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

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Anybody know who is Building this?
I will be able to watch most of it from my office, Well OK my Bosses window...
 
Let me guess...it will probably be Suffolk. Connections, anyone?
 
I haven't heard, I know who it isn't.
I am going to a 7 year old B-Day from my Nephew and a Sr PM from Suffolk will be there, I will ask.
 
It does not make sense for them to get rid of automatic markdown. That is what makes the store a tourist attraction! Without it, what distinguishes it from Target or Marshall's or TJ Maxx?
 
Ron Newman said:
It does not make sense for them to get rid of automatic markdown. That is what makes the store a tourist attraction! Without it, what distinguishes it from Target or Marshall's or TJ Maxx?
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I think that is their goal. TJ Maxx & Marshall's are successful, ergo...

Corporate homogeneity at its finest. :?
 
Boston Business Journal said:
Gale, Vornado close on purchase of Filene's site

Boston Business Journal - 1:01 PM EST Tuesday

Gale International and Vornado Realty Trust closed on the $100 million acquisition of the historic Filene's property from Federated Department Stores Inc.

The sale of the building, located in Boston's Downtown Crossing retail district, closed on Jan. 26. Mack-Cali Realty Corp. (NYSE: CLI) and institutional investors, advised by JPMorgan Asset Management Real Estate, are co-investors.

The joint venture of Gale International and Vornado (NYSE: VNO), both based in New York, plan to redevelop the site into 1.2 million square feet of mixed-use space. The developers are planning a 38-story tower at the four-building site, which would include retail, luxury condos, a 250-room hotel and 600,000 square feet of office space.

The $600 million project will be part if a large historic renovation of the site, which currently house Filene's Basement Inc. Pending government approvals, construction is expected to begin in June. During construction, Filene's Basement will temporarily close its flagship store at 426 Washington St.

In addition to partnering on the redevelopment of the Filene's site in downtown Boston, Gale and Morgan Stanley Real Estate acquired 23 acres of land in South Boston from News Corp. for nearly $204 million last September. In 2005 Gale sold the One Lincoln St. office tower for $705 million.

? 2006 American City Business Journals, Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved.
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The Herald said:
The Basement?s way up: Macy?s cellar would fit need
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Friday, February 9, 2007

There?s a way for everyone to come out a winner and avert a looming debacle with Filene?s Basement.
Move Filene?s Basement into the cellar of the Macy?s building, conveniently located just across Summer Street in the heart of Downtown Crossing.
And stop one of Boston?s top retail and tourist draws from shutting down for two years as the historic Filene?s complex is redeveloped.
Mark Browne, a downtown retail space dealmaker, approached Macy?s owner Federated last year with just this idea, when plans to redevelop the Basement?s longtime home in the Filene?s building became public.
Federated wasn?t biting at the time, and it wasn?t biting yesterday either, when I called the retailer?s corporate spokesman in Cincinnati.
Yet it?s hard to understand why - because it?s a deal that could both make Federated a nice pot of cash and deflect a potentially crippling blow to the already struggling Downtown Crossing.
Macy?s currently uses its basement as part of its downtown store, selling clothing and home goods in the space.
But Federated could ring up as much as $2.4 million over two years by renting out Macy?s basement to the Basement, according to one estimate.
And it?s not as if the big retailer is getting a big rent for the space. Macy?s lease rate for its multilevel store has historically been a symbolic, $1 a year payment.
There?s even a precedent. Back in the old days before Federated came to town and Macy?s wasJordan Marsh was in what?s now the Macy?s building, the store set up its own version of Filene?s Basement, Jordan?s Basement.
That?s not to minimize the effort Federated would have to make. Housewares and clothing are sold in the basement, which also holds company offices. It?s valuable space. And Filene?s Basement is, of course, a competitor.
Despite Federated?s response, something tells me City Hall may ask the retailer to take a second look.
The $600 million revamp of Downtown Crossing?s flagship Filene?s retail complex is poised to kick off later this year. A team of developers is planning a stem-to-stern revamp of the 1912 building, including tricky asbestos removal. Not to mention the construction of a 38-story tower next door.
Staying in place is not an option, and Filene?s Basement has made that clear.
But finding a temporary location is no picnic either.
There appears to be just one other alternative - the empty Barnes & Noble store across Washington Street. Maybe a deal will be worked out, but the landlord there is looking for top rent.
City officials say they want all alternatives explored.
?We would encourage both Federated and the Barnes & Noble site to make sure we can continue to have significant foot traffic in Downtown Crossing,? said Susan Elsbree, a spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
The stakes are simply too high - and not just for struggling Downtown Crossing.
The shutdown of the district?s top retail draw could be equally harmful to Macy?s.
Don?t think some of the Basement?s legions of fans don?t step across the street to Macy?s as well.
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Didn't Jordan Marsh use to occupy more upper floors than it does now? Perhaps Macy's could return to these vacant floors in exchange for giving up their basement.
 
