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

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Re: Filene's

That is just ridiculously wide, it doesn't have any soaring effect now whatsoever like it di with 7 more stories (where it just barely soars). Well, it's not a total loss, it will be better at street level because Hynes says he is increasing commercial space x5.
 
Re: Filene's

Developers reduce scale of key project
Condos dropped at Downtown Crossing

By Casey Ross, Globe Staff | December 13, 2008

The developer of a $700 million tower on the former Filene's property in Downtown Crossing is reducing the building's height by seven floors and dropping plans for 166 condominiums to resolve financial problems that halted construction last month.

The new plan, filed yesterday by developers Gale International LLC and Vornado Realty Trust of New York, calls for a more slender design and drops the tower to 32 stories from an initial proposal for 39. It also converts several residential floors into offices, increasing the amount of commercial space to 595,000 square feet from 100,000 square feet, according to filings with the city.

Executives with Gale International and Vornado could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The changes come after developers failed to obtain loans and stopped work in November following months of battling for financing in extremely tight credit markets. The project's problems are emblematic of recession-related difficulties jeopardizing proposed developments across Boston, depriving the region of thousands of construction jobs and stifling economic growth.

A top official at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which must approve the project changes, said the revisions do not alter the tower's impact on surrounding neighborhoods and therefore should not require a lengthy reexamination.

"We just need to make sure the building continues to work well and remains attractive," said BRA director John Palmieri. "The good news is the developer is continuing to move forward with a substantial project."

Construction is expected to resume in the spring, officials said.

The project, a cornerstone of Mayor Thomas M. Menino's effort to revitalize Downtown Crossing, is in the heart of the shopping district, at the intersection of Washington and Franklin streets. It would include 285,000 square feet of retail space, with Filene's Basement on four floors beneath street level and additional stores on its first three levels.

It would also include a 280-room hotel on floors one through eight, along with a 125-seat restaurant. Floors nine through 32 would consist of office space. An underground parking garage is being scaled back from 299 spaces to 150.

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.


? Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/12/13/developers_reduce_scale_of_key_project/
 
Re: Filene's

There go the hopes of turning DTX into a 24 hour neighborhood. I'm not saying that this one building would have changed the world, what I mean is in this market developers aren't going to be building too many new condos downtown.

Still this is better than nothing. I still like the design, I don't even see much of a noticeable difference from the original.
 
Re: Filene's

There is something fundamentally screwy when a 50 to 100 year (or more) real estate design is determined by short term credit considerations or predicted one to two year market conditions.
 
Re: Filene's

Layouts and uses rarely stay consistent for 100 years. Today's cube farms will be tomorrow's artists' lofts.
 
Re: Filene's

Although I don't like the idea of the building being shorter, if it is narrower as they claim it will be it might actually be better looking. For more people in the area, there are Emerson and Suffolk dorms, planned housing in Chinatown on the Greenway, (Kensington?) and the condo proposal at Payless shoes that all will bring people. It's encouraging that all those projects are still alive and not officially canceled given the train wreck economy we are now in.
 
Re: Filene's

czsz said:
Layouts and uses rarely stay consistent for 100 years. Today's cube farms will be tomorrow's artists' lofts.
Click to expand...

So, will today's sprawl be tomorrow's quaint New England Villages?
 
Re: Filene's

^^^That's kind of a drab thought. Today's suburban sprawl villages just don't pack the same punch as the Federal, Georgian, and Victorian design from times long forgotten.
 
Re: Filene's

I was being sarcastic, I was emphasizing the point that early 20th century architecture will always be considered 'classic' in cities. Yes, 'cube farms' will be outdated-just take a look at the apartments built in the '70s and you'll get the idea of what they'll become. However, 'artists lofts' will always be sacred to cities (that are properly planned).
 
Re: Filene's

I could see sprawling subdivisions becoming cherished - but only if they became a rare commodity.

Then again, empty warehouses were not a rare commodity in the 70s when the loft movement began. It might just take one notable example - for lofting it was SoHo, which featured particularly beautiful warehouses with the uncommonly good geographic fortune to be in the middle of Manhattan.
 
Re: Filene's

underground said:
What I don't understand is, why are the taking out the residential component but leaving the commercial?
Click to expand...

Perhaps this is a result of particularly severe problems in the residential market nationwide. For example, the overbuilding, speculation and then retraction of the residential real estate market especially in cities such as Miami, Las Vegas, Phoenix et al. I don't think the commercial market has crashed nationwide (at least not yet) in the same manner as residential. Lenders are probably more spooked by the residential compared to the commercial market. Although residential demand in downtown Boston may be relatively better off than most other cities, I imagine its a tough sell to national or global lenders.
 
Re: Filene's

I would think boston economy is also better than most others us cities. Las vegas is really hurting right now. Miami has nothing but tall residential towers that are not even full. I'm just happy the filene's building is getting built. Filene really does determine whether downtown crossing will be a sucess or failure.
 
Re: Filene's

I was shopping in the DTX district this weekend. What an absolute disaster. I was actually scared for my life with all the JUNKIES hanging out downtown.

Not sure what the Mayor is going to do but how could the BRA let this project through the pipelines without knowing if the developer could fund this project.

Now it looks like Hynes has forced Boston for Tax money and tax brakes.
They should just sell the development to a college because that's who owns most of Boston at this point. The colleges are the only reason Boston remains one of the best cities in the country.
 
Re: Filene's

Gangs of kids, now junkies. When the prostitutes come back they can rebrand the whole area at Combat Zone 2.0!

Edit: Alternative titles also:
Combat Zone 2: Electric Boogaloo
Combat Zone 2: Don't Cross with Downtown!
Combat Zone: The Fight Continues
CZ2: 2F2F
 
Re: Filene's

The Combat Zone is long gone... replaced by the new War Zone.

Can we please start a monetary collection to give to one of the soon-to-be-laid-off newspaper writers to stand up at a press conference and hurl his shoes at Menino?
 
Re: Filene's

I doubt that Menino's reaction time will be as good though...he's a little chubbier.
 
Re: Filene's

Oh the hoodlums!!!

I actually enjoy Downtown Crossing, but I'd enjoy it more if there were actually useful stores there. I was looking to buy a toy to give as a gift. It seems like a toy store would be a very good addition to the neighborhood. I went to Macy's because I heard there was an FAO Schwarz inside. What a joke, it was like 3 shelves of overpriced toys. I ended up going to TJ Maxx, which had a small but decent selection of stuff.

Downtown Crossing could be a great shopping district, but it needs a better mix of stores. Most importantly, I think it could use a toy store, electronics store, and a grocery store. I really wish Filenes had stayed and Macy's had gone. Fillenes had lots of useful "regular" stuff, not this designer fashion crap.
 
Re: Filene's

I love the idea of DTX becoming a college town. It would go further in that direction but for local residents' objections.
 
Re: Filene's

TheRifleman said:
I was shopping in the DTX district this weekend. What an absolute disaster. I was actually scared for my life with all the JUNKIES hanging out downtown.
Click to expand...


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