citizenM’s American expansion now includes second hotel in Boston
By John Caulfield, Senior Editor
CitizenM has opened its largest hotel to date globally.
The 399-room citizenM Boston Back Bay is the brand’s second property in Boston. The 15-story 151,726-sf building was designed by citizenM’s longtime architecture partner, Concrete Amsterdam, with the Boston-based firm Elkus Manfredi Architects. CitizenM Boston Back Bay represents the brand’s 36th hotel worldwide, and continues the brand’s push into the U.S.: citizen M opened its first hotel in Austin last March, and its third Miami-area property, Miami South Beach, last month. With the Boston property, citizenM has 10 hotels in the U.S.
The Boston project’s codeveloper is Samuel & Associates, and its general contractor is Suffolk Construction. The cost of the hotel is confidential, according to the company.
CitizenM promotes itself as an “affordable luxury” brand. Its hotel features wall-to-wall windows, luxury bedding and towels, and iPad room controls. The facility’s highlights include The Living Room, with books, art, designer furniture and designated workspaces; collectionM, a retail space on the first floor with travel essentials, gifts, and books; canteenM, an open-plan, grab-and-go dining area open 24 hours; a rooftop bar, a 3rd-floor gym, and one-minute check in and out.
Hotel is first step in a bigger plan
The hotel’s design team commissioned a section of the entrance façade from Maria Molteni, an interdisciplinary artist and designer.
The Boston hotel is within walking distance of Fenway Park, home to the Boston Red Sox baseball team. The hotel’s opening is part of the first stage of Lyrik, a mixed-use development that includes a 450,000-square-foot lab and office space housing the CarGurus Global Headquarters and The LEGO Group, the latter of which started moving employees into this space last spring. The development is also the first Boston-based outpost for the electirc carmaker Rivian. This fall, Pink Carrot and CHICHA San Chen will join Lyrik’s lineup. By spring 2025, Lyrik will have added George Howell Coffee, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, and the Greek restaurant Avra Estiatorio.
