Millennium Partners Winthrop Center—Boston, MA
For over two decades, Glodow Nead has represented numerous residential and mixed-use projects for Millennium Partners, including Millennium Place, Millennium Tower Boston and, most recently, the groundbreaking Winthrop Center in Boston. Standing at 691 feet tall in the heart of the city, Winthrop Center sets a new global standard for energy-efficient, large-scale buildings. GNC guided the development team through contentious entitlement approvals, ensuring community support and positive media coverage that highlighted the project's numerous benefits. Now that the development is completed, we continue to generate media attention for this iconic building.
Background
During the permitting phase, the project faced several crisis situations, most notably securing entitlements following the discovery of an outdated "shadow law." The law, which limited the development height due to the shadow cast on the Boston Public Garden and Boston Common, sparked fierce debate and controversy among community members and local press.
The Challenge
Our Approach
GNC executed a strategic, multifaceted public relations campaign to mitigate the debate surrounding the project's height and promote Winthrop Center's vast community and environmental benefits. We successfully orchestrated the “Let Boston Rise” campaign and positioned the building's energy-efficient design as a key driver in advancing Boston's aggressive climate change mitigation efforts. GNC leveraged the expertise of Professor John Fernandez, Director of MIT's Environmental Solutions Initiative, as a third-party spokesperson. Fernandez, who partnered with Millennium Partners to create Winthrop Center's holistic design, worked closely with GNC and Brad Mahoney, Millennium Partners' Director of Sustainable Development, to educate the community and press on how Winthrop Center's unique design addresses health, wellness, occupant happiness, productivity, and environmental sustainability.
Results
The integrated marketing and PR campaign, in conjunction with legislative outreach at the state level, successfully overturned the shadow law, allowing the Winthrop Center development to move forward. Today, Winthrop Center stands as the largest passive house office building in the world and a new landmark in Downtown Boston. The project garnered press highlights in The Boston Globe, NBC News, The Real Deal, and Architectural Records, among others.
Winthrop Center's legacy extends beyond its physical presence, as the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has included the property in its educational curriculum for high school students, showcasing it as the pinnacle of the next generation of sustainable building.
Below is a selection of recent media placements Glodow Nead has secured.
