Millennium Partners Tapped for Second Boston Tower

BOSTON, MA — The Boston Redevelopment Authority has tapped Millennium Partners for the redevelopment of 115 Winthrop Square—another sky-scraping addition to the Boston skyline from the people who brought you Downtown Crossing's sweeping Millennium Tower.

The BRA and city said Wednesday they've entered into negotiations with the New York developers for the sale of the Winthrop Square Garage site.

The vacant, four-story, Financial District garage was condemned in 2013. By 2015, eight developers were vying to build a massive tower on the site, but the redevelopment then got stuck in political back-and-forth.

The BRA put out a new Request for Proposals March 9, seeking "a bold design that is emblematic of the future of Boston's downtown," according its RFP. Six developers responded.

Among the many qualifications, one standout from Millennium Partners' proposal is its contribution to what the BRA calls "a hearty public realm."

"This proposal calls for a public realm that establishes and reinforces a sense of community and place. The project’s proposed centerpiece is a nearly 13,000 square foot multi-story 'Great Hall' that would serve as a cultural and commercial center," the BRA said in a press release.

In addition to the "Great Hall" (pictured above), the project includes residential units, retail and office space, as well as a startup accelerator space to be operated in partnership with the city.

You can see renderings of the proposed space, courtesy Millennium Partners, above.

Where Millennium Tower has been praised for its near-seamless ability to blend with the skies behind (just try find it on a foggy day), the proposed Winthrop Square tower would make its mark less subtly. The tower's "pleated" design, as described in developers' proposal to the city, differentiates it from the surrounding Financial District buildings and, from certain angles depicted in its renderings, evokes a towering waterfall.

At its base, the interlacing arches of the Great Hall connect that tower to the street. Described in its proposal as "Boston's living room," various renderings depict the great hall as playing host to city speeches, concerts, fashion week, art fairs, or farmer's markets.

Also in Boston, the Millennium Partners were been behind Millennium Place, One Charles condominiums, restoration of 75 Arlington Street and 10 St. James Avenue mixed-use office tower, and the restoration of what is now the Taj.