9 replies to this topic

[Cotuit]

<span style='font-family:Arial'><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Pru owner plans tower homes: Luxury project to be built first</span>
By Scott Van Voorhis | Wednesday, February 23, 2005

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>T</span>he Prudential Center is poised for another round of expansion that will add hundreds of residents to a landmark Back Bay complex best known for soaring offices and upscale shops.

Real estate giant Boston Properties is sketching out plans for a residential project on the Exeter Street side of the Pru campus, a top company executive told the Herald.

Meanwhile, construction crews will begin work this summer on hospitality-executive-turned-developer Robin Brown's planned luxury condo and hotel high-rise around the corner by the Pru's Boylston Street front entrance.

"The Back Bay is a part of the city that for many years has been the strongest part of the residential market," said David Barrett, a senior vice president at Boston Properties. "The Back Bay is by no means overbuilt."

With Brown's project moving steadily forward, Boston Properties is able to start fleshing out plans for the next big Pru project.

The Exeter Street residential project was proposed more than three years ago, but was kept on the shelf as planning got under way for the soon-to-be-built Mandarin Oriental condo and hotel complex.

The prospect of more housing won praise from state Rep. Marty Walz (D-Back Bay). But Walz also said she hoped the project, at the least, would have units targeted at a range of income levels.

"What we need is housing for low- and moderate-income families," Walz said. "We have plenty of housing for the wealthy being built in the city."

But what end of the market the Pru residential project would target - or even whether it would feature condos or apartments - has yet to be hammered out, Barrett said.

While optimistic, Barrett said significant challenges remain to be worked out. The proposed Exeter Street housing site is tightly configured and next to an entrance to the Pru parking garage.

<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>From The Boston Herald</span></span>

[LeTaureau]

I thought I remembered hearing about this project a couple of years ago.  I hope they do it right.  The Pru complex has multiple areas where slender towers would be appropriate.  This one should be tall!

BTW, this author terrible.  He seems to be one of the only reporters to cover downtown develop projects, but his negative spin is ridiculous.  He likes to use phrases like "soaring tower" and "highrise" just to get the NIMBYs fired up.  Damn press.

[atlrvr]

A long planned office tower for the site of the Pru Food Court (between the Mandarin Oreintal and Hynes Conv. Center) on Boylston, is seeking to increase its heights.  This is the last office-building for the massive Prudential Center complex.

It was originally approved along witht he whole Pru complex to be about 11 stories, roughly the same height as the Mandarin Oriental, but the owners and future developer, Boston Properties, is looking to put up something in the 20 story range.

Quote

The real estate giant is considering plans for a 400,000 square foot office and retail tower at the prominent Back Bay site, local executives said.

     The project, which would take shape on Boylston Street next to the entrance to the Pru, could rise as high as 24 stories, according to one source.

    That would present a major shift from Boston Properties’ previously disclosed plans for an 11 to 12 story building in the 280,000 square-foot range.

    And it could also spark opposition from some neighborhood activists determined to prevent Boylston Street, home to historic landmarks like the Boston Public Library, from becoming a canyon of high-rises.

I think that height would be ok, but hope that it wouldn't be a wide slab like the M.O.....it would certainly cast a shadow on Boylston and Newbury, but I doubt it would affect the more residential portions of Back Bay.

Here is a link to the Boston Herald story

Last year, the BBJ reported that there were some possible tenants interested, including Putnam Investments that needed 300,000 sq. ft.  Perhaps that's why they are looking to expand the size.

Here is a rendering of the shorter proposal.

[atlrvr]

Well, an update on the last two Pru towers.

From the Globe.

Quote

Prudential Center owner Boston Properties Inc. yesterday asked the city's permission to raise the height of an office tower it plans to build at the Back Bay complex from 11 to 19 stories.

The new building would be 265 feet high, 110 feet taller than previously planned. The company had earlier won city approval for a 287,493-square-foot building at 888 Boylston St., to be built in front of the Prudential Tower. Yesterday, Boston Properties asked to increase the total square footage to about 439,000.

Of course, people are already up in arms about the height.  I think the height is fine.....it might cast some shadows on Boylston and Newbury, but its not going to affect any residents.  The extra office workers should further help support the massive retail in the area.  I've been noticing a lot of vacant retailer on upper Newbury, this could help fill them.  There would also be about 50,000 sq. ft. of retail in the project itself.  There was a rendering floating around a long time ago that showed a Bloomingdale's in the tower, I don't know if 50k is too small for a Bloomies or not.

Also, the residential tower discussed earlier is still moving forward.

Quote

Also yesterday, Boston Properties said it has chosen Avalon Bay to build a 30-story, 200-unit residential apartment tower on Exeter Street, which also had been previously planned. That building would be 340 feet high.

340' is pretty tall for that area....good!  The only downside, is this building is going to be RIGHT next to one of the existing apartment towers, and its going to piss those people off who have downtown views now, who will be looking directly at the side of this new tower.

