The New Retail Thread

Washington St Somerville:
All She Wrote Books - moved from Assembly:
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Tulum (restaurant - opening date TBA):
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#bancars said:
This is awesome! Between FTJ and Mestizo (which also should be opening soon), Kendall will have two restaurant/bars open until at least 1 AM within a 3 minute walk of the Red Line Station!
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....not to mention until 2:00am Thursday, Friday and Saturdays!
 
Something is up in the South End... specifically at the Pledge of Allegiance building (let's call it the Club Cafe building for obvious reasons) - 142 Berkeley St.
- the furniture store on the first floor recently closed and is empty
- Fenway Health announced they will be closing the office this summer (most of the second floor)
- Citrus and Salt announced today that they are relocating to Fort Point

Anyone hear what's going on there?
 
sm89 said:
Something is up in the South End... specifically at the Pledge of Allegiance building (let's call it the Club Cafe building for obvious reasons) - 142 Berkeley St.
- the furniture store on the first floor recently closed and is empty
- Fenway Health announced they will be closing the office this summer (most of the second floor)
- Citrus and Salt announced today that they are relocating to Fort Point

Anyone hear what's going on there?
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Oh man if the queer community loses Club Cafe that would be brutal.
 
sm89 said:
Something is up in the South End... specifically at the Pledge of Allegiance building (let's call it the Club Cafe building for obvious reasons) - 142 Berkeley St.
- the furniture store on the first floor recently closed and is empty
- Fenway Health announced they will be closing the office this summer (most of the second floor)
- Citrus and Salt announced today that they are relocating to Fort Point

Anyone hear what's going on there?
Click to expand...
Furniture store went bankrupt so unlikely related to other 2 moves https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/08/29/business/mitchell-gold-bob-williams-closing/index.html
 
sm89 said:
Something is up in the South End... specifically at the Pledge of Allegiance building (let's call it the Club Cafe building for obvious reasons) - 142 Berkeley St.
- the furniture store on the first floor recently closed and is empty
- Fenway Health announced they will be closing the office this summer (most of the second floor)
- Citrus and Salt announced today that they are relocating to Fort Point

Anyone hear what's going on there?
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure I heard rumblings of a second location of Citrus and Salt and now its a relocation. The current location does need more space badly. Its too bad as there's not many good restaurants on that side of 90 that arent catered to hotel guests or after work crowds.
 
This building (the Youths Companion Building) is on the National Register of Historic Places. Would be very hard to re-develop. Same designation as the Arlington St. Church, Unlike Shreve Crump & Low, which was not even landmarked by the city of Boston.
 
sm89 said:
Something is up in the South End... specifically at the Pledge of Allegiance building (let's call it the Club Cafe building for obvious reasons) - 142 Berkeley St.
- the furniture store on the first floor recently closed and is empty
- Fenway Health announced they will be closing the office this summer (most of the second floor)
- Citrus and Salt announced today that they are relocating to Fort Point

Anyone hear what's going on there?
Click to expand...
I am pretty sure these are three unrelated relocations. Each had an internal reason for the location closure.
 
stellarfun said:
This building (the Youths Companion Building) is on the National Register of Historic Places. Would be very hard to re-develop. Same designation as the Arlington St. Church, Unlike Shreve Crump & Low, which was not even landmarked by the city of Boston.
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Being on the National Register of Historic Places is pretty much meaningless for redevelopment (the Shreve building was on the NR for example) It basically give a building access to tax credit programs not any protection of the building. Being a Boston Landmark is the most protection a building can get from a historical basis--I think the Youths Companion Building is a pending Landmark so that may happen. I would think it would be great for redevelopment--it's essentially a mill Buildng if it was used for publishing.
 
bigpicture7 said:
Argggghhhhh:
www.bostonglobe.com

Harvard Book Store shelves plan for second location in the Pru - The Boston Globe

The owners blamed “considerable” economic challenges, “including supply chain disruptions and escalating costs.”
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com
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....this is why we can't have nice things.

Would be nice if some private/public partnership could happen between a large bookstore and the BPL (good location with the main library several blocks away). What a wonderful synergy that could create.
 
DwnTwnr said:
Being on the National Register of Historic Places is pretty much meaningless for redevelopment (the Shreve building was on the NR for example) It basically give a building access to tax credit programs not any protection of the building. Being a Boston Landmark is the most protection a building can get from a historical basis--I think the Youths Companion Building is a pending Landmark so that may happen. I would think it would be great for redevelopment--it's essentially a mill Buildng if it was used for publishing.
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The Shreve Crump & Lowe was never on the National Register. The building had no historic significance. The Youth's Companion building was the home of the largest circulation weekly magazine (500,000 copies) in the United States at the end on the 19th Century. It was listed on the National Register in 1974. AFAIK, the Youth's Companion building housed the editorial, subscription, and advertising offices, but not the printing presses.

