West Cambridge / Alewife Area Infill & Small Developments

Equilibria said:
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

y8zp.png
Click to expand...

Equilibria -- they said something about reuse of materials -- today that makes it a reno -- the prototype was the Hynes where they left one column standing -- so that it would fit under the term renovation and reconstruction in the bill the Legislature passed

But it will be nice to have some retail right next to Alewife

Big challenge is traffic flow as Cambridge Park Drive is becoming quite developed and there is only one way in and out
 
Lanes and Games on the chopping block. UHub.

The development along Rte 2's freeway terminus is definitely precluding what were previously some easy adjustments to improve the roadway. For example, giving 2E towards Fresh Pond Pkwy two dedicated lanes earlier would help with inbound traffic. As it is, people turning to Rte 16 towards Mystic Valley Pkwy block Fresh Pond Pkwy traffic from getting through.
 
tysmith95 said:
Nooo :'(
Click to expand...

Seriously. I'd ask the Planning Board to deny it just to save Lanes and Games. It should be a designated landmark.

They can go ahead and put a 10-story building on the hotel to make up the units, though. :)
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
Lanes and Games on the chopping block. UHub.

The development along Rte 2's freeway terminus is definitely precluding what were previously some easy adjustments to improve the roadway. For example, giving 2E towards Fresh Pond Pkwy two dedicated lanes earlier would help with inbound traffic. As it is, turning to Rte 16 towards Mystic Valley Pkwy block Fresh Pond Pkwy traffic from getting through.
Click to expand...

Seriously. If Cambridge is in a mood to extract proffers, a setback to allow for decent transit/HOV access would be a very good thing to get.
 
Alewife may have beyond atrocious urbanism, but how many units have been built in that area over 2016+-5 years? It has to be significantly beyond 1000. I'd be very interested in seeing the ridership statistics from Alewife over that period, to see whether the new residents commute by car or walk to the station.
 
This sucks. I'm all for development in that area but Lanes and Games is an institution here. Like said earlier, ideally they would save Lanes & Games and building denser behind and next to...
 
Lanes and Games would no-doubt be a huge loss, but nothing fills the void left behind by Good Times. That one still kills me. No place like it that I know of in Massachusetts.
 
Send them all in front of The Hague if L&G gets the wrecking ball, because that would be a warcrime. :(
 
There's officially nothing to do in the area if L&G goes away...besides stare at traffic...
 
617 said:
There's officially nothing to do in the area if L&G goes away...besides stare at traffic...
Click to expand...

You can still go to Apple Cinemas. Less than $5 to see a movie on Tuesdays!
 
dwash59 said:
You can still go to Apple Cinemas. Less than $5 to see a movie on Tuesdays!
Click to expand...

I doubt that cinema is long for this world. I guess you can always just get on Red at Alewife and go elsewhere... at least you'd be able to get a seat! Riders at Central Square haven't seen a seat on a Red Line train in 12 years.
 
BussesAin'tTrains said:
I doubt that cinema is long for this world. I guess you can always just get on Red at Alewife and go elsewhere... at least you'd be able to get a seat! Riders at Central Square haven't seen a seat on a Red Line train in 12 years.
Click to expand...

I'd feel better if they were making any attempt to relocate L&G, because the asphalt wasteland at Fresh Pond on the Cinemas side would actually be a perfect site with net-gain accessibility and patronage for them. But no...the forces of boxy office park and parkway condo redev will ensure that thou shalt have no fun in thy own neighborhood.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
I'd feel better if they were making any attempt to relocate L&G, because the asphalt wasteland at Fresh Pond on the Cinemas side would actually be a perfect site with net-gain accessibility and patronage for them. But no...the forces of boxy office park and parkway condo redev will ensure that thou shalt have no fun in thy own neighborhood.
Click to expand...

That's a planning failure. Cambridge should be requiring every building along CPD, New St. etc. to provide ground floor retail that is USEFUL. Office developers would much prefer that every building have a lunch counter/coffee bar, like 200 CPD has, like 80 CPD shows in their renders and like 35 CPD will inevitably have. It's useful for tenants without attracting unsavory outsiders.

This high-rent "mixed-use" neighborhood has not a single dinner restaurant (unless you count the sushi place). When L&G and the Apple close (I agree that the latter is inevitable), there won't be any entertainment venues at all - just big box retail, grocery stores, and lunch counters. That's about as stark a city planning snafu as a non-suburb can give you.
 
Equilibria said:
I don't count those. Those are corporate lunch joints.
Click to expand...

And somebody any year now is going to buy and raze the haphazard Summer Shack plaza to build yet another Cambridgepark box with nothing on the ground floor. That's one of the most sought-after parcels left in that cluster.


Bertucci's doesn't count because they're an MBTA tenant the city's planning (or lackthereof) forces have no say in. And not a very inspiring example either since the space they occupy is pretty drab and outdated. Alewife station is itself a sad commentary on how to waste ground-floor square footage with utterly underwhelming utilization.
 
Equilibria said:
I don't count those. Those are corporate lunch joints.
Click to expand...

They're both open until 10. Any sit-down restaurant in this area is going to double as a "corporate lunch joint." They wouldn't be viable if they didn't.
 
F-Line to Dudley said:
And somebody any year now is going to buy and raze the haphazard Summer Shack plaza to build yet another Cambridgepark box with nothing on the ground floor. That's one of the most sought-after parcels left in that cluster.


Bertucci's doesn't count because they're an MBTA tenant the city's planning (or lackthereof) forces have no say in. And not a very inspiring example either since the space they occupy is pretty drab and outdated. Alewife station is itself a sad commentary on how to waste ground-floor square footage with utterly underwhelming utilization.
Click to expand...

Well, that's all an opportunity. If I ran Cambridge, I'd start working with the property owner and MBTA to realign CPD/Access Road to meet Rindge (as you've outlined before), then develop the current roadbed, church, and grass patch with solid retail that takes advantage of direct station access from multiple levels of the garage. Build a new Summer Shack in there (it's not a bad place) and then demo the current building for apartments. Get out ahead of the inevitable loss of the Apple and put a new cinema in the higher floors, perhaps.

It's possible that the MBTA could get some cash out of that to finally fix Alewife's humiliating drainage issues, and they'd have an opportunity to reconfigure the ground floor to permit buses to enter the station from the west (since the southside access is being cut off for the new building).
 
Equilibria said:
Well, that's all an opportunity. If I ran Cambridge, I'd start working with the property owner and MBTA to realign CPD/Access Road to meet Rindge (as you've outlined before), then develop the current roadbed, church, and grass patch with solid retail that takes advantage of direct station access from multiple levels of the garage. Build a new Summer Shack in there (it's not a bad place) and then demo the current building for apartments. Get out ahead of the inevitable loss of the Apple and put a new cinema in the higher floors, perhaps.

It's possible that the MBTA could get some cash out of that to finally fix Alewife's humiliating drainage issues, and they'd have an opportunity to reconfigure the ground floor to permit buses to enter the station from the west (since the southside access is being cut off for the new building).
Click to expand...

It'd be an opportunity if the City of Cambridge exhibited any interest in positive outcomes for Alewife, instead of treating it as a hinterland with no planning required.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top