Four Seasons Enters ‘Most Luxurious’ Battle
The Four Seasons, which broke ground in January, will become Boston’s tallest residential building.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, what is the most luxurious Boston condo tower of them all?
Developer Richard Friedman says he has the answer to that riddle, claiming his 61-story Four Seasons skyscraper will be the poshest condo address ever seen in Boston when it opens in 2017.
But there is stiff competition these days in Boston for the title of “most luxurious.’’
The new Millennium Tower slowly rising in Downtown Crossing touts itself as the “evolution of luxury.’’
Don Chiofaro boasts his proposed harborside condo tower will fetch some of the highest prices ever seen in Boston.
And the Back Bay’s Mandarin Oriental has been widely considered the most luxurious condo residence in the Hub since it opened a decade ago.
“This is a project like Boston has never seen before,’’ said Friedman, who turned the 19th century Nashua Street jail into the cushy Liberty Hotel, among other projects.
The new Four Seasons tower, which broke ground near the Christian Science Plaza this week, can claim to be the tallest residential project the city has ever seen. At nearly 700 feet, it stands 99 feet higher than the Millennium Tower.
The new Four Seasons will also have elevator banks near every unit, so “you don’t feel like you are in a Motel Six walking down a long corridor,’’ Friedman said. There will be three 8,000 square foot penthouses that will be perched atop the tower on its 61st floor, and elevators will go directly into the units.
“The multiple elevators is a unique feature which alleviates some concerns residents have expressed in other luxury properties,’’ notes Neda Vander Stoep, a top agent in the Back Bay office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. “It prevents residents from having to walk down long corridors to their unit and creates a closer knit experience.’’
Almost 700 feet in the air, the penthouses will each have their own 600 square foot balconies.
All condo units will have high ceilings, starting at 11 feet and rising to 14 feet in the penthouses, in addition to fireplaces, hardwood floors, and curved glass.
Moreover, far from the dense tower jungle of the Financial District, the new Four Seasons skyscraper will enjoy spectacular, unobstructed views, with three quarters of the condos enjoying the added visual bonus of being on a corner.
“The views are a huge selling factor here – other (towers) are in the middle of a sea of other buildings,’’ Friedman says.
And that’s before we get to the 70-foot pool, the longest in Boston, the private, just-for-residents restaurant on the 50th floor, and a private theater.
Topping it all off, condo residents will get pampered by the staff of the five-star Four Seasons, able to order room service 24/7.
“I don’t want to be cocky, but I don’t think we have a lot of competition,’’ Friedman said.
Others would beg to differ, though.
The Mandarin Oriental holds the record for some of the most expensive condos ever sold in Boston, including a $13 million penthouse. The posh Back Bay residence features hardwood floors and fireplaces in its units, and residents have access, like in the Four Seasons, to all the perks of a five-star hotel.
Still, barely a mid-rise, let alone a high-rise, the Mandarin Oriental lacks the breathtaking views of the Four Seasons and Millennium towers.
The Millennium Tower also boasts similar amenities, including a private restaurant manned by a celebrity chef. It also has a 13,000 square foot penthouse on the market for $37.5 million, with a 2,500 square foot deck – four times the size of the decks on the three Four Seasons penthouses.
And as far as views go, Chiofaro, who is pushing plans for a pair of twin towers next to the New England Aquarium, has argued his condos, because of their perch on the harbor, will have the best views of all.
“Oh my god, on a clear day, you will be able to see all the way to Gloucester,’’ Ted Otis, Chiofaro’s late business partner, noted last year in an interview.
Still, even in a Boston market that is oozing luxury right now, the new Four Seasons tower may very well turn out to be a cut above.
“I think the Four Seasons is going to cater to an entirely different clientele. The views of the Back Bay and Charles River will be stunning,’’ Vander Stoep said.
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