Winthrop Center developer alters plans for 691-foot Boston tower

Developer Millennium Partners Boston has proposed changes to the future Winthrop Center, the 691-foot tower under construction in Boston’s Financial District and destined to be one of the tallest U.S. towers north of New York City.

That 691-foot height remains. But the building’s area will now be 1,545,021 square feet versus the 1.65 million gross square feet permitted.

The building’s residential component has also changed. While that share was to be approximately 620,000 saleable square feet, it’s now due to be 582,714. What’s more, Millennium said in an October 28 filing with the Boston Planning and Development Agency that the current condo count of 387 “may continue to evolve based on the size of the penthouse units and the market demand.

“Thes changes are primarily due to a refinement in the building facade,” the filing read, “the location of the first residential floor, the height required for the actual mechanical equipment, and the views available as well as the size and refinement of the east tower.”

The developer has also proposed a change to the size of Winthrop Center’s office component. That is growing from up to 750,000 gross square feet to 772,422 square feet, due in large part to Millennium scrapping plans for meeting-slash-conference space and opting simply for conventional office footage. There’s more demand for that in downtown Boston, according to the developer—and, besides, the office space “could easily be repositioned as conference-meeting space,” according to the filing.

The amount of proposed parking has also dropped by one level and a net total of 50 spaces.

Finally, whatever the proposed alterations, Millennium’s plans for 40,659 square feet of planned public space and retail on the complex’s lower floors have not changed, including the so-called Connector, a large lobby once known as the Great Hall.

Winthrop Center has been under construction since late 2018, and is expected to open in 2022.