Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Or the smart thing to do is to give it a really fat base/bottom that sets back to a telescopic tower, kind of what they do in NYC. This would allow them to not lose any square footage and have a slim tower.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

chrisbrat said:
i think MP said somewhere along the way that the final design was going to differ from the most recent renders. i guess im hoping that, with the change in height and the already on-the-table intention to tweak the design, they'll manage to do something to put this tower on a diet. last thing we need is another one federal or one beacon in terms of proportions.
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I hope you're right but if they just lost about 10% of their original height, why would they make the building thinner? I just fear $ drives all and in order to get their ROI, the building needs to be a minimum amount of square footage and which will have to be made up somehow following the loss of 7 or so floors.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Somehow I imagine it's going to end up being what Rifleman would refer to as a "fat bitch in the skyline."
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Not sure what all the complaining is about. Building looks good. Flat roof is dictated by FAA limits. You can't expect the developer to piss off millions of dollars by putting in spire in the place of leasable space. We're still getting downtown's new tallest.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Rover said:
Not sure what all the complaining is about. Building looks good. Flat roof is dictated by FAA limits. You can't expect the developer to piss off millions of dollars by putting in spire in the place of leasable space. We're still getting downtown's new tallest.
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not sure how you don't/can't grasp that many don't share this opinion. it's fine that you have your opinion and, if it gets built as a shorter version of the most recent render -- that's great for you and those who have your viewpoint.

to others, this was not a particularly attractive design to begin with and one that, with reduced height, will become even less aesthetically appealing.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

It wouldn't happen in a million years but it'd be nice to have the Accordia Proposal design back, either the original or most recent design. On a more realistic note, if we do see a redesign, I hope Handel Architects can play around and get creative with the massing a bit. This will ultimately need to be wider in more areas if they want to make up for the lost square footage or will simply appear wider if they just chop the height out with no alterations. I fear, however, that Handel will stick to their usual design/massing prevalent in most of their high rises.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

stefalarchitect said:
It wouldn't happen in a million years but it'd be nice to have the Accordia Proposal design back, either the original or most recent design....
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Accordia would look good by North Station. They could go taller there too. I'd love to see that green tower pushing 850'-900'.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

One Court Square in Queens is 50 ft shorter than 115 Winthrop (658ft) and has approx $1.4mm square feet of rental space, comparable to what 115 Winthrop is going for. Just saying, it doesn't have to be an ugly square box but it really depends on whether the developers care enough to make it look good instead of just making excuses.

800px-Citicorp_Building_by_David_Shankbone.jpg
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

very good point/example ^^^
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

So, here's where I'm at. Developer has had to run a thicket of NIMBY's the likes of which we've never seen. To my untrained eye, this will in fact be the first downtown building built up to FAA limits AND it had to deal with the Shadow Police. Any building that doesn't look like the Ministry of Truth is a big, big win. We all have our personal preferences and there's nothing wrong with that. We're also not putting in the time, effort, or $$$ either. I don't expect Winthrop place to end up on a post card, but that's not my standard. I also don't expect to look at it and say "Ewww" kinda like I do with city hall.

The economics of Boston (high cost of land, NIMBY's, FAA limits) are what's dictating flat roof buildings. Until the airport gets relocated in the year 2400 that's going to be the standard unfortunately.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

^ we're very lucky to have an international airport so close to downtown. I hope it never gets moved. This is entirely about making the most of the parcel, with a good design that fits within the parcel's constraints. We can put height elsewhere.

The airport being located where it is is much more of a special asset than it is a relevant obstacle.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

^^Totally agree. Very cool to have the airport so close.

Also love the new BRA under Marty and Brian. Height could happen even again!

i believe 1 International Place is close to its FAA height.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

"Until the airport gets relocated in the year 2400" = joke as I don't plan on being here in the year 2400 and besides aren't we getting into Star Trek territory at that point?

Some you are a little too hard wired out here. ;)
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Rover said:
"Until the airport gets relocated in the year 2400" = joke as I don't plan on being here in the year 2400 and besides aren't we getting into Star Trek territory at that point?

Some you are a little too hard wired out here. ;)
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No i got that, and was responding in an emphatic "why would we ever want to move it, i don't care if it's the year 3,000,000,000" kind of way ; )

And yes, there are opinionated people on aB.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

chrisbrat said:
i think MP said somewhere along the way that the final design was going to differ from the most recent renders. i guess im hoping that, with the change in height and the already on-the-table intention to tweak the design, they'll manage to do something to put this tower on a diet. last thing we need is another one federal or one beacon in terms of proportions.
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They did. It was in the video posted on here where the developers spoke with the community. The man in charge of the slideshow and taking questions said that the design the public has seen is not the final iteration of the tower and was essentially a mock up that was pretty close to the final design.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

I wouldn't hold my breath for this tower to get slimmer. If anything they'll likely to go in the opposite direction trying to compensate for the lost height/revenue.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Smartiro said:
I wouldn't hold my breath for this tower to get slimmer. If anything they'll likely to go in the opposite direction trying to compensate for the lost height/revenue.
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I tend to agree. As long as Millennium is building the tower on spec , economics are going to tend toward fatter not more slender.

The only way we might see a more slender, iconic tower is if Millennium lands a corporate HQ anchor tenant who wants naming rights, and is willing to pay a premium for a more iconic building. And that has to happen really quickly to have any impact on the design!
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

JeffDowntown said:
I tend to agree. As long as Millennium is building the tower on spec , economics are going to tend toward fatter not more slender.

The only way we might see a more slender, iconic tower is if Millennium lands a corporate HQ anchor tenant who wants naming rights, and is willing to pay a premium for a more iconic building. And that has to happen really quickly to have any impact on the design!
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Like Amazon HQ2!
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

For what it’s worth there were concrete guys working in the garage all last week. Getting ready for demo???
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Yes, it is supposed to be demolished in short order.
 
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