South Station Tower | South Station Air Rights | Downtown

I see a lot of light gauge metal framing beyond the glass, so there will likely be a wall set back from the glazing, creating a more opaque crown. The framing doesn't go the whole way up yet, so stay tuned I suppose...
 
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I LOVE the enhancements/changes at the ground level concourses etc. That is great and dynamic urban spacemaking.

But, on top of that? Houston corporation (Hines) plops Houston architecture over South Station.
 
393b40 said:
I don't think I'm ever going to love the front on view of this thing from Dewey but I otherwise really like how this tower looks.
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Totally agree. My first response to seeing the front view of this tower sitting atop South Station is "ouch!". But it will grow on me over time
 
I love having a "Houston" type of tower here! This thing looks way more awesome than I expected it to, although I agree that the front view is probably the weakest. However, it really does feel like a "having your cake and eating it too" kind of development, by adding a high-quality futuristic tower without sacrificing the ground level density that sets our city apart from a Houston, Dallas, etc.

Bonus points for finally seeing this project through to completion after 40-50 years and countless potential iterations. There was a long stretch of time where it seemed like nothing substantial was going to make it over the finish line, with particularly pessimistic feelings by ~2011-2014. We should all be grateful for this veritable bonanza of construction since then, while losing very little of what makes this city special to begin with!

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Compare to the tallest ones we got in the 11 years prior, inclusive of 2005-2015. Note that many of them are drawn lower because they were announced at lower heights that were missing the crowns. What an embarrassment of riches since then!

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Wow avalon exeter was built all the way back in 2014, it feels like it was part of this current boom.
 
stick n move said:
Wow avalon exeter was built all the way back in 2014, it feels like it was part of this current boom.
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Eh... not quite a decade since wrapping up and only two years before MT, which we're deciding (or DZH has arranged as such in his graphic) is part of the current boom, so you could be forgiven for having that impression. I also consider Avalon as being a significant part of the big influx of mid- to almost-tall-by-other-city's-standards stuff we've had go up "recently." It certainly signalled the beginning of the massive transformation around/atop N. Staion and the Garden.
 
Jones Day is one of the top 10-15 largest law firms in the US with revenues of $2.6B. A top professional services firm like this adds prestige as the first anchor tenant and will help draw other top peer firms to fill the place up. A lot of these firms are making people come back to the office for more days per week, so this may fill up over the next 12 months.

https://www.law.com/law-firm-profile/?id=163&name=Jones-Day/
 
The tower is striking given its prominence. It looks much taller than its actual height of 677'. An excellent and needed addition to the skyline but probably the last big tower for quite sometime.
 
citydweller said:
The tower is striking given its prominence. It looks much taller than its actual height of 677'. An excellent and needed addition to the skyline but probably the last big tower for quite sometime.
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What about the the proposed third tower at State Street HQ | One Congress | Bulfinch Crossing.
Is that still happening?
 
Charlie_mta said:
What about the the proposed third tower at State Street HQ | One Congress | Bulfinch Crossing.
Is that still happening?
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That's only ~350'. I assume the user is referring more to buildings in the 500'-600'+ range. There's the North Station proposal that's right around 500' but even the most optimistic timeline would still be a few years away. Otherwise it's kind of a reset as we're out of proposed/approved buildings in that range.

1 Bromfield could have gone over 700' as a residential, is currently proposed as a ~400' office, and probably won't be built.
Copley Place Tower could have been a 625' residential but looks like it's never going to happen, and key approvals have expired.
Aquarium garage could host around 600' but for some reason everybody hates Chiofaro.
Certain Back Bay parcels (Air rights near Mass Ave) could eclipse 500' easily but don't have concrete proposals (remember the one for the tall residential that ended in a lawsuit?).
Back Bay Garage could maybe come back higher, but the vision doesn't seem to be there.
There's that potential Kenmore building with FAA heights around 570' but no official proposal has shown up.

We still have multiple 400'+ for Kendall, but those will be lucky to make the metros Top 30 tallest buildings (MXD Residential will be 31st). Considering we just built 5 of our 8 tallest buildings since 2016, it's a clear "end point" of that scale when we don't even have a Top 25 building on the horizon. Once South Station Tower is done, the latest iteration of the skyline will be locked into place for a long time. Tough to complain, but disappointing that the gravy train has run out of steam.
 
To me, Boston now has the most varied and interesting collection of hi-rises (and functions therefrom) in the U.S. and I travel a lot for work. After college in Boston, I've lived in L.A. and NYC and am so done with both. Now it's been three years in Houston and my vote for this city is as the most uninteresting and blah skyline in the nation (of the top 10-15 cities in the U.S., anyway). I still--when driving around its exterior core--can't seem to find a reference point. It all looks the same to me--copy/paste again and again. Perhaps if they built a unique and massive 150 story tower in the downtown core with lighting features, we would have something to stand out (or like Dallas but a bit higher). Decorate some existing (maybe a half dozen) hi rises with lighting and now you got something that might feel like Dubai. But then most of it is already office space less than half filled. And forget standout hotels like Raffles, though I have a friend who is close to building a 30 story W above an existing mid-rise next to Minute Maid Park. But that's seasonal. The Houston downtown is always deserted to me... BUT NOT BOSTON. Cambridge, Back Bay, downtown, The Seaport. Take your pick with each having its own distinct purpose, culture and feel. Be seeing you soon North End.
 
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