The NY-based developer plans to build a 12-story, 155 foot office building that will total 330,000 sf of office space, 40,000 sf of retail space and 156 parking spaces. Saks Fifth Avenue has previously expressed strong interest in occupying the retail space but Meredith Baumann, a spokesperson for the BRA, tells GlobeSt.com that it is still unclear if they will take the space.

Eight developers initially responded to the BRA's request for proposal to develop the site. The original criteria included a minimum disposition price of $13 million but the price became fixed at $23 million, the highest bid among the developers that was submitted by Lincoln Properties Co., one of the five finalists. Among the finalists, Millennium is the only developer not to include a residential component in its plans. Baumann acknowledges that while the city is in the midst of a housing crisis, the BRA determined that office space was most suitable for that area. She points out that two large residential projects, Kensington and Liberty Place, are very close to this site and have recently been approved by the BRA. "We are looking at the whole picture," she says.

David Fitzgerald, executive vice president & partner at CB Richard Ellis says, "While the office market is currently in the midst of a down cycle, we all know they don't last forever. As time passes, there will be a period of three to four years where no new construction and no new delivery of space will mean supply will be filled and the appetite for new and large blocks of space will increase. Millennium Partners is accurately reading the office market and will deliver an office building at a time that coincides with the expected upturn in the office market cycle.

Baumann also notes that the project involves $2 million in linkage fees which will be used to develop housing in the city. The BRA will use $13 million from the purchase price to build the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown and Baumann says that the remaining $10 million will go towards additional housing development.

But Tom Meagher of Northeast Apartment Advisors, Inc. tells GlobeSt.com that he questions why, when the city is so concerned about housing costs and the lack of housing production "it would allow one of the few large city parcels to be developed without any housing."

Upon obtaining necessary approvals, the developer has committed to commence construction immediately; construction is expected to last 24 months.

Washington Street, which is part of the Midtown Cultural District, is in the midst of a renaissance of sorts, with the opening of Millennium Place, the construction of Lafayette Corporate Center, and plans to restore the Opera House, the Paramount and Modern Theaters.