Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

themissinglink said:
Regardless of if it's a waste or not, Millennium Partners had planned to construct a fountain in the park. It would be a disappointment (although not surprising one) if it got VE'd out.

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This entire plan seems like a lost opportunity to create an active plaza. This is one of the few places where trees are not needed for shade and certainly there is no need to fill up a small space with a fountain.
Why not instead create an active plaza that has space a small retail outlet — coffee, wine, beer garden — something of that nature.
 
bdurden said:
Why not instead create an active plaza that has space a small retail outlet — coffee, wine, beer garden — something of that nature.
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There's going to be retail inside of Winthrop Center itself, in the "connector". Seems redundant to have even more retail in the plaza.
 
themissinglink said:
There's going to be retail inside of Winthrop Center itself, in the "connector". Seems redundant to have even more retail in the plaza.
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Water fountains and little food/drink kiosks are both great for small urban spaces. Water fountains tend to drown out the thrum of the city and make a place more relaxing and cozy, and little cafes etc. give people a reason to come and stay. Of course, the one necessary amenity that nobody wants to provide is a public bathroom.
 
This fountain right around the corner is fantastic in the summer. I hope that the newly posted walk-through rendering was wrong. The circular bench that was rendered did kind of look like the water feature that was promised in earlier renderings, so I hold out some hope. If they jettison the fountain, I'll certainly be upset.


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king_vibe said:
Of course, the one necessary amenity that nobody wants to provide is a public bathroom.
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Probably one within the connector itself? Also very close by is South Station and Atlantic Wharf. If you're desperate there are certain hotels that also work, although there have been some changes since covid and I lost a couple of my go-to spots.
 
The connecter definitely reads as just a regular tower lobby and nothing about it gets the point across to passers by that this is a semi-public space and a pedestrian cut through between streets. Its not designed in a way that emphasizes the openness and who its for so I fear that 99% of people will just walk by.

Designs like the earlier harbor tower connector type glass atrium made it blatently obvious that the space was built for and intended for use by the general public. This is for all intents and purposes a pretty average lobby in this day and age.

* * * Its become GLARINGLY OBVIOUS that giving up the mandated public observation deck was a mistake. Millennium was somehow able to get out of this by showing a completely fake fanciful “great hall” replacement and after approval changing it to something else like so many other developers have done. In the end we get no observation deck and millennium basically just builds a lobby they would have built anyways.
 
king_vibe said:
Water fountains and little food/drink kiosks are both great for small urban spaces. Water fountains tend to drown out the thrum of the city and make a place more relaxing and cozy, and little cafes etc. give people a reason to come and stay. Of course, the one necessary amenity that nobody wants to provide is a public bathroom.
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There are alot of pigeons and chickadees that shit in that park so I advise against trees and standing water. There should be a simple plaza. Mabey a central pylon that drops water into a grate or has a light source? The globe that has water that cascades water only into a grill. Actually, maybe an eternal flame to those that got "a" tower built in Boston??
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stick n move said:
The connecter definitely reads as just a regular tower lobby and nothing about it gets the point across to passers by that this is a semi-public space and a pedestrian cut through between streets. Its not designed in a way that emphasizes the openness and who its for so I fear that 99% of people will just walk by.

Designs like the earlier harbor tower connector type glass atrium made it blatently obvious that the space was built for and intended for use by the general public. This is for all intents and purposes a pretty average lobby in this day and age.

* * * Its become GLARINGLY OBVIOUS that giving up the mandated public observation deck was a mistake. Millennium was somehow able to get out of this by showing a completely fake fanciful “great hall” replacement and after approval changing it to something else like so many other developers have done. In the end we get no observation deck and millennium basically just builds a lobby they would have built anyways.
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An observation deck would have been awesome. Shame on Millennium for refusing to include an observation deck and skimping out on the connector/great hall. Developers have been going too far when it comes to value engineering the living shit out of their projects.

I wonder if Downtown will ever see another high-rise observation deck, aside from the one on the Custom House Tower.
 
themissinglink said:
An observation deck would have been awesome. Shame on Millennium for refusing to include an observation deck and skimping out on the connector/great hall. Developers have been going too far when it comes to value engineering the living shit out of their projects.

I wonder if Downtown will ever see another high-rise observation deck, aside from the one on the Custom House Tower.
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The observation deck was a requirement by the city in exchange for the city owned garage being able to be redeveloped. Millennium didnt refuse they asked if the city would allow them to build the public space at ground level instead of on the roof and the city said ok. The ok came after millennium showed the first santiago calatrava inspired great hall with examples of fashion shows, farmers markets, art shows etc.. None of those things have been hinted at in a long time since the “great hall” was changed to “the connector”. I dont understand how they were able to just VE it into a normal lobby and the city was cool with that.

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Im glad to see this tower go up and I think its a nice project, but there definitely needs to be a lawsuit filed over this because the ppl of the city and tourists got hosed on the public space aspect. On top of that the affordable housing tower in chinatown, 290 tremont has shown no signs of moving forward yet either because millennium withdrew a lot of the funding after chopping down the 2nd tower. Maybe they can compromise that millennium gives the funds back and we call it even on the great hall? Even though it was millenniums choice to chop it down so its bs. Its possible to both be happy this tower was built, but at the same time pissed about other aspects where they dropped the ball and demand accountability. I think it needs to start soon.
 
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Millennium's towers look like two tall siblings in a group photo. Wish they weren't all glass, it's a rather boring style that ends of showcasing the backs of curtains.
 
stick n move said:
The connecter definitely reads as just a regular tower lobby and nothing about it gets the point across to passers by that this is a semi-public space and a pedestrian cut through between streets. Its not designed in a way that emphasizes the openness and who its for so I fear that 99% of people will just walk by.

Designs like the earlier harbor tower connector type glass atrium made it blatently obvious that the space was built for and intended for use by the general public. This is for all intents and purposes a pretty average lobby in this day and age.

* * * Its become GLARINGLY OBVIOUS that giving up the mandated public observation deck was a mistake. Millennium was somehow able to get out of this by showing a completely fake fanciful “great hall” replacement and after approval changing it to something else like so many other developers have done. In the end we get no observation deck and millennium basically just builds a lobby they would have built anyways.
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The mistake was choosing Millennium Partners in the first place who won because they offered the highest bid then backtracked on the requirements including the affordable housing piece. They got their goodwill from filling the crater in dtx, they should get none going forward.
 
KentXie said:
The mistake was choosing Millennium Partners in the first place who won because they offered the highest bid then backtracked on the requirements including the affordable housing piece. They got their goodwill from filling the crater in dtx, they should get none going forward.
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Is the Chinatown tower actually canceled?
 
Nibbles O’Plenty said:
Is the Chinatown tower actually canceled?
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This is behind a paywall but the latest article on it states that the project is in doubt due to the funding issue as a result of the pandemic. I haven't heard anything since from MP about any progress on the affordable housing piece and wouldn't be surprised if they scrap it given that no one has been holding them accountable for anything they promised.

www.bisnow.com

As Winthrop Center Rises, Its Companion Affordable Housing Tower Stalls

Millennium Partners' affordable housing high-rise in Chinatown stalls amid a lack of funding, as the firm's billion-dollar downtown Winthrop Center rises.
www.bisnow.com www.bisnow.com
 
That angle of the skyline when you came out of south station used to be probably the most underwhelming angle there was of the downtown skyline. Its nice to see how prominent this tower now is from this spot. Its actually one of the most prominent angles there is due to how low the buildings are and actually completes a nice step up effect now.
 
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