Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

617 said:
I don’t understand paying thousands a month on HOA for a few shared amenities, regardless of wealth.
Click to expand...

While I doubt HOA fees in a brand new luxury building are ever a value proposition, there can be some decent perks to help offset part of the costs. Like fitness and spa facilities. work space, concierge/doorman, private dining etc. You may not value those amenities but many others living downtown do. The people buying these units are generally not folks who stick to a strict monthly budget. It's easy to just say" regardless of wealth" but you cannot discount this kind of wealth. Even an extra $36,000 a year ($3,000/month) in fees is not going to make a difference for many folks in this wealth bracket so why not live in a brand new building especially if you like the location?
 
It makes for a cool rounded-wall effect along Devonshire, and impressive scale from the street.

2EBAB788-E50E-4963-9137-2E176E67B3EC.jpeg
50C90B83-66DA-4C65-8AB2-A2B9AB9083A1.jpeg
175E51E0-A70D-4AA0-9698-D33E464242B7.jpeg
88416697-9208-4E2A-AA20-0A493722B365.jpeg
3299A3E2-1CAD-43F3-A0C4-4C1F39660280.jpeg
0A92FBBC-8983-43CD-949C-99C0CD26C009.jpeg

A83205D1-8FEC-46B7-93AB-D39C5B01CF20.jpeg
 
Thanks for posting street level images. I can't wait for this "connector" to open and be the most amazing public space since the Public Garden. It will certainly become one of the top attractions to visit in Boston for people visiting our amazing city. (........YES, a huge amount of sarcasm.)
 
themissinglink said:
It's too bad we're getting "The Connector" instead of the "Great Hall" that was originally supposed to be part of this development.
Click to expand...

the whole project is a gigantic bait-and-switch -- no great hall, no observation deck, no "iconic" lit crown. all we get is a fat, reflective glass filing cabinet that ultimately amounts to possibly the most collossal "infill" building ever constructed.

massive disappointment at a prime spot that could have been a really special statement tower.
 
chrisbrat said:
the whole project is a gigantic bait-and-switch -- no great hall, no observation deck, no "iconic" lit crown. all we get is a fat, reflective glass filing cabinet that ultimately amounts to possibly the most collossal "infill" building ever constructed.

massive disappointment at a prime spot that could have been a really special statement tower.
Click to expand...

I couldn't have said it better! I agree 1000 percent..
 
and is it even 6' taller than MT??....🙃

(Start conspiracy theory banter) joking, but nothing about this tower grabs attention as the 'tallest' in downtown.
 
Last edited:
chrisbrat said:
the whole project is a gigantic bait-and-switch -- no great hall, no observation deck, no "iconic" lit crown. all we get is a fat, reflective glass filing cabinet that ultimately amounts to possibly the most collossal "infill" building ever constructed.

massive disappointment at a prime spot that could have been a really special statement tower.
Click to expand...

I'm not quite as down on it, but don't forget that they also tanked an entire tower of affordable housing in Chinatown that they were supposed to fund.
 
chrisbrat said:
the whole project is a gigantic bait-and-switch -- no great hall, no observation deck, no "iconic" lit crown. all we get is a fat, reflective glass filing cabinet that ultimately amounts to possibly the most collossal "infill" building ever constructed.

massive disappointment at a prime spot that could have been a really special statement tower.
Click to expand...

Great points. If this was a normal proposal I think we all would have been happy with what was built, but the timeline of the project prevents it from being any better than mediocre. Even if the 1,000+ footer was never going to happen, some of the realistic proposals that followed were great and the original version of this particular proposal was still very good. The fact that it slowly degraded into what we see now is very frustrating and it never should have happened on a plot that was always hailed by the city as the site of a landmark tower.
 
tmac9wr said:
Great points. If this was a normal proposal I think we all would have been happy with what was built, but the timeline of the project prevents it from being any better than mediocre. Even if the 1,000+ footer was never going to happen, some of the realistic proposals that followed were great and the original version of this particular proposal was still very good. The fact that it slowly degraded into what we see now is very frustrating and it never should have happened on a plot that was always hailed by the city as the site of a landmark tower.
Click to expand...

