Kendrick Place, 57 East Pleasant Street
Town received $1.5 million state grant to bury utility lines around the project
Premier Amherst developers Archipelago Investments, LLC held a "topping off" party for Kendrick Place, a five-story mixed use building with 36 units of housing, anchoring the north end of downtown Amherst.
Investors, friends, and town officials -- including Town Manager John Musante and Assistant Town Manger Dave Ziomek -- showed up for the guided tour over a two hour period.
Kyle Wilson (center) Judie Teraspulsky (right)
The building, which is well within walking distance to UMass and town center, is expected to be completed in August and occupied by September.
View of town center/Kendrick Park from 5th floor
As I was turning in my hard hat after the tour Town Manger Musante jokingly suggested I should hold on to it for today's Blarney Blowout coverage.
This building is an ugly monstrosity. I feel badly for the business across Triangle Street from it. The building cuts of all views of anything but it and the sun. I feel like I am driving in a tunnel when I drive past it on Triangle. I hate it and try to avoid that end of town now.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteThose poor folks who work in the convenience store and restaurant. The vista is ... well... depressing.
DeleteIt is an amazing building and you should be thankful that it is being built.
DeleteCongrats to Archipelago for getting this done in the town where nothing gets done.
ReplyDeleteIt ain't done quite yet.
DeleteGood place for a Blarney camera sniper. RM
ReplyDeleteThis building is already depressing me. No setbacks on the west side (or any side, really) creates a veritable wall on Triangle St. This is so out of place and so in-artfully designed. It looks like they came up with the cheapest design possible to meet basic standards and codes, not a valuable addition to the town in any sense... except maybe 10 apartments? Yawn... if we're gonna build out Amherst (as we should), we've got to get people contributing better designs.
ReplyDeleteYeah, an abominable shadow it casts....
ReplyDeleteThis structure (and anything else built nearby) could have been "stepped back" from street at each level. Or been even a tad taller in center, but on a smaller footprint.
In many old Warsaw-pact capital cities stand similar "high-rises" built by architectural heroes of Soviet Union, who boasted that from windows of those buildings best views were had.
And why was view so good?
Because from its windows one couldn't view building itself!
Anonymous - 9:43 AM
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry that you think that this building is an ugly monstrosity because I personally love it. I have been walking and driving around it regularly to see if from different angles. So far my favorite angle is coming down East Pleasant toward town. I believe it makes a perfect bookend to this side of town and really hope things begin to fill in back towards the town center. I too have a feeling of going thru a tunnel coming on Triangle Street toward Umass and I love it.
But I come from an Architectural and urban planning background and I believe high density city centers are good. Amherst has done a great job of buying up open land throughout town so now it’s time start filling the town centers. This is really the best thing for Amherst moving forward.
I’m guessing that your hatred for this building is tied to you opposition to growth in town and perhaps tied to your frustration with student and their housing. It seems that every time I have a conversation with some who dislikes this building it comes clear that it’s really not the building but the change or perceived attack on their way of life. It’s too bad that some of our community have been so strongly opposing the natural evolution of this great collage town. Things like Parking (which is a very important issue that is the Towns to solve and not the developers) and calling these buildings “Dorms” are being used as clubs to try and stop things from moving forward. It’s sad really and I hope that these people can come to terms with the reality a town this size with a university this big. Growth is going to happen and a high density town center is the best place for it.
2:14 PM, you can leave your indignity at the door. If someone doesn't like the design of the building, they aren't "wrong," they simply don't feel the same way as you about it. There is no objective good/bad design (within reason), so don't think everyone who disagrees with you on this one (that doesn't have an oooooo..... urban landscape background) just doesn't "get it."
ReplyDeleteThis whining and complaining about the building, this too shall pass.
ReplyDeleteWhining... complaining. Yeah, nothing like having an actual discussion about the merits of this building.
ReplyDeleteIt's a big deal for this tiny town - makes sense that folks would voice their opinions about it. And it's not just idle nimby stuff. I genuinely dislike the design - and it's right to comment on it.
Your rebuttal: "aaaa duhhhh nimbys suck. b-b-b-but you hate progress." Whatevs.
Whiners and complainers are the meat of this blog. How boring without them. Of course, it's too late to do anything about the building, (whether you like it or not) so can we move into something to complain about where we can at least do something about it?
DeleteConcert finishes before 4pm so that everyone can head to the bars- great planning!
ReplyDeleteThe blocking of the sun won't pass for Primo Pizza, DB Mart, TD Bank - it's already getting really dark looking out their windows.
ReplyDeleteThis is Anon 943 and no I am not anti growth at all. And I think this building is too big for this parcel. I don't like it at all that there is no set back from the street on the north side. I am for growth but not like this.
ReplyDeleteThe people in this building are going to live in our downtown, and not contribute to sprawl in the countryside of our town. They will walk our streets, shop in our shops, eat in our restaurants, and contribute to the vitality of Amherst.
ReplyDeleteIf the building does not exactly match my sense of aesthetics, so be it. Looks aren't everything.
All of you Amherstians who say "no" to everything, one day you will get your wish and be left with nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt's ugly and looks out of place. Has nothing to do with being anti-growth. It's just ugly and out of place, aesthetically-speaking. Sticks out like a sore thumb. In my humble opinion.
ReplyDeleteThe powers that be are celebrating, they don't care what you think. They only care that these projects make a lot of money for themselves. I don't believe the projects will add anything to the vitality of Amherst. People will not come to Amherst because someone put up a couple of dorms. In fact they will create a bigger parking problem. I remember when the Mullins Center was being built one local Real estate firm was touting how property values where going to rise because of it's existence. It's a nice structure and addition but it did nothing for business in downtown Amherst. Nor the value of property.
ReplyDeleteI never quite get how people say in one breath that Amherst is a great college town and in the next breath that Amherst must develop and add more … [fill in the blank]…. Maybe it's great because it has acres and acres of open land, small scale neighborhoods and a cozy downtown with lots of small restraunts, shops, a theater and musuems. People who love the way Amherst is now, want it to stay the way it is. That makes sense. Saying it's a great college town and insisting it change makes less sense.
ReplyDeleteDo you only real thing wrong with Amherst is that most of the liberal denizens think they're smarter than everybody else. The restaurants ain't bad.
DeleteOne east pleasant street will be two and one/half as big with 84 apartment units and only 36 parking spots. The architecture is of a state prison! It will dominate the downtown. The permit is being appealed by the abutter's because it does not meet the requirements of the zoning below.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't a good restaurant in town! Many passable, but expensive. they don't need to be excellent and affordable since the captive audience doesn't demand more.
ReplyDeleteFavorite restaurant in town? Ginger garden. Love it.
DeleteIt was pretty funny, during the hearings there was a person who objected to this building because it was too "masculinist." ISYN.
ReplyDeleteTo me it looks pretty much the same as any other building. I'm not an architect obviously.
You won't hear Bertucci's or Primos or DB Mart or Hastings or any other downtown business complaining about this, because housing downtown HELPS THEIR BUSINESS. It puts butts in their seats and money into their cash registers. And it helps all of us residents because it increases the tax base.
Doesn't even have a decent view (from Larry's photo)
ReplyDeleteAll you can see is the roofs of nearby buildings, parking lots and a park where sculptures rust