archBOSTON ARCHIVE

[Bowwest]

Here's a closer look.

[DarkFenX]

The building probably has to be ugly for it to be approve. Looking at most of the skyscrapers and high-rises in Boston, Boston probably wouldn't allow a fancy looking tower. I just wish the building was made with more glass.

[Coyote137]

[TheBostonian]

Hm. It would be better if Manulife were visable from the water. I have hope that any sh!tty buildings will be lost in the mix of everything that will eventually be built in the area.

[TheBostonian]

Actually, I think this picture makes the area look quite promising.

[bosma]

Wow what a disgrace, that is one ugly piece of crap. Right on the waterfront. Looks like another cheap construction job, just like Hotel Comm.

I think the vent towers look better, seriously

[ablarc]

Public housing.

We're still building projects.

But now we call them luxury.

[Bowwest]

8/15






I think one of the major problems with this design (besides those windows^) is that it all kind of blends together. If they had used a different material for the first couple of floors i don't think it would have turned out as bland. (Forgive my crappy Photoshop skills)

Maybe not the best color but you get the idea...


Compared to this..


Next door is looking good though

[Mike]

Fallon projects highlight waterfront building boom
Developer is focusing on $350 million worth of work in Seaport
Michelle Hillman
Journal Staff


Joseph Fallon has a hand in nearly every property type being developed in the Seaport District: apartment and condo residential, hotel, retail and even industrial.

Last week, he opened an apartment high-rise. He's a partner in the development of the new convention center hotel and its adjoining 100,000 square feet of retail space, he's working with a team on permitting Pier 4, and he's involved in a joint venture to build more than 400,000 square feet of industrial space on the waterfront.

After years of working on plans and collaborating with partners, Fallon, president of the Fallon Co., is in the midst of a building boom like he's never seen -- at least not in the Seaport District.

"You need patience and capital to get things done," said Fallon, who has been working on the $140 million residential project known as Park Lane Seaport since 1994.

Both qualities have led developers to phone Fallon to help them figure out Boston's biggest development mystery: Fan Pier.

For now, Fallon is concentrating on the $350 million worth of projects in the works. The first phase of Park Lane's 157 apartments are being rented now at rates around $1,500 to $3,000 a month. A second phase of the 465-unit project will likely be condominiums.

Another developer, John Drew, has been developing property in South Boston -- including the 1.1 million-square-foot World Trade Center and Seaport Hotel -- for 20 years. He's currently working on securing five ground leases from the Massachusetts Port Authority to build a 600,000-square-foot retail complex known as Waterside Place. Drew said he plans to permit the project in the fall and to start construction in 2006.

The South Boston waterfront is still searching for a neighborhood identity, according to local real estate executives. Other than the World Trade Center's tenants, few companies have ventured to the waterfront, which has traditionally been a center for the shipping and fish-processing industries.

Fallon says the various property types can co-exist. A team of developers that includes Fallon has been selected to build 450,000 square feet of warehouse space on nearly 26 acres of MassPort-owned land in South Boston's Marine Industrial Park. The group's other members are: Boston Freight Terminals, Cargo Ventures LLC of New York and New England Development.

The recent building boom has made room for tenants that now include Manulife Financial, which moved into its global headquarters there last year, and will soon include Boston architectural firm Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, which plans to move to 66,000 square feet for 15 years at the World Trade Center.

"There's a lot of exciting development going on in the Seaport," said Carole Wedge, president of the design firm. "It will become more urban over the next decade."

All of the development on the waterfront is attracting attention, said William Collins, senior vice president of Spaulding & Slye Colliers.

"The progress that's been made down there is just physically and visually impressive," said Collins. "Tenants are realizing it and trying to get ahead of the curve a little bit."



Link

[Vanshnookenraggen]

----

[TheBostonian]

Excellent update. I think the ICA is something to be excited about. Boston will always have a great contrast of old and new, with all the horrible 1960s buildings in between.

[DarkFenX]

I actually like this shot of BHR. It actually makes the building look tall.

[Poolio]

I can sum up my opinion of BHR as follows: I'm unmoved by it. Far from loving it, yes, but equally far from hating it. I find it plain and simple, uninspired, but also honest and unpretentious.

It's been compared somewhere above to the Hotel Commonwealth, and that is just not right. The HC was offensive because of what it pretended to be, and then the absolutely farcical way in which it failed to be that. It wasn't honest; it was a poorly designed stage set, with appique details, false dormers, and plastic skin. That was truly awful.

BHR, on the other hand, is what it is. It barely even qualifies as post modern since it makes very little reference to historical architectural motifs. No pillars or arches or dormers or mansard roofs; no pediments or porticos or cornices. Not much of anything really. It doesn't pretend; it just is. And although you may argue that what it is ain't much, I'll take a plain and honest building over an awkward pastiche of misused architectural elements.

