Millennium Place: Boston’s ‘Inner-City Country Club’
Originally Posted on Curbed Boston by David Bates
I went to the Millennium Place opening expecting to see some nice condos in a nice building; instead I saw a nice quality of life.
Few developers pay the amount of attention to the buyer’s experience as Millennium Partners. “That experience has to be consistently good,” explained Richard Baumert, a principal at the firm. “We do everything, which is not typical. We entitle the project, we build the project, we sell the project, we manage the project, and, in this case, we put our name on the project.”
For me, being at MP is like being at an inner-city country club, if there were such a thing.
I can hang out in the club area, which is complete with attendant, coffee and bar. If I want to go out for dinner, but not go out of the building, I can use the dining room, which has table tops in an area of the club that will be served by Legal Crossing (LX), the restaurant that will be occupying retail space in the public portion of the property. The meal can be charged to my account.
Of course, I can use the gym in the building and, if I have any questions about the machines, they can be addressed virtually through the television by trainers atSportsClub LA. I can also use the yoga and Pilates studios, or get a massage in the private spa rooms in the building.
I can also use the screening room to watch movies or any of the local sports teams vying for championships.
Where Millennium distinguishes itself from the service level of other full-service buildings in the area is through La Vie, an event-driven program that brings together the building’s residents for cultural events. La Vie creates a sense of community. La Vie’s first event brings Baritones UnBound, playing across the way at the Paramount, to a private party at MP. At an annual La Vie event for a San Francisco building developed by Millennium, Joe Montana gives a football talk.
Then there’s the building’s children’s room, complete with a bathroom that my 3-year-old would be proud to use because there’s a toilet in it where her feet could touch the floor.
In terms of selling the steak—the bricks and mortar of the building—Millennium does a great job, but in terms of selling the sizzle—the services provided in the building—Millennium might be unmatched.