Meet Boston’s newest skyscraper – a 31-story glass-walled tower at the corner of Congress Street and Atlantic Avenue in Boston’s Fort Point Channel district. The tower is part of a complex that fills a large gap in the city’s effort to transform the area into a modern waterfront with new residences, restaurants, boating tours, and cultural intitutions.
Offices and residences in the complex are split between two buildings — a seven-story residential structure along Atlantic Avenue, and a 31-story office tower whose base is fashioned out of what used to be the Tufts and Graphics Arts buildings. Those buildings were gutted to make way for new offices, public event space, and ground-floor restaurants.
Yesterday, developer Boston Properties announced plans for a restaurant by Smith & Wollensky at the complex (which will occupy the spot where a fictional seafood restaurant appears in this architectural rendering).
The Smith & Wollensky restaurant will occupy 10,000 square feet and include an outdoor bar and dining along the water.
City goers can expect the complex to be the last large development to open in the city for awhile. Building activity slowed dramatically during the economic downturn, stalling several projects and forcing many other developers to quickly alter their projects to secure financing and proceed with construction.