[PabloG]

The Banker & Tradesman article below has some details on the new proposal for the Prudential Center.  

Does anyone know how to identify what people / organizations are on the PruPAC?

Quote

Proposal for Pair of Towers Causes Some Growing Pains
   September 17, 2007  
By Thomas Grillo, Reporter
Banker & Tradesman
  

Project Team Eyes Spot at Hub’s Prudential Center; Advisory Panel Wary of Height, Look and Location
Growing pains. Boston Properties and Avalon Bay Communities have proposed a pair of towers that will bring 200 residences and a 19-story office building to Boston’s Prudential Center. But some members of a city advisory panel already have raised red flags about the height, look and location of the towers.

“Height, density and appearance are always a worry,” said Richard Kiley, a member of the Prudential Project Advisory Committee (PruPAC), a group formed in the 1980s to advise City Hall on development proposals in the neighborhood.

The $192 million proposal calls for a 30-story residential high-rise on Exeter Street across from the Boston Public Library, according to documents filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The project also calls for the construction of an office building at 888 Boylston St., adjacent to the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention. The BRA had approved an 11-story building at the site, but the developer has told officials that the building needs to be taller to attract anchor tenants.

While the developers were silent, some PruPAC members raised concerns about the buildings’ height and location.  

“Anything above the 11-story limit that has been the tradition in the neighborhood raises concerns,” said PruPAC member and state Rep. Martha M. Walz, whose district abuts the Prudential Center. “All of the tall Pru buildings are set back from the street, but the one proposed for Boylston is at the sidewalk’s edge and that’s another concern.”

Walz said she is not convinced that Boston Properties needs more height in order to make the tower more marketable to tenants.  

“I don’t understand enough about the commercial real estate market to know whether that’s a reasonable assertion,” she said. “I’d want to know more before I accept that at face value.”

Steven Wolf, a PruPAC member who represents the Fenway Community Development Corp., said the initial model presented by the developers of the two-pronged project on Exeter Street and Boylston streets “looked good” but that lots of details need to be worked out.

“Boston Properties [has] done [its] homework,” he said. “We will see how things evolve during this process, but my initial reaction is positive.”

A BRA spokeswoman noted that the Mandarin project only moved forward following a “lengthy public review process and support from PruPAC.”

While PruPAC encouraged the construction of the residential tower on Exeter Street, Walz said she is not sure whether the height and design of the tower are in keeping with the neighborhood.

“Do we want a 32-story building across the street from the Boston Public Library?” Walz asked. “That’s twice the height of the Lenox Hotel. That location makes sense for housing, but it appears the architects were being unduly timid in their approach and could design a more beautiful building. The architects are missing an opportunity to create something that fits into an architecturally diverse Pru Center.”

The project has at least one big booster: Mayor Thomas M. Menino.  

“Boston Properties is an outstanding developer and has always done right by the community, and we will continue to work with them so we can have further development at the Pru,” Menino told Banker & Tradesman. “I am inclined to support them as long as they work with the neighborhood.”

[PabloG]

Rendering of Pru expansion:

[atlrvr]

Welcome PabloG

I condensed some of your post, and typically would condense it more.  In the future, please try to copy just the main points of the article and provide a link.

That said, thanks for posting.  I think the new apartment tower looks great, a big step up from the older Avalon apartment towers.

As far as who is on PruPac, I haven't been able to find a list anywhere, but I'm sure if you called BRA that they would be legally obligated to get you a list of names.

[Lowerdeck]

Anyone find it odd people are complaining about heights of buildings to be constructed when they're right near the second tallest building in New England anyway?

[atlrvr]

Yes...I find it very amusing....considering the taller of the two buildings would be less than half the height of the Prudential Tower.

I understand a bit more of the concern about the 19 story office tower since it would be pushed right up on Boylston, but they need to understand that shadows aren't the end of the world.  This is an excellent spot for an office tower, and with demand for Back Bay locations, its better that it goes here than in another location that is much more out of context with it's surroundings.  Besides, a decent portion of the time, the new office tower's shadow will lie within the Pru's shadow already.

I think maybe all the neighborhood assoications and all the largest developers should sit down and pow-wow.....each side needs to better understand the other's motives, and what is reasonable expectations.

[Claremorris 2]

That is the first thing I thought when I heard them harping about the new tower! It's right next to the Pru! Good point.

I think maybe the reason why they are so cautious is because of all the new projects that are occurring or have been proposed in the general vicinity. There might be new Pru towers, a "universal" dorm near the YMCA on Huntington, multiple new towers on top of and near Berklee on the corner of Boylston and Mass Ave, and these are just the proposals that I'm aware of. The area could change dramatically with all the new buildings. I would argue for the better though, but that's just my opinion.

I read in the Globe today that there is going to be a new BRA chief who has worked in Providence and Hartford. Here's the link. I wonder how much his insights and his history will affect these projects ?

http://www.boston.co...et_things_done/