Luxury Homes

New Four Seasons to Become Boston’s Tallest Residential Building

Want to live in the lap of luxury while boasting the best view in Boston? In 2017, you could.

The $700 million skyscraper at the edge of the Christian Science Plaza promises to bring a new level of opulence to the pricey Back Bay. Pei Cobb Freed/ Cambridge 7 Associates

By Justine Hofherr

January 13, 2015

1 minute to read

Want to live in the lap of luxury while boasting the best view in Boston? In 2017, you could.

Cambridge-based real estate developer Carpenter and Company breaks ground this week on 1 Dalton, a 61-story building bordering the Christian Science Plaza and the Prudential Center in Back Bay. It will feature a Four Seasons Hotel and private residencies, and, at 699 feet, will be the tallest residential building in Boston.

Rendering of Boston’s second Four Seasons. – Pei Cobb Freed/ Cambridge 7 Associates

It will also be the tallest building constructed in New England since the early 1970s. Only the John Hancock Tower (790 feet), and the Pru (750 feet), will surpass the structure. There are other luxury residential high-rises planned for North Station, Copley Place and Government Center, but none will be as majestic – or tall – as the Four Seasons, according to the Globe.

“This is designed to be a landmark building,’’ Richard L. Friedman, chief executive of Carpenter & Co. said. “It’s going to be very prominent on the skyline, and it also has a strong connection to the local street grid.’’

In other bragging rights, the new construction will allow Boston to join the short list of eight international cities that have not one, but two Four Seasons. London, Shanghai, Singapore, Los Angeles, Chicago, Istanbul and New York are the others.

Hancock Tower architect Harry Cobb and Gary Johnson of Cambridge 7 Associates are designing the project. Cobb will be able to claim having designed not one, but two, of Boston’s tallest buildings.

Residents on the upper floors will be able to look out their windows and see unparalleled views of the Back Bay, Fenway and the Charles River. But they’ll have to wait: Construction won’t end till 2017.

Most likely, they’ll also be paying top dollar. Boston’s Back Bay is the fifth most expensive zip code in America, according to CityLab. Not to mention, the penthouse of the Millennium Tower – which comes in 99 feet shorter than 1 Dalton – is pegged at $37.5 million.

Official prices for residencies haven’t been set just yet, Justine Griffin, spokesperson for PR firm Rasky Baerlein, said.