Yale & Towne a Let Down Thus Far
I'm not terribly impressed with Phase 1 of development at Harbor Point's Yale & Towne in the South End.
Everyone seems pretty excited for the new Fairway Market, and perhaps rightfully so in an underserved retail area, but the design and use of space was largely ignored in the excitement of something actually moving forward in a down economy.
Fairway Supermarket corner (Y7 on the map below) is designed more as a suburban style development, - a one story, single use building opening to a sprawl of surface lot parking, uninviting with little relation to the street, mostly dependant on cars to access. In short, not very much in line with the sustainable, walkable community Harbor Point hypes on their banners. 
The surface parking may be temporary and could be slated for development in future phases. At best the parking lot next to the store could be replaced later with a structured garage with ground floor retail and playing fields and/or courts on the roof. If nothing else the parking lot can remain a temporary blank canvas on the urbanscape.
The actual supermarket building is another story, that’s a wasted opportunity the neighborhood will be stuck with for some time to come.
A good deal of hype was devoted to windows vs. blank walls for the street facing facades when approving the plan. If you are critiquing the structure from the perspective of urban design, that’s criticizing the deck chairs on the Titanic. Blank walls won out by the way to produce this inspiring piece below, keeping in mind this is the “good side” they are choosing to highlight. 
The bigger picture is what the building could have actually been in addition to Fairway. It could have incorporated the parking garage into the actual building (think our downtown Target), freeing up the adjacent lot for another use. It could have went higher than one story and included affordable housing on a second or third floor. A little imagination beyond the typical supermarket model could have went a long way, instead they dusted off the same set of plans that could have just as easily been built in some strip mall in Texas.
6 comments :
But I do like an open market, shopping area. What happened with Target as an example is a shame. I agree it does not fit in with the concept, but a good market is needed there and this way it will attract more than Harbor point people.
What's wrong with Target I love that store downtown.
I wasn't ripping on Target, I think it's an efficient use of space for a big box in an urban environment. Stacked parking, ground retail, etc.
Let's see, Target:
Darkest parking lot in the history of parking lots.
$1 to park there.
Seems like they only stock the store once a month.
5 minute light to get out of the parking structure.
I like it only because its usually very empty but then I tend to leave disappointed because they dont have anything that I went there to get.
1 dollar is cheap not to get rained or snowed on.
Wow, what a disappointment.
And I'm surprised to hear about the complaints about Target. There's always ample parking -- and $1.00 is a bargain compared to trying to find street parking in the area for $1/hr at the risk of a ticket. There are never long lines in there (which worries me) and I think the selection has been great. More importantly, it achieved street level walkability and added accessible parking to the area. Rock!
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