Prevent the return of the Darth Vader Building!
Come to sign a petition against the city allowing the destruction of the Arlington Building and its neighbors and the subsequent construction of the Darth Vader Building Part II.
We will be collecting signatures and talking to Bostonians and anyone else from 2 pm on at Arlington and Boylston Streets.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
MEETING - WEDNESDAY EVENING
The BRA is hosting a meeting OPEN TO THE PUBLIC about the project tomorrow. It is crucial that there be a large showing from those of us who don't want to see this abomination go through.
Please, come to the meeting and let the city hear your voice tomorrow, Wednesday, at 6:30 PM:
BRA Public Meeting on 350 Boylston
Wednesday, July 16
6:30PM
Boston Public Library
Mezzanine Conference Room, 700 Boylston Street
Copley Square
If you can't make it -- all is not lost! You can still write Jay Rourke. He's in charge of granting the special permits needed to destroy buildings located in a historic zone, where buildings are supposed to be protected:
Jay Rourke, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Jay.Rourke.BRA@cityofboston.gov
One City Hall Square, 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02201
617.918.4317
Close of Comment Period: August 1, 2008
Please, come to the meeting and let the city hear your voice tomorrow, Wednesday, at 6:30 PM:
BRA Public Meeting on 350 Boylston
Wednesday, July 16
6:30PM
Boston Public Library
Mezzanine Conference Room, 700 Boylston Street
Copley Square
If you can't make it -- all is not lost! You can still write Jay Rourke. He's in charge of granting the special permits needed to destroy buildings located in a historic zone, where buildings are supposed to be protected:
Jay Rourke, Boston Redevelopment Authority
Jay.Rourke.BRA@cityofboston.gov
One City Hall Square, 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02201
617.918.4317
Close of Comment Period: August 1, 2008
Time and again Boston has been gripped by the intense regret we feel after obliterating a piece of our heritage in order to suit the architectural fancies of the day. We need to look no further than the old West End, half of Chinatown or other areas that were razed for urban renewal projects from City Hall to the Central Artery that seemed great at the time.
Now, a developer wants to raze the Arlington Building to replace it with an office building. The city is pleased at the chance to have a new office building designed by Cesar Pelli.
But the Arlington Building is perched on an important corner and entry-point to one of the city's most historic, serene and popular attractions, the Public Garden. Established as the country's first botanic garden in 1836, the Public Garden has been deprived of much of its grace over the last 20 years as large, already-outdated developments have spoiled the intimate, timeless quality created by classic buildings like the Arlington Building.
If we continue to steal important patches of the architectural "tout ensemble" around the Public Garden, what will tomorrow's residents, workers and tourists see? The Arlington Street Church – and a row of buildings that could be in any office park in the country, from Rt. 128 to Kansas City. The wanton destruction of the city's assets will mean nothing but an acceleration in the alarming downward trend in Boston tourism and a drop in quality of life for the rest of us.
Cesar Pelli is a well-known architect, but it's impossible in today's economic climate to expect he will be able to build a classical palace with the sort of fine, handcarved touches and elegant metalwork the Arlington Building boasts.
To the contrary, Pelli's design looks like it crawled in off of a 1980s Waltham office park, with even the Boston Redevelopment Association calling it "cold" and in need of "enhancement."
All agree the needs of development can't be ignored. But even adaptive reuse of the Arlington Building – leaving the façade and reworking the interior for offices or condos, or adding floors on top as is happening nearby at the Modern Theater – would be a compromise that would leave the city with its architectural heritage and tenants with a comfortable, modern space. Buildings like the Hearst Tower and LVMH building in New York, the Filene's redevelopment or Russia Wharf show this sort of mixture of old and new can be done well, and profitably.
If the city really needed the offices Mr. Druker proposes, the building could feasibly be built on one of the city's many empty plots or surface parking lots (Mr. Druker himself owns one near a languishing Greenway park in Chinatown; its development would be a great boon to the park).