I think its massing is good. Its overall form is fine. Its design is balanced and consistent. It has just enough funky angles and vertical glass bays (including the corners) to save it from being banal. On the whole it is solid but unremarkable, and I like it well enough to live with it.

My problems with it are: the cheap look of the surface material; the number of windows that are too small for its surface area; the pasty and rather dingy hue; the overall size of its footprint; and the simple fact that it is surrounded by too much empty space. Some of these issues will be addressed (or become less noticable) with time. Some won't. But these are still not enough to push my opinion to the negative side of ambivalent.

Like all of you, I am concerned about Fallon being involved with so much development in the Seaport. One or two of these buildings is all right, but if the Westin, the Marriott, Pier 4, and Fan Pier all end up with a similar cheap and plain look, then we are in trouble.

(BTW, great pics. I especially like the one of BHR behind the pergola and the one DarkFenX mentioned.)

[Bowwest]

[TheBostonian]

Is there anything going in the first floor of these residential buildings?

[dudeursistershot]

[TheBostonian]

Good. That means it won't be a dead zone with only residents and tumbleweed passing through.

[Palindrome]

great update friend!

[Vanshnookenraggen]

[BostonFaker]

Why can't parts of the city be "dead," and pretty much residential?

[budman3]

All parts? Because there are already enough of dead residential places in town, and its time we get a little more exciting.

[Vanshnookenraggen]

[Matt]

What a fantastic point.

Years ago, we lived in the lower corner of the South End, by the Boston Medical Center (this was before walgreen's, flour, etc.). It was an incredibly dense area, but the reality was nothing was immediately walkable. Foodie's was the closest grocery store...which was great...but it had a limited selection (that may have changed). Everything else walkable were the bars and restaurants we loved at night. But being near the Franklin didn't help when we needed the day-to-day services (post office, dry cleaner, hardware store, etc.). Now, of course the South End has these services, now more than ever, but back then it made more sense to jump into the car and double park wherever we needed to go. Then, the washington street area was totally dead (almost unnervingly so).

Our friends were aghast when we decided to jump the river to Central Square ("no one lives in Cambridge!!")....and it's been a totally different experience. Within a five minute walk, we have the the T, services of a post office, my gym, hardware stores, pharmacies, restaurants, coffee shops, book stores, etc. Some of the new people we've met (at one of the real neighborhood pubs in the entire boston area -- the river gods) don't cross the river themselves anymore...because everything they need is within walking distance. And...as much as I HATE the comparison to NYC....my little 'village' reminds me of that Village or such, where there can be a myriad of services easily walkable. Over the past 10 years, I've lived in Charlestown, the Back Bay and the South End, and each had varying degrees of these. Charlestown was the worst in this respect. Sure, it was great to walk to Olives for a nice meal, but it didn't help me when I wanted to buy a book.

I work at the boston design center and either drive/or silver line through the seaport...it too reminds me of kendall square. Having the hippest restaurant in the lobby of your building (ugh...and, we all know that's going to happen) won't help anyone that random saturday afternoon when they need to buy a hammer. I fear this is the direction that 'neighborhood' will be going. God help the people who live near Broadway Street...I foresee an incredible increase of double parking there..........

P.S. I totally agree with all of you regarding parking lots for the suburbanites. We made a choice -- operative word -- to live in a smaller space in the city for the amount of money that would have afforded us a much larger house 30 miles out.

[PaulC]

The closest shopping to Columbia Point Housing use to be at Columbia Point Housing. The mall was closed in the 70's because of the high pilferage rate.

[BostonFaker]

Well I guess residential is not just residential, in my eyes.

I agree with you guys, that if people live in an area, they need all the daily services readily available.

I guess I just got a feel that you guys thought we needed attractions in all neighborhoods to bring in outsiders.

[Vanshnookenraggen]

[Poolio]

[Vanshnookenraggen]

[ckb]

[Vanshnookenraggen]

[Matt]

I've been thinking of this one today, and remembering my experience in the Back Bay. The waterfront, on paper, had the literal opportunity to become the 'new back bay' (starting from scratch, the convention center, new mall, new signature hotel, etc. etc. And, remember that the prudential/hynes complex helped revitlize that entire area in the 60s/70s).

I think someone here talked about retail for another post (ablarc? north point? having leases with less rent to get things started? something like that) which I think is significant for this post. Hopefully they will jump into this discussion

Market conditions will directly be a factor in what types of retail the waterfront gets, and that will directly (in my opinion) determine how much of a 'real' neighborhood it is. (Not even going into the lack of schools and houses of worship in that area, also key components of neighborhoods).

