Copley Place Expansion and Tower | Back Bay

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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

And the design of the high-rise, given its proximity to the widely acclaimed Hancock tower, also needs to be carefully considered.
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Hahahaha, it's amazing what 30 years will do.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Bon mots de la Walz: "spectacularly beautiful", rather than "spectacularly squat".
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Did any catch this in the original Globe article:

"The expansion of Neiman Marcus and the specialty shops will ensure the City of Boston's retail pre-eminence within the entire metropolitan region," Simon, based in Indianapolis, said in a press release.
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It is a direct dig at the Natick Collection.

Pretty smart move, appeal to the Back Bay NIMBY's ego.

"You don't want Natick to have better stores than Boston do you?"
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Don't know whether the Globe has a full-height rendering or if this is imagineering.

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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Yes. That is clearly "almost as tall as the Prudential"
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

I hope that is just the Globe's interpretation. That building doesn't even build on the plaza at Dartmouth and Stuart Streets.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

A perfect massing and height for a perfect location....fingers crossed, everyone!
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Here's the article...

Lofty aspirations at Copley Place
47-story tower would be the tallest residential building in Boston
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr.
Globe Staff / March 21, 2008

The owner of Copley Place is proposing to build the city's tallest residential building, a 47-floor tower that would go above an expanded Neiman Marcus at the Back Bay shopping mecca.

Simon Property Group Inc. plans to expand the luxury retailer by about 50 percent, with expensive full-service residences above and the addition of an enclosed winter garden on the open plaza at Dartmouth and Stuart streets.

Designed by Howard Elkus of Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston, the tower would be 569 feet tall, with 43 floors of residences on top of three floors of retail and restaurant space, and one of mechanical equipment.

The project would complete Copley Place, an urban shopping gallery built in the 1980s over the Massachusetts Turnpike roadway and ramps, and on a former railroad yard. The Residences at Copley Place, as they are tentatively named, would be directly across the street from the MBTA's Back Bay Station.

"I'm very happy to see Neiman Marcus investing in the area, and it makes sense to add housing to Copley Place," said Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, a group of 300 businesses. "It's a tall, slender building that will work in this location."

A resident of the neighborhood, however, reacted differently.

Jackie Yessian, chairwoman of the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay, a residents' group of about 2,000 members, said she had not seen Simon's plan so she couldn't comment in detail. But, she said, "We understand it may be a major development project that could have significant impact on the neighborhood."
Both Mainzer-Cohen and Yessian said they looked forward to the public approval process. Carl Dieterle, executive vice president of development for Simon, said he hoped to win the needed permits by year-end, break ground in the fall of 2009, and open 2 1/2 years later.
The new Copley Place tower would be taller than the nearby Westin Copley Place hotel, which is 36 stories.

The residential portion will have luxury condominiums with 24-hour concierge service, a health facility, a spa, and a residents' library, Simon said. It will have housekeeping services, and room and food service will be available from some of the restaurants in the complex. The project is forecast to create 250 permanent jobs.

Currently, the tallest residential building in the city, according to emporis.com, is Millennium Place Tower 1 near Chinatown, at 38 floors and 475 feet. It is followed by the two Harbor Towers buildings, at 40 floors and 400 feet. One Devonshire Place is 42 floors and 396 feet tall.

Elsewhere in Back Bay, the relatively low-rise Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences are nearing completion at the Prudential Center. But Prudential Center owner Boston Properties Inc. has proposed both an office building, at 19 floors, and residential tower, at 30, to complete the Pru complex, also built over Turnpike air space.Simon Property Group had signaled its intentions previously and yesterday filed a letter with the Boston Redevelopment Authority proposing to build 300 new condos.

While many aspects of the project must be vetted with the community and approved by the city, a building at Stuart and Dartmouth streets was contemplated as part of the master plan for Copley Place when it was first built.

Dieterle said the company has no cost estimate for the project yet. He acknowledged the proposed height might be controversial, but said Simon had originally considered 50 floors.

"We were able not only to expand Neiman with retail but also to add a residential component, which was part of the goal back in the '80s," he said.

The 300 parking spaces that will go with the residences will come from existing spaces at the two garages Simon owns in the complex.

"It really was 'smart growth' - the transportation hub is right there," Dieterle said. "The residential component is a lifestyle that's become very desirable in Boston as well as other major cities."

The projects includes the addition of 54,000 square feet to the Neiman Marcus store, followed by a complete renovation of the existing 115,000-square-foot store - which will not close during construction. An additional 60,000 square feet will include smaller-scale retail shops and restaurant space, with a lighted entrance and "public winter garden" at the Stuart Street plaza.

"The expansion of Neiman Marcus and the specialty shops will ensure the City of Boston's retail preeminence within the entire metropolitan region," Simon said in a press release.

Architect Howard Elkus said Neiman Marcus has long wanted to expand and establish one of a half-dozen "flagship" stores in Boston, which this project will do.

"What that will do for the Back Bay and Boston in terms of strengthening and enhancing the retail landscape is immeasurable," Elkus said yesterday.

Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, which acquired Copley Place about five years ago, bills itself as the largest public US real estate company, with regional malls, outlet centers, lifestyle centers, and international properties. Altogether, it controls 257 million square feet of real estate.
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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

I didn't realize the Pru complex wanted to build a 30 story residential building?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

^^Wow. Nice find.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Someone needs to get down to the BRA and get a look at (and perhaps a few pics of) what this tower looks like. I don't trust the Globe's rendition.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

kz1000ps said:
Someone needs to get down to the BRA and get a look at (and perhaps a few pics of) what this tower looks like. I don't trust the Globe's rendition.
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I'm back in Mass for 10 days starting this afternoon and have nothing but a leasure schedule (school break). What do i need to do to get into the BRA? I'd like to go check it out, but I'm not sure if i need to be a city resident or what to get in. I thought I remember someone saying that cameras weren't allowed, but I'll try to sneak one regardless. If someone could let me know hours, requirements, etc, I'll try to get there ASAP.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

The deal with cameras is that you aren't allowed to take pics of proposals.. projects under construction or already completed are fair game, but not those that haven't been approved yet.

From what I remember you don't need to be a city resident. Just go to City Hall and locate the BRA's offices on the map by the elevators (I believe they're on the sixth floor...EDIT they're actually on the ninth). Once you get there, ask to specifically see this project, as it's a new proposal and it won't be filed away in the big cabinets with the older documents. They'll tell you "no photos allowed," but I've snuck out some cell phone pics before. A regular camera would probably be too big to be useful in this situation.
 
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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

When exactly did the commenters on Boston.com become sane and rational?

Boston.com

Still a few nuts but so far very reasonable.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Don't kid yourself. That's all of our Boston.com accounts :)
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Here's the super-high resolution render of (unfortunately only) the base of this tower:

New%20Copley%20tower.jpg
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Oops. I'll go back and edit my post so we don't confuse anybody.
 
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