I enjoy and often write about the operational and people side of our industry but this series is about the bricks and mortar side. The lessons learned from planning. The long horizons and timelines of real estate and urban development.
Soon after the demise of Robert Campeau’s Boston Crossing I arrived in Boston and took up my role as General Manager of the Lafayette Swissotel. The 500 room property was a component of the mixed use Lafayette Place – which was the core of the would be Boston Crossing. The hotel had been built originally as an Intercontinental Hotel. Just pre-opening, Bass, the parent owning company was shedding assets and sold off 3 or 4 US properties. Swissair and Nestle ownership, with their new Swissotel brand, purchased the Boston property and re-flagged it in time for a grand opening, Swiss guards and all.
After 5 dismal years of performance, the failed promise of Campeau’s vision for Boston Crossing, the absolute failure of the Lafayette mall retail component, the continued downward spiral of Washington Street and Downtown Crossing, and the overall economy of the country I was parachuted in to ‘turn things around’. It was a beautiful hotel in an ugly building in a terrible neighborhood in an awful economy. Being owner operators put me in a dual role. One as an Innkeeper practicing the art of hospitality under the iconic Swiss brand and the other as property owner representative in one of the most blighted urban markets in the country. Despite the challenges of ‘location’ we operated a magical, warm hospitable oasis in the middle of the Combat Zone. It was like the images of post war Europe where you would see the staff of a hotel particulier scrubbing the sidewalks while next door was a bomb site.
One key lesson I learned on the real estate side was that there is a huge difference in the shelf life of retail versus institutions. The mall went bankrupt and went through planning iterations of retail visions that never materialized. Every BRA (Boston Redevelopment Authority) meeting promoted rose tinted visions of a brighter future for Downtown Crossing; every lease on Washington Street was going to be the beach head to turn the critical mass of success; even the name change from Jordan Marsh to Macy’s, with the loss of 4 floors of retail was spun as a positive step forward. The Lafayette mall itself had different plans that never materialized and eventually it became an urban office park.
Lesson learned. While retail came and went, and continues to do so, two academic institutions and three theatrical landmarks have bravely anchored the still troubled neighborhood. Berkeley School of Music and Suffolk Law Library are the two academic institutions that have bookended Tremont Street. Berkeley almost moved from Boston 30 years ago but instead of urban flight planted their flag on Boylston and Tremont on the edge of Chinatown and the theatre district; and Suffolk Law under the leadership of David Sargent, at that time, built a beautiful law library and then politely named it after David. The three theatres, The Paramount, The Opera House and The Modern were another story and their survival and now success was the direct result of the actions of the then mayor, Tom Menino who set an architectural charette in motion and obtained landmark designation for the three moribund properties.
It is comforting to know that in the long run ballet, opera, chamber music, black box theatre, the learning of law, and the study of the broadcast arts will long outlive the departed (and beloved) Filene’s basement and the Holiday displays of Jordan Marsh.
Soon after the demise of Robert Campeau’s Boston Crossing I arrived in Boston and took up my role as General Manager of the Lafayette Swissotel. The 500 room property was a component of the mixed use Lafayette Place – which was the core of the would be Boston Crossing. The hotel had been built originally as an Intercontinental Hotel. Just pre-opening, Bass, the parent owning company was shedding assets and sold off 3 or 4 US properties. Swissair and Nestle ownership, with their new Swissotel brand, purchased the Boston property and re-flagged it in time for a grand opening, Swiss guards and all.
After 5 dismal years of performance, the failed promise of Campeau’s vision for Boston Crossing, the absolute failure of the Lafayette mall retail component, the continued downward spiral of Washington Street and Downtown Crossing, and the overall economy of the country I was parachuted in to ‘turn things around’. It was a beautiful hotel in an ugly building in a terrible neighborhood in an awful economy. Being owner operators put me in a dual role. One as an Innkeeper practicing the art of hospitality under the iconic Swiss brand and the other as property owner representative in one of the most blighted urban markets in the country. Despite the challenges of ‘location’ we operated a magical, warm hospitable oasis in the middle of the Combat Zone. It was like the images of post war Europe where you would see the staff of a hotel particulier scrubbing the sidewalks while next door was a bomb site.
One key lesson I learned on the real estate side was that there is a huge difference in the shelf life of retail versus institutions. The mall went bankrupt and went through planning iterations of retail visions that never materialized. Every BRA (Boston Redevelopment Authority) meeting promoted rose tinted visions of a brighter future for Downtown Crossing; every lease on Washington Street was going to be the beach head to turn the critical mass of success; even the name change from Jordan Marsh to Macy’s, with the loss of 4 floors of retail was spun as a positive step forward. The Lafayette mall itself had different plans that never materialized and eventually it became an urban office park.
Lesson learned. While retail came and went, and continues to do so, two academic institutions and three theatrical landmarks have bravely anchored the still troubled neighborhood. Berkeley School of Music and Suffolk Law Library are the two academic institutions that have bookended Tremont Street. Berkeley almost moved from Boston 30 years ago but instead of urban flight planted their flag on Boylston and Tremont on the edge of Chinatown and the theatre district; and Suffolk Law under the leadership of David Sargent, at that time, built a beautiful law library and then politely named it after David. The three theatres, The Paramount, The Opera House and The Modern were another story and their survival and now success was the direct result of the actions of the then mayor, Tom Menino who set an architectural charette in motion and obtained landmark designation for the three moribund properties.
It is comforting to know that in the long run ballet, opera, chamber music, black box theatre, the learning of law, and the study of the broadcast arts will long outlive the departed (and beloved) Filene’s basement and the Holiday displays of Jordan Marsh.
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