Image courtesy of Perkins + Will
Boston Properties’ plans to renovate the top of the Prudential Tower including a 12,227-square-foot expansion to create a 3-story observatory got an initial public airing Wednesday.
Executives said the new designs are inspired by models such as the Top of the Rock observatory at Rockefeller Center in New York. Transparent glass wind screens would wrap around an outdoor deck on the 51st floor providing 360-degree views of the region, and immersive exhibits would inform visitors on local geography and history.
Boston Properties and the Top of the Hub restaurant which occupied the 52nd floor failed to reach agreement on a new lease early this year. Totaling 44,514 square feet, the redeveloped observatory could include a smaller cafe, said Giuliana DiMambro, senior project manager for Boston Properties.
“There has not been this type of observatory operating in Boston to date,” DiMembro said during a community meeting Wednesday.
The project designed by architects Perkins + Will also includes construction of a new pavilion in the south courtyard area, which would include ticket and waiting areas for the observatory. In total, the project adds 20,468 square feet to the property.
Boston Properties is asking the Boston Planning and Development Agency to amend the planned development area for the Prudential Center property, developed in the 1960s as an urban renewal project on a former rail yard. As part of the amendment, Boston Properties would make $221,259 in linkage payments and $40,936 in community benefits payments to the city, according to BPDA documents.
The observatory would be open during “normal operation hours” except when closed for private events, according to a BPDA submission.
The observatory which has been closed since late winter because of the pandemic had been New England’s highest observation space since the former Hancock Tower’s observatory was closed after the 9/11 terror attacks.
District 8 City Councilor Kenzie Bok said developers should make inclusiveness a priority at the new attraction.
“The view of the city from above should be a shared public resource available to as many people as possible,” Bok said.
Pending approvals, construction is projected to begin in early 2021 and conclude in mid-2023.