But with a recession coming and a record number of building projects and office space on the horizon, is it wise to raze the Arlington Building and its neighbors? What if financing runs out, or if building this on speculation fails to lead to tenants? This isn't Columbus Center, where financing issues means nobody gets hurt because the excavation was just done on the side of the road – here we may have a hole in the ground indefinitely, as has happened with the historic Gaiety Theater's site nearby.
The 103-year-old Arlington Building housed Shreve, Crump & Lowe, the oldest jeweler in North America, for nearly a century.
For 75 years, not only stiff-lipped Boston Brahmins but ambitious young immigrants, eager to buy their fiancé the most impressive engagement ring possible, came to the Arlington Building for the finest jewelry in Boston; the building remains as well-crafted as the earrings and necklaces they bought.
The jewelers who forged tennis' original Davis Cup and baseball's Cy Young Award would not decamp in just any building. And the Arlington Building, designed by William Rantoul, notable for his fin de siecle Boston and North Shore mansions, is not just any building, which is why I and anyone aware of this project cringes at the thought of its destruction.
Countless parking lots and ugly buildings dot all corners of the city – from prime downtown real estate to stretches of Boylston St. a stone's throw down the road to vast tracts of South Boston, Roxbury and Allston.
But we have to decide how to build for posterity. Pre-cast concrete-and-glass office buildings will be a welcome addition the Mass Pike or on the vast number of other sites now housing failed and ugly buildings or empty lots in any part of town. Boston's need is clearly to undo the ill effects of its fling with Modernism, not to return to it.
The destruction of a building of such quality and historical weight at a time of a slowing economy and a construction glut is cruel, wanton and gratuitous.
People in other parts of the country jealously say Boston has a European feel to it. Why? And what could change that? All you have to do is imagine all the buildings in Boston that are ornate, well-crafted beauties from an era when construction economics and aesthetic sense allowed for a kind of beauty that we'll never see again. Now imagine those buildings replaced with Modern ones. What you have is akin to a postwar Eastern European city, only razed by developers instead of invading armies. It instantly stops being interesting, disappointing tourists who had hoped for some connection to its famous past.
Unless the current state of new construction changes, buildings like the Arlington Building must be saved. If the city is willing to discard it and its kind, then given enough time Boston will be identical to any other American city. Highly paid, educated professionals who are increasingly picky about culture and a sense of place in their environment and who can live anywhere will exercise their right to move away. The Arlington Building is hardy, beautiful and historic. It is Boston.
Now, a developer wants to raze the Arlington Building to replace it with an office building. The city is pleased at the chance to have a new office building designed by Cesar Pelli.
But the Arlington Building is perched on an important corner and entry-point to one of the city's most historic, serene and popular attractions, the Public Garden. Established as the country's first botanic garden in 1836, the Public Garden has been deprived of much of its grace over the last 20 years as large, already-outdated developments have spoiled the intimate, timeless quality created by classic buildings like the Arlington Building.
If we continue to steal important patches of the architectural "tout ensemble" around the Public Garden, what will tomorrow's residents, workers and tourists see? The Arlington Street Church – and a row of buildings that could be in any office park in the country, from Rt. 128 to Kansas City. The wanton destruction of the city's assets will mean nothing but an acceleration in the alarming downward trend in Boston tourism and a drop in quality of life for the rest of us.
Cesar Pelli is a well-known architect, but it's impossible in today's economic climate to expect he will be able to build a classical palace with the sort of fine, handcarved touches and elegant metalwork the Arlington Building boasts.
To the contrary, Pelli's design looks like it crawled in off of a 1980s Waltham office park, with even the Boston Redevelopment Association calling it "cold" and in need of "enhancement."
All agree the needs of development can't be ignored. But even adaptive reuse of the Arlington Building – leaving the façade and reworking the interior for offices or condos, or adding floors on top as is happening nearby at the Modern Theater – would be a compromise that would leave the city with its architectural heritage and tenants with a comfortable, modern space. Buildings like the Hearst Tower and LVMH building in New York, the Filene's redevelopment or Russia Wharf show this sort of mixture of old and new can be done well, and profitably.