Brand new construction with large open retail spaces probably won't be financially feasible for a local florist, coffee shop, dry cleaner or hardware store. They will be geared towards the national chains (banks! argh!) and the restauranteurs with deep pockets. Remember that in the 70s and early 80s, the Back Bay was not in its current glory....some of those retail spaces (my old dry cleaner for one) were tiny and very long in the tooth....and still are. When they are renovated, which they will be at some point, it'll be out with the dry cleaner and in with Prada. Not to say that high end retail is bad, of course....there is obviously more needed to create a true neighborhood.

For me, a neighborhood is about all of these...services, conveniences and 'attitude'. And, I just don't feel you get the same vibe from a Gap as you do from a 2nd hand clothing store. This is the reason why I find paris, london and NYC so successful. As enormous as they are, they are composed of numerous 'villages' -- usually offering the entire spectrum of retail. I just don't see it happening down there (or at North Point, for that matter).

[Vanshnookenraggen]

[BostonFaker]

Again, this message must be added: Give the Seaport time.

The Back Bay is over 100 years old.

[Vanshnookenraggen]

Im not saying the Waterfront wont ever work, I'm just saying that the way it is being build now will never make it into the next Back Bay. But I agree it will be something else in 100 years.

[Matt]

bingo

[tocoto]

I agree that the seaport needs time before it can be judged. It won't be a small block, victorian neighborhood, but it could be a very nice 21st century commercial and residential neighborhood. There is still a long way to go. Some of the stuff being built is OK, some is good, none is really crappy. There isn't an ambience yet, because there is not enough there to create one. Reflecting on the past, it's already light years ahead (and a lot better) compared to the vast wasteland it was for the past 25+ years.

[Rick]

This was also on the TSA website, the u/c Renaissance Hotel in the
seaport. At least it will partially block the blandness that is Park Lane.

[Poolio]

Those renderings look like two different buildings, both of which are entirely different from what's shown at the Fallon Company web site.

At least its not another Arrowstreet design, so at least we may get a little bit of variety in the area. Although, by the looks of things, not much. Neither design is very interesting or creative. The 2nd shows what might be a glass curtain wall, and shows a little more effort to break up the redundancy.

[justin]

[justin]

There's your spell-checker (it does
't recog
ize my
's, I guess).justi

[Bos77]

It is like some sort of homage to Manulife without daring to make a statement of it's own. That said, it could be worse, and at least it will block Park Lane. If that is a glass curtain wall, it would actually have a nice effect with the new park, and be an interesting focal point at night.

But still.. another building to make it look like Kendall Square on the water.

[Mike]

One thing I noticed about the Fallon site is that the 303 Columbus rendering is way out of date. I think that project's design was changed two years ago. So maybe they haven't updated the Marriott rendering either.

[DarkFenX]

Builder: Try special zone
By Scott Van Voorhis
Wednesday, August 31, 2005

As the pace of development along South Boston's waterfront picks up, some builders are mentioning an idea that would have seemed unthinkable not long ago: A business improvement district.

Such a special tax zone, where businesses pay a surcharge to finance everything from public concerts to extra-spiffy street maintenance, would have seemed an unlikely fit a few years ago.

But with long-promised harborfront-development projects starting to take shape, the idea of a special business district is beginning to get some thought.

City developer Joseph Fallon suggested the concept in a recent interview with the Herald.

The longtime local builder recently won out in a bidding war to buy and develop the giant, $1.2 billion Fan Pier waterfront project.

And he's now in the middle of putting up a large apartment and condo high-rise a few blocks away ? not to mention a headquarters hotel for the city's new convention center.

Fallon said a special district would allow business owners to pay for concerts, tree plantings and other extras to help enliven the area.

The idea, which would have to win state approval, won a preliminary thumbs up from a key neighborhood player on Beacon Hill: state Sen. Jack Hart (D-South Boston).

Hart chairs a committee that would review any business-district proposal.

``I think it's a good thing worth exploring, and it might be great for the waterfront,'' Hart said.

Still, any plan for a business improvement district is far from a slam dunk.

Similar ideas for other Hub areas have had a tortured history.

Downtown Crossing business leaders battled for years to create a special zone for that retail area.

However, that plan got mired in legislative limbo ? thanks to determined opposition from police-union officials concerned about plans to hire private security guards.

[shiz02130]

Westin - 9.22.05

[BOSDevelopment]

what the seaport really needs is a very large skyscraper (600 feet or so) It belongs on this NStar parcel. A development of this magnitude will announce that the waterfront has arrived as THE development area. Not too many people live in the area so the only problem that I could possibly see is Logan.

[dudeursistershot]

the Westin facade looks like it's going to be awful beyond belief just like the BHR...

[DarkFenX]

Well at least they put a glass front.

[TheBostonian]

What is the meaning of that "location to savor" banner? An ad for retail space?

[justin]

Looking at the picture on the banner, I'd say it's for restaurants.

justin

[ablarc]