Possible Concerns Raised about Druker Co. Building Plans

By Nick Davis
BACK BAY — At the cross-section of Boylston and Arlington streets, the former home of Shreve, Crump, & Low, the oldest jeweler in North America, is empty.

Two years after the jeweler relocated down the street, the Druker Company, a leading Boston development firm, has proposed to build a luxury nine-story office building. Featuring high-end retail stores on the first level, the developers say they want to spur a revival of a once-thriving retail section of Back Bay that has been lackluster in recent years.

Jackie Yessian, chairman of the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay, said she is not against the proposed plan of new businesses. “There’s just a building there now that we like.”

Yessian worked with the Boston Preservation Alliance in 2007 to preserve the historic building and acquire landmark status, but the Boston Landmarks Commission did not grant the designation.

Yessian said she was also concerned about the number of parking spaces the Druker Co. is planning under the building, saying that there are “certain guidelines required by state law” that she does not feel the company meets. Parking has never been put under the building, she said, and there might be a problem with groundwater.

“Local residents feel the new building’s facade might create a shadowing effect on the Commons,” Yessian said. “[It will cause] significant growth in traffic congestion.”

President Ronald Druker addresses the concerns, according to the 350 Boylston Project Notification Form submitted in late 2007 to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. To make sure the developer has met all the rules and regulations the project notification form is submitted to the BRA before the building is approved.


Druker Company said the new building would create 300 construction jobs and about 880 permanent jobs.

The project has yet to be approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The Boston Redevelopment Authority is working on a “scoping determination”, said Alexander Cooper, director for membership and marketing at the Back Bay Association. “This is an overall examination of the project proposal, where the BRA will decide what further studies will need to be conducted before they approve or reject the current proposal.”

Some residents support the project. “Competition in many ways is a good thing,” said John Nargi, managing director at the upscale Hermes store located right across the street from the proposed building sight. “It will increase the flow of traffic through the area, which should increase the possibility of ringing in new customers.”

Druker owns the Heritage Building, located right across the street from the proposed project. Nargi said Druker is trying to expand his presence in Boston with well-planned projects under his name.

The building plans call for nearly 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail and restaurant space, a 6,000 square foot fitness center and spa, and 150 subterranean parking spaces.

The proposed building was designed by Argentine architect Cesar Pelil. If approved, construction is expected to start in 2009, and will finish in 2011.