Developer Shows How Millennium Place Will Rise Downtown

By Greg Turner

The developer of Millennium Place is giving passers-by a tool to envision how the luxury condo high-rise will take shape in downtown Boston.

New York-based Millennium Partners will set up a sign at the lower Washington Street site tomorrow that displays a QR Code that people can scan with their smartphones and connect to a 3-D digital simulation of the 15-story building’s construction.

The “see it build” video (available at http://www.mplaceboston.com) shows the glass structure unfolding upward from what used to be a parking lot at the end of Avery Street, a block off the Common.

The $220 million project, previously known as Hayward Place, broke ground in November. As of this week, Suffolk Construction’s crew had built up the structure to about a floor above the foundation and 125-space underground parking garage.

The digital construction demonstration will act as an early marketing effort as the construction proceeds toward a fall 2013 finale. The Millennium Place sales center won’t open until this fall.

The tower will have 256 units — one-, two-, and three-bedroom units along with 14 penthouses with private terraces. Asking prices range from $550,000 to $2 million.

“Whenever we begin a new project, we like to start by listening closely to sophisticated residents in Boston and other great American cities about how they want to live, work and partake in all that the city has to offer,” said Joe Larkin of Millennium Partners, in a statement. “Millennium Place was designed in response, and we believe that it moves condominium design and services to yet a new level.”

Millennium Partners is actively linking the posh tower to its previous project across the street: the five-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Towers. The new building’s fitness center will be an extension of the nearby Sports Club/LA.

Condo owners will have access to a private lounge will “full bar and cozy fireplace,” a bi-level courtyard garden, a dining and wine tasting room with fare from the on-site restaurant, and a theater-style screening room.

Millennium Partners also is leading the redevelopment of the Filene’s block in the heart of Downtown Crossing, recently unveiling plans for a 606-foot skyscraper on the site.

-— gturner@bostonherald.com