Shreve, Crump & Low Redevelopment | 334-364 Boylston Street | Back Bay

Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

The Boston Civic Design Commission will be reviewing the revised design at their meeting tonight, 5:50-6:10. It's called an "update." Sounds perfunctory -- unless someone in the audience makes them stop and think.

This is probably the last chance to say something before the BRA vote. Can any of you attend? City Hall, room 900 (BRA board room)
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Shirley is right...this thing will probably get fast tracked to approval unless some people make noise. I would attend but professional self preservation demands otherwise. It would be a shame to see this sham of a redesign be approved.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Thanks for posting this Shirley -- I'm in the office 'til 6pm. Can anyone get to this? If so, make sure to use your "outside voice."

And are there any interested parties who can meet before the meeting on 10/16? PM me.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

I may try to attend this, but I dont know if I'll be able to make it.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

I moved some things around in my schedule. I'll be there. Look for a blue shirt and tie. And a scowl.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

I'm here, posting from my mobile. Anyone else coming? Shirley just walked in. And briv.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Good luck, lady and gentlemen. Look forward to updates.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

So what is the verdict?
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

The meeting was thinly attended -- Druker and Pelli's associate weren't there either. The new design isn't a design at all. It's basically a rendering of "best practices" and "accepted conventions" and "gestures to urbanism." Cold porridge in a cheap, poorly-made bowl.

This week is the goal-line stand. If any of you know people in the media, have political connections, or (if you live in Boston) can spare a half-hour to reach out to your (at-large or district) City Councilor and call their attention to the atrocity that may happen here, please stand up.

The "blight" on this block is the sad result of a failure of imagination on the part of the owner. Mr. Druker, if you or your cronies read this board, think about what you're gonna do here. Atelier 505 is a good project. Heritage is a good project. You're a noted philanthropist in Greater Boston. Do you want your legacy to be sullied by an ill-conceived project, a building neither worthy of its location, or your reputation. Do you really, really think that what you currently propose equals or betters what you intend to demolish?

briv, Shirley, it was good to see and chat with you both. I look forward to further discussion prior to the BRA meeting on the 16th.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

I'll most likely be there next week. I'll also get an email off to Mike Ross' office tomorrow.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Mike Ross is useless - he is not a leader, he is a follower. Forget about him. He'll go along with the crowd - whatever is politically-expedient for him to get re-elected and be able to hang out with the cocktail dress set. He's a huge, huge disappointment.

The key here is Michael Flaherty.

Flaherty and Menino are so similar on so many different issues that Flaherty is trying hard to differentiate himself.

This would be a great populist issue that Mike could take a hold of and make his "cause" to rally people. The PR momentum is moving against this project because of the poorly-received Mandarin Oriental Mega-block. This is a great project and now is the perfect time for Mike Flaherty to stage a PR event outside of SC&L and make a stink over the stumpy-boxing of Boylston Street... using the Mandarin as an example of development that works only for the ultra-rich, not the people of Boston.

To a lesser extent, Sam Yoon (who also may be running for mayor) should be roped in. I say to a lesser extent because he is already strongly labeled as anti-development, and anti-business. If he comes out against this proposal he will be met with a big yawn.

Flaherty is the key here. He can use this, and the Mandarin example, to define his downtown development positions against Menino.

Everyone needs to reach out to Mike Flaherty and put heat on him.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

That's a good point about Flaherty, he hates everything that isn't directly targeted toward his working class base. He'll certainly hate this, he doesn't even need a logical reason. I'll let you people deal with him though.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

I have worked in public relations in the past, and closely with the industry today... this is a quick, but solid public relations strategy for saving the SC&L building:

1) STAY FOCUSED - right now, I'm not sure of the focus here... is it:

- the SC&L building should be saved
- the proposal is ugly
- the second proposal is boring
- Druker is going to pocket money/greedy developer angle
- Menino is in the pocket of bigtime developers/political angle
- all of the above - just anything and everything to stop it?

I would say the focus here is to "SAVE THE HISTORIC SC&L BUILDING" The other above-mentioned bullets become just supporting attributes of the focus.

2) THE PLAYERS - THE GOOD, THE BAD

- Is Ron Druker the bad guy, or is Mayor Menino the bad guy?
- Typical NIMBYs or a broader coalition are the good guys?

The bad guy: Mayor Menino is the bad guy in this scenario. He runs this city. He is letting this happen. We have to HAMMER Menino at every chance. Not Druker, he's just a developer. All developers want to build big and make money. That's what they do. He is doing his job. Menino is letting this happen. He is the bad guy. Focus on that.

