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Just as finishing touches are applied to the Millennium Tower before its imminent occupancy, Bostonians have received news of another major skyscraper that could be coming to the busy Downtown Crossing area. New York-based developer Midwood has announced plans to build a 59-storey tower at Washington and Bromfield Streets after previous plans for a smaller residential tower fell victim to the recession.
Renderings submitted to the Boston Civic Design Commission portray a sinuous edifice sprouting from a five-storey podium. Retail at street level would be topped by a 235-car garage with space for 419 bicycles. The majority of One Bromfield would house residential uses in the form of 300 rentals and 119 condominiums. Of these 419 residences, 54 of them will be classified as affordable. Elevation sketches show a residential amenity area tucked above the podium, with another set of amenities about halfway up the tower.
The highest occupiable floor would reach 208 metres (683 feet). When another few metres are factored in for the inevitable mechanical penthouse, the building surpasses the 209-metre height of the Millennium Tower. Views to Boston Common will be maximized thanks to the orientation of the tower, which would include softer edges and corners to reduce wind loads. Several cuts, steps, and curves in the building, imagined by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, would open up the potential for private terraces.
Plans indicate the possibility for a rooftop renewable energy installation and a rainwater recycling system to irrigate on-site landscaping. In terms of the facade, high performance argon insulated glass would boast triple silver coating. The punchy cladding and atypical shape of the building would stand out from some of the more rectilinear designs currently populating the neighbourhood. If the proposal moves ahead, it would require the demolition of several buildings, including a six-storey office structure that now houses a shoe store on the ground floor.
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