The train that left Brighton when the Mass Pike was built fifty years ago is coming back. New Balance and the Massachusetts Transportation Department have signed a letter of intent to get a station built.
This is great news, and it is good to see new transportation added in conjunction with such a huge project. Of course, there are those who think what we really need are bars that close at 3AM.
New Balance unveiled more details of its plans for its new headquarters/hotel/office/sports complex Tuesday night. Creating new roadways and extending Guest Street are included as remedies to the increased traffic. A commuter rail stop seems to be something New Balance wants to talk about but city and state officials do not.
The company is as serious as a heart attack about its plans for the new headquarters. Last July they hired Jay Rourke, formerly a project manager for the BRA, the agency that is overseeing the planning process and will have to approve the project.
The next meeting is April 23 at 7 PM in the WGBH auditorium.
An office building in the shape of a shoe will be one of the highlights of New Balance’s plan for its fourteen acres along Guest Street, adjacent to the Mass. Pike. (Globe article may be behind paywall). The company filed its plan with the city earlier this week. Other elements include a 175-room hotel, a sports facility open to the public that might include venues for track and ice hockey, and additional office space. Restaurants and retail will be weaved into different parts of the project. What this all adds up to is 1.4 million square feet of building in structures ranging from roughly nine to twenty stories.
How will people get there? Some of them will drive and leave their car in one of the 1750 parking spaces. Other than that, the plan is vague. A commuter rail stop is mentioned, but in a context of listing all the obstacles to it. Which leaves the bus. Routes 64 and 86 stop at the site but neither runs that frequently. New Balance currently provides shuttle vans to Harvard Square and Kenmore Square during rush hour and is the quickest way to connect to the subway.
When is this going to happen? Spring 2013 is projected for the start of construction. Lots of questions to ask, details to be discussed, many meetings sure to follow.