Millennium Tower (Filene's) | 426 Washington Street | Downtown

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Re: Filene's

Yea I mean the retail is great in that building but it's just so hideous to me...
 
Re: Filene's

kmp1284 said:
The hole, the original plans would be perfectly satisfactory.
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The original plans were fully approved, and if anything the city is more eager to get something built here now. I don't see why they would put up a big fight.

The biggest problem this project faces is the developer cheaping out.

Which, of course, will most likely happen.
 
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Handel architects? They seem to be Millenium's right hand man, designing the current iteration of Hayward Place, not to mention Millenium Place. They're alright I guess, but I wouldn't expect anything outside the box from them.
 
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^^Yup.

My hopes aren't terribly high.

Sitting at "Better than a hole in the ground"
 
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Yeah, that was the refrain rolling around in my head as I typed up my displeasure.

"Now kz, it's better than a......"
 
Re: Filene's

600 feet.

Millennium Partners will take over One Franklin, the former site of Filene’s, and develop a $500 million, 1.2 million-square-foot, mixed-use development tower that could hit 600 feet in height.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced the project with Millennium at Boston City Hall this morning.

“Yesterday, Millennium Partners agreed to take a controlling stake in the development project at One Franklin — the Filene’s site,” Menino said. “It’s a first step toward a new beginning at this historic site.”


Millennium bought half of Vornado Realty Trust’s stake, though terms of the deal were not disclosed. Vornado stopped work in November 2008, claiming the economic downturn made it impossible to get financing.

“The way forward on this site took longer than it should have, but shorter than it could have,” Menino said.

Menino repeatedly praised Millennium, calling them an aggressive developer with confidence in the city.

“They’re creative and they get the job done,” he said. “I tell you, a lot of developers come and go, but Millennium Partners comes into the city and gets the job done.”

Boston Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Peter Meade said a plan will be submitted to the BRA within 60 days, after which there will be community meetings and BRA suggestions on the eventual design, which is expected to be thinner than Vornado’s original tower.

“All of that takes some time to get done,” he said. “Frankly, breaking ground by this time next year is an ambitious goal, one we hope to keep.”

Millennium founding partner Philip Aarons said Downtown Crossing is an area the company was familiar with, after building Millennium Place on Tremont Street, and breaking ground last year on Hayward Place on Washington Street.

“We were actually interested in this site before the current owner bought it,” Aarons said. “We believe it is a great chance to continue the work we started in Boston.”

Aarons, a Massachusetts native, said the development will include retail, office and residential space.

“It will really target all of the potential uses that could potentially add 24-hour vitality to that critical corner, a corner I remember coming to from the suburb I grew up in,” he said.

-— brendan.lynch@bostonherald.com
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http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/view.bg?articleid=1400964&srvc=rss
 
Re: Filene's

he development firm taking control of the former Filene’s property in downtown Boston said it will build a tower of up to 600 feet, rivaling the tallest buildings in the city’s Financial District. A tower of that height would be roughly the size of the Federal Reserve building or One International Place, creating a new center gravity in the city’s skyline and filling a giant hole in its central shopping district. The new building will be substantially taller than the 39-tower previously proposed for the Filene’s site at Downtown Crossing.

Speaking at a press conference today, principals of Millennium Partners said the tower will cost about $500 million and include a mix of uses, from offices to residences to new shops and restaurants along the street.

“It will really target all the potential uses that could add vitality to this critical corner,” said Philip Aarons, a founding partner of Millennium. “It will again become the center of downtown.”

Mayor Thomas M. Menino expressed confidence the firm will begin construction within a year, ending the work stoppage that has left a construction crater on the site for 3 ½ years.

“They are taking control of this project and they will do it,” he said.
Millennium is teaming up with the project’s existing owner, Vornado Realty Trust of New York, which will remain a passive partner in the project. Aarons declined to identify the amount of the firm’s investment so far, but said it will be the controlling partner of the development and present a new plan within the next couple of months.

In their comments today, Millennium’s executives said they intend to build a striking tower, but one that meshes with the historic buildings nearby and establishes a more vibrant retail shopping atmosphere in Downtown Crossing, which lacks the mix of popular brands of Newbury Street and other shopping destinations.

They also said it will also contain a substantial amount of office space and residences on its upper floors. Aarons said the firm still must secure tenants and financing to re-start construction, but expects to move forward aggressively in the coming months.

“This is an area we know, this is an area we’ve invested heavily in,” Aarons said, referring to the company’s prior development of the nearby Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Towers and its current construction of the 15-story Hayward Place project across from the Ritz.

“What excites us about the (Filene’s site) is the opportunity to do something truly spectacular,” he said.

The project will be designed by Handel Architects of New York, which also designed Hayward Place and the Ritz, along with several skyscrapers in New York and other cities around the globe.
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http://www.boston.com/Boston/busine...c4sGoMjJ99gEDgbs7AeN/index.html?p1=News_links
 
Re: Filene's

At 600 feet, this will be the 4th (now One Boston Place, 601ft), 5th (now One International Place, 600ft), or 6th (now First National Bank, 591ft) tallest building in Boston. It could easily be #2 in the FiDi if it beats out One BP for 4th in the city, or even #1 if you don't count the FED (614ft) as being in the FiDi. This will be tallest building built since 1987 (One IP) or since 1976 (the FED) if it does peek a little over 600ft.
 
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^Correct, but Copley Place will be 3rd tallest when built. :D
 
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This is fantastic news! I'm very glad to hear this rev back into action! The 600ft mark at least gives it a bit of wiggle room. I'll definitely be participating in meetings once I get back!
 
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Regardless of what height it ends up being, it won't break the plateau--just add to it.
 
Re: Filene's

statler said:
600ft ain't happening guys. Sorry.
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Who in this neighborhood is really going to complain here? I just can't see very much complaint coming from any direction here. Not to say there will be none, of course someone will come out of the woodwork, but how much of an argument can anyone have against this...
 
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I'm guessing it will be the same people who stopped the taco place from staying open later. I don't know who they are but the city listens to them for some reason.

Ron, I don't care about the height one way or another. I'm more concerned with the ground floor.

They could build the Tower of Babel here and I'd be happy as long as it doesn't feature a long, blank street wall anywhere
 
Re: Filene's

kz1000ps said:
Regardless of what height it ends up being, it won't break the plateau--just add to it.
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I've slowly been learning that height isn't everything. It's more about urban density and smart streetlife. Berlin's typical building height never even exceeds 25m (8 stories post-war, 6 stories pre-war). The entire city is plateau'ed at this height, with a few exceptions like Potsdamer and Alexanderplatz.
 
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I'm with you 100%. My comment wasn't advocating for height so much as I was lamenting how it would come so close yet so far to breaking the skyline's apparent ceiling. We only get that chance maybe once a decade.
 
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^^ Paris Vs New York argument. Used to pop up here quite a bit.

I'm with you, BTW.
 
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statler: but above you explicitly said that 600 feet was not a good idea; I'm curious why.
 
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