There was a showering of confetti, general praise for officials who collaborated on such an enormous structure, and chatter about the rebirth of “The Hub of the Universe” during the unveiling and groundbreaking of the Millennium Tower project in Downtown Crossing on Tuesday.
But perhaps the most exciting news for those who attended the mini-gala, hosted by developers Millennium Partners and Mayor Tom Menino, was that the Roche Brothers supermarket company announced it was locked in as tenants of the new building, and would be the first major supermarket to service the area. “You need an anchor,” said Menino of the supermarket chain, which has plans to open sometime in 2015. The mayor said he hopes other businesses will see the same interest in the Downtown Crossing spot, and will be drawn to the location, to help further what he called “the rebirth” of a section of the city that has been home to the hole left by the former Filene’s department store.
