Burnstein Rubenstein Redevelopment

Burstein Rubenstein Redevelopment

Northeastern currently owns two residential buildings at 458-464 Huntington Avenue, Burstein and Rubenstein, across from the Museum of Fine Arts and adjacent to Punter’s Pub at the corner of Huntington Avenue and Parker Street. These 1920s buildings are not suited to contemporary dormitory standards and, in time, could be replaced with new apartment or dormitory style student housing, academic and commercial uses. Replacement housing could yield an additional 160 beds, but requires adequate height to achieve a net yield as well as replacing the existing 227 beds. The Burstein Rubenstein redevelopment has also been identified as a possible candidate for a development partnership between the University and another party or parties.

Urban Design and Landscape Principles

This proposed height of this redevelopment project is consistent with the recent and proposed student housing built along the Huntington Avenue corridor including West Village H, the Massachusetts College of Art housing and the GrandMarc project which is under construction. The proposed residential tower would be set back from Huntington and sit upon a four-story podium block of academic, commercial or cultural uses. The podium set back from Huntington Avenue matches the existing set back of West Village H and the proposed Wentworth Development to its west, to provide a more generous sidewalk.

The primary pedestrian entrance and ground floor public spaces will be oriented towards Huntington Avenue to continue the more active street frontages proposed by this IMP for the replacement for Cabot and Cargill Halls to the east. The tower itself, which has been reduced in height in response to the Article 80 public review process, is rotated to address Parker Street and at the same time to present a more dynamic elevation and slender profile to the of the Museum of Fine Arts facade across the street. The proposed building should also be seen within the wider context of Wentworth’s adjacent proposed Sweeney Field redevelopment and the emergence of the institutional height, density and distinctive contemporary design expression along Huntington Avenue.

Building Program

As described, this replacement housing proposal could yield an additional approximately 160 beds to the University’s on campus housing supply as well as up to 25,000 GSF of academic, cultural or commercial use.

Site Plan