Copley Place Expansion and Tower | Back Bay

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Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

AmericanFolkLegend said:
Not to mention the Canadian banking sector was much more prudent in the run up to 2008. Not sure if that was due to regulation or common sense, but they're financial system never teetered on the brink of meltdown.
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regulations... they have tighter capitalization ratios and more restrictions on what activities they can engage in on the commercial side.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Comparing Toronto to Boston is a bit apples and oranges as Toronto is the alpha city for the entire country akin to NYC for the U.S. For example, I don't think Montreal has fared nearly as well, relatively speaking, over the past 20 years.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

commuter guy said:
Comparing Toronto to Boston is a bit apples and oranges as Toronto is the alpha city for the entire country akin to NYC for the U.S. For example, I don't think Montreal has fared nearly as well, relatively speaking, over the past 20 years.
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You're right, but Montreal is finally entering a building boom of its own. It's mostly housing/hotels, and unlike the boom here, many of those buildings are actually taller than 300'.

It this tower gets cancelled or significantly altered for the poorer, I think it will be the most bitter thing I will ever deal with as a skyscraper fan. The worst part is that for once, it's not the city's fault.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

What about Calgary? Two of the tallest three in Calgary was built in 2011 and 5 towers of at least 400' were built within the last five years. Two more over 550' are underconstruction.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

KentXie said:
What about Calgary? Two of the tallest three in Calgary was built in 2011 and 5 towers of at least 400' were built within the last five years. Two more over 550' are underconstruction.
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I think the reason we haven't mentioned Calgary is that its building boom has been mostly office space, as it is (somewhat surprisingly) a major corporate hub. It has some residential construction too, but its greatness is in its office towers.

The most gangbusters residential construction I have seen up there is in Toronto, Mississauga (suburb of Toronto), and Vancouver. The thing is, these cities are actively embracing development, while Boston remains a reservoir of untapped potential.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Compared to the USA, I'm speculating, but am not certain, that Canada has more metropolitan-wide land use planning and directs and encourages density in core areas.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Says they may need to go back for administrative approvals? I assume that would only be necessary for additional height?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Great news, BUT....

[W]e're still designing the building. And we may need—because of that design, we may need to go back through some administrative approvals that we don't think will be a big deal. But the idea that we're circling right now is to do mostly rentals, though there will be some condo element to it. And so you'd have essentially a hybrid building.
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What kind of design changes would occur due to rentals? Please, oh, please, I hope the exterior design stays as is. The tower as is would single-handedly make the Back Bay alone of the best skylines in the world.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Also, do you think that this coming back online has anything to do with Boston Properties recent news about floating around the idea of a tower across the street?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

^seems as though they needed to do something in order to remain competitive. eitherway this may force one or the other to really get their act together to get something built
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

meddlepal said:
Says they may need to go back for administrative approvals? I assume that would only be necessary for additional height?
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They could be simply changing their entry / lobby configuration, so they have separate entries for apartments and for condos. For example, the express elevators to the top floors (condos) would have their own entry lobby & concierge. The height and core size would be unchanged, but extra doors at street level would still need "administrative approval."
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

The dual component is being entertained at Millennium tower too. It seems like the best way to go.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Wouldn't that unnecessarily remove flexibility in converting apartments to condos or vice versa?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Nah, they'll probably make all the units condo-quality and just block off x% of them exclusively as rentals. This is what they did at Archstone Avenir; the units are all "condo quality" despite the building being completely rentals. It's what there's demand for.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

Even in extremely high end rental product you're not quite at condo level. There's always a difference, whether it's something significant like ceiling height or finishes versus just the appliance package. Separate lobbies and amenities are almost guaranteed.

And no, the $30k/month penthouses at the Clarendon do not count.
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

As it stands right now, what percent would you give for the likelihood this thing gets built with the approved design and height?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

^ You're assuming it gets shorter and uglier or taller and uglier?
 
Re: Copley Place plan calls for condo tower

I can assure you that this building will not get any taller uglier on the other hand is a possibility. Usually if there is uncertainty around a project especially on a massive scale cuts in materials take place. People will want to live in this building regardless based on it's height.
 
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