Ron Newman said:
Didn't Jordan Marsh used to occupy more upper floors than it does now? Perhaps Macy's could return to these vacant floors in exchange for giving up their basement.
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Last I heard they were converted to office space. I don't know if they are occupied currently.
 
statler said:
Ron Newman said:
Didn't Jordan Marsh used to occupy more upper floors than it does now? Perhaps Macy's could return to these vacant floors in exchange for giving up their basement.
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Last I heard they were converted to office space. I don't know if they are occupied currently.
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I thought the upper floors became a big telecom switching center.
 
Close it, and watch the rest of Downtown Crossing retail go into a steep decline. That's not good for the city.
 
The Glove said:
Filene's Basement in talks to stay downtown

By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff | February 16, 2007

Filene's Basement is in negotiations to stay in Downtown Crossing by moving into a space vacated last year by bookstore chain Barnes & Noble.

Commonwealth Holding LP, which owns the building on Washington Street, is talking both with Filene's Basement and the developers who are renovating the historic complex where the discount store currently is located. Commonwealth Holding is asking for a 15-year lease at $3.2 million each year for the first five years, according to a local official briefed on the negotiations. Afterward, the rent could increase every five years for the rest of the lease.

Filene's Basement, the Boston icon that birthed discounting, is moving out of its original store by fall to accommodate the massive redevelopment of the building, which previously housed the flagship Filene's department store. Filene's Basement, a separate company , has said it will return to the renovated building in the spring of 2009.

City officials have called on Filene's Basement, one of Boston's top tourist attractions, to find a temporary home in Downtown Crossing. Filene's Basement, which did not return calls seeking comment, previously said it is working with real estate brokers to scout out potential sites.

The negotiations for the former Barnes & Noble site, however, are in a tenuous state because the building's landlord, Robert Posner , is asking for a lease that Filene's Basement and the developers think is too long and too costly, said the local official, who asked not to be named because the talks are ongoing.

Posner last night said he is asking for market rate rents and other potential tenants are being offered the same deal.

He said the space being offered is about 49,000 square feet, which would be about $65 a square foot. The local official said Posner is overestimating the useable space.

A listing sheet for the site says there is about 36,000 square feet available on three floors, according to Annette Born , principal of the retail consulting firm Urban/Born Associates.

Born said the street-level space may be worth $50 to $60 a square foot, but the upper floor and basement would be worth significantly less. A developer of the Filene's site, Gale International, counter-offered with about $15 a square foot, according to Posner. John B. Hynes III, president of Gale, could not be reached for comment.

Filene's Basement is expected to receive $15 million to $20 million to vacate its space while the developer renovates the old Filene's building, according to the local official. Filene's Basement has also looked for temporary quarters at other sites nearby, including the Lafayette Corporate Center and the site of a former Gold's Gym. But the former Barnes & Noble location is the most viable option at this time, the local official said, and City Hall may get involved in the next week to try and to broker a fair deal.

"This is a very important part of Downtown Crossing, historically and for the future," said Dot Joyce , a spokeswoman for Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino's office.

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.
? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
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The landlord wants a 15-year lease, for a tenant who needs to be there only 2 years? Hopefully the Mayor will knock some sense into this landlord.

I don't think Lafayette Place has a vacant storefront nearly big enough for Filene's Basement.
 
^ The landlord can ask whatever he pleases. The mayor has no power over these negotiation - Unless he wants to pay for it himself.
 
That may be, but the city should still use every bit of leverage and influence that it has available. Letting Filene's Basement close for two years would be disastrous for every other retail business in the surrounding blocks.
 
From Today's Globe:

Neighborhood news: The Massachusetts Historical Commission has thrown a roadblock in the way of plans for the $620 million redevelopment of the Filene's property in Downtown Crossing. In a letter, the commission, part of the Massachusetts secretary of state's office, ruled the plans for a 38-story tower will have an "adverse effect" on the historic Filene's building and the adjoining Jones, McDuffee and Stratton Co. building. The panel said the project will "overwhelm" the historic buildings and expressed particular concern about the effect of shadows and vibrations from the construction on the nearby Old South Meetinghouse. Developer John B. Hynes III, who has partnered with Vornado Realty Trust on the project, called the commission's ruling "part of the approval process. We're going through the process."


In this case, the good aspects of this project really outweigh the bad aspects. I hope this doesn't prevent the project from getting off the ground.
 
As an historian all I can say is "GROAN!" What patience developers have to have in Boston.
 
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