Boston Needs A ShakeShack
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Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop
From the front page of the Back Bay Sun
Blogger: Save the Shreve Building
by Dan Salerno
A second public meeting to showcase the Druker Company?s plans for the redevelopment of the A-B block of Boylston Street became contentious during the public comment period when a poster from an architectural website stood up to make a mini counter presentation.
Dan Shea, a member of ArchBoston.org, came prepared with a booklet of facts and spoke for over 5 minutes to gathered members of the community while the visibly irritated Ronald Druker and Jay Rourke from the Boston Redevelopment Authority looked on. Shea lambasted the developers for their decision to raze the 104 year oldd Shreve, Crump, and Low building and rebuild on the site.
?I see no reason [the Shreve building] should be torn down to build a mediocre nine story office building,? said Shea, referring to the Druker plans to build a new mixed use premium office and retail building. Shea complained that the design of the new building looked like something right out of architect Cesar Pelli?s K Street project, and that it did not fit the neighborhood at all.
Boston, said Shea, is known for its historic architecture, and the destruction of the Shreve building would be ?throwing part of that history out.? Shea said that a reasonable compromise would be to preserve the fa?ade of the building while building higher behind it. However, representatives from Druker said that preserving the fa?ade was not logistically possible and would place too many constraints on size and parking.
Rourke, who at first tried to stop Shea from giving his presentation, later remarked that he had seen his postings on archboston.org and asked sarcastically if he had brought his family and friends along.
Indeed, Shea was not alone in opposing the project. While the presentation itself more or less duplicated what was presented to the public earlier this summer, the second meeting gave a separate opportunity for members of the community to voice their opinions.
Paul Carlson, a Boston resident, called the new design a ?landscraper,? and said that the craftsmanship of the Shreve building ?could never be duplicated today.? Carlson also posts on ArchBoston.org, though it was not clear if he and Shea had coordinated their remarks.
Some in attendance did speak in favor of the project, most people with a pro-business interest. Meg Mainzer-Cohen of the Back Bay Association said that she agreed with the need to preserve Boston?s historic character, but that over-preservation was ?strangling? the economic life of the city. ?The first block of Boylston has failed to thrive,? said Mainzer-Cohen. ?I am very much hoping this new project will turn the corner for the block.?
Others who spoke in favor of the building included a representative from the nearby Four Season Hotel, which has a financial stake in seeing the block revitalized.
The proposed 121 foot building, designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, will feature over 200,000 square feet of ?boutique? luxury office space, along with 21,000 feet of ground floor retail. The construction will necessitate the complete demolition of the old Shreve, Crump, and Low building, along with three other buildings. The building design will feature wood storefronts for the ground level retail, while the upper floors will alternate large bay windows with flat windows up to the penthouse. The current design also calls for a marquee rounded corner at the corner of Arlington and Boylston, which will probably be a highlight of a new ground floor restaurant.
In addition to retail and office space, the building will also have underground parking and a full off street loading dock. The developers also have green aspirations for the building, and will seek a Silver LEED certification, the third highest rating possible.
From the front page of the Back Bay Sun
Blogger: Save the Shreve Building
by Dan Salerno
A second public meeting to showcase the Druker Company?s plans for the redevelopment of the A-B block of Boylston Street became contentious during the public comment period when a poster from an architectural website stood up to make a mini counter presentation.
Dan Shea, a member of ArchBoston.org, came prepared with a booklet of facts and spoke for over 5 minutes to gathered members of the community while the visibly irritated Ronald Druker and Jay Rourke from the Boston Redevelopment Authority looked on. Shea lambasted the developers for their decision to raze the 104 year oldd Shreve, Crump, and Low building and rebuild on the site.
?I see no reason [the Shreve building] should be torn down to build a mediocre nine story office building,? said Shea, referring to the Druker plans to build a new mixed use premium office and retail building. Shea complained that the design of the new building looked like something right out of architect Cesar Pelli?s K Street project, and that it did not fit the neighborhood at all.
Boston, said Shea, is known for its historic architecture, and the destruction of the Shreve building would be ?throwing part of that history out.? Shea said that a reasonable compromise would be to preserve the fa?ade of the building while building higher behind it. However, representatives from Druker said that preserving the fa?ade was not logistically possible and would place too many constraints on size and parking.
Rourke, who at first tried to stop Shea from giving his presentation, later remarked that he had seen his postings on archboston.org and asked sarcastically if he had brought his family and friends along.
Indeed, Shea was not alone in opposing the project. While the presentation itself more or less duplicated what was presented to the public earlier this summer, the second meeting gave a separate opportunity for members of the community to voice their opinions.
Paul Carlson, a Boston resident, called the new design a ?landscraper,? and said that the craftsmanship of the Shreve building ?could never be duplicated today.? Carlson also posts on ArchBoston.org, though it was not clear if he and Shea had coordinated their remarks.
Some in attendance did speak in favor of the project, most people with a pro-business interest. Meg Mainzer-Cohen of the Back Bay Association said that she agreed with the need to preserve Boston?s historic character, but that over-preservation was ?strangling? the economic life of the city. ?The first block of Boylston has failed to thrive,? said Mainzer-Cohen. ?I am very much hoping this new project will turn the corner for the block.?
Others who spoke in favor of the building included a representative from the nearby Four Season Hotel, which has a financial stake in seeing the block revitalized.
The proposed 121 foot building, designed by renowned architect Cesar Pelli, will feature over 200,000 square feet of ?boutique? luxury office space, along with 21,000 feet of ground floor retail. The construction will necessitate the complete demolition of the old Shreve, Crump, and Low building, along with three other buildings. The building design will feature wood storefronts for the ground level retail, while the upper floors will alternate large bay windows with flat windows up to the penthouse. The current design also calls for a marquee rounded corner at the corner of Arlington and Boylston, which will probably be a highlight of a new ground floor restaurant.
In addition to retail and office space, the building will also have underground parking and a full off street loading dock. The developers also have green aspirations for the building, and will seek a Silver LEED certification, the third highest rating possible.
