Nor Shall NABB Compromise

Banker & Tradesman
Menino Calls for Tower Compromise
By Thomas Grillo
Reporter


Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino wants the two sides debating over a proposed 19-story office tower for the city’s Prudential Center to settle their differences.

“If something could be worked out – a compromise – I’d like to see if there are opportunities to make it happen,” the mayor told Banker & Tradesman after listening to neighbors’ concerns.

But even if the high-rise is downsized, the plan may fall short of winning residents’ support.

At issue is Boston Properties’ proposal for a 439,000-square-foot building at 888 Boylston St., between the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and the John B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. During packed public hearings last fall, many Back Bay residents said the 19-story, glass-and-steel office tower is too tall, while others expressed fears of the impact on the historic neighborhood.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved the Boylston Street office building in 2002 at 11 stories. But the 287,000-square-foot high-rise was never built. Today, the developer is seeking city approval to add 8 stories to the design.
But the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) has rejected any increase in height. Jacquelin Yessian, NABB’s chairwoman, declined to comment on Menino’s offer for a compromise. But in an op-ed column in The Boston Courant last year, she wrote that while the 11-story building called for in the master plan would be an asset to the Pru, “we strongly oppose any building that would exceed this height.”

NABB has galvanized the support of other neighborhoods to oppose any added height. The group has coordinated private meetings to convince neighborhood associations represented on the Prudential Project Advisory Committee (PruPAC) to join them in opposition. The 41-member panel was established by former Mayor Raymond Flynn in the 1980s to advise City Hall on development projects at the Pru.

Elliott Laffer, PruPAC’s vice chairman and NABB’s representative on the committee, acknowledged that the neighborhood groups have met and excluded corporate representatives such as the Back Bay Association. “If the meetings are for community organizations, why would we invite any other entities?” he said.

NABB’s efforts have paid off. Kathleen Emrich, a PruPAC member who represents the Ellis Neighborhood Association, said while the Boylston Street building will not directly impact her South End neighborhood, she is supporting NABB’s position.
“We have to stick together,” she said. “This doesn’t directly affect our neighborhood, but we want to be supportive of the Back Bay where it will have the most impacts. There could come a time when a building does impact us and we would seek the support of other neighborhoods.”

Meg Mainzer-Cohen, president of the Back Bay Association and a PruPAC member, said meetings that exclude nonresidential members is contrary to the group’s mission.
“The point of PruPAC is to work together to reach consensus,” she said. “It’s not helpful to have NABB organize resident groups to try to get everyone to walk in lock step. How would the residential groups respond if the business community did that?”
On a compromise solution on the height, Mainzer-Cohen said she would be willing to consider it.

“I believe a 19-story tower would be a great addition to the Back Bay,” she said. “But PruPAC’s goal is to seek what’s in the best interest of not just the neighborhood, but Boston’s economy, too.”

Michael A. Cantalupa of Boston Properties could not be reached for comment.