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100-year-old East Boston factory could be recast as boutique hotel
By adamg on Tue, 03/10/2015 - 7:34pm
Architect's rendering.
Heath Management Co. is seeking BRA approval to convert a decaying old factory at 151 Porter St. at Orleans Street into a hotel that would feature 127 "industrial loft-style hotel guestrooms with high ceilings, exposed structure and oversized windows to optimize natural light and dramatic city views."
In its filings with the BRA, Heath is also seeking permission to add a new sixth floor to the top to house fitness and business centers and rooftop gardens.
The building was originally designed as a manufacturing facility, and construction was completed in 1913. It was one of the first reinforced concrete building constructed in Boston. The design was state of the art at the time; however the years have not been kind to the existing building. Damage to the structure has occurred in many areas by water penetration, resulting in extensive concrete spalling and rebar deterioration. A previous owner tried to remediate further damage by applying paint to all exterior surfaces. The Proposed Project will remove the gray paint, and repair and restore the entire façade to its original condition. Once cleaned and stabilized the brick will be cleaned, repointed and sealed. The original window openings will be restored, and retrofitted with new energy efficient windows.
The proposed Loftel would also include space for a restaurant. Guests could also walk a couple blocks to Santarpio's.
Heath estimates the renovation would take about a year.
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Comments
Short walk to Logan Airport
You actually could do it from this location.
Or at least hoof it to the
Or at least hoof it to the rental facility and take the shuttle. Santarpio's may need to build an annex.
Airport shuttle?
Airport shuttle?
shorter walk to the Airport T station
than to the rental car facility. I believe there's a way to walk through the station from the city side (Bremen Street) to the airport side without passing through the fare gates. Once you're on the airport side, you can catch the free Massport shuttle buses.
Shorter in distance, perhaps, but longer in trip time
In a sense, but doesn't the airport shuttle first stop at the rental terminal? You'd be saving perhaps a tenth of a mile in walking just to lose 5-10 minutes (depending on the wait at Airport station) in shuttle time. Much better to walk past Embassy Suites and right to the rental terminal and catch the shuttle there.
I didn't realize that shuttles now stop at the rental-car center
They didn't when I last used them, but that was a few years ago. (These days I use the Silver Line instead.)
but
The question is.. could you actually walk to a terminal? You can come pretty close using a convoluted way of getting there. But to actually walk right right to a terminal may be hard (at least according to google maps w/ street view)
Terminal E is a straightforward walk from the T station
and something I recall having done at least once in my life.
Terminal A is reachable via Maverick Street.
The other two terminals are further away.
Walking to the airport
I always wondered if one could actually just WALK into the airport from somewhere in East Boston rather than driving or taking the shuttle. It's certainly not something anybody let's you know about.
Years ago there used to be a bridge on Prescott Street that one could cross over the T tracks straight into the airport, though it was the area where all the freight shipping facilities are. I'm not sure how far from there to the terminals. The bridge was demolished when the new airport Station was built and that entrance to the airport no longer exists. I'm not sure how many people ever used it. It was a little bit creepy.
I do it all the time. Its
I do it all the time. Its less than a 10 minute walk to Terminal A from the edge of the Jeffries Point neighborhood, via the harborwalk and a sidewalk from Harborside Drive to the terminal
Could you provide more info
Could you provide more info about this route? Specifically, where in that area is the public allowed to walk from the real world into airport land?
walking into Logan Airport
There's a pedestrian walkway into airport property in the area of Maverick Street and Tomahawk Drive. This is only for pedestrians and bikes; you can't drive in this way.
I'd link to the Google map, but I think it's out of date. The satellite view shows building construction going on right in the middle of what the map view labels as a road. Bing Maps also have inconsistency right now between their map, satellite, and birds-eye views of this area.
Wait? Is the path right near
Wait? Is the path right near where the taxis queue up? And I've been walking further up and climbing over the two fences like a sucker! That'll save me a few bucks on bandages and bacitracin. Lousy razor wire...
You go to the end of Maverick
You go to the end of Maverick Street and then follow the pedestrian path along the water's edge. Just before that harborwalk bends back towards the Hyatt there is a new pedestrian link on your left that takes you over to the signalized intersection of Hotel Drive and Harborside Drive. Just cross that intersection (there is a pedestrian phase to the signal) and then use the sidewalk that hugs the wall all the way to Terminal A.
I guess this area of East
I guess this area of East Boston will be officially named "The Porter street East Loft District" of East Boston.They should have a city of Boston welcome sign at the intersection of Orleans and Porter St's.
PoLo
Porter Lofts.
