filed under Development | Downtown | Local Media
Yet again, I’m with Brussat
11:45AM ON
02/28/2008
BY
Dave Segal
Dave has a piece today, on the relative uglinesses of the new towers of Capital Center. I’m actually mildly contented by the Waterplace towers at the moment, having viewed them from the Biltmore’s 17th floor today, during the conference on “re-envisioning” Kennedy Plaza. But normally, I like to complain as much as he does:
The headquarters of GTECH Corp. was widely disliked before it was finished in October 2006. Waterplace Luxury Condominiums (the official name of the 17- and 19-story towers across Waterplace Park from GTECH) are close enough to completion for the public to judge them. It will come as no surprise that they, too, are widely disliked.
This much is indisputable. What fascinates and even surprises me — indeed, it baffles me — is that almost everyone I’ve spoken with or overheard dislikes the Waterplace towers more than GTECH.
I stand by my earlier assertions that the Waterplace towers, and the whole damn park, are going to look better after the Blue Cross building goes up (crane on site today) even if it’s not deserving of the tax break it’s getting.
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5 Comments on “ Yet again, I’m with Brussat ”
February 28th, 2008 at 12:54PM
Jef Nickerson Says:
Eh, I really like both Waterplace and GTECH. I’m CRAZY I know!
I think it will be better with the new BCBS building as well, but what will really help is when someday in the far off distant future (like when we finally get those flying cars we’ve been being promised) the Citizens parking lots are developed. Anything would look a little weird at the Waterplace site now just standing there with nothing across Exchange Street. Once those parcels are developed Capital Center becomes a fully built out district.
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February 28th, 2008 at 12:59PM
Dave Segal Says:
Yup. Agreed. Sad that nothing’s even been seriously floated for that parcel in like 6 years. (In many respects — particularly in that it’s more incorporated into the city’s grid — it strikes me as more attractive for development than either of the parcels that are right on waterplace.)
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:31PM
raininri Says:
Maybe not seriously floated, but there was an article a couple of years ago about putting a polo field in there. Egad. We did a studio in the RISD architecture department (there’s another incarnation of it happening right now) proposing a new train station/hotel complex for the site. That’s purely a hypothetical, though.
Strike that. I’m thinking of the area across Francis from the mall.
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:47PM
Dave Segal Says:
yeah, station park’s another pretty sorry space these days.
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February 28th, 2008 at 1:59PM
Eric Smith Says:
I really like the idea of moveable hoops in the skating center in the summer. The Hope High kids would love that, and yeah it’d be something for them to do.
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