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

[odurandina]

Globe blighters;

The developers get rich, usually. But what happens to the soul of the city when the buyers don't live there? Oh right, all that matters is that the developers get rich. Class envy? No, I'm comfortable enough. But neighborhoods do need a soul. That's what makes living in them and visiting them worthwhile.

can't wait for the RE bust and those "investments" can't be rented. And I agree, we are losing our human scale neighborhoods.They are being reduced to commodities with no sense of community. No one knows who their neighbors are. Strangers move in and out-- much like what is happening with Air BNB in larger buildings.

If we aren't careful, parts of Boston could end up like expensive parts of London, which are ghost towns after 6pm because no one actually lives in the pricey buildings -- they are investment properties sitting empty.

It is sort of creepy.

Salemgal, totally agree. When the boom goes bust they won't sell--these condos will sit empty until the price goes up and it will be a ghost town.

pro-development outreach;

The BRA and Boston's Mayors create a valuable commodity every time they OK a Real Estate Development Project. ...Every time the BRA and Boston's Mayors fail... the residents of Boston wind up paying more than they should for City services, and/or they do not get the quantity and quality of the services that they are due.

Shadman.... Boston will have a real estate bust on residential when hell freezes over. Boston is likely to surpass 20,000,000 Sq ft of permitting in 2016...
Having intermediate buyers come in with these types of multi-unit investments does a great service to Boston by stabilizing the construction and real estate markets by allowing supply to be added over several years, rather than having too much supply followed by a shortage of luxury units. Investors also do a service to developers; effectively becoming co-sponsors, allowing them to build at the correct scale, shrinking risk, then allowing them to move on to the next project. Win/win/win/.

(Yes), it's much better to be a parochial backwater burg than an internationally desirable world class urban center. ...It is having desirable real estate.... Boston's condo market is booming right now. Condos are selling in luxury buildings. If you think that is a bad thing your crazy. And if anything building density allows supply to match demand... Go Boston!

"Richard Baumert, Millennium’s top sales executive, said three quarters of the new owners in the tower will live in their units."

I've been living in downtown Boston for 30 years and I'm very glad that the City has become so attractive to the world. Onwards and upwards!

Globe blighters' views debunked;

walking around the Back Bay, South End, East Boston, Brighton, Cambridge, Brookline and even South Boston and you will see diversity as rich and varied as New York or London. As someone who has lived in NY, SF and Boston, I can attest that this city is on par with any of the world's elites.

DTX is certainly a neighborhood. I have lived here for 5 years and it's getting better every day. The investment by the city, majority of building owners and developers has turned what was once the worst area of Boston with the best location into one of the nicest parts of the city.

There have been countless business open and large retail is moving back to and investing in the area. We just got a concept Walgreen and a supermarket.

There is density in this area with the Ritz Residence Towers, Millennium Place, 45 Province St, Millennium Tower and the countless condos and apartments on all the neighboring streets. There are a lot of people out spending money in the community and supporting local businesses, the area is busy and growing.

There may be foreign investment but they (ACTUALLY) do rent units to local Bostonians to live, so I am trying to figure out how this whole area will become a ghost town. Do you research before spewing hate.

Yes, there is ethnic and racial diversity in Boston. In fact, Boston is 1/2 people of color.

 

[Boston02124]

Today's walk by the brick building on the left in the 1st picture is being turned into condos I hope they restore the top

 

[DBM]

the brick building on the left in the 1st picture is being turned into condos I hope they restore the top

Ah, no. That brick building, the former St. Anthony Shrine retirement center, was converted into apartments, not condos, several years ago. That renovation is complete and there will be no foreseeable changes to that building for years, until the current owner/developer decides to sell (and even then...).

Here's the website:

http://www.fidiresidential.com/

And here's a story from December 2013, when the renovation finished and they started leasing:

http://boston.curbed.com/2013/12/5/10167616/103-arch-street-joins-the-financial-district-just-in-time

In sum: no crown restoration for you!