If the city really needed the offices Mr. Druker proposes, the building could feasibly be built on one of the city's many empty plots or surface parking lots (Mr. Druker himself owns one near a languishing Greenway park in Chinatown; its development would be a great boon to the park).
But with a recession coming and a record number of building projects and office space on the horizon, is it wise to raze the Arlington Building and its neighbors? What if financing runs out, or if building this on speculation fails to lead to tenants? This isn't Columbus Center, where financing issues means nobody gets hurt because the excavation was just done on the side of the road – here we may have a hole in the ground indefinitely, as has happened with the historic Gaiety Theater's site nearby.
The 103-year-old Arlington Building housed Shreve, Crump & Lowe, the oldest jeweler in North America, for nearly a century.
For 75 years, not only stiff-lipped Boston Brahmins but ambitious young immigrants, eager to buy their fiancé the most impressive engagement ring possible, came to the Arlington Building for the finest jewelry in Boston; the building remains as well-crafted as the earrings and necklaces they bought.
The jewelers who forged tennis' original Davis Cup and baseball's Cy Young Award would not decamp in just any building. And the Arlington Building, designed by William Rantoul, notable for his fin de siecle Boston and North Shore mansions, is not just any building, which is why I and anyone aware of this project cringes at the thought of its destruction.
Countless parking lots and ugly buildings dot all corners of the city – from prime downtown real estate to stretches of Boylston St. a stone's throw down the road to vast tracts of South Boston, Roxbury and Allston.
But we have to decide how to build for posterity. Pre-cast concrete-and-glass office buildings will be a welcome addition the Mass Pike or on the vast number of other sites now housing failed and ugly buildings or empty lots in any part of town. Boston's need is clearly to undo the ill effects of its fling with Modernism, not to return to it.
The destruction of a building of such quality and historical weight at a time of a slowing economy and a construction glut is cruel, wanton and gratuitous.
People in other parts of the country jealously say Boston has a European feel to it. Why? And what could change that? All you have to do is imagine all the buildings in Boston that are ornate, well-crafted beauties from an era when construction economics and aesthetic sense allowed for a kind of beauty that we'll never see again. Now imagine those buildings replaced with Modern ones. What you have is akin to a postwar Eastern European city, only razed by developers instead of invading armies. It instantly stops being interesting, disappointing tourists who had hoped for some connection to its famous past.
Unless the current state of new construction changes, buildings like the Arlington Building must be saved. If the city is willing to discard it and its kind, then given enough time Boston will be identical to any other American city. Highly paid, educated professionals who are increasingly picky about culture and a sense of place in their environment and who can live anywhere will exercise their right to move away. The Arlington Building is hardy, beautiful and historic. It is Boston.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Druker aims for towering rents at his next building
Druker aims for towering rents at his next building
Boston Business Journal - by Michelle Hillman
Friday, February 15, 2008
Ronald Druker isn't building the next John Hancock Tower. All the same, he hopes to charge as much for rent as the owners of one of Boston's best-known skyscrapers do.
While Druker is building a decidedly smaller building than the 60-story, 1.6 million-square-foot Hancock Tower, what his building lacks in stature it will make up for in location. The nine-story, 221,000-square-foot office building will sit on the corner of Boylston and Arlington streets diagonally across from the Public Garden and steps away from the Four Seasons Hotel.
Druker hopes his tower, designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli, will make a strong statement for years to come. The limestone and glass building still needs to be approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Druker also needs to satisfy the notoriously outspoken neighborhood groups.
While Druker's structure won't have the height of the Hancock, he plans to add a few extras that are sure to get tenants' attention. A few of the perks include a private health club for tenants only, valet parking, a doorman, a dog walker, concierge services, catering services, state-of-the-art security and 150 parking spaces.
