Paul's House Diary

The Millennium Tower is set to be Boston’s tallest residential structure, and the tallest peak in the downtown skyline, when it’s completed in roughly a year. While the Four Season’s Tower will go even higher when it tops out, the Millennium project will have far more impact on life in Boston’s core.

Downtown Crossing, though it has its charms, has been somewhat derelict and depressing since Filene’s closed and the property’s former investor tore down half of the defunct department store before exiting the project. This left a gaping crater in the heart of Boston’s main retail district. While DTX had been on the downswing for some time prior to Filene’s departure, the abandonment of this project dashed any hope of turning the area into a mixed-use, 24-hour activity center.

Enter Millennium Partners, the group that replaced the nexus of Boston’s red light district with the massive Ritz Carlton complex over a decade ago. Having already successfully transformed one end of Washington Street, this developer was given the reigns by the city to do pretty much whatever they could to remedy the situation and fill in the big hole. That’s pretty much how Boston’s first real exciting tower project in roughly a generation was able to get off the ground in a city known to be apprehensive about “Manhattanization,” e.g. building skyscrapers.

While I and no one I’m currently acquainted with will ever be able to enjoy the views from within one of the multi-million dollar condos within this building, the whole city will have a glimmering new icon to gaze at from many of the most iconic vistas of the area. It may not be the tallest peak in the city, but it will certainly freshen up this corner of town.