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250-room hotel proposed for Chinatown
By adamg on Sun, 04/24/2016 - 3:59pm
Developers Marty McInnis and Reid Joseph have filed plans with the BRA to tear down a little used commercial building at Essex and Oxford streets and replace it with a 17-story hotel.
Unlike another proposed hotel on Harrison Avenue, which would omit a restaurant to encourage guests to try out nearby restaurants, the proposed Essex Street hotel - next to Chau Chow - would have a restaurant.
The proposal calls for no parking spaces; although a valet would be available to drive guests' cars over to nearby garages or lots. The developers cite its location near the Orange Line and South Station and say many guests will likely take the train instead of drive.
The developers hope to begin two years' of construction in late summer of next year.
If approved and built, this could be the Chinatown area's third new hotel - last year, the BRA approved a micro-room hotel at the corner of Tremont and Stuart streets.
73-79 Essex Street project notification form (32M PDF).
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Comments
wut?
"Little used?" Isn't Ho Toy still in business? When I lived on Kingston Street way back when, this building had a grocery store, a Chinese language newspaper, Ho Toy, and my landlord in it. And I think it had apartments as well. That was a long time ago, but I find it hard to imagine that no one is left.
I will be unhappy if I can't get fresh noodles occasionally.
"Little used"
"Little used" probably means that the developers have owned the building for a few years and have not been actively seeking new tenants as old ones move out, so that it will eventually become, well, "little used" and ripe for redevelopment.
Or maybe they've even been kicking tenants out, refusing to renew their leases.
I believe that's what happened with the buildings at Washington and Bromfield, where storefronts have been vacant for a couple of years and now the owner is proposing a new tower there.
Personally, I think that putting this sort of development right in the middle of Chinatown would be a death knell for the ethnic community. It's wholly inappropriate for this location.
Wholly inappropriate?
A 250 room hotel in say, Readville, that's whole inappropriate. A 250 room hotel where that inhaler factory was, that's wholly inappropriate. A hotel room near several major transportation lines, that's not inappropriate.
Sorry, I don't see the long term value in keeping little Sturbridge village type historical artifacts to preserve this or that community. It is a bit sad, but then so is the loss of the 'real' Italian North End years ago or the fading of various other ethnic enclaves throughout the city over the last 150 years. The greater Boston Asian community will survive and thrive in places like Dorchester, Quincy, Malden, etc...
There's a word for "Little used"
"Blight". In this case, it may be intentional, man-made blight, but blight nonetheless.
The original building looks
The original building looks better and has the potential for a better street rather than more generic buildings like they have in the rest of the country.
Before going there..
Before going there, it might be worth looking into occupancy rates at other recent hotel developments in the area (for example, the Godfrey on Washington). These developments aren't without cost to the surrounding area, while the benefit seems much more elusive.
(also, seriously, do we really need more pandering to the nouveaux riches? Anywhere that actually calls itself UPSCALE in 1000-point type on the side of its building, is, honestly, nowhere that anyone with taste would be seen)
Given the world-class quality of the public transit and the bold fearlessness of the typical suburbanite when visiting a city, I'm ever so sure they will.