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One project over the turnpike in the Back Bay wins approval while another is canceled

The BPDA board on Thursday approved plans for a two-building complex along Mass Ave. across atop the turnpike and what is now the Mass Ave. turnpike entrance.

But a day later, Weiner Ventures said it is withdrawing its plans for a building atop the turnpike along Boylston Street next to the convention center.

Samuels won approval for a "podium" that would provide a retail base for an office building and a second building that would mostly house hotel rooms - along with a new plaza that would overhang the turnpike, with glass walls that would let people watch the sun go down over the highway.

Other Parcel 12 documents.

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I don't get it. So is the building that was withdrawn one of the same two buildings that was approved, or a third building?

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We're talking two completely separate projects by two different developers here:

The one that was approved will be built across from the Mass. Ave. T stop and where the Virgin record store used to be (yeah, my short-term memory's going). It was always going to be a two-building project, but the dimensions of the two buildings changed.

The one that won't ever be built was around the corner on Boylston, atop the turnpike next to the convention center.

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Parcel 12 is across Mass Ave from the Hynes Green Line stop exit, basically where the T bus stops Southbound on Mass Ave. The current occupant is empty air, not quondam Tower Records. That's the other side of Mass Ave, and isn't over the Pike.

Here's a rough map, from a previous comment:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/HH8bevJh.png)

https://www.universalhub.com/2016/love-locks-fence...

http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-pr...

I can't figure out, though, if the canceled one is the other Weiner tower, from Parcel 15, which is the other side of Boylston Street. That's where the south side of Boylston is a bridge too, looking across at the parking garage with Bukowski's in it. Or if it's from Parcel 14, which is just a little triangle next to it.

Here's the overall project:

http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-pr...

I wonder what the latest status is of the Parcel 13 plan, which is a different developer..

That's right across Mass Ave from Parcel 12, right across Boylston from Parcel 14.

https://blog.mass.gov/transportation/mbta/turnpike...

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Parcel 12, opposite the Tower Records building and current shit-hole currogated bus shelter was approved by the BRA/BPDA.

Later, the jokers trying to close on Parcel 15 (The St. C.’s plot cantilevered over the Pike, MBCR, and MCCA) decided to throw in their cards. They couldn’t make a deal work for their stubby mid-rise.

I bet Parcel 12 will go forward, whereas Parcel 15 will be status quo for another 20 years.

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For not remembering and wanting to dig through the Parcel 12 docs...

Is the Parcel 12 development building a west-side-of-Mass entrance to the Hynes MBTA Green Line station?

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They are building a new stair and elevator to the Hynes stop on the west side of Mass Ave. There's an existing pedestrian tunnel, which is currently closed, that this will access. You'll be able to emerge from the Hynes stop and go to the bus stop without crossing the street, or vice versa.

http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachment/81bd0fc6-cb4f-466a-8e7b-213a0d5...

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That's a real benefit to the folks who are commuting from Kenmore/BCD or down to/from Kendal/Central/Harvard or BUMC.

Lots of folks play frogger across Mass Ave to get to/from the GL station to the inbound 1 bus station.

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The proposed hotel is at least 3 stories too tall. Every building around it is only 4 stories and it would be ~12? Needs to be reduced to 8 max.

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The building directly next door (ARTlab) is 7 stories.

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Some of the tallest towers in Boston are in spitting distance. Build em high and build em dense!

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It's only 1300 ft away from the tallest building in New England, ffs...

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The residents are for it (!) because anything is better than looking at the giant hole where cars whizz by on the turnpike. Yet the main public amenity is a small park where people can sit and...gaze out at the turnpike.

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The residents are for it because it turns a crappy highway overpass into something resembling a normal street. There will be a new park and improved streetscape, besides the new buildings, where currently there is nothing. Nobody who moved to the area since the Pike was extended is under any illusions that the highway will somehow become invisible.

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This may have been discussed in earlier Parcel 12 conversations, but is there concern for a wind tunnel effect? Wind coming down the Pike then gets funneled between the two towers. Sure, it's above street level due to the third-floor park, but it's easy to imagine the wind being funneled into the TJ Maxx building and then just dropping on everyone waiting for the 1 bus to Cambridge...

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When the developer announced that they were going to build one tower instead of two, I was worried. Congrats to the NIMBYs. You've preserved a giant hole looking onto the Turnpike for us to continue to enjoy as we walk down Boylston St.

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From the sidewalk across the street you won't see the Pike. You'll see sky and the buildings on both sides of the Pike (maybe), but the gap between the two buildings on Parcel 12 includes a park that rises 2 stories above the sidewalk, fully obstructing the view of the highway itself.

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Cden is talking about Parcel 15 (south side of Boylston St.), not Parcel 12 (west side of Mass Ave). Parcel 12 is getting new buildings. Parcel 15 isn't.

So, yes, the giant hole looking down on the Turnpike from Boylston Street is being preserved.

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