Menino hailed it as a spot for a landmark tower. Walsh hailed it as a property the City could offload for a lot of money. Blame the City here as much as the developer.

Also, this is worlds better than a garage and every one of those proposals was going to get VE'd and rationalized as the boom ended. For all we know, MP was the only developer that would even have stuck with it to build anything. I'm dubious that Accordia, for example, would have produced anything other than a vacant lot.

Also, I think it's worth comparing what was built to what the other teams were proposing, lest we look through rose-colored glasses. Even as concepts, we had:


Accordia - The green version of what was built, frankly. Glass with some unique accents, likely to see VE later.
Lendlease - A veiny sex toy that was supposed to be anchored by WeWork, so there's that.
HYM - This was my favorite because of the site swap with the church, but they would have had to work out the site swap with the church. Also, we all know how good HYM has turned out to be at demolishing garages.
MP - Worth noting how much the Tower was VE'd in addition to the connector. The pleats were supposed to come all the way to the ground.
Trans National - Not a serious developer, and the proposal was for two filler towers that would have been essentially invisible.
Trinity - Awful TAT design, interesting concepts for affordable residential use that probably would have doomed the project as they went around asking for handouts.

And bear in mind that the height reduction from 725' would have happened for each of these, though MP had started higher at 750. As would the shadow fight. Would other developers have persevered? MP now has a track record of building over 600' at sites in the Financial District. MT was a huge surprise when they proposed it for more than 400' and they delivered. WST exists. That's something. Tall buildings are hard.
 
Last edited:
Equilibria said:
Menino hailed it as a spot for a landmark tower. Walsh hailed it as a property the City could offload for a lot of money. Blame the City here as much as the developer.

Also, this is worlds better than a garage and every one of those proposals was going to get VE'd and rationalized as the boom ended. For all we know, MP was the only developer that would even have stuck with it to build anything. I'm dubious that Accordia, for example, would have produced anything other than a vacant lot.

Also, I think it's worth comparing what was built to what the other teams were proposing, lest we look through rose-colored glasses. Even as concepts, we had:


Accordia - The green version of what was built, frankly. Glass with some unique accents, likely to see VE later.
Lendlease - A veiny sex toy that was supposed to be anchored by WeWork, so there's that.
HYM - This was my favorite because of the site swap with the church, but they would have had to work out the site swap with the church. Also, we all know how good HYM has turned out to be at demolishing garages.
MP - Worth noting how much the Tower was VE'd in addition to the connector. The pleats were supposed to come all the way to the ground.
Trans National - Not a serious developer, and the proposal was for two filler towers that would have been essentially invisible.
Trinity - Awful TAT design, interesting concepts for affordable residential use that probably would have doomed the project as they went around asking for handouts.

And bear in mind that the height reduction from 725' would have happened for each of these, though MP had started higher at 750. As would the shadow fight. Would other developers have persevered? MP now has a track record of building over 600' at sites in the Financial District. MT was a huge surprise when they proposed it for more than 400' and they delivered. WST exists. That's something. Tall buildings are hard.
Click to expand...

I get what you are saying. I don't even mind the height reduction, lack of observation floor, or non-lit crown. It's the STREET experience that disappoints me. The first "Great Hall" concept drawings looked a bit like BCE place in Toronto with a cathedral-like architecture. It was a place you might want to explore, and it could have been a true Financial District "destination." Now, we basically get a glorified corporate lobby. That's what I'm most upset about. When Millenium Partners axed the observation requirement that was required within the proposal, they heavily sold us on the "Great Hall" concept instead. That's the BIGGEST bait and switch in my opinion.
 
Accordia is the one I wish had happened (though I appreciated aspects of Lendlease's "sex toy," as you put it). Honestly, of all the proposals Millenium's was the most boring and so here we are. A rectlinear, reflective glass box with no distinguishing features or public amenities.

But yeah: better than a falling-down garage.

I get that "tall buildings are hard," but seems kinda weak to just settle for "Well, it's an improvement over a condemned garage." Tall buildings are "hard" everywhere. How is it that other major cities manage to put up more than a few vaguely interesting ones, but we have to be content with this shit?

Thank goodness for One Congress.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top