Press Release: Millennium Partners
April 23, 2002
BOSTON, MA -- A jury of leading city planners and designers brought together by the Congress of New Urbanism has
selected The Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Towers, Boston as one of its Charter Award winners for 2002.
The recently opened hotel and residence located across from the Boston Common was one of 18 projects chosen nationally
to represent what the non-profit Congress calls ``the best in new urbanism practice.''
The San Francisco-based Congress of New Urbanism (CNU), established in 1993, works to showcase enlightened principles
in contemporary urban design. This is the second year that CNU has issued its Charter Awards to promote virtues
such as ``coherent regional planning, walkable neighborhoods, and attractive, accommodating civic spaces.''
More than 200 submissions were reviewed by the CNU jury, led by Jonathan Barnett, distinguished professor of city
and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania. Fellow jurors included Alex Krieger, who chairs the Urban
Design Program at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design; Richard Rosan, executive vice president of Urban
Land Institute; Elinor Bacon of the National Revitalization Commission; and John Norquist, Mayor of Milwaukee,
WI.
The awards spanned all aspects of urbanism - regional design, ``the metropolis,'' neighborhood revival, even street-level
and individual building honors. Winners ranged from the master plan for the University of Tacoma, Washington to
the State of Maryland's Smart Growth and Neighborhood Conservation Initiative.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Towers was singled out for its contribution to improving a major city block. In truth,
the 1.8- million square foot complex has had a dramatic impact across the entire Boston Common neighborhood, especially
with its proximity to the city's fading Combat Zone. Instead, the Ritz-Carlton has helped revive common usage of
the term ``Ladder District'' to describe the narrow climb of alleys running between Boston's Washington and Tremont
Streets.
The Charter Award recognized the work of Gary Handel and Blake Middleton of Gary Edward Handel + Associates, the
New York architectural studio that together with CBT/Childs Bertman and Tseckares of Boston designed the Ritz-Carlton,
Boston Common. The project, developed by Millennium Partners-Boston, has been estimated at a cost of more than
$515 million and is the largest development downtown Boston has seen in decades. In addition to the 193-room Ritz-Carlton
hotel, the project includes:
- 304 luxury condominium residences, with sweeping views across the
city and all privileges of the luxury hotel;
- 63 residential suites for extended-stay visits, the first long-term
lodgings marketed under the Ritz-Carlton brand;
- A 100,000-square foot Sports Club/LA, open to public memberships as
well as residents, hotel and suites guests;
- A 19-screen, 4,700-seat Loews Theater complex with plush stadium
seating and other moviegoer amenities.
The sports club and new-generation Loews Theater have became magnets for social activity around Boston Common,
as have the hotel's high-end bar scene and on-site restaurant, blu. The neighborhood effects have been pronounced.
Susan Hannon, a deputy director at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, said that the Ritz-Carlton ``really was
a catalyst'' for downtown improvement.
Speaking to The New York Times about Millennium Partners' approach to downtown developments in Boston and other
cities (for an article published April 10) Ms. Hannon added, ``What we're trying to achieve here is a place for
people to be - to eat, go to the movies, shop, live and work. This is a huge anchor.''
More than half of the 304 condominiums have been sold, with most of those sales coming even before the Ritz-Carlton
Towers officially opened last fall. Apartment prices range from $455K to $6.6 million for a four-bedroom penthouse
with 270-degree views of Boston. Millennium Partners is also offering a portion of the units as one and two-year
rentals.
``It's great to receive professional recognition for your projects and CNU's Charter Award feels especially gratifying,
since the Congress embodies the highest ideals of contemporary urban planning and design. The jury represents the
best thinking on modern urbanism,'' said Christopher Jeffries, co-founder and principal of Millennium Partners.
He added thanks to architect Gary Handel, Blake Middleton and the entire design team for representing ``the perfect
design partnership in executing our development model with particular sensitivity to quality of life issues in
an urban setting.''
``Our current projects - in Boston, New York, Washington, San Francisco, Miami - are all similarly aimed to advance
downtown, neighborhood lifestyle and commerce at the highest level through a mixed-use combination of the best
lodging, residences, entertainment, retail, dining and recreational activity,'' Mr. Jeffries said. ``Although this
award singled out our work in Boston, it deserves to be shared with all of our ventures. Certainly the Charter
Award will help keep our eyes on the prize as we continue to practice our own brand of new urbanism around the
country.''
The Ritz-Carlton Towers will be honored at a CNU Awards dinner on June 15 in Miami Beach as part of the tenth annual
Congress for the New Urbanism. For more on the Charter Award winners or the Congress, visit www.cnu.org.
For more on Millennium Partners, visit www.millenniumptrs.com.
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Contact:
Allan Ripp, 212/721-7468
arippnyc@aol.com
or
Millennium Partners
Matthew Hall, 212/875-4599
mhall@millenniumptrs.com