 

[Boston02124]

Ur right I meant lofts saw this sign , saw the cemented windows figure they wdnt rent them out without putting in new ones, so thought it was a new renovation Too bad abt the crown it really shd be restored

 

[Boston02124]

Sorry had to walk by this building again, I promise I won't post all 9000,000000 million pics I took

 

[BeeLine]

https://flic.kr/p/KPJBmf

https://flic.kr/p/KPXAvv

https://flic.kr/p/LHQYxw

https://flic.kr/p/LHQSC5

 

[Roxxma]

Ur right I meant lofts saw this sign , saw the cemented windows figure they wdnt rent them out without putting in new ones, so thought it was a new renovation Too bad abt the crown it really shd be restored

Fidi? Ugh. Gag me with a spoon.

 

[stick n move]

This is starting to make a strong presense at night. There were tons of lit windows on this tonight and the ones toward the top being higher than anything else around makes it known.

 

[BeeLine]

https://flic.kr/p/LpVYYd

https://flic.kr/p/KUtwL2

 

[Bos77]

Love how MT looms over and aligns to the original MP towers.

 

[dotdude78]

Sorry, off topic. But I always cringe when I see that awful square box on top of 1 Boston Place. It's a shame they can't cover it with something like a pyramid-shaped screen crown or something. Think BoA tower in Atlanta.

 

[stick n move]

Its too short and fat for that it would look horrendous. I like it the way it is though.

 

[DZH22]

BOA in Atlanta is hideous, except at night. It's also a cheap height grab to turn a Hancock-height tower into a "supertall."

I'm a big fan of 1 Boston Place. The only "upgrade" it needs is a new coat of paint.

Still wish MT would put some sort of enclosed roof like the renders showed. It's lazy and looks unfinished from too many angles. An embarrassing conclusion to an otherwise fine looking tower.

 

[chrisbrat]

1 Boston Place is fine -- potentially great, even. They just need to light up the top at night. I'm frankly surprised they haven't yet.

 

[chrisbrat]

Still wish MT would put some sort of enclosed roof like the renders showed. It's lazy and looks unfinished from too many angles. An embarrassing conclusion to an otherwise fine looking tower.

absolutely 100% agreed. Coming from the South Shore it looks unfinished to the point of silliness.

 

[stick n move]

^ Ill 3rd that. I dont understand why they chose not to when their other towers right next door with slanted roofs are covered and they look fine. The silver bracing that holds up the glass inside of the crown is the part that really ruins it.

Heres a picture showing how they covered the ritz which have similar roofs.

Hopefully they realize this needs to be done and they figure out how to do it after the fact, it cant be that hard. You could literally nail a black sheet over it and it would look fine.

 

[CSTH]

Agreed, it should really be addressed. I continue to wonder if, given the geometry, they could just cover the interior vertical surface of the crown with the same reflective glass that's on the outside - I think it would look indistinguishable from an actual roof unless you were looking very closely for discrepancies....

 

[stick n move]

^ I agree at the very minimum the silver bracing needs to be addressed. Best case scenario is covering the whole thing, but even just hiding the bracing would do wonders.

 

[Java King]

Sorry, off topic. But I always cringe when I see that awful square box on top of 1 Boston Place. It's a shame they can't cover it with something like a pyramid-shaped screen crown or something. Think BoA tower in Atlanta.

Totally agree! I don't know why, but 1 Boston Place is my least favorite building in ALL of Metro Boston. I really hate it, and I think it ruins the skyline in many places. Just my opinion.

 

[datadyne007]

BIG NEWS!!!

https://twitter.com/MBTA/status/773611602071392256

MBTA ‏@MBTA 1m ago

The Franklin St entrance at #MBTA Downtown Crossing will re-open on Monday, Sept. 12: http://bit.ly/1c6GJEk