Millennium Tower is a 60-story, 684-foot-tall (208 m) residential skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.[7] Construction began in 2013 at the site of the former flagship store for Filene's in Downtown Crossing and was completed in 2016.[2] As of 2022, it is the fifth tallest building in Boston. The building contains 442 condominiums, a Roche Bros. grocery store and Class A office space.[8][9] Limited occupancy by residents began in July 2016.[2]

Millennium Tower
Millennium Tower in 2017
Millennium Tower (Boston) is located in Massachusetts
Millennium Tower (Boston)
Location within Massachusetts
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeResidential, Retail
Location1 Franklin Street Boston, Massachusetts, US[1]
Coordinates42°21′21.01″N 71°3′33.91″W / 42.3558361°N 71.0594194°W / 42.3558361; -71.0594194
Construction startedSeptember 17, 2013
CompletedSeptember 07, 2015
OpenedJune 01, 2016 [2]
CostUS$375 million
($476 million in 2023 dollars[3])
Height
Roof684 ft (208 m)[4]
Technical details
Floor count60[5]
Floor area1,100,000 sq ft (100,000 m2)[6]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Blake Middleton of Handel Architects
DeveloperMillennium Partners
Structural engineerDeSimone Consulting Engineers

History

edit

Initial plans, demolition, and project halt

edit

Millennium Tower and the Burnham Building occupy the space of the former flagship Filene's store. When Filene's closed, the building was put up for sale and was bought by Vornado Realty Trust of New York. Vornado teamed up with Gale International for a $700 million redevelopment of the Filene's site.

As approved in August 2007,[10] the site redevelopment project consisted of a 39-story tower including a 280-room hotel, a 125-seat restaurant, 475,000 square feet (44,100 m2) of office space, 166 residential condos, 300,000 square feet (28,000 m2) of retail space, and an adjacent park. It was originally scheduled for completion by 2011.[10] In order to gut the historic Filene's building and demolish an adjacent building, the project required closing Filene's Basement and the loss of 218 retail jobs.[11]

In Summer of 2008, the developers halted the project, citing the Financial crisis of 2007–08. As of the halt, demolition was nearly complete, leaving the Burnham building gutted and a large excavation where the non-landmarked parts of the former Filenes complex (built in the 1950s–1970s) had stood. The side of the Burnham building that was exposed by the nearby demolition was temporarily covered with a tarp. After two years of inactivity, the City of Boston revoked the developer's permits in November 2010.[11]

Ownership change and construction start

edit

In 2012, Millennium Partners took over the task and won approval for a 625-foot tower with 1.2 million square feet (110,000 m2) of commercial and residential space in two buildings.[12]

On April 13, 2013, major tenant Arnold Worldwide was signed to occupy a large part of the new building. With the agreement in place, construction resumed.[13] The building officially broke ground on September 17, 2013 with mayor Thomas M. Menino in attendance.[14] On April 26, 2014, 600 trucks poured 6,000 cubic yards (4,600 m3) of concrete into a slab for the new building, making it the largest pour in the city's history.[15]

Recent developments and tenants

edit

Tenants, as of 2021, include Roche Bros supermarket.[16]

According to an August 2016 article in the Boston Globe, luxury condos have been purchased by local residents as well buyers from Asia and Europe. A Millennium executive estimated at the time that 75% of the owners will be living in their units in Downtown Crossing.[17]

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Millennium Tower Groundbreaking: 10 Things to Know". boston.curbed.com. 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  2. ^ a b c "The Millennium Tower". bostonglobe.com. 2016-07-25. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  3. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "Millennium Tower Main Info". mtboston.com. 2014-10-20. Retrieved 2014-10-24.
  5. ^ "Floor count". millenniumptrs.com. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  6. ^ "Millennium Tower Boston". handelarch.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  7. ^ "Millennium Tower Boston - Pre-Construction". Luxury Boston. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  8. ^ "Millennium Tower Boston". handelarch.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2014-05-05.
  9. ^ "Millennium Tower". Cosentini Associates. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  10. ^ a b "City OK's redevelopment of historic Filene's block". The Boston Globe. August 18, 2007.
  11. ^ a b Ross, Casey (18 November 2010). "Filene's site permits revoked". Boston.com. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  12. ^ Grillo, Thomas. "City approves 625-foot tower at former Filene's site". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Filene's project to resume as major tenant signed". Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 September 2013.
  14. ^ "Millennium Tower: Boston breaks ground on new Downtown Crossing skyscraper". www.metro.us. 2013-09-17. Archived from the original on 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  15. ^ "Record Concrete Pour Paves Way For Millennium Tower At Downtown Crossing". CBS Boston. 2014-04-26. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  16. ^ "Millennium Tower to add to Boston skyline as 4th-tallest building". dailyfreepress.com. 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
  17. ^ Tim, Logan (2016-08-30). "Foreign buyers at Millennium Tower show that Boston is on a world stage". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-08-30.
edit