West End Library | 151 Cambridge Street | West End

stick n move

stick n move

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151 Cambridge Street

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“Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc. (POAH) and Caste Capital, LLC (Caste) will redevelop the West End Library into 119 units of affordable housing, community space, and a new West End branch of the Boston Public Library. We envision the transformation of a beloved community resource into a welcoming, spacious library alongside a sustainable, diverse, intergenerational affordable housing community.”

Bostonplans main page:
https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/west-end-library

Loi
https://bpda.app.box.com/s/8xg1uzgnd41p41f3nk1yehs0e3q784pe

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Original project timeline page:

https://www.boston.gov/buildinghousing/west-end-library-housing-public-assets

Team/builder selection:
https://www.boston.gov/news/redevelopment-boston-public-librarys-west-end-branch-include-housing

Applicant presentation:

















https://www.boston.gov/sites/defaul...ts/attachment/document/0698b00000TnLAWAA3.pdf
 
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All of the worst design tropes in one place!
 
DZH22 said:
Has this been decided? There's a 2nd presentation on page 43

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3rd presentation on page 62

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The heights listed in the next 2 slides don't include the mechanical crowns and thus are all too low, including for this proposal.

View attachment 59293

View attachment 59294




4th presentation on page 83

View attachment 59295

View attachment 59296
Click to expand...

Yes it has been decided thats why I havent included those other presentations. I provided the links in the original post where you can follow the process of how they got to where they got. My second post is the most recent presentation, which was posted today, of the most up to date version of the project that they chose.

They made it a bit confusing but on the timeline page, which is a boston.gov page not bostonplans, the last post is from jan 3 2025 and explains how they chose the POAH and Caste capital design and to refer back to their slides from the 2023 presentation which I posted above in my first post. Heres the quote:

“Happy new year! In December, the City of Boston's Public Facilities Commission voted to designate a partnership of Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) and Caste Capital to redevelop this site. The proposal from POAH and Caste Capital includes a new two-story library branch as well as 119 units of affordable housing, situated in a new building that will boast multiple open spaces and amenities, a low carbon footprint, and a strong connection to its surroundings on Cambridge Street. All of the slides from this team's presentation in July of 2023 are available above. I also want to emphasize that the community process will continue from here, with many opportunities for you to make your voice heard. We will share all of these opportunities as they happen. For the more detailed press release about this milestone, click here:https://www.boston.gov/news/mayor-m...redevelopment-boston-public-librarys-west-end”
 
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Submit a comment and tell these chuckleheads to find a new architectural trope. No more offset windows in 2025!!!
 
The chosen proposal reminds me of the old parking garage that was replaced by 45 Province Street.

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How much pessimism am I feeling that option A will be the one built and then the neighborhood will also complain about the lack of housing?
 
Where in the dev cycle is this exactly, is there a chance to push for C/D through one of the public comment systems and have any small influence at all.
 
Czervik.Construction said:
How much pessimism am I feeling that option A will be the one built and then the neighborhood will also complain about the lack of housing?
Click to expand...

It turns out that "Option A" is from one of the failed bids and the version in the first post is what will be built.
 
I'm estimating 16' for that very top section which would make this 182'.

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The materials are critical with this one - the warmth of the timber is critical for avoiding a brutalist feeling (back at the beginning of the thread we have some more zoomed-in looks).

From the isometric it looks like it's covered in pink alcuobond/concrete, but it's wood.
 
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