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

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i hope they do too. it looks like some 70's building. like mass ear and eye infirmary or whatever u call it. the old renderings were alot better. although its good to have residential in downtown crossing it shoulda been there a long time ago. lit up it might look sick
 
GREEDY DEVELOPERS!!!

I love the additional housing to the Downtown Crossing area so long as these new residence don't become the very demise of the area's future development. The building is so-so, but IMO would've been a lot better if that side across from TJ Max was handled with more care.

I feel they should focus on opening up the entire area and the design should have featured a long, curved facade and not a GREEDY corner that gobbled up the little open space left in such a tight setting.

Am I wrong for this...?
 
I love the renderings. It appears that the base is sensitive to the Filenes building and the massing looks about right that block. I can't criticize the facade design yet....it's complex enough to draw interest and it appears the materials will be at least as compelling as the new Ritz development down the street. I disagree with any comparisons to the Mass Eye/Ear building or JFK....there are only so many design choices for a big tower facadea without it becoming cartoonish, like Philip Johnson's International Palladian Palace at Fort Hill. A strong grid pattern will be a good contrast to the blue reflective glass of the next-door Franklin St. building behind and above the TJM garage and hopefully, with other taller buildings yet to be constructed along Washington St. I can't wait until they start!
 
At first i really liked the rendering, and then someone posted the likeness of the JFK building in City Hall Plaza. The crown of both buildings are definitely eerily similar. I hate the JFK building and everything it stands for (beyond architecture). I need to see it in person before i make a final decision.

However, i disagree with LowerRoxbury's comments about how it "gobbles up" the corner and takes up "what little open space the area has." Fist off, I really am tired of people thinking that every block needs "open space." part of the goal of this building is to attract people back to a once bustling urban retail district. as much as i think the building is not so pretty, i think that it has the potential to be successful in what it's designed to do. there's nothing wrong with a few wall to wall very dense urban districts. There's plenty of open space in Boston, despite what people may think

My second point- if you want open space, walk over a block to the Common. although, there are a lot of shadows now, and there will be more when (If?) 115 Winthrop is built so you may never see the sun again and all of the trees will likely die and as a result we'll all lose oxygen and it'll be Armageddon.
 
I hate the JFK building and everything it stands for (beyond architecture

Man, that is one passionate statement! I don't know whether to ask you to elaborate or should I just let sleepings dog lie?

Fist off, I really am tired of people thinking that every block needs "open space." part of the goal of this building is to attract people back to a once bustling urban retail district
Totally Agree!

I also agree with Padre Mike about Filene's; lots of good points in his post. [/b]
 
HAHA- re-reading that statement i realized how political it sounded. That's not the case. One, I think the building is ugly. terribly ugly. Two, there were a few times when I've been in that old building only to wait for hours and hours on end to take care of business. sort of an association type hatred i guess. Nothing more than that. I don't hate it because it's a government building and I'm totally against organized government (go anarchy!). but i do see how that looks. glad you sort of pointed that out.
 
^^^
It didn't bother me that you might be anti-government or whatever, it bothered me that you sounded so anti-JFK...and after his being dead for almost 45 years! I was just curious as to why you seemed so passionately anti-JFK after all these years. I remember JFK with such fondness and admiration and his assassination, when I was 13, will always be remembered with great sadness; even more so for his brother Bobby! In any case, I do agree with you on the JFK building and it's maddening that the Fed's in that building dictate what get's built next door due to "security" reasons. What a crock!
 
^
Understandable. I'm a little too young to be part of the JFK (or RFK for that matter) era, but I'm fascinated by everything i see and hear about him. I'm also certainly not anti-government by any stretch of the imagination. but i do see where you're coming from in getting that impression. In fact, I think JFK deserves a better building named in his honor (as does RFK), a 115 Winthrop square style building. As one of the most influential people in not only New England's history, but the entire United States, i think a better structure would be fitting.
 
one_franklin.jpg


image from the Gale international website
 
$370M Filene?s Expansion Moves Closer to Reality
By Joe Clements


BOSTON - One of the downtown?s most venerable landmarks is another step closer to a major renovation, as Suffolk Construction Co. has been tabbed to provide pre-construction services for the $370 million overhaul of the Filene?s Department Store complex. Vornado Realty Trust and Gale International are expanding the in-fill site anchored by 426 Washington St., upon which are three historic buildings that will be incorporated into the 1.5-million-sf project.

The age of the structures and location in the heart of the Downtown Crossing shopping district through which 100,000 people traipse daily present ?exciting challenges,? Suffolk CEO John Fish acknowledges, but insists his firm is up to the task. ?I am confident our pre-construction professionals have the expertise to quickly move this project into the construction phase,? says Fish, whose company has already done select demolition. The pre-construction group will now assess materials and processes, and conduct site analysis to identify issues and finalize cost assumptions.

