Who is going to want to be the pioneer resident on Federal St.?
*Raises hand*
The pre WWII stuff you could make a mint off simply exposing the beams and refinishing the floors. People are paying 400k to live in
Porter 156, a 1910 three story bra factory with not all that redeeming architectural qualities. It's in a meh area of Eastie that overlooks the airport, is just outside of comfortable walking range of the few of the good things over there, and features a hellish walk across a windswept park to the blue line in the winter.
The newer stuff would take some more marketing, but its still in the heart of the city. In fact, this could be the solution to Bostons housing issue. Since the buildings are already paid for and standing there loosing money, the conversions could be modest and allow more of an average joe to be able to afford to live downtown, versus a new building that has to be luxury to pay for itself, or the older residential buildings that are expensive because they have always been that way. In fact - isn't that how citys are supposed to work? The new stuff is expensive and where the rich live, while the less well off live in the hand-me-down buildings?
Maybe we'll see
888 Boylston start before the end of the decade.
Honestly I hope not. Other then the heinous wall of the Hynes, that plaza is probably the only successful elemet of the Pru's original landscaping. The lower courtyard is always in use, the farmers market there is pretty cool, they have outdoor seating now for the new restaurant that just opened up in the Hynes, and the view of the tower from there is incredible.
The upper courtyard needs some help, but with a renovation to better tie it into the food court, allowing egress through there in the winter, and redoing those absurd stairs (anyone who's walked them knows what I'm talking about) it could be successful as well.
There would have to be a very substantial building proposed to have a net gain by building on that plaza, and the linked project isn't it.
There's a lot more developable space in the Pru complex, as well as the adjacent Pike parcels, that should be built on before the plaza. This is the same issue I took with 319a st rear: things that work are being demolished while literally surrounded by a sea of garbage. THIS is what the BRA should be working on: helping developers build their projects where it is good for the city as a whole, instead of worrying about fucking shadows.