Sound familiar? Many of the same tenant services are offered at Druker's award-winning residential, office and retail project Heritage on the Garden. He said the 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail will be designed like its sister property.
Druker said there's nothing like the type of full-service, boutique office building he plans on constructing in Boston -- at least not as new.
He hopes to break ground next summer and open sometime in 2011.
Druker said he's already received calls from interested tenants, but he won't start marketing the building for lease for at least another year.
"I'm not smart enough to know where things are going to be 18 months from now when we'll be doing our leasing," Druker said. "The dynamics of the office market in the Back Bay at this time and forecasting out into the future into 2011 are extremely solid."
And Druker is setting his sights on tenants that don't consider price an issue: star hedge fund advisers, private foundations and financial institutions.
So how much will it cost for boutique office space in the Back Bay?
Asked if his tenants would pay $100 per square foot, Druker replied, "I hope so."
"I have no idea whether that's a realistic expectation or not," he said. "The only thing I can say is our rents will be the highest in the city."
Link
Boston Business Journal - by Michelle Hillman
Friday, February 15, 2008
Ronald Druker isn't building the next John Hancock Tower. All the same, he hopes to charge as much for rent as the owners of one of Boston's best-known skyscrapers do.
While Druker is building a decidedly smaller building than the 60-story, 1.6 million-square-foot Hancock Tower, what his building lacks in stature it will make up for in location. The nine-story, 221,000-square-foot office building will sit on the corner of Boylston and Arlington streets diagonally across from the Public Garden and steps away from the Four Seasons Hotel.
Druker hopes his tower, designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelli, will make a strong statement for years to come. The limestone and glass building still needs to be approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Druker also needs to satisfy the notoriously outspoken neighborhood groups.
While Druker's structure won't have the height of the Hancock, he plans to add a few extras that are sure to get tenants' attention. A few of the perks include a private health club for tenants only, valet parking, a doorman, a dog walker, concierge services, catering services, state-of-the-art security and 150 parking spaces.
Sound familiar? Many of the same tenant services are offered at Druker's award-winning residential, office and retail project Heritage on the Garden. He said the 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail will be designed like its sister property.
Druker said there's nothing like the type of full-service, boutique office building he plans on constructing in Boston -- at least not as new.
He hopes to break ground next summer and open sometime in 2011.
Druker said he's already received calls from interested tenants, but he won't start marketing the building for lease for at least another year.
"I'm not smart enough to know where things are going to be 18 months from now when we'll be doing our leasing," Druker said. "The dynamics of the office market in the Back Bay at this time and forecasting out into the future into 2011 are extremely solid."
And Druker is setting his sights on tenants that don't consider price an issue: star hedge fund advisers, private foundations and financial institutions.
So how much will it cost for boutique office space in the Back Bay?
Asked if his tenants would pay $100 per square foot, Druker replied, "I hope so."
"I have no idea whether that's a realistic expectation or not," he said. "The only thing I can say is our rents will be the highest in the city."
Link
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Preservation's final plea
Preservation's final plea
Deadline today to comment on Arlington Building to be demolished
Kristin Pitts BostonNOW Correspondent
It's out with the old and in with the ... office building - maybe.
Today is the last day for the public to weigh in with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on plans to demolish the Arlington Building, a 103-year-old art deco structure at the corner of Arlington and Boylston streets. It is the former home of famed jeweler Shreve, Crump & Low.
Developer Ronald Druker plans to knock down the Arlington Building and two neighboring structures, to build a nine-story luxury office building, complete with restaurant, spa and fitness club. But not everyone welcomes Druker's vision. Some worry the city is trading in a piece of history for a posh skyscraper.
"It's important to us that what goes up complements what's around it," said Sarah Kelly, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance, which had petitioned the Boston Landmarks Commission to designate the Arlington Building a historic landmark. The commission disagreed, saying the building doesn't meet landmark standards.
Now, Kelly and other activists hope the new structure will fit the feel of the Back Bay neighborhood.
