Opulence is key to new office project

Opulence is key to new office project
Premier address demands a singular design, architect says

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | November 7, 2007



As usual, Ronald Druker has an idea for something different in real estate.

The developer who brought opulent living to Boston with Heritage on the Garden is now planning to build ultra high-end office space at the corner of Boylston and Arlington streets, at the former location of Shreve Crump & Low.

"If there are luxury hotels and luxury residences, this will be a luxury office building," Druker said yesterday.

His proposal, to be filed with city regulators today, is for a 210,000-square-foot building made with expensive finishes, high ceilings, and other touches more commonly found on residential properties - such as terraces on top floors.

The property is being designed by a noted architect, Cesar Pelli.

With a premiere address diagonally across from the Public Garden, the location deserves a singular design, Pelli said.

"This is a special project," he said yesterday. "To be working in this very critical part of Boston, doing a small delicate building, it has to be just right."

Pelli, whose office is in New Haven, is known for buildings from the towering Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to the Museum of Modern Art residential tower in New York. He has also designed a 40-story glass tower that is expected to be built soon over South Station in Boston.

A watercolor of Pelli's and Druker's concept shows granite and wood on the first floor, with 7-foot-square windows on upper floors, framed in light gray limestone. The building would have prominent bays of floor-to-ceiling glass, with black metal panels separating the floors.

Pelli described the style as "modern contextual," but added, "I'm making it up on the spot. It will be a very Bostonian building." Pelli will also design a lobby on Boylston, which he said would be of "wood and marble and subdued colors."

The window bays, with specially designed curved-glass corners, would maximize the views. "We really concentrated on bringing the Public Garden into the building," Druker said.

The members of the team also knew they did not want another building made of brick.

"When we developed Heritage on the Garden, we had a spirit and fervor that we had to do something very well," Druker said. "This is probably the last site on the Public Garden, and we feel the same responsibility."

To make way, Druker intends to raze the Arlington Building, former home of Shreve's, and three lesser structures. Shreve's has moved up Boylston Street to the corner of Berkeley.

While the demolition may prove to be unpopular in the neighborhood, Druker chose to make the new building, at nine floors, smaller than what he is allowed to build under current zoning.

The building will boast 150 parking spaces underground, and a fitness club and fine restaurant on the ground floor, along with retail space to complement the upscale shops across Arlington at Heritage on the Garden.

He expects to market the office space to international bankers, hedge-fund managers, venture capitalists, family foundations, and perhaps law firms that want a pricey home on the Public Garden. How pricey? "We will certainly be at the top of the market," he said.

Druker, who built and quickly sold out the swank Atelier|505 luxury condominiums in the South End, as well as apartment residences next to his Colonnade Hotel in the Back Bay, said he believes Boston's vastly improved office market will still be in good shape in early 2011, when he expects to complete the latest project.

The third generation in the family business, Druker had not previously met Pelli. But he wrote to the Argentine-born architect and the pair later toured the Back Bay, Public Garden, and roofs of the buildings in the area.

"We talked about doing a gray-flannel suit," Druker said, "like Cary Grant, in terms of what is elegance and style, and what also is Boston."

http://www.boston.com/business/globe...ffice_project/

Shreve building's days may be numbered

Shreve building's days may be numbered
Developer planning new stores, offices at site in Back Bay

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | October 12, 2007


Developer Ronald Druker is planning a new office and retail complex for the site of the Shreve, Crump & Low building at Boylston and Arlington streets in the Back Bay, a sentimental favorite that some Bostonians want to preserve.

Druker wants to tear down the 103-year-old Shreve building on the corner and three others he owns on Boylston Street, including the Women's Educational and Industrial Union building. He would replace them with "a landmark for the next century or beyond," he said yesterday.

Druker was reluctant to discuss details before he submits formal plans to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. But he acknowledged the plans call for building to the maximum height allowed, at least 90 feet.

A year ago, about 30 city residents petitioned the Boston Landmarks Commission for a hearing to designate the Shreve building, erected in 1904 as the Bryant and Stratton Commercial School for women, as a landmark. That would have protected the facade, with its elaborate Art Deco portion, added when Shreve moved in around 1930, and an original decorative cornice.

But the commission voted against even holding a hearing, saying that the architect was not particularly significant and that, while the building has local importance, it lacks renown be yond Boston.

To be designated a landmark, a building must have "historical, social, cultural, architectural, or aesthetic significance to the city and the Commonwealth, the New England region, or the nation," executive director Ellen J. Lipsey wrote, in turning down the petitioners' request in October 2006.

In July, the Landmarks Commission voted, after a hearing, not to give landmark status to the Dainty Dot, an old industrial building on the edge of Chinatown. Developer Ori Ron plans to build a residential tower there, retaining a few exterior walls, but neighbors are continuing to push for preservation of more of the structure.

Shreve, Crump & Low, established in 1796, for decades was the place where the Yankee elite shopped for jewelry, silver, and gifts to celebrate the high points of their lives.

Shreve has moved a block away, to the corner of Boylston and Berkeley streets, and is operating after being bought out of bankruptcy.

Its former building is empty but remains important, said Tim Ian Mitchell, an architect and spokesman for the group of Boston residents who want to save it.

Besides wanting to preserve the work of the architect who added the ground floor decoration, Mitchell said, the group believes that "Shreve's has made outstanding contributions to the cultural, social, and economic history of New England."

"For luxury goods, it was the place of choice for families of wealth," he said.

Although it is not unprecedented for groups to try to make their case a second time, Mitchell said he would wait to see what Druker proposes before deciding whether to continue to fight for the building.

"With Mr. Druker, there's some possibility he can actually bring something to this part of the city that will be noteworthy and significant," Mitchell said. "I couldn't say that for everybody."

