Developer hatching Boylston Street plan

KentXie

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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.?
 
And Gehry is also know for the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn and I have a feeling this will end up in a similar way.

If you don't know, google it, its a HUGE debate down here.
 
Is there a vacant lot at this location, or is the plan to convert that former Shreve building on the corner?
 
Definitely no vacant lot. Since it's on the south side of Boylston, it's outside the Back Bay historic district, but I expect any tear-down proposal will still generate a massive outcry.
 
I agree. This seems like a pipe dream to me. However, there are certainly several buildings on this block that aren't really that distinguished, and at least one which was in pretty bad shape the last time I looked. Anyone have a fairly current picture of this block - the south side of Boylston between Arlington and Berkeley?
 
pic ogf two of the buildings

This is the best I can find for a pic so far:

http://community.webshots.com/photo/268475080/1274959082065425465DmzwyW

The developer will never be allowed to tear down these building and I doubt he intends to. I would expect that perhaps the back sections will be removed and the building united. Unquestionably they will add some floors.

Last site on the Garden?: Developer hatching Boylston Street plan

That is a very misleading headline but then again it's from Scott Van Voorhis.
 
At most newspapers, probably including the Herald, reporters don't write their own headlines. Editors do that.
 
A9.com is a good place to find streetscape pictures of blocks like this one. However, you will only see the bottom two stories of each building.
 
Are these still functional buildings? All the article says is
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.
If they're in too bad shape to be used, they can be demolished, like the old post office making way for The Clarendon. With that, the consensus was that the old building was architecturally significant, but was not in good enough shape to be used, so it should de taken down for The Clarendon.
 
The buildings are perfectly sound, though the middle one has a hideous Tweeter Etc. sign covering part of the facade. I'd love to see that removed.

The Women's Union building is only two stories tall. It makes sense to add more floors, if the existing building can structurally support them.
 

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