"We would love to keep (the Arlington Building)," Jackie Yessian of the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay, said "But [Druker] has followed all the steps, so he's doing what he's allowed to do."
"We look forward to working with the community and reviewing all the public comments as we move forward with the development review process," said Boston Redevelopment Authority spokeswoman Jessica Shumaker.
Calls to the Druker Company were not returned, yesterday.
To comment on plans for the Arlington Building site, contact BRA Project Manager Jay Rourke by 5 p.m. Friday at: jay.rourke.bra@cityofboston.gov
Correction: The first version of this story listed the incorrect e-mail address for Jay Rourke.
Published on January 31, 2008
Deadline today to comment on Arlington Building to be demolished
Kristin Pitts BostonNOW Correspondent
It's out with the old and in with the ... office building - maybe.
Today is the last day for the public to weigh in with the Boston Redevelopment Authority on plans to demolish the Arlington Building, a 103-year-old art deco structure at the corner of Arlington and Boylston streets. It is the former home of famed jeweler Shreve, Crump & Low.
Developer Ronald Druker plans to knock down the Arlington Building and two neighboring structures, to build a nine-story luxury office building, complete with restaurant, spa and fitness club. But not everyone welcomes Druker's vision. Some worry the city is trading in a piece of history for a posh skyscraper.
"It's important to us that what goes up complements what's around it," said Sarah Kelly, Executive Director of the Boston Preservation Alliance, which had petitioned the Boston Landmarks Commission to designate the Arlington Building a historic landmark. The commission disagreed, saying the building doesn't meet landmark standards.
Now, Kelly and other activists hope the new structure will fit the feel of the Back Bay neighborhood.
"We would love to keep (the Arlington Building)," Jackie Yessian of the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay, said "But [Druker] has followed all the steps, so he's doing what he's allowed to do."
"We look forward to working with the community and reviewing all the public comments as we move forward with the development review process," said Boston Redevelopment Authority spokeswoman Jessica Shumaker.
Calls to the Druker Company were not returned, yesterday.
To comment on plans for the Arlington Building site, contact BRA Project Manager Jay Rourke by 5 p.m. Friday at: jay.rourke.bra@cityofboston.gov
Correction: The first version of this story listed the incorrect e-mail address for Jay Rourke.
Published on January 31, 2008
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Druker Co. has proposed this mixed-use building for lower Boylston Street overlooking the Boston Public Garden.
The Druker Co. has proposed this mixed-use building for lower Boylston Street overlooking the Boston Public Garden.
Residents of Boston’s Back Bay got their first glimpse of the proposed redevelopment of 330 Boylston St. and they liked it.
“It’s an impressive start,” said Myron Miller, a member of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.
More than four dozen people gathered at the Boston Public Library on Thursday night to hear details of the 221,230-square-foot building planned for the corner of Boylston and Arlington streets.
If approved, owner Ronald Druker, president of The Druker Co., will raze the former the former Shreve Crump & Low location and build eight floors of Class A office space with ground-floor retail and 150 below-grade parking spaces.
The ground level will feature a granite façade while the rest of the building will be comprised of cast stone, a product that is used to replicate the look of limestone. The contemporary-style building also will feature bay windows trimmed with wood and bronze.
While NABB’s Miller was supportive, he noted that the concept could be “even better for the city of Boston.” However, he asked whether there was a need for 150 parking spaces given that the spots are reserved for tenants only.
“The building is being expanded and it will add more vehicles and traffic to a severely congested section of the city,” he said.
In response, David Black, the team’s traffic consultant from Watertown-based Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., said they erred on the low side in terms of parking supply.
“If you compare this building with another Back Bay building that is in line with these existing travel patterns, we are not providing as aggressive parking,” Black said.
Elliott Laffer, another NABB member, asked whether there would be enough sidewalk space to accommodate the added retail and office use at the site.