Druker developed the Heritage on the Common residences and more recently the Atelier | 505 condominiums in the South End.

The Arlington Building, as it was known, actually extended to the east in the early years, when a railroad station occupied the area and separated downtown from the Back Bay. Part of the complex was amputated when Arlington Street was extended, and the wall along Arlington was extensively reconstructed, with new windows, to make it consistent with the front, at 330 Boylston.

"That advance of connecting Boston, making the transition from sleepy little town to modern urban center, was really significant," Mitchell said.

Druker, a third-generation builder in Boston, said merging the new and the old usually doesn't work well.

"A new building well executed by a local developer who cares about the city, designed by a fine architect, will be far better than to create a 'facadectomy' that is not good architecture or good design," he said.

"The Arlington Building is a nice building," Druker said. "It is not, however, a landmark. Lincoln didn't deliver the Gettysburg Address there."



Link

Site May Prove to Be A Jewel in the Rough

Site May Prove to Be A Jewel in the Rough
New Building to Replace Former Shreve, Crump & Low; Possible Uses Include Luxury Condos, Class A Offices
By Thomas Grillo
Reporter


B&T staff photo by Thomas Grillo
The Shreve, Crump & Low building at 330 Boylston St. may be
razed to make way for offices or luxury condominiums.

The art deco building that housed an upscale jeweler on Boylston Street could become the next site for luxury condominiums or Class A office space.

Ronald M. Druker, president of The Druker Co., which owns the Shreve, Crump & Low building across from the Boston Public Garden, could not be reached for comment. But City Councilor Michael Ross, who has been briefed on the proposal, said the 5-story mid-rise is expected to be replaced by a new building.

While details of the project have not been filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the city’s planning and development agency, Ross said whatever is built on the site will be in keeping with the company’s reputation for construction that is sensitive to the neighborhood.

“Ron Druker has done development in that area and knows what it means to build near the Public Garden,” said Ross, who met with the developer recently to discuss the project. “He’s done it before and done it successfully and he has an understanding and respect for the Back Bay neighborhood.”

But not everyone is convinced that Druker will listen to neighbors.

John Herbert, past president of the Ellis South End Neighborhood Association, said the group was shut out of discussions for Druker’s Atelier|505. The mixed-use development adjacent to the Boston Center for the Arts, at Tremont and Berkeley streets, opened two years ago with 103 units of luxury condominiums, shops and restaurants.

“I’m not sure who to blame – Druker, the BRA or the BCA – but it was clear that none of them wanted our input,” Herbert recalled. “We wanted to participate in planning the building because we had a number of suggested improvements, but Druker had his agenda and the BCA had theirs and neither wanted to hear from anyone. It was very difficult.”

Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino told Banker & Tradesman that Druker’s proposal is “interesting.”

“What I saw fits the zoning guidelines in that neighborhood,” Menino said. “It has some steps to go, but it certainly looks like a product that will meet the muster of the community. The plan will have to go before the community before it’s approved.”

Druker’s Boston-based real estate company is known for its large, urban mixed-use projects. In addition to Atelier|505, 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.

‘Vulnerable’ Buildings

Timothy Mitchell, an architect who lives and works in Boston’s Back Bay, said residents are sure to be concerned about the height of any building at the Shreve location. With height comes shadows, he said, that could be cast onto the Public Garden, lower Boylston Street and Commonwealth Avenue.

“When you think about how the sun moves, a tall building there on this low-rise Back Bay neighborhood will not only put homes in the dark but historically significant buildings are also vulnerable,” he said. “And that would certainly change their architectural significance.”

Susan Prindle, chairwoman of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay’s Architecture Committee, said she met with Druker a year ago when he wanted to build an office tower at the Shreve site. But since then, the two have not spoken, she said.

Prindle was one of three dozen residents who petitioned the Boston Landmarks Commission last fall to designate the Shreve building as a landmark. In its 10-page request, neighbors argued that the 103-year-old building is a “rare example of an early 20th century eclectic style that combines themes from several historic styles into one.” The 5-story Shreve does not overshadow its neighbor, the Arlington Street Church, or the Public Garden, according to the document. The architect, William G. Rantoul, was well known for his many luxurious homes and estates, the residents wrote.

In addition, the group cited the storied jeweler’s history, noting that Shreve, Crump & Low is America’s oldest jeweler. Founded in 1796, the first store was first located at Washington and Summer streets. In 1929, it moved from Downtown Crossing to 330 Boylston St. in the Back Bay.

But the commission rejected the application. The panel noted that the petitioners could file for landmark status again if they found further evidence of the building’s significance.

The proposal comes as several projects are in the works for the Back Bay and the Prudential Center. The Clarendon, another 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 next year 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 yet is a new tower at Copley Place. The Simon Property Group is considering a mix of condos 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 has discussed plans for a high- rise dormitory in the neighborhood.

Earlier this month, Boston Properties and Avalon Bay Communities filed plans for a $192 million proposal that calls for a 30-story residential high-rise on Exeter Street across from the Boston Public Library and construction of an office building at 888 Boylston St., adjacent to the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention.

Some members of the Prudential Project Advisory Committee (PruPAC), a group formed in the 1980s by former Mayor Ray Flynn to advise City Hall on development proposals in the neighborhood, already have expressed concern about the height and density of the Prudential Center initiatives. While PruPAC has encouraged construction of the residential tower on Exeter Street, some members are asking whether a high-rise across from the library makes sense for the historic neighborhood.

Mark Slater, president of the Bay Village Neighborhood Association, said he is concerned that all new construction of condominiums is reserved for the very wealthy.

“I’m not sure what the city needs is another vertical gated community,” he said.