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Huntington Theatre to stay on Huntington Avenue
By adamg on Thu, 06/09/2016 - 5:31pm
Mayor Walsh discusses the deal. Photo by Adam Castiglioni.
Officials from the Huntington Theatre, the company that now owns its building and the city announced a deal today in which the theater company will stay in what's now called the BU Theatre on Huntington Avenue and the owner will redevelop the space around it.
Huntington Theatre will now try to raise up to $70 million for renovation work, Adam Castiglioni reports.
Under the deal with QMG Huntington, LLC, which bought the building from BU:
The Huntington will gain exclusive control of the historic theatre itself and the service wing to its west, which it plans to fully renovate at its own expense;
The Huntington will expand its lobbies and other public spaces amenities into new shell and core space to be provided by QMG;
QMG will develop the properties that now hold the Huntington's production center, and the Huntington will relocate its scenic, paint, and prop shops in order to another location.
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Comments
We're Going Up!
Get ready for another tower the height of Berklee's Symphony area. That is the only way the economics of this works.
That being said, density, two MBTA lines within steps, and the preservation of a theatre, which I admit have not been in since the night Griffey scored from first in the 95 playoffs against NYY, isn't a bad thing.
It all depends....
...on how they do it. Will the tower be set back, like the air rights development at the YMCA a block away? If so it might not be as obtrusive. And what will the exterior look like? I think a simple, reflective glass exterior would work best at diminishing the impact a tall building might have on that block of low buildings. I'm sure they'll avoid at all costs anything like those two abominations on either corner of Mass. Ave.
However, what I gather from the article, they'll basically be building over & around the shell of the theater, suggesting the new building will be flush to the sidewalk. That would also mean the Huntington might well have to relocate temporarily.
Except for the retail being
Except for the retail being isolated up from street level, I don't mind the Symphony Towers that much.
That style of building works fine in NYC, and provides space for small supermarkets and other businesses which couldn't fit in older buildings. https://goo.gl/maps/RiBBxZ9ZCmn
another tower
is fine with me as long as it doesn't look like a jail, which the Berklee tower does
architecture matters, people
let's build a beautiful city!
another project in the
another project in the neighborhood and no one knows about it.
then maybe you haven't been paying attention?
BU selling the theatre was big front-page news back in October
Selling the building was
Selling the building was mentioned in the news but developing the space around it has not.