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

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Ah, now that you've pointed this out, I note the very faint "Mod edit to correct image link" at the bottom of the post.

Ok, I will go another direction with future posts of photographs. Thanks.
 
West said:
wonder if they'll store a lawnmower up there or have a landscaping service bring one up on the fright elevator every week. Unusual property management issue.
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I'm sure they selected a low growth turf that doesn't need to be cut (or perhaps just at the end of the season).

EDIT: CCA beat me to it.
 
West said:
Ah, now that you've pointed this out, I note the very faint "Mod edit to correct image link" at the bottom of the post.

Ok, I will go another direction with future posts of photographs. Thanks.
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I know that the FAQ recommends tinypic, but just use Imgur. It's much better in terms of interface and super fast. Thanks for contributing that unique angle!
 
Galactic said:
I know that the FAQ recommends tinypic, but just use Imgur. It's much better in terms of interface and super fast. Thanks for contributing that unique angle!
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No problem. And that seems to be two votes for imgur, yours and the moderator who shifted my from dropbox to imgur. I'll try that tonight if I can get the time in. I have similar angle views of the new tower site, too, will try to get in the habit of posting them. Good opportunity to break some other time-sucking habit.
 
If you're taking the pictures on your phone, download the app called Imgupr. It uploads any photos to Imgur in seconds and gives you the BBS link right away to copy into a post.
 
Roof sod complete, more or less, save for some tucking and trimming here and there

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Great picture. What a unique perspective we haven't seen before.
 
Most viewers can probably figure this out, but I'll note it anyways: what is just visible on the extreme left of the picture is the new glass curtain wall on the back of the Burnham building.
 
West said:
dang it, tower site:

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Based on the website that raised area to the right of the saddle between the buildings is supposed to be the "resident's terrace." I wonder what will go in the rest of that area (the lower wider area to the left)?
 
Retail mechanicals? Make up air units if there are restaurant tenants? Dedicated air handlers? Nothing?
 
Planter boxes, lawn chairs and cafe lighting.
 
Yeah hopefully they make that a greenspace or some sort of patio and not a bunch of mech - that would (in theory) be a nice little space. Although once the tower really gets going up it may be pretty shady/dark in that space.
 
Galactic said:
Yeah hopefully they make that a greenspace or some sort of patio and not a bunch of mech - that would (in theory) be a nice little space. Although once the tower really gets going up it may be pretty shady/dark in that space.
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Actually, given the glass tower exterior, I bet the space gets a lot of reflected light from the tower. That can be pretty nice lighting. (Tower is north of the little space).
 
Interestingly there are no doors shown to the lower court (dependent on retail tenant fit out I assume). There could possibly be a skylight there too (I guess depending on if the retail wants it too?)

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Those floor plans are a little old I think, I was referring to this image from the website

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That raised area is the terrace, and you have sort of a double level atrium at the front of the saddle.

And you can see it behind the weeds in this picture of the terrace.

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Obviously they wouldn't have this terrace but right up against the office building, so I wonder if they are going to put some sort of garden there to fill the gap?
 
From http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/10/25/millennium-tower-boston-height-millennium-tower-685-ft-tall-not-625-ft-tall/

The Curious Case of Millennium Tower's Height

Boston's most-anticipated residential skyscraper, Millennium Tower, currently under construction in the heart of Downtown Crossing, 426 Washington Street, has a how-tall-am-I-actually identity crisis. Since Millennium Partners and Suffolk Construction broke ground on the project in September 2013, the building's - completed – height has been reported as 625 ft.

That is, technically, inaccurate; Millennium Tower will rise 685 ft. above downtown pavement.

Just recently, Millennium Partner's updated its tower website, listing this 60-foot addition. Curbed was the first to notice, stating in its report "the change in height is significant for the city, which is not generally keen on tall."

The height that is now listed – 685 ft. – is not a typo. Both an assistant in Millennium Partners' Boston sales office and a company spokesperson confirmed to BostInno, the 442-unit residential-condo tower will stand 685 ft. tall when it's open – ETA: summer 2016.

When the final bit of steel tops off Millennium Tower, it will be the third tallest residential building in Boston – until the 699 ft. Four Season's tower next to the Christian Science Center is finished.

So – but where did the original height-measurement, 625 ft., come from?

Well: Millennium Tower's top residential floor, the future-location of a $37.5 million penthouse, will sit 625 ft. above Boston; the additional 60 ft. Millennium Partners is marketing is based on, as Boston Redevelopment spokesperson Nick Martin explains, how high the sidewalk at the base of the tower rises above Boston and a planned–rooftop HVAC system.

"If, for example, the sidewalk is 30 feet above the Boston base, the tower might appear to be 655 feet (plus the HVAC on top of that)," Martin told BostInno in an email, citing a conversation he had with a BRA architect about the height discrepancy.

But height-measurements of 655 ft. or 685 ft. don't appear in the BRA's original Millennium Tower groundbreaking release.

From the BRA's September 17, 2013 release:

Today Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Millennium Partners celebrated the commencement of construction at the site of its Millennium Tower/Burnham Building in Boston. Located in the City’s Downtown Crossing at the site of the former Filene’s Department Store, the $630 million project consists of the landmark 1912 Burnham Building and a dramatic, new, mixed-use tower that will rise 625 feet into the Boston skyline.

Further, the most-recent Notice of Project Change filing for Millennium Tower, dated August 6, 2012, includes no mention of the building being 685 ft. The only then-still-proposed height listed was 625 ft.

"In approving projects, [the BRA measures] height by the highest occupiable floor, which is what the zoning code stipulates," Martin told BostInno. "The highest occupiable floor of Millennium Tower is 625 feet."

Martin added that Millennium Partners likely listed 685 ft. on its website as part of a marketing strategy. As mentioned, Curbed noticed the new listed-height on Monday, October 20. The only other outlet we have found to have reported that Millennium Tower will rise 685 ft. is the Business Times, whose story ran here on September 10, 2014.

From the Business Times:

The 685-foot tall Millennium Tower Boston, adjacent to Burnham Building, will consist of 442 luxury apartments and 95,000 sq ft of retail space. Residential prices start from US$850,000 for a 700 sq ft unit, with the top floor of slightly less than 14,000 sq ft priced at US$31 million.

Is this height change a little strange? Yes. But Millennium Tower is putting the number out there willingly – and they've been more than happy to discuss it. The lesson: the heights of new Boston buildings don't appear to be set in stone.
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