Millennium Tower reshaped the Boston skyline, adding a 55-story mixed-use building with approximately 500 condos and apartments, as well as over 230,000 square feet of retail space, into the heart of Downtown Crossing. This project involved the renovation and rehabilitation of the historic eight-story Burnham Building (formerly Filene’s), construction of a new 1.2-million-square-foot tower, improvements to the adjacent sidewalks along Summer and Washington Streets, and the creation of Shopper’s Park in Downtown Crossing.
Working collaboratively, the project team worked to stabilize the structure, replicate original details, convert the upper floors to office space, bring the historic building to contemporary code standards, and design new elements as needed. Many details of the historic building, such as ironwork marquees and stone-clad piers, were recreated after extensive research of the original building’s features.
Nitsch provided civil engineering services for the project. This included providing technical support for the filing of the Draft Project Information Report with the Boston Planning and Development Agency, utility design for building services (water, sewer, and storm drain), roadway grading design, the layout of proposed curb line on Franklin Street, drainage design in Shopper’s Park, and permitting work through the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, the Public Improvement Commission, and the Department of Environmental Protection.
The project won the 2016 Preservation Achievement Award from the Boston Preservation Alliance.
Key Collaborators
Owner: Millennium Partners
Architect: Handel Architects, LLP
