Thursday, January 7, 2016

Haters Still Gonna Hate

Kendrick Place:  new mixed use anchor for the north end of downtown

After being described as "hideous" in public meetings, with charges of "good old boy" favortism on the part of the Planning Board, prognosticated to overwhelm town parking and becoming a despicable den for student parties rivaling Phillips Street, it's nice to see four months into their operations the apocalypse has not been unleashed by Kendrick Place.

And some professionals seem to appreciate the design of the building:

Click to enlarge/read

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any idea on the # of people actually living in this building? I saw listings on craigslist in late summer/ early fall, but from the outside it seems like a lot of the apartments are empty.

Larry Kelley said...

I believe it's full, both residential and commercial.

Anonymous said...

I don't see tax rates falling either.

Anonymous said...

Anyone have an idea how many students live there?

Anonymous said...

Personally, I love it!

Bella Bella the Fortune Tella said...

My crystal ball says tax rates will never fall while Town Meeting holds the purse strings.

Anonymous said...

Its like built this, expand that, its not my money let git her done. Good example
Jones Library. Do we needed it, 4 schools of higher education with full Libraries
within 2 miles of each other? I for one don't get it!

Anonymous said...

It seems like the DBIA has a focus on "design-build" as an approach, and I believe the award recognizes the successful integration of design and construction services under one contract, and not necessarily (at all) visual and aesthetic appeal, site appropriateness, the design's contributions to town goals, so on.

Anonymous said...

Um. Hey 5:31,

Clearly you haven't spent any time in a library. Otherwise you may have learned simple things like how to write,"do we need it." See you are a great example of why we need to expand the library. Do we want everyone in town running around talking like they just come out of the hills for the first time since the corn liquor was put up? Come on Jethro. Let's go check out some books to learn you up son.

Anonymous said...

No offense to country folk everywhere... Thank you for the typo spotting. You never need a proofreader I suppose. Prig.
--Jethro

Anonymous said...

Yes. They have managed to make an area of our small town as claustrophobic as any of the concrete canyons of NYC. Kudos!

Anonymous said...

Yes, now that downtown has a 5 story building Amherst has literally become Manhattan.

Anonymous said...

Downtown already had 5 story buildings before Kendrick. The difference is they are filled with public assistance rather than students

Anonymous said...

I too love the existence of Kendrick Place and am hoping that the surrounding areas of development opt to increase their height, gradually, over time. We need density in our populated areas, in order to prevent sprawl elsewhere. Density in our downtown and Village Centers will also encourage the influx of vital services--negating the need to travel unnecessary distances to access those services. This is already happening in North Amherst, with the advent of Atkins. Can't wait till more necessary services return (as they once existed) to our downtown.

Anonymous said...

Can't tell if 7:43 is being sarcastic or not. At any rate, using Atkins in North Amherst as an example of "vital services" is a joke. It's a terribly disappointing addition to the area. It's small and there's so little merchandise it hardly seems worth it. I will still travel southward to the "real" Atkins.

Anonymous said...

the bright side: Amherst now has it's very own flat iron building. the dark; now Amherst has a precedent. goodbye small town fact and appearance