In the fastest condo sales the city has ever seen, according to research firm LINK, it’s taken Millennium Partners four months to sell 310 of the 442 residences (70%) in Millennium Tower, the 60-story mixed-use high-rise it’s building in the heart of the old Financial District—that’s a total of $650M in sales. Partner Richard Baumert explains the why and how.

The homes priced from $850k for a one-bedroom to $7.1M for a three-bedroom (not counting the $37.5M penthouse—there’s only one of those) are flying off the shelf. One reason: the city’s condo supply is historically low. Boston would need another 1,350 units on the market to reach “equilibrium”—a five and a half to six-month supply. The local economy—strong on education, healthcare and financial services—is a mix that’s attracting buyers from Asia and the Middle East as well as buyers from the ‘burbs.

Millennium Tower, the developer’s third major project in the neighborhood, has unique amenities. The 23k SF, two-story owner’s club is the largest Millennium has ever built. The Tower offers residents food and drinks prepared by five-star chef Michael Mina. Residents can eat in a private dining room, or have the kitchen prepare, partially prepare or provide the recipe for residents to cook in their home. The location is a hub for mass transit and highways and is walking distance from most of the city’s core neighborhoods.

Millennium has caught the wave of people yearning for the downtown lifestyle. In 2001, when it opened a mixed-use condo project around the corner anchored by a Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Avery Street, life had been sapped out of Downtown Crossing for decades. But with Emerson College and Suffolk University expanding nearby; live performance theaters restored and other residential projects being developed, the transformation of the city’s traditional downtown has taken hold. Streets are more lively, filled with a variety of activities.

Fusing the former Filene's building, Boston’s only work by Daniel Burnham, as a main element of the complex makes Millennium Tower a mix of historic preservation and contemporary design. Major portions of the historic 1912 terra-cotta façade were restored by rebuilding large plate glass windows, glass column covers and cast iron sky lit canopies. The Burnham Building welcomed its first office tenants in September 2014. Residential occupancy at Millennium Tower Boston is expected in summer 2016. By then, the developer's next project will be well into construction in San Francisco—a 146-unit residential high-rise similar to the Boston tower but with 146 larger residences.