Little used downtown alley would become heart of 'innovation economy' development
![Proposed new Quaker Lane in downtown Boston](https://www.universalhub.com/files/styles/main_image/public/images/2015/congresssq1.jpg?itok=cZYyDT9y)
Architect's rendering of proposed new Quaker Lane.
Related Beal has filed plans for its Congress Square project downtown, which would combine and reuse existing downtown office buildings with new structures clustered around a Quaker Lane rebuilt as "an intimately scaled pedestrian way finished with catenary lighting, sculptural seating and landscaping."
In a filing with the BRA, the company detailed what it hopes to do with the buildings it now owns at 40 Water St., 15, 19 and 33-35 Congress St. and 54, 68 and 82 Devonshire St. - and the spaces in between them:
The Project will transform existing office buildings into three components with a mix of ground floor and lower level retail/restaurant uses with either office, residential or hotel uses on upper floors, providing appropriate 24-hour activity to the surrounding neighborhood. The Project includes approximately 458,300 square feet (sf), of which approximately 92,700 sf is new construction. ...
From their original conception in the late 19th Century as bank buildings, the existing buildings have conveyed an image of grandeur and security. For the last 40 years, these buildings have been restricted to private use and turned inward, cut off from the surrounding neighborhood and streets. The design for Congress Square restores these buildings and Quaker Lane to a destination within the heart of downtown Boston.
The existing buildings on the site, built between 1899 and 1921, are used for office space, and most of the ground floor windows have been covered creating a bland pedestrian experience. To reflect Congress Square's original identity, the ground floors will provide more visibility to the street and open up directly to outdoor dining areas on Quaker Lane and will include revitalized retail/restaurant spaces and lobby entrances.
Among the specific proposals: A 133-room boutique hotel on Devonshire and
40 Water Street includes the buildings of 40 Water Street, 82 Devonshire Street and 33-35 Congress Street. These buildings are being re-imagined as an innovation-economy office location with efficient and versatile floor plates, a double-height lobby and retail/restaurant on the ground floor and lower levels. The buildings will be combined into one cohesive building with one core, rather than the multiple cores currently existing, as well as a new pedestrian connection providing direct pedestrian access through the building from Water Street to Quaker Lane. New construction for this component includes a three-story addition to the top and the filling of an existing lightwell.
The Congress Street side would get a 35-condo building:
![Congress Street side of the proposed Congress Square](http://www.universalhub.com/images/2015/congresssq2.jpg)
Congress Square project notification form (55M PDF).
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Comments
How
Innovatively innovative!
Something is odd in those drawings
Quaker lane is very narrow. Also, Congress Street through there is also narrowed and two-way (not one way, as pictured) and the sidewalks are a lot narrower than shown. They may be getting more space on Quaker Lane by scaling back the buildings, but that trick won't work with Congress St.
I like what I see here ... I'm just not convinced that the artist really had any idea of how tight the scale really is for the streets.
They will need a lot of catenary lighting, too - that area doesn't see much light of day.
Looking toward PO Square: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.358344,-71.056627,3a,37.6y,181.81h,87.26t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sFQuu6-KWFRO32HfXBkbllg!2e0!6m1!1e1
Quaker lane:
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.358162,-71.056571,3a,90y,232.68h,102.67t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sQLkZCGcLFbYvWsc6IX4yHA!2e0!6m1!1e1
Wow! Those Fire Escapes Are Absolutely Fabulous!
They could be even more spectacular with some creative illumination!
My first thought exactly.
They make it look much more expansive than it is, though I do always remember those beautiful fire escapes.
Hoping that one of our resident historian chimes in on the history of Quaker Lane. I can't find anything by Googling but I'm pretty sure that there are some strange, sad stories about this street--pretty sure that it was actually a Quaker burial ground at one point that was deliberately ignored and built over and the bodies finally disinterred and moved years later.
A bit of Quaker Lane History...
I'm not a historian but I am a history fan and love writing about history. I just did a quick search of my bookshelves and found these tidbits.
"*Quaker lane, B., 1784; from King (now State) street to Water street; named Leveret's lane by the town, May 3, 1708; called Quaker lane,1784; with Dalton street named Congress street, Jan. 22, 1800." (from a book of city records.)
It was mentioned often as a scene of action in the testimony about the Boston Massacre in 1770.
It was named Quaker Lane because it was the location of a Quaker Meetinghouse and cemetery.
In the book. What They Never Told You About Boston: Or What They Did That Were Lies by Walt Kelley, he calls it unique in a city of curved and twisted street. "Quaker lane is not 300 yards long. It's uniqueness lies in the fact that it crosses itself at approximately right angles: from 29 State Street and 46 Devonshire St., to 15 and 25 Congress St. This lane has then in fact four entrances!"Kelley also noted that the configuration follows the paths of the old Quaker cemetery.
I'll have to go and photograph it in more detail and do much more research for an article or at least a post on BostonZest.
And, by the way, I'm also a longtime fan of those fire escapes and have many photos of those.
Penny
http://www.bostonzest.com/
Interesting!
I wonder what became of the cemetery?
The one way street is Devonshire not congress
Assuming you are talking about the second image shown on the Uhub story. The new building shown in that image is planned for the postage stamp size lot that is currently empty at the corner of Devonshire st and Quaker Ln. The one that has the black railing around it and room for about 4 cars.
You are correct about the lighting. Even at noon those streets are in the shadows of the surrounding buildings.
You might be right
Difficult to tell, as Devonshire has two parking lanes, a single wide travel lane, and narrow (as in two-people wide) sidewalks!
Same problem, if not worse!
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.358262,-71.057264,3a,75y,201.57h,81.85t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sp4AAwjxf0vRRHNhd_w9W_g!2e0!6m1!1e1
It's rare I agree with a developer...
but they've hit the nail regarding the current situation on that block. It's a cold, lifeless set of canyons, with buildings that have no psychological connection to the streets they sit on, walling off the Faneuil Hall area from other parts of downtown on the south. And Quaker Lane is currently little more than a service alley with a hole-in-the-wall lunch place being the only reason to go there. (Hopefully they'll keep it, if it's even still there.)
That being said, I can't say I care for the rendering of the Congress Street condo building. I'm getting quite tired of the architectural trend where they think quirky asymmetry masks over the use of cheap materials and lack of finer details.
Hope this can get going.
I agree with Swirly about the renderings, attractive as they are, but this seems like a fine project that would bring activity and style to a block with a solid foundation of good older buildings. I particularly like the old "Brown Brothers Harriman" edifice facing Water Street. I can envision the ground level housing restaurants and stores, or the structure could make a great hotel (it already has a grand lobby). It would be hard to make that stretch of Congress Street more attractive. It seems to be in perpetual shadow, a narrow flume of wind and traffic unpleasant to walk down even in mild weather. Quaker lane has more potential: regraded and repaved, well lighted, glass-roofed and lined with shops, it would be a beautiful spot in the heart of town. And yes, that fire escape is fantastic. Too bad the whole block isn't included. The two buildings at the top of the block facing the state house are handsome and would complete the ensemble, but let's hope Related can make this happen.
I work across the street from here
I work across the street from here And love this idea. Big fan of this sort of redevelopment including residential in this area.
If only life were like these illustrations
I love the way the illustration makes Congress Square look so shiny and free of traffic, with pedestrians crossing with ease and bikers happily gliding by. In reality, the traffic in that area is brutal and I was once clipped by a bike messenger who hurled abuse at me even though I had the right of way.
Thats Devonshire not Congress
But the image does make it look much wider than it actually is.
I prefer Disruptive
I prefer Disruptive Innovation.