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?Last site on the Garden?: Developer hatching Boylston Street plan
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Boston developer and hotelier Ronald Druker, known for his elegant condo and hotel high-rises, is eyeing one of the city?s most prominent street corners for what could be his next big undertaking.
Druker told the Herald yesterday he?s in the early stages of exploring plans for a trio of buildings on Boylston Street, where the Back Bay thoroughfare meets Arlington Street by the Public Garden.
The developer?s resume includes such blockbuster luxury condo projects as the nearby Heritage on the Common and the South End?s Atelier 505. And some real estate executives point to the location - which includes space previously occupied by Shreve, Crump & Low - as a prime site for an ultra luxurious condo and hotel complex.
But Druker said he?s now trying to figure out what the format will be.
?It?s a great location,? Druker said. ?We are exploring what we can do there. It?s really the last development site on the Public Garden.?
The developer said he has talked to a number of architects, including Frank Gehry about possibly working on the project.
Gehry?s best known work may be the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa in Spain. Locally, the architect has left his mark on such projects as MIT?s Stata Center and the modernistic 360 Newbury Street at the intersection with Massachusetts Avenue.
Druker controls the Shreve?s building, - empty since the jeweler moved to another Back Bay building - the former Women?s Industrial Union headquarters, and a building in between.
Some executives point to the posh Mandarin Oriental hotel and condo high-rise, under construction on Boylston near the Prudential Center, as a likely template.
Druker cautioned though that rising construction prices - which come as condo prices have lost some of their sizzle - make such a play more difficult. Office and retail space is also under consideration.
?It has the potential for the residential market,? Druker said. But, he added,?the residential market is slowing down at this point and the office market is heating up.?
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Boston developer and hotelier Ronald Druker, known for his elegant condo and hotel high-rises, is eyeing one of the city?s most prominent street corners for what could be his next big undertaking.
Druker told the Herald yesterday he?s in the early stages of exploring plans for a trio of buildings on Boylston Street, where the Back Bay thoroughfare meets Arlington Street by the Public Garden.
The developer?s resume includes such blockbuster luxury condo projects as the nearby Heritage on the Common and the South End?s Atelier 505. And some real estate executives point to the location - which includes space previously occupied by Shreve, Crump & Low - as a prime site for an ultra luxurious condo and hotel complex.
But Druker said he?s now trying to figure out what the format will be.
?It?s a great location,? Druker said. ?We are exploring what we can do there. It?s really the last development site on the Public Garden.?
The developer said he has talked to a number of architects, including Frank Gehry about possibly working on the project.
Gehry?s best known work may be the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa in Spain. Locally, the architect has left his mark on such projects as MIT?s Stata Center and the modernistic 360 Newbury Street at the intersection with Massachusetts Avenue.
Druker controls the Shreve?s building, - empty since the jeweler moved to another Back Bay building - the former Women?s Industrial Union headquarters, and a building in between.
Some executives point to the posh Mandarin Oriental hotel and condo high-rise, under construction on Boylston near the Prudential Center, as a likely template.
Druker cautioned though that rising construction prices - which come as condo prices have lost some of their sizzle - make such a play more difficult. Office and retail space is also under consideration.
?It has the potential for the residential market,? Druker said. But, he added,?the residential market is slowing down at this point and the office market is heating up.?
