Radian: Downtown's Newest Apartment Tower

Next month, the first residents will move into the $130M Radian, the latest in the new generation of downtown luxury apartment towers that sits at the nexus of the Greenway, Chinatown, and the Financial District. After one month of leasing, the developer—a JV of Forest City and Hudson Group North America— has rented four of the 240 apartments “sight unseen,” says Forest City VP of development Doug Arsham. Acknowledging that at least 1,000 other new downtown units have been delivered recently (and thousands more are being developed), he says the pent-up demand will absorb them. Young professionals are no longer leaving for the ‘burbs and older people are flocking back to the city.

A game changer for the Chinatown edge of downtown, Radian brings a sleek, glass-clad high-rise to a neighborhood of mostly low-rise red brick buildings. (That means they have taken air supremacy in the ever-looming water balloon war.) Also, it’s the first project Doug’s done using REVIT 3-D modeling software that enables the team to readjust designs to avoid potential clashes of mechanical equipment before construction starts. That led to “huge savings of time and money,” he says. The oddly shaped site dictated the curved façade of the building (where a 1,000 SF two-bedroom can rent for as much as $4,500). The arc also opens views of the Greenway. Amenity space includes a large, multi-purpose room that can be used to watch movies, hold conferences, or entertain. A few years ago, there probably would have been a separate room for each activity, Doug tells us.