
They should rebrand alewife to "traffic hell"

Place is such a mess, there's not even a decent place to eat / drink.
 
617 said:
They should rebrand alewife to "traffic hell"

Place is such a mess, there's not even a decent place to eat / drink.
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Some people at the development company seem aware of these things. From the correspondence in the application (with the Fresh Pond Residents Alliance):

Reactions centered on the supporting infrastructure (i.e. long proposed bike/pedestrian bridge), the lack of retail in what is becoming a residentially dense neighborhood, traffic concerns, affordability, and the re‐working of the streets around the proposed site based on the city’s last master plan. Height, unit count, unit mix, scale, and site density appeared to be acceptable, as did the home ownership aspect, as there are a great many rental units in the vicinity.
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This might be the nicest neighborhood meeting I've ever heard of...

We have been given a per unit formula from the City of Cambridge for our contribution to a pedestrian bridge that connects to Alewife. The formula is $300 per unit. We are happy to comply with this number for sure, but we have a concern that nothing gets built at these numbers. We, and we hope you, want to clear up a question with the City about their intention and timing around this. $16,500 sitting in escrow isn't helping to ease traffic burdens and promote community health.

We have spoken with Dr. Jonah Jacob who is the manager for Belam Realty, LLC, owner of 125 Fawcett (Long Leaf Lumber). We learned three things: No plans to do anything with the property in the near or distant future, supportive of the pedestrian bridge in theory, not prepared to support the pedestrian bridge financially.
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I like that the developer is calling out the city for not asking them for enough money. Since they ended up giving more than $16,500, I guess I can't be too irritated with them :).

BTW, they're not wrong in calling out Cambridge's BS on this. Assuming a $25 million cost for the bridge and station (in line with Boston Landing), $300 per unit would require that developers build 83,000 units to cover the cost...
 
Arlington said:
$3000 per unit is probably a good number.
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Arlington -- I think the contribution is only for planning and design -- they only need a few $100K

so a few hundred units makes a fair size dent in that $ requirement
 
Renovation/Expansion to 35 CambridgePark (former Pfizer building). Not sure how this is a "renovation", but sure.

http://www.cambridgema.gov/~/media/...Permits/sp314/sp314_appgraphics_rev.pdf?la=en

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