A lot of U.S. buildings already don't have a 13th floor because ... well ... bad luck and all that. Now, at least two new spires in Boston are leaving off the 44th floor (and one the fourth floor) in deference to the superstitions of expected buyers from East Asia, particularly China.
And these are not just any new buildings. The 699-foot Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences One Dalton Street in western Back Bay will be the third-tallest tower in Boston when it's finished next year. The approximately 690-foot Millennium Tower in Downtown Crossing, which is expected to open this year, is already the city's tallest residential building and a game-changer, to say the least, in terms of luxury pricing.
It's such condo pricing that has developers of both eliminating the 44th floors in each simply through not including the number on elevator panels or in marketing materials. Why? Beth Healy at the Globe has the goods: "It's common practice in China and much of southeast Asia, according to real estate specialists. The number 4 is considered unlucky, with a pronunciation that's similar to the word 'death' in some Chinese dialects."
That is, the developers of Millennium Tower and One Dalton expect a goodly chunk of their buyers to come from East Asia and see no reason to spook them with the Chinese equivalent of 13. (Millennium Tower will have a fourth floor.) As for that unlucky Western number, neither of the new skyline exclamation points will have a 13th floor, either. And as for the "Four" in "Four Seasons," that is apparently O.K., per Healy, as the brand is well-known in China; and everyone knows that nothing familiar can bring bad luck. Happy New Year.
· For Asian Buyers, Condo Developers Skip More Than Just 13th Floor [Globe]
· One Dalton Developer Expects Most Buyers Will Be Local [Curbed Boston]
· The Tower That Hopes to Remake Downtown Crossing [Curbed Boston]
· Three Millennium Tower Penthouses Sell for Over $9M Each [Curbed Boston]
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