Copley Place Expansion and Tower | Back Bay

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Mike

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Copley Place plan calls for condo tower
By Scott Van Voorhis
Thursday, June 22, 2006


You may someday be able to live as well as shop at Copley Place, with the owner of the posh Back Bay mall eyeing a major expansion that includes a new residential tower.

Retail giant Simon Property Group yesterday briefed City Hall development officials on preliminary plans for a major shopping and residential expansion, sources familiar with the planning said.

The Midwest-based retail giant is exploring an expansion of Copley Place onto a little-used plaza next to the mall alongside Dartmouth Street.

That would include shops, plus what would likely be a condo tower in the 20- to 30-story range, sources said.

A spokeswoman for City Hall?s development arm confirmed the meeting, citing Simon?s interest as an encouraging sign for the city?s business climate.

?It shows confidence in Boston?s economy,? said Susan Elsbree, a spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. ?Their interest in housing in the Back Bay shows they know there is a market for both retail and residential.?

Simon?s mall expansion comes amid a residential boom in the Back Bay.
Trinity Place, with its multimillion-dollar condos, is just a short walk away near Copley Square, while a luxurious Mandarin Oriential hotel and condo project is under construction near the Prudential Center on Boylston Street.

Meanwhile, not far from Copley Square, two new tower complexes that will feature high-end condos are also in the works, The Clarendon and Columbus Center.

Simon may also have an eye on the Back Bay?s booming retail market.
The mall owner has been eager to capitalize on Copley Place?s prime space, recently moving Barneys New York into space filled by a cinema complex.

Meanwhile, store rents in the neighborhood, from Newbury Street to Copley Place, are soaring, executives have said.


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This is great news. I hope that this will be much taller. With this new additional proposal, how many new towers are being proposed or approve now? I think I might make a new list.
 
all these are close to 300' and over .. (i'm assuming filenes will be)

Kensington
W hotel/ residences
Jacob Wirth's lot
Province Street
Russia Wharf
Nashua Street/North Station
Gateway Center
The Clarendon
Joslin Place
Columbus Center
Aquarium Garage
Filenes
Winthrop Square
Suffolk Dorm
South Station Tower
Blackfan
Mass Pike Tower/s

and now this one.
 
You should also include the possibility of the twin towers going up at Lafayette Place. It is 21-30 floors high
 
^ yea I forgot about that one. Is it still on though?


And I think there was some talk not too long ago of another tower on the other side of Winthrop Square, opposite where the garage is.
 
Simon may build tower for residences at Copley Place
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | June 22, 2006


Simon Property Group Inc. of Indianapolis, which owns Copley Place, is considering adding to Boston's residential property boom by building a tower at the corner of Stuart and Dartmouth streets.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino said yesterday he had met with Simon at a recent convention of retailers in Las Vegas, where he was told about their plan.

``Simon has a proposal to put a building at that location," said Menino, though no plan has been submitted to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

Simon, one of the largest operators of shopping centers in the country, is also considering a significant expansion of the Neiman Marcus department store at Copley Place, Menino said.

``They believe the market is there in the city of Boston for them to do bigger volume and have more displays of their product," he said.

Neiman Marcus stores are usually larger than the one at Copley Place, which is about 105,000 square feet . It underwent a $10 million renovation in 1994.

Simon could not be reached for comment yesterday.

A residential tower at Copley Place would be located near many shops and restaurants and across Dartmouth Street from the MBTA's Back Bay commuter-rail and subway station. It would be behind the Westin Copley Place Hotel.

Menino and others said that although the project could be considered part of Copley Place, it would have to go through a permitting process that would likely take at least two years.

Simon is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that develops, owns, and manages malls. It is involved with about 285 properties with about 200 million square feet of space in 39 states, and has properties abroad.

Simon's other locations in the region include Burlington Mall and South Shore Plaza in Braintree. It bought Copley Place in 2002. The Boston shopping center opened in the early 1980s.

Earlier this year, a two-story Barneys New York opened at Copley Place, featuring designer fashion and luxury goods. Barneys is the latest in a series of luxury retailers to target Boston's growing disposable income.[/b]
 
Where is the empty lot that they want to put this tower on? The Southwest Corridor Park is owned by the state and can't be built on.
 
They need to tear down the Hancock Garage across the street and put up a tower there too.
 
I think they mean the plaza on the corner of Dartmouth and Stuart.

Wasn't there already a proposal to add on to Neiman Marcus and improve it's facade? I guess nothing happened there?
 
I can only hope this development will include improved pedestrian access to and from Huntington and Dartmouth.
 
i can't see how they're going to fit a tower there on that parcel. It's going to really clog things up in copley square. If this thing goes through the place will really start getting congested (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

Somehow I really doubt this will ever take shape but with the amount of proposals on the table who knows. There are so many loose ends I feel like I should have a proposal out there.
 
Ron Newman said:
is that plaza really big enough for a new building?

Looking at it on google earth, I'm assuming they're going to have to shave away a portion of the existing building (where au bon PAIN is) and and those escalators that bring you up to the mall. The lobby will then be through that building. This would be a pain in the ass to build but I guess it's cheaper than buying new land in copley square (there is none)
 
Wow this is getting crazy. We'll be lucky if half of the named proposals break ground within the next five years.
 
is this the plaza?

copley2.gif
 
This could be good, especially if it blocks the view of the hideous facade of Copley place. Of course it is just as likely to have its own hideous facade.
 
mbta & garage development

About 10 years ago the T was talking about developing it's Back Bay station property. It would be nice to see this and the Hancock garage developed as one site. I would expect this to happen after all the other projects have been built and absorbed.
 
The Hancock Garage is no thing of beauty, but it provides ground floor retail and a streetwall, and it covers the Turnpike. There are so many air rights development opportunities above the Turnpike; I'd rather see these exploited before a second generation of development on air rights parcels that already have buildings. Let's get the Pike covered, and then worry about improving the parts that already are.
 
Simon explores Copley Pace expansion
Boston Business Journal - 2:30 PM EDT Thursday
Simon Property Group Inc. (NYSE: SPG) is meeting with city officials to discuss expanding its property in Boston's Back Bay.


Though no details have been announced, published reports as well as information from sources familiar with the project indicated the owner of Copley Place mall is considering building a residential tower near Dartmouth Street and across from the MBTA's Back Bay commuter-rail station. The Neiman Marcus store at Copley Place is also planning to expand but no details were disclosed about how much larger the store wants to grow in square feet.

Simon has not discussed plans publicly and only would say that they are "always looking to enhance our properties and Copley is no exception," said Les Morris, spokesman for the Indianapolis, Ind.-based real estate investment trust, which owns, develops and manages retail property.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority did not discuss the nature of the meetings. One source familiar with plans said Simon may also be considering a hotel.

"They have come in to meet preliminarily with the city to see how they can maximize their site," said Jessica Shumaker, spokeswoman at the BRA.
 
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