The good guy: NOT THE NIMBY CROWD. Sorry, Ms. Kressel and Ms. Waltz... your record is far too anti-growth and anti-development for people to take you seriously on this development. You are expected to stand up and rant and rave about development. People in power don't listen anymore. In fact, vocal support from this crowd in some ways hurts the argument. I admire your heart and drive and love for this city - but you already branded "Shirley Kressel - Anti-Development Agent" and I imagine folks at the BRA and in development circles work very hard to mitigate your voice "Well, of course she was against it, but who cares, I mean what do you expect from her, she hates all development?"

THE ANGLE:

The story, the angle, that would captivate the media is that very, very pro-development people are joining forces with the very, very anti-development people in the city to fight a snotty project (cue the Mandarin Oriental) that Mayor Menino and his fatcat buddies are cramming through the city process.

We get Michael Flaherty to take the public mantle, and get the Boston Herald involved (first). I can work through existing channels to see if I can get a populist-style Herald article placed. I think the Globe will handle this wrong - at first.

For Flaherty the position is "Menino = Big Business, F*** you little people" which plays right into Flaherty's recent jockeying.

3) COORDINATION

There is no "movement" there are anti-development people, Back Bay elitists, etc. who oppose everything, there are people like us and no coordinated effort. I'm not sure how to solve this.

THE PROBLEM: Who among us in commercial real estate wants to publicly make a stand against a powerful and successful developer like Ron Druker? For some younger up-and-coming architects and development people, it would be a very hurtful to your career if you come across as just another anti-development yahoo.

We need public heroes. We need somebody who is decidedly pro-development to publicly call to join the "SAVE SC&L" movement. Not the "trash Druker" movement, not the "scrap the ugly replacement plan" movement, but the "save SC&L" movement.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Y'all should also decide if you're trying to save just the SC&L building, the WEIU building also, or all four buildings.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

As a stategy, Cesar Pelli's international reputation needs to be used against him and his firm.....compare this design to his others. It is obvious to most that this design is notches below that of his typical project...

If anything it will show the BRA and City Hall that Drucker is using Pelli's firm as a front to get something mediocre and above all relatively cheap built there. Pelli's firm of course gets paid adequately for so little effort while Drucker tries to use that famous name to get the building rights.....

If the BRA doesn't care you can still use that stategy to try and turn public opinion or get the politicians involved...If Pelli wants to get paid for attaching his name to this POS then everyone should know what's up.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Just SC&L....its still pretty on the outside, and people like rallying around pretty....f*ck inner beauty :)
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

SC&L is the critical corner, the other four buildings could go and not ruin the major intersection. Scale and modulation of the skin is important to replace those four buildings. I'd rather trade them to save the SCL, than lose the SCL and wonk a beautiful corner.
 
Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Thanks for the thoughtful planning, pellhamhall. briv, Shirley, and I all feel that Flaherty is likely to take interest in this if it's a method of further discrediting the way Menino does business.

This sort of effort makes for strange bedfellows. Shirley and I may agree on only 50% of the issues that we discuss here, but she's good people. A committed working-group of us may wish to bring other issues to the streets at some future time, but right now, it's all hands on deck to stop this travesty.

And for the record, Ron Druker isn't a bad man. He's done some fine work as a developer, and he's donated a fortune to our hospitals and cultural institutions. From what I've read about him, he's a thinker. I can say that his legacy will be tarnished if the corner of Arlington and Boylston is forever marred by the proposal currently on the table.

Part of reasoned opposition to this proposal requires that there be some sort of counter proposal, something that offers value to Druker, and saves Shreves (and preferrably, the facades of the other buildings).

Here's my thought:

Trade significant height (30 stories) at mid block, for the adaptive reuse of Shreve's as a destination restaurant and boutique hotel. Green the roof, and put a posh bar up there. Who wouldn't want a Martini looking over the copper parapet to the Public Garden. (Call it Diamond on the Garden.) Worried about shadows on the church windows or the trees? Install heliostats.

I'm not an architect, and I'm not involved is real estate sales. There's neither risk nor benefit to taking on Druker, or tossing Menino to the lions. I am the sworn enemy of bad design, and ill conceived public policy. I've spoken out a BRA meetings, and intend to do so again, on the 16th.

Anyone else?
 
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Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

I think that you have a good start. Maybe 30 stories is a bit too tall though? That will certainly cast a shadow on the Garden which might piss off even more radicals. I mean a tower seems like a good compromise but the question is can all the parties, at this point, come to a good compromise?

Edit: Is this along the lines of what you are thinking? (This tower is between 20 and 25 stories)




 
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Re: Shreve, Crump & Low bldng may be replaced w/ new develop

Actually now that I see the building like this I think a tower is a perfect idea. It would really anchor this corner of the Public Garden and combined with the Arlington St church it would create this grand entrance into the Back Bay.
 
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