Re: the attempt to landmark the Shreve Crump & Low building. From the Boston Preservation Alliance:
2006: Over a decade ago, when the project to replace the buildings was first proposed, the Alliance and others in the preservation community attempted to protect the site through Landmark designation, which is Boston’s strongest preservation tool. Unfortunately, current regulations in Boston require Landmarked historic resources to be significant to the state, region, or nation and not just significant at the local level. The Boston Landmarks Commission was unable to approve the designation because they did not find the site had significance beyond the local level.
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The Preservation Alliance seeks to change current regulations to preserve more historic buildings.
Demolition of historic buildings and structures that are viable for continued or adaptive use should be prohibited. In a city that relies so heavily on its historic character and strives to meet progressive environmental goals, it is unacceptable that so many buildings are demolished with virtually no consideration of the loss of embodied carbon and energy, the loss of character and history for the neighborhood, and the impact on walkability, affordability, and livability to residents. Building reuse IS climate action and should always be the primary consideration by both developers and the BPDA. If it is determined that a structure is at the end of its usable life, it should be deconstructed and its materials reused.
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IMO, even if the above change were adopted, that might not have saved Shreve Crump & Low. The key phrasing being "historic" and "viable for continued or adaptive use"
 
stellarfun said:
The Shreve Crump & Lowe was never on the National Register. The building had no historic significance. The Youth's Companion building was the home of the largest circulation weekly magazine (500,000 copies) in the United States at the end on the 19th Century. It was listed on the National Register in 1974. AFAIK, the Youth's Companion building housed the editorial, subscription, and advertising offices, but not the printing presses.

Re: the attempt to landmark the Shreve Crump & Low building. From the Boston Preservation Alliance:


The Preservation Alliance seeks to change current regulations to preserve more historic buildings.


IMO, even if the above change were adopted, that might not have saved Shreve Crump & Low. The key phrasing being "historic" and "viable for continued or adaptive use"
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We probably need a special clause in the historic preservation legislation:

* or architecturally superior to the dreck Druker is planning.
 
stellarfun said:
The Shreve Crump & Lowe was never on the National Register. The building had no historic significance. The Youth's Companion building was the home of the largest circulation weekly magazine (500,000 copies) in the United States at the end on the 19th Century. It was listed on the National Register in 1974. AFAIK, the Youth's Companion building housed the editorial, subscription, and advertising offices, but not the printing presses.

Re: the attempt to landmark the Shreve Crump & Low building. From the Boston Preservation Alliance:


The Preservation Alliance seeks to change current regulations to preserve more historic buildings.


IMO, even if the above change were adopted, that might not have saved Shreve Crump & Low. The key phrasing being "historic" and "viable for continued or adaptive use"
Click to expand...
The Shreve Crump & Lowe building is on the National Register as a contributing building in a historic district: https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=bos.2603
 
Wondering if anyone who frequents Downtown Crossing can comment on the general street-level environment for retail, restaurants, etc.? Is it reasonably healthy? How extensive are the vacancies? My cousin works for San Francisco, which is really struggling in this area, and was very curious about how Boston is doing. My general sense is that Newbury Street seems to be doing fine. In some ways it seems a bit insulated because it is a tourist attraction in itself for its architecture/history and the stores are smaller scale/boutique-y. My sense (I don't get Downtown enough) is that DTX has more challenges, but probably not to the extent of Union Square in SF, where the major mall is now like 75% vacant. Is that a fair read? Do things seem to be on the up and up?
 
I pass through DTX fairly regularly and shop/eat there from time to time. I have friends in some of the luxury buildings there as well and have a habit of walking around late at night rather than taking cars, so I've seen it all at different times. The thing about "Downtown" is that it's like 4 micro neighborhoods.

1. Summer/Winter corridor between Tremont and, say, Devonshire (including part of the Ladder Streets and Tremont fronting the Common)
2. Theater district, on Washington from Boylston to West St (also including part of the Ladder Streets)
3. Pure financial district with the epicenter around Post Office Square reaching out to the greenway east-ish
4. Government Center limited by the backside of Beacon Hill/West End and encompassing Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall

(3) is super quiet outside of peak business hours and (4) is either dead or full of tourists depending on the weather. (2) ebbs and flows with theater shows, AMC movie times, and a few great bars on West and Temple. (1) is clearly the area with the most "issues" especially if you include Washington 1 block on either side of its intersection with Summer/Winter. I'd have no worries walking through (3) at 4AM, while I miiiight think twice about strolling through (1).

All 4 of these regions need more restaurants and bars, but they particularly need housing so that there's a steady flow of people and not just peak-trough waves of visitors tied to shows and the 8 hour workday 3 days per week.

To your specific questions, things are absolutely better than the low point of the pandemic. It was outright spooky where the streets would be just 3 guys in wheelchairs, pushing themselves backwards down Washington Street. There are too many vacancies and the little movement there is (WNDR museum, some outdoor seasonal programming) doesn't seem to move the needle much. Roche Brothers is a staple as is the Macy's, and things would get much much worse if either of those closed. An anchor tenant restaurant back in the Millennium Tower would also be a godsend since Pabu closed during the pandemic.

My optimistic brain sees some green shoots, particularly around Temple Place where there's a great run of bars, restaurants, and cafes, with a few more on the way. George Howell (technically on Washington), JM Curley's/Bogies/Wig Shop, Cafe Bonjour, Democracy Brewing, Hobgoblin, and an upcoming trio of new spots from Jamie Bissonette will do a ton to anchor that particular stretch, especially since they stay open late. There were plans for two infill hotels on blocks just off Tremont, one of which is approved I think, but I haven't seen any sign of construction. Hopefully the new Holocaust museum just down from the Statehouse will also do something to move some of the stickier characters off the block.

It's a lot, I know, but Boston is lucky to be quite safe and never feel totally hollowed out (other than ~Apr-May 2020). Recovery takes a long time, so hoping we don't have backsliding in the coming years.
 
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