Hotel Plan Critics Speak Out; Mayor Vows to Back Proposal
By Thomas Grillo
Reporter
The former Alexandra Hotel in Boston has been sold to the Church
of Scientology. Mayor Thomas M. Menino says he supports the church?s
development plans, but some area residents have voiced opposition.
The Church of Scientology wants to transform an abandoned Roxbury hotel into the organization?s Boston headquarters, but some neighbors are raising questions.
After more than a decade of promises to restore the Alexandra Hotel, its owner has sold the dilapidated landmark at Washington Street and Massachusetts Avenue to the controversial religious group for an undisclosed price. Some neighbors are skeptical that the eyesore will ever get restored while others have already lined up in opposition.
?This must be a sign of the apocalypse,? said Christos Hamawi of the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association (WSANA), in an e-mail to members. ?This derails any progress that would happen on that block, since they are sure to use the storefront for their church, rather than for retail or restaurant that would encourage the development of the remaining block and beyond ? While this may indeed save the building?s exterior, it will kill the building?s spirit and destroy any progress to our neighborhood.?
But Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he is baffled why residents would raise questions about the intentions of the church, which is best known for celebrity members such as actor Tom Cruise, to breathe life into the 5-story neighborhood blemish.
?I look forward to making that project happen,? Menino told Banker & Tradesman. ?The question before me is: Do I keep a dilapidated building that has been an eyesore for 25 years or do I make it a gateway to our city? That?s a decision we?ll have to make. I would tend to think that a beautiful, architecturally redesigned building is what I would support. How can anyone be against that??
The church has purchased the properties at 1759-1769 Washington St., which includes the hotel and an adjacent 3-story row house. The sale was recorded at the Suffolk Registry of Deeds last week for $1. Upon completion of planned renovations, the church will move its headquarters to the restored building from its offices on Beacon Street.
But Ray Lussier, another WSANA member, expressed skepticism that the blighted building will be renovated.
?I don?t believe this will happen,? he said. ?We?ve been through this too many times and hopes have been raised and dashed too often for me to get excited about it. Perhaps the church has more credibility than previous buyers, but who knows??
Neither Peter Bakis, the former owner, nor Gerard Renna, director of the Church of Scientology of Boston, returned calls seeking comment.
In January 2002, the Boston Redevelopment Authority approved construction of 20 condominiums at the hotel. But Bakis showed no intention of moving forward with the project. As a result, Housing Court Judge Manuel Kyriakakis appointed a receiver to supervise the redevelopment. Since then, at least three offers were accepted, but none of the potential buyers could convince the owner to sign a purchase-and-sale agreement, a source close to the deals told Banker & Tradesman.
Kamran Zahedi, president of Urbanica, a Boston-based developer who has completed projects in the South End, said he was interested in buying the property to convert it to a boutique hotel. He estimated, given its poor condition, the 38,000-square-foot building would fetch about $150 per square foot, or $5.7 million.
?I?ve been looking at that building since 1993,? he said. ?We never made an offer, but we read news stories about the owner and every time he was close to a deal, it fell through and no one knew what happened.?
Once considered a gateway to Chester Square, the Victorian and Gothic-style Alexandra was built in 1875 as a residential hotel for empty nesters and young married couples, or ?the newly wed and the nearly dead,? in the slang of the day. The building featured marble staircases, an elevator and metal-clad bay windows.
The 2,000-square-foot apartments offered 12-foot ceilings, plaster crown moldings, steam heat, cast iron columns and glass transoms for ventilation. It was a prestigious address until Boston?s elevated train was built in 1900. The noise and intrusive design of the elevated streetcar brought a slow decline to the hotel and the neighborhood.
In 1993, a six-alarm fire of suspicious origin swept through the building. Later, a group of demonstrators occupied the upper floors in an effort to draw attention to the city?s homeless. They hung a banner from the top floor that said ?Housing Is A Human Right.?
Over the years, Bakis vowed to complete the renovation. But little was done to improve the building and promises to refurbish the Alexandra were broken, residents and officials said.
Since 2000, more than $650 million has been invested by public and private partnerships in the area. The Alexandra is the only blighted building on its block.