“We are not talking about the John Hancock building,” said Druker. “The reality is that crowded sidewalks are good sidewalks; they enhance public realm. Go walk on Newbury Street the first day the temperate reaches 60 degrees and you can barely walk without hitting someone.”
Daniel Donahue, representing the nearby Lenox Hotel, applauded the project. “We are excited. We fully support it,” he said.
Source: Back Bay Residents Impressed by Druker Plan - By Thomas Grillo, Banker & Tradesman
Residents of Boston’s Back Bay got their first glimpse of the proposed redevelopment of 330 Boylston St. and they liked it.
“It’s an impressive start,” said Myron Miller, a member of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.
More than four dozen people gathered at the Boston Public Library on Thursday night to hear details of the 221,230-square-foot building planned for the corner of Boylston and Arlington streets.
If approved, owner Ronald Druker, president of The Druker Co., will raze the former the former Shreve Crump & Low location and build eight floors of Class A office space with ground-floor retail and 150 below-grade parking spaces.
The ground level will feature a granite façade while the rest of the building will be comprised of cast stone, a product that is used to replicate the look of limestone. The contemporary-style building also will feature bay windows trimmed with wood and bronze.
While NABB’s Miller was supportive, he noted that the concept could be “even better for the city of Boston.” However, he asked whether there was a need for 150 parking spaces given that the spots are reserved for tenants only.
“The building is being expanded and it will add more vehicles and traffic to a severely congested section of the city,” he said.
In response, David Black, the team’s traffic consultant from Watertown-based Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., said they erred on the low side in terms of parking supply.
“If you compare this building with another Back Bay building that is in line with these existing travel patterns, we are not providing as aggressive parking,” Black said.
Elliott Laffer, another NABB member, asked whether there would be enough sidewalk space to accommodate the added retail and office use at the site.
“We are not talking about the John Hancock building,” said Druker. “The reality is that crowded sidewalks are good sidewalks; they enhance public realm. Go walk on Newbury Street the first day the temperate reaches 60 degrees and you can barely walk without hitting someone.”
Daniel Donahue, representing the nearby Lenox Hotel, applauded the project. “We are excited. We fully support it,” he said.
Source: Back Bay Residents Impressed by Druker Plan - By Thomas Grillo, Banker & Tradesman
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
BRA Gets Chance to Consider Druker’s Plan for Shreve Site
BRA Gets Chance to Consider Druker’s Plan for Shreve Site
By Thomas Grillo
Reporter
Rendering courtesy Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and CBT Architects
This artist’s rendering depicts the 221,230-square-foot, mixed-use building that The Druker Co. has proposed for lower Boylston Street in Boston.
As Back Bay residents battle construction of a pair of towers at the Prudential Center, a developer has filed plans to replace a former jewelry store overlooking the Boston Public Garden with a 9-story building.
Ronald Druker, president of The Druker Co., hopes to build a 221,230-square-foot building at Boylston and Arlington streets. If approved, it would include eight floors of Class A offices, 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 6,000-square-foot health spa and below-grade parking. Banker & Tradesman was the first to report the proposal last fall.
According to a filing with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city planning agency that must approve the mixed-use development, Druker would raze the former Shreve Crump & Low building at 330 Boylston St. and three other structures – his company owns all four – to make way for the new block.
“The project will improve retail vitality and provide first-class office space in a highly visible and accessible location,” states the document filed with the BRA. “The area will be enhanced by the urban design and architectural character provided by a new signature building designed by world-class architects who are sensitive to its architectural neighbors, including the Arlington Street Church and the Public Garden.”
In addition, the project summary said the building’s proposed design will “capitalize” on the unique site. “A corner location provides a unique opportunity … With diagonal views and frontage on the Public Garden is a singular opportunity that the design addresses by placing a unique, rounded glazed bay, which emphasizes and reinforces the importance of this prime location,” the document states.
The ground level will feature a granite facade with wooden storefronts and a lobby entry. Sidewalk improvements along Boylston Street will be consistent with the city’s standards for the neighborhood, the document said. The new development is expected to generate $1.8 million in annual property taxes and $1.1 million in linkage funds to the city.
