Boston Shops for New Look
Around Filene's Building

To many Bostonians, the former Filene's department store evokes memories of tailors piecing together men's pinstripe suits on the seventh floor, elegant women sipping tea on the eighth or children petting rabbits on the rooftop zoo.

Filene's was one of several traditional department stores once clustered between the financial district and the Back Bay, Boston's two most important business centers. Most of those institutions are gone, and the area, known as Downtown Crossing, has been described by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino as "really tired right now."

Now John B. Hynes III, the grandson of a former mayor, wants to resuscitate the area with a $650 million redevelopment project including a 38-story office and condominium tower -- one of several large development projects planned for Boston over the next several years that could greatly alter the city's skyline. But to pull it off, Mr. Hynes and other developers must overcome skepticism from those who warn it could damage part of the city's historic character and charm -- a battle that's been fought in other cities across the U.S., including Philadelphia, Charleston, S.C., and San Francisco.

Walking the line between development and preservation is a challenge confronting the roughly 2,000 historic districts in U.S. cities and towns, says James Glass, director of the Center for Historic Preservation at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. Done right, he says, new designs can showcase contrasting historic buildings; done wrong, modern buildings can mar the nearby older structures.

"I wouldn't want to come to Boston to see a 38-floor building that I could see in Atlanta or that I could see in Miami, but I would come there to see its early American architecture," says Florida A&M University history professor Titus Brown, who serves on the Florida Historical Commission.

Mr. Hynes argues that his project will be a boon to an area that could use a boost. Intended to be an outdoor pedestrian mall, Boston's Downtown Crossing is littered with fast-food chains and inexpensive jewelry stores. In the day, it feels grimy; at night, it looks grim. Despite a transportation hub that 100,000 people pass daily, many commuters go home without stopping there.

In March, however, the Massachusetts Historical Commission ruled that the 38-story glass office tower planned as part of the Downtown Crossing project would have an "adverse effect" on the Filene's building and another nearby historic structure built in 1905 known as the Jones, McDuffee and Stratton Co. building. The commission was also concerned about the effects of shadows and vibrations on the nearby Old South Meeting House, site of the protests that led to the Boston Tea Party.

Mr. Hynes, chief executive of New York-based Gale International, says he's willing to be flexible. But in a meeting with the commission he also expressed the opinion that "The city of Boston is a vibrant, growing place. It's not a museum." It's a lament often sounded by developers working in historic areas.

The Filene's building, with its ornamental architecture evoking classical Greece and Rome, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and dates back to 1912. It was the last major building designed by Chicago architect Daniel Burnham, whose work includes Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Filene's was part of May Department Stores Co., which was bought by Federated Department Stores Inc., in 2005. Last year, Federated began to phase out the Filene's brand and vacated the Downtown Crossing store shortly after the holiday shopping season. The Boston flagship building is currently empty, save for the retailer Filene's Basement, a separate company. (Filene's Basement will move out temporarily and then return to the basement and the first floor.)

Mr. Hynes' mixed-use plan includes 1.2 million square feet of offices, retail and condominiums. The developers -- Vornado Realty Trust along with Gale International -- paid about $100 million for the Filene's building, which will be converted into retail space on the lower floors and a hotel above. Mack-Cali Realty Corp. and JP Morgan provided additional financing.

The architects on the Filene's project, Elkus/Manfredi of Boston, say the modern tower is inspired by Mr. Burnham's historic Filene's building while still clearly defining what's old and what's new. David Manfredi, the architectural firm's founding partner, says the Massachusetts Historical Commission's concerns are more with the size of the tower than with its look.

The developers of the project, called One Franklin Street, say they have experience in marrying existing buildings with modern development. "If there is a city where we have seen this kind of thing work over and over again, we have seen it in Boston," says Sandeep Mathrani, executive vice president of Vornado, a New York-based real estate investment trust.

Boston has been successful in a number of preservation efforts. One example: Faneuil Hall, a meeting house from the 18th Century that was once listed for demolition, was rescued in 1976, converted into a marketplace and became a model for urban renewal projects. And, as an example of the city's progressive views on architecture, Boston is considering whether to give landmark status to City Hall, a precast concrete building from the 1960s that's an example of the controversial "brutalist modern" movement of architecture which emphasizes rough, blocky forms.

"Preservation as a topic is a really hot issue. It always is in Boston because we have so much historic fabric," Sarah Kelly, executive director of Boston Preservation Alliance, a non-profit advocacy organization. "It's just critical to find the right balance."

The city has also been a hot market for real-estate investment over the past 24 months. Last year it set a high for total sales volume at $14 billion and 2007 is on pace to shatter that record.

Other projects planned for Boston include a skyscraper at Winthrop Square in the heart of the financial district that, at up to 80 stories, would be the city's tallest building. (Currently that distinction belongs to the John Hancock Tower at 62 stories.)

The Filene's project is just one of several real estate opportunities that investors have been grabbing after the consolidation of the retail industry over the past decade. In Pittsburgh, for example, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant moved into the former Lazarus-Macy's store on Fifth Avenue and the rest of the building was converted into offices and condominiums. In Portland, part of the former Meier & Frank is going through a $100 million conversion into a hotel.

The Massachusetts Historical Commission must sign off on the Downtown Crossing project for it to receive final permits. The architects have worked with Boston preservation advocates to come up with modifications to the building's exterior that they believe will alleviate the commission's concerns.

Mayor Menino says if all sides are willing to work together, the project could prove a catalyst for the revitalization of the area. "When you have a city like Boston that really pays attention to its history, we will always have those little conflicts sometimes. As mayor of this city, I don't want to change the historic nature of Boston. But I know that we have to have growth and to have growth, sometimes you have to have a compromise."

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