ORleans st POrter st
ORleans st POrter st
East Boston residents should submit their ideas in renaming this area where the lofts are located, technically it is not Jefferies point, because it's closer to EB Stadium and Bremen st park.
" ORPO District "
There is no "technically"
There is no "technically" Jeffries Point. It either is or it is not. Here are the boundaries, and that's on the outer edge.
Though if they need something snappy, they could always go with something like the BraGum District or something. Or Lobebrepa (Lofts below Bremen St.Park), which sounds vaguely Spanish, so it fits in with the local demographic.
Walkin To New Orleans
..or at least Eagle Hill.
I walked from Terminal C to my house one nice summer day last year. It ain't easy as pedestrian access between the terminals is not the best if you're on the outside. Inside the terminals it's a little easier. Once at Terminal E you just walk past the gas station, and continue down Service Road to the T station. And yes you can get from one side of the station to the other without paying a fare - there's both a stairway and elevator that will connect you to the walkway over the tracks that are both outside of the fare gates.
Not sure what you mean. The
Not sure what you mean. The only pedestrian access between terminals is on the sidewalk on the ring road, or through the skybridges to Central Parking. Both of these are outside security.
sidewalks
That was the pedestrian access I meant. Well on the outside of security and it goes outside the terminals and onto the sidewalk for bits here and there (with overhead protection from the rain). I was actually trying to take the more direct route across the parking lots which was not easy, but not for pedestrians.
In general I find Logan airport to be a pretty horrible airport because it is so packed in. Having connecting secure concourses between the terminals (meaning on the other side of the security check points) would make sense, but will never happen because of the lack of space and the expense. Here's hoping a good storm surge floods it out and forces Massport to really start thinking about moving the airport to Worcester or something.
post-security connectors
isn't one under construction now between terminals C and E?
Buy my fine
Wow -- a Geoff Muldaur reference!
actually
more of a Fats Domino reference, but now you've got me checking out Muldaur's web site...
Great Richard Thompson quote on him "There are only three white blues singers, and Geoff Muldaur is at least two of them."
Goddess Bra
Is this building the old Goddess Bra factory?
Can't answer your question
But ... damn! I love that name!
Everybody look out: Mama's wearing her GODDESS BRA today!
Wonderbra
I like the name Wonderbra.. You know the bra with magic powers. Or one that will shoot fireworks like Katy Perry's does.
No
This is the old Goddess Bra factory, which is right across the street from this project.
I think this was the site of the God Bra Factory
You know, the one where Kramer made his Man-ziers.
As I suspect is the same case
As I suspect is the same case with most of the condo sales in sh-tty "up and coming" neighborhoods that no local would really want to buy into....this is going to be marketed to people who want to stay somewhere near the airport, who don't know the city and that there's nothing else to see in Eastie.
For an airport-oriented hotel, this is a good location
Short walk to many restaurants, short walk to Blue Line station which provides a quick ride into downtown. I'd rather be here than in the Airport Hilton or Harborside Hyatt, and I'd certainly rather be here than at one of the supposed "airport hotels" in Chelsea.
Chelsea Hotels
And more keep on coming. Townplace Suites just opened, and the Holiday Inn should open next year.
But yes Chelsea Airport Hotels.. the ones who's livery drivers go 9023409324809 miles per hour on city streets with passengers that have a horrified "wtf slum am I staying in" look on their faces.
But hey.. more rooms taxes for our city. Yay for city improvement.
Ok Lindsey , that shitty up
Ok Lindsey , that shitty up and coming neighborhood is quickly becoming an expensive and hip neighborhood .
Example cutting edge looking 282 Marginal St Loft's all 7 units sold for over $500k in a matter of months.
Lindsey should examine her statistics .
Walk to Airport T, take the shuttle
The most convenient way to get to the airport from the proposed hotel (former home of , who used to make all the peacoats for the us navy, then transitioned into getting cited by Boston ISD multiple times for letting the building fall into disrepair while they were waiting to sell it) would be a short jaunt through Memorial Park on a beautiful well-maintained, well-lit path to the Airport T station. Massport runs free shuttles from the station to all terminals. Google maps says its a 5 minute walk, 0.2miles, or about a 1000ft. The walking discussion may be moot though. Luckily the project developers are promising more parking spaces than actual hotel rooms, so guests will be able to fly in to Logan, rent a car, then drive over to porter st, bypassing any public transportation at all! I assume most people who stay at hotels within sight of an airport drive there, right?
In their proposal to the BRA, Heath Management Co plan to devote the majority of the lot's square footage to street level parking. As anyone who's been to a Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association meeting will tell you, just adding two olympic size swimming pools worth of parking and performing a transportation impact study is not enough to satisfy Eastie's , but, hey, they tried.