The BRA has established an Impact Advisory Group to review the proposal. The 13-member panel appointed by officials will consider mitigation impacts caused by the development. A public meeting on the plan is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. at the Boston Public Library.
Mark Slater, an IAG member, said he was not impressed by the rendering of the proposed building. “It looks like a rectangular brick building and I have no idea whether the project has merit or not,” he said.
Slater, a former president of the Bay Village Neighborhood Association, said he also is concerned about the construction of another large building on Boylston Street.
“We are worried that the BRA is effectively allowing the larger boulevards in Boston to be turned into concrete canyons,” he said. “I worry that’s what the Druker building will do to lower Boylston Street. I am not opposed to new construction and I realize that some will have to be tall. But the scale and intimacy in Boston are being thrown out the window for the sake of real estate taxes.”
Jessica Shumaker, a BRA spokeswoman, declined to answer Slater’s charges. Instead she said, “We look forward to meeting with the community and hearing their thoughts and concerns on the project.”
‘A Real Plus’
John Shope, another IAG member, noted that the former jewelry store is vacant and he favors active retail on the ground floor at the site.
“This will be a prominent building in a prominent location,” he said. “I like the idea of having an attractive building with lots of people coming and going, and lots of retail. It could be a real plus for the city.”
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he likes what he’s seen so far, but like any project it will require community review.
“It has a ways to go before the BRA approves it, but it certainly looks like something that will meet the muster of the neighborhoods,” Menino said.
Druker’s Boston-based real estate company is best known for its large, urban mixed-use developments. One of its most recent projects is Atelier|505, a mixed-use development adjacent to the Boston Center for the Arts, at Tremont and Berkeley streets. It opened two years ago with 103 units of luxury condominiums, shops and restaurants.
In addition, the company has completed the Heritage on the Garden, an upscale complex on Boylston Street that features residential, retail and office suites across from the Public Garden. In 1971, the firm built the Colonnade Hotel on Huntington Avenue.
Druker’s proposal comes as several projects are in the works for the Back Bay and the Prudential Center. The Clarendon, a luxury condominium and apartment tower, is under construction near the John Hancock Tower. In addition, the 13-story Mandarin Oriental Boston hotel is scheduled to open this summer next to Lord & Taylor on Boylston Street. The $230 million project will add 168 guestrooms and the property will be part of a mixed-use complex with first-floor retail and condominiums on the upper floors.
Another proposal that has not yet been filed with the BRA is a new tower at Copley Place. The Simon Property Group is considering a mix of condominiums and retail uses in front of the Neiman Marcus store at the corner of Stuart and Dartmouth streets. At the other end of the Back Bay, Berklee College of Music is considering plans for a dormitory.
Earlier this year, Boston Properties and Avalon Bay Communities filed plans for a $192 million proposal that calls for a 35-story residential high-rise on Exeter Street across from the Boston Public Library and construction of a 19-story office building at 888 Boylston St., adjacent to the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention. The plan has faced fierce opposition from neighbors who say the buildings are out of scale in the historic neighborhood.
By Thomas Grillo
Reporter
Rendering courtesy Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and CBT Architects
This artist’s rendering depicts the 221,230-square-foot, mixed-use building that The Druker Co. has proposed for lower Boylston Street in Boston.
As Back Bay residents battle construction of a pair of towers at the Prudential Center, a developer has filed plans to replace a former jewelry store overlooking the Boston Public Garden with a 9-story building.
Ronald Druker, president of The Druker Co., hopes to build a 221,230-square-foot building at Boylston and Arlington streets. If approved, it would include eight floors of Class A offices, 15,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, a 6,000-square-foot health spa and below-grade parking. Banker & Tradesman was the first to report the proposal last fall.
According to a filing with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city planning agency that must approve the mixed-use development, Druker would raze the former Shreve Crump & Low building at 330 Boylston St. and three other structures – his company owns all four – to make way for the new block.