The multi-faceted project is one of several buildings featuring class A office space that are angling to hit downtown Boston by the end of the decade by moving forward immediately. Anticipating a groundbreaking by early summer, August 2010 is the target for completion of the Filene?s expansion. Near South Station, the Russia Wharf redevelopment will yield 520,000 sf of office space, while Lincoln Property Co. is scrambling to launch Two Financial Center, a 12-story, 220,000-sf office building. The downtown sector has seen more than one million sf of office space added this decade at One Lincoln St. and 33 Arch St., Boston?s newest office tower, a 32-story, 600,000-sf building located just steps from Filene?s. Meredith & Grew reports a 10.4% vacancy rate for Boston?s office market in the first quarter, a survey tracking 56.3 million sf of space.

Besides a 38-story tower topped by the office space, the Filene?s renovation will include residential condominiums, a hotel, 5.5 levels of below-grade parking and the return of Filene?s Basement, the iconic shopping store of Downtown Crossing. The store will be shuttered for a portion of the construction process. Vornado and Gale are proceeding quickly, having only closed on the asset in late January, paying an estimated $100 million.

Elkus/Manfredi Architects of Boston is designing the project, joining forces once again with Suffolk. The two firms were also involved in the mixed-use overhaul of the state=owned Saltonstall Building in Government Center, a $100 million expansion that yielded new office space, retail and 63 residential units. Boston-based Suffolk is celebrating 25 years in business, including a portfolio of work throughout Boston, with other recent office-focused assignments including the new ManuLife Financial headquarters in the Seaport District, 303 Congress St. and 131 Dartmouth St. in the city?s Back Bay.



Link
 
Three historic buildings? Just two, to my knowledge: the original Filene's building, and another at Franklin and Hawley that was built for a different purpose and later incorporated into an expanded Filene's.
 
A 12-inch plaque? They can do better! We should have a whole granite monument, with pictures and the history, and a little model of the building (in stone) on top!
 
Yes, my prediction was true. They are lighting the top.
 
Elkus/Manfredi Architects of Boston is designing the project, joining forces once again with Suffolk. The two firms were also involved in the mixed-use overhaul of the state=owned Saltonstall Building in Government Center, a $100 million expansion that yielded new office space, retail and 63 residential units. Boston-based Suffolk is celebrating 25 years in business, including a portfolio of work throughout Boston, with other recent office-focused assignments including the new ManuLife Financial headquarters in the Seaport District, 303 Congress St. and 131 Dartmouth St. in the city?s Back Bay.
Code: 
does anybody have any information on these three projects
Click to expand...
 
Manulife is a beautiful building. Perhaps the only one in the SBW.
 
Arch21 said:
does anybody have any information on these three projects
Click to expand...

303 Congress - finished 2001, 6 floors and 72k sf. Architects: Feingold & Alexander

Manulife Building, aka 601 Congress - finished 2004, 14 floors and 470k sf. Owner-occupied. Skidmore Owings & Merill

131 Dartmouth - finished 2003, 11 floors and 369k sf. Arrowstreet Architects
 
The Herald said:
Filene?s to get upscale eatery: Plan makes it part of hotel
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Downtown Crossing would get a flagship, upscale restaurant as part of a $600 million-plus plan to redevelop the landmark Filene?s complex.
Along with revamping the historic building and constructing a 39-story tower next door, the developers are eyeing a 125-seat restaurant. The project is a joint venture between Hub tower builder John Hynes and New York-based development giant Vornado Realty Trust.
The restaurant, included in recent project plans filed at City Hall, is likely to be part of a planned, 226-room luxury hotel, said Mark Browne, a downtown retail expert.
All told, the 1.18-million-square-foot project includes 166 residential units, hundreds of thousands of square feet of offices, and seven floors of retail - including four below the street for a revived Filene?s Basement.
A more formal, sit-down restaurant would provide a new choice for Downtown Crossing diners.
Food options in the immediate area are now mostly limited to quick-serve restaurants, some fast-food chains and pushcart vendors.
But plans for high-priced residences, offices and shops in and next door to the now mostly empty Filene?s building will create a built-in demand for finer dining, Browne predicts.
?If they can get people to spend their after-hours living there, you will see lots of restaurants,? Browne said.
Click to expand...
Link
 
According to the Globe today, the Boston Civic Design Commission has approved the design for the new tower and the Filene's redevelopment.
 
A friend of mine who has been working over-night security shifts at Filene's Basement says construction crews have been drilling holes to bedrock. I think we can safely assume these are for piles for the tower. Says they've been doing it for a few weeks now. For those who are curious, this work is occurring behind all temporary walls on the ground floor of the store.
 
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