Building the City's Tallest Residential Tower

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Lofty aspirations at Copley Place
47-story tower would be the tallest residential building in Boston
By Thomas C. Palmer Jr.
Globe Staff / March 21, 2008

The owner of Copley Place is proposing to build the city's tallest residential building, a 47-floor tower that would go above an expanded Neiman Marcus at the Back Bay shopping mecca.

Simon Property Group Inc. plans to expand the luxury retailer by about 50 percent, with expensive full-service residences above and the addition of an enclosed winter garden on the open plaza at Dartmouth and Stuart streets.

Designed by Howard Elkus of Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston, the tower would be 569 feet tall, with 43 floors of residences on top of three floors of retail and restaurant space, and one of mechanical equipment.

The project would complete Copley Place, an urban shopping gallery built in the 1980s over the Massachusetts Turnpike roadway and ramps, and on a former railroad yard. The Residences at Copley Place, as they are tentatively named, would be directly across the street from the MBTA's Back Bay Station.

"I'm very happy to see Neiman Marcus investing in the area, and it makes sense to add housing to Copley Place," said Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association, a group of 300 businesses. "It's a tall, slender building that will work in this location."

A resident of the neighborhood, however, reacted differently.

Jackie Yessian, chairwoman of the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay, a residents' group of about 2,000 members, said she had not seen Simon's plan so she couldn't comment in detail. But, she said, "We understand it may be a major development project that could have significant impact on the neighborhood."

Both Mainzer-Cohen and Yessian said they looked forward to the public approval process. Carl Dieterle, executive vice president of development for Simon, said he hoped to win the needed permits by year-end, break ground in the fall of 2009, and open 2 1/2 years later.

The new Copley Place tower would be taller than the nearby Westin Copley Place hotel, which is 36 stories.

The residential portion will have luxury condominiums with 24-hour concierge service, a health facility, a spa, and a residents' library, Simon said. It will have housekeeping services, and room and food service will be available from some of the restaurants in the complex. The project is forecast to create 250 permanent jobs.

Currently, the tallest residential building in the city, according to emporis.com, is Millennium Place Tower 1 near Chinatown, at 38 floors and 475 feet. It is followed by the two Harbor Towers buildings, at 40 floors and 400 feet. One Devonshire Place is 42 floors and 396 feet tall.

Elsewhere in Back Bay, the relatively low-rise Mandarin Oriental Hotel and Residences are nearing completion at the Prudential Center. But Prudential Center owner Boston Properties Inc. has proposed both an office building, at 19 floors, and residential tower, at 30, to complete the Pru complex, also built over Turnpike air space.Simon Property Group had signaled its intentions previously and yesterday filed a letter with the Boston Redevelopment Authority proposing to build 300 new condos.

While many aspects of the project must be vetted with the community and approved by the city, a building at Stuart and Dartmouth streets was contemplated as part of the master plan for Copley Place when it was first built.

Dieterle said the company has no cost estimate for the project yet. He acknowledged the proposed height might be controversial, but said Simon had originally considered 50 floors.

"We were able not only to expand Neiman with retail but also to add a residential component, which was part of the goal back in the '80s," he said.

The 300 parking spaces that will go with the residences will come from existing spaces at the two garages Simon owns in the complex.

"It really was 'smart growth' - the transportation hub is right there," Dieterle said. "The residential component is a lifestyle that's become very desirable in Boston as well as other major cities."

The projects includes the addition of 54,000 square feet to the Neiman Marcus store, followed by a complete renovation of the existing 115,000-square-foot store - which will not close during construction. An additional 60,000 square feet will include smaller-scale retail shops and restaurant space, with a lighted entrance and "public winter garden" at the Stuart Street plaza.

"The expansion of Neiman Marcus and the specialty shops will ensure the City of Boston's retail preeminence within the entire metropolitan region," Simon said in a press release.

Architect Howard Elkus said Neiman Marcus has long wanted to expand and establish one of a half-dozen "flagship" stores in Boston, which this project will do.

"What that will do for the Back Bay and Boston in terms of strengthening and enhancing the retail landscape is immeasurable," Elkus said yesterday.

Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, which acquired Copley Place about five years ago, bills itself as the largest public US real estate company, with regional malls, outlet centers, lifestyle centers, and international properties. Altogether, it controls 257 million square feet of real estate.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.