“The project will improve retail vitality and provide first-class office space in a highly visible and accessible location,” states the document filed with the BRA. “The area will be enhanced by the urban design and architectural character provided by a new signature building designed by world-class architects who are sensitive to its architectural neighbors, including the Arlington Street Church and the Public Garden.”
In addition, the project summary said the building’s proposed design will “capitalize” on the unique site. “A corner location provides a unique opportunity … With diagonal views and frontage on the Public Garden is a singular opportunity that the design addresses by placing a unique, rounded glazed bay, which emphasizes and reinforces the importance of this prime location,” the document states.
The ground level will feature a granite facade with wooden storefronts and a lobby entry. Sidewalk improvements along Boylston Street will be consistent with the city’s standards for the neighborhood, the document said. The new development is expected to generate $1.8 million in annual property taxes and $1.1 million in linkage funds to the city.
The BRA has established an Impact Advisory Group to review the proposal. The 13-member panel appointed by officials will consider mitigation impacts caused by the development. A public meeting on the plan is scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. at the Boston Public Library.
Mark Slater, an IAG member, said he was not impressed by the rendering of the proposed building. “It looks like a rectangular brick building and I have no idea whether the project has merit or not,” he said.
Slater, a former president of the Bay Village Neighborhood Association, said he also is concerned about the construction of another large building on Boylston Street.
“We are worried that the BRA is effectively allowing the larger boulevards in Boston to be turned into concrete canyons,” he said. “I worry that’s what the Druker building will do to lower Boylston Street. I am not opposed to new construction and I realize that some will have to be tall. But the scale and intimacy in Boston are being thrown out the window for the sake of real estate taxes.”
Jessica Shumaker, a BRA spokeswoman, declined to answer Slater’s charges. Instead she said, “We look forward to meeting with the community and hearing their thoughts and concerns on the project.”
‘A Real Plus’
John Shope, another IAG member, noted that the former jewelry store is vacant and he favors active retail on the ground floor at the site.
“This will be a prominent building in a prominent location,” he said. “I like the idea of having an attractive building with lots of people coming and going, and lots of retail. It could be a real plus for the city.”
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he likes what he’s seen so far, but like any project it will require community review.
“It has a ways to go before the BRA approves it, but it certainly looks like something that will meet the muster of the neighborhoods,” Menino said.
Druker’s Boston-based real estate company is best known for its large, urban mixed-use developments. One of its most recent projects is Atelier|505, a mixed-use development adjacent to the Boston Center for the Arts, at Tremont and Berkeley streets. It opened two years ago with 103 units of luxury condominiums, shops and restaurants.
In addition, the company has completed the Heritage on the Garden, an upscale complex on Boylston Street that features residential, retail and office suites across from the Public Garden. In 1971, the firm built the Colonnade Hotel on Huntington Avenue.
Druker’s proposal comes as several projects are in the works for the Back Bay and the Prudential Center. The Clarendon, a luxury condominium and apartment tower, is under construction near the John Hancock Tower. In addition, the 13-story Mandarin Oriental Boston hotel is scheduled to open this summer next to Lord & Taylor on Boylston Street. The $230 million project will add 168 guestrooms and the property will be part of a mixed-use complex with first-floor retail and condominiums on the upper floors.
Another proposal that has not yet been filed with the BRA is a new tower at Copley Place. The Simon Property Group is considering a mix of condominiums and retail uses in front of the Neiman Marcus store at the corner of Stuart and Dartmouth streets. At the other end of the Back Bay, Berklee College of Music is considering plans for a dormitory.
Earlier this year, Boston Properties and Avalon Bay Communities filed plans for a $192 million proposal that calls for a 35-story residential high-rise on Exeter Street across from the Boston Public Library and construction of a 19-story office building at 888 Boylston St., adjacent to the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention. The plan has faced fierce opposition from neighbors who say the buildings are out of scale in the historic neighborhood.
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