News
Long Time Coming
September 6, 2012
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| After spending nine years to launch the $215M Millennium Place condo project in Downtown Crossing, Millennium Partners Boston principal Tony Pangaro and his team are ready to pose in hard hats before walking the job. With all the new multifamily development in the neighborhood, they're also happy that Millennium Place will be one of the first condo projects hitting the market in this cycle. Tony says that being the first mover is an advantage. The 15-story mid-rise includes: 256 apartments, parking, and 10k SF of ground-floor retail. Sales start soon for condos, priced from about $500k to $3M for penthouse units. Construction, under way for nearly a year, will be completed fall ’13. | ||
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| Can you guess the most complex aspect of construction?Kathleen MacNeil, the construction manager, cites the underground parking. (We assume she's talking about getting cell phone reception down there because we never parallel park without texting to everyone behind us to watch out.) Given Boston’s high-water table, deep excavation requires expensive, time-consuming slurry wall construction. Digging down for one level of parking can cost up to $60k/space; two levels can cost up to $120k/space. The solution: rely on the Zipcar culture and renewed popularity of mass transit and limit parking to 125 vehicles. The rationale: people who choose to live downtown walk to work, dine and play. | ||
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| Handel Architect principal Blake Middleton says the firm's design introduces light and air into a mid-rise surrounded by existing buildings. Millennium Place has a curved façad e with wide bay windows and an expansive, landscaped interior courtyard. The lobby is especially large, 7,000 SF, overlooking the courtyard garden and ringed by the amenities of a private club that include: a screening room, library, and a private bar/dining room. The apartments feature the condo equivalent of a great room, wide-plank wood flooring, a kitchen with walnut faced appliances (good-bye stainless steel), and floor-to-ceiling windows. |
