Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Anybody with extensive knowledge/experience: What are the odds this is ordered by BCDC for redesign/goes through more revisions and we get another design before this is approved & shovels in the ground? Based on what I've seen happen with other proposals in recent years, this is probably the final design, right?
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

stefalarchitect said:
Anybody with extensive knowledge/experience: What are the odds this is ordered by BCDC for redesign/goes through more revisions and we get another design before this is approved & shovels in the ground? Based on what I've seen happen with other proposals in recent years, this is probably the final design, right?
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Hub on Causeway went through a bunch of rounds of BCDC review and redesign. That could happen here too.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

We'll bribe the City with $165M,

They'll have the money already spent, then, use the promises to each special interest as a pretext to tell the nimby's to eff off,

Then the City will lose it's mind and act like all that money has to come from a single project (which it does not---the City is in relatively decent financial shape), and we'll VE the fuck out of it.....

The proposal has now swung wildly out of balance. It looks like something in Urumqi, China, or Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. i realize i'm insulting Bishkek. Even they wouldn't build this garbage.

This was a clever swindle. The other developers should be pissed.

Your socialist cesspool on display.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

stick n move said:
The 150 million paid was for a certain amount of floor space allowed so this looks to be a way to recoup what was lost.
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I think you have the right idea, but the wrong perpetrator. The $150 million was a maximum IIRC, which would drop with square footage. My guess is that Millenium could have done the deal with something approximating the original design, but Walsh wants the full $150 million. If so, then any effort to get the city to intervene on this will be wasted, since the city wants the design that maximizes the pay out. That's this design.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

HenryAlan said:
If so, then any effort to get the city to intervene on this will be wasted, since the city wants the design that maximizes the pay out. That's this design.
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The poor proportions is one issue that is pretty much explained here. However, nothing says it has to have (at least) half a dozen clashing facades and stupid looking top. It can be fat without also looking terrible.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

I don’t understand how millennium is even happy with this. They build some great buildings. How can they look at this and be proud of this. I’d expect so much more from them I didn’t see this coming at all. Does anyone now if there’s a chance this will be revised again? Most buildings are. If I’m Millennium I don’t want this in my portfolio especially when your creating a new tallest for a downtown. I think it will be able to blend in enough because of the colors, but that wasn’t really the point here. I’ve been looking at it trying to force myself to like it and the most I can get is that at least it will blend in well. That’s better than a couple of the proposals before but still not good enough at all. Idk man wtf happened.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

^^They offered too much. Then greed + the FAA squeezed a revenue oriented design, and pounded any possibility of a satisfactory outcome into dust.

They decided to lean to one extreme on the Price is Right, and required 775' to deliver on it.

Now the City is counting on getting all the money.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

odurandina said:
^^They offered too much..
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One of the first times I have agreed with you here. This is really simple folks. When a developer pays too much for a site, what do you think was going to happen. Can't something more reasonable be worked out where Millennium makes their remaining payments over a longer period of time so they don't blow their wad on the cost to develop before they even have a shovel in the ground? Sometimes a city can be better off with a better development as opposed to trying to squeeze as much cash as possible. I wrote to Casey Hines and hope all of you do too.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Yea for this as an end result vs how much they spent they got raked over the coals. The thing is though you can save money while still making a good looking tower. Hell theyre probably wasting a bunch of money having 15 different facades on this thing in the first place. It would probably be cheaper and look better to just clad it completely in black glass. But idk whatever I’m gonna see where we go from here because things change and Millennium is usually very very competent and it’s not u/c yet.

Also wasn’t this allowed to go to 710’? If so why are they only going to 691’? Wtf is that? That’s money left on the table. If true this is a fail in every category.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Is the idea that its supposed to look like a bunch of building jumbled together? Contextual in a skyscrapers-on-cowpaths way?
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

I’d rather they just build this with out the tower or maybe a 48 story version of this
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

When looking at the renders from the side facing the harbor I think if they made the T end a few floors further down so you only saw the top of the tower from across the harbor that’d honestly help a ton. You can still have it and the extra space but if it was a little shorter basically so the part that sticks up above 1IP is only the main tower it would have a much better effect on the skyline from the harbor shot. Who knows maybe it is already blocked because of the height I’m not sure until we get a render from that side but I think that would do a lot towards at least appearing less hulking when looking across the harbor. It’s hard to say if it will even clear IP so may not matter. If not your really only going to see it from the side at the greenway and the western face shown in the main render which is its best side so that’s good.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Boston02124 said:
I’d rather they just build this with out the tower or maybe a 48 story version of this
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As a rule, contemporary Boston buildings usually have one façade that makes you go "Why... why couldn't you have just made the whole thing like *that*?"
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Best I could do. The only render with a straight on perspective was more of a drawing, but still works to get the overall effect for now.

 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

^ Looks like it’s wearing goggles or like eyes peeping through a mail slot.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Dial from Accordia at one end to the maximum VE'd garbage at the other (redline).... The needle now points all the way to the extreme red. i assume this will be on Tuesday's BCDC agenda (the day before i get back in town). If i were able to attend, i would bring a poster with the various proposals taking their places on the dial to bring home the reality of just how desperate and ugly we have become.

Anyone good with Photoshop??
 
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