High rents and slow sales have curtailed profits for some Back Bay furniture retailers. In Home Furnishings plans to leave Boylston Street, home to a mix of specialty, warehouse and chain furniture stores, next month.

“It’s become impossible for specialty furniture stores to survive in Boston. Forget about being competitive. It’s impossible even to do enough business to stay afloat. It’s off the wall,” said Louis Shotten, chief operating officer of the Norwood, Mass.-based In Home Furnishings.

In Home Furnishings moved into its 6,400 square-foot space at 364 Boylston Street on September 10, 2001, when the company had high hopes for the profitability of the home furnishings sector. That changed a day later, according to Shotten.

“That was the end of it. It never came back,” he said.

As the store shouldered the burden of its five-year lease, which expires in July, customer interest suffered from the store’s lack of parking, Shotten said. The last day of sales at the Boylston location will be July 12, but In Home Furnishings will continue to operate stores in Natick, Norwood, Danvers, and Hyannis.

“People are not shopping in Boston like they used to. Why shop in a 6,000 square foot store on Boylston Street when you can go to a 15,000 square foot store in Danvers or Natick where you have three, four, or five times the choices?” Shotten said.

Shotten said that he knew of several furniture chains that have been closing their less profitable city stores and focusing on business in the suburbs. Larger, warehouse-type furniture chains are not the only stores impacted, according to Deborah Schneider, co-owner of Newbury Street’s Lavender Home and Table, a boutique shop that sells home accessories, antiques, tabletops, and linens.

Schneider opened her store two years ago and found that business was not as strong as she anticipated. “The economy is greatly affecting business on Newbury Street. If it weren’t for out of town business, I don’t think we’d be extremely happy,” she said.

Meg Mainzer-Cohen, executive director of the Back Bay Assocation, insisted that the furniture business in the Back Bay is “flourishing.” She said that stores such as Restoration Hardware and Crate & Barrel and smaller boutiques like Dovetail on Clarendon Street have been successful.

“One store moving out does not make a trend. In home Furnishings never really fit into the neighborhood,” she said.

“There has been an enormous [increase in] high-end housing and there’s a definite niche for furniture stores.”

Peter Tufts, gallery manager at the four-year-old Dovetail, said that the built-to-order furniture the store sells represents an alternative to “just buying something and taking it home.”

“As for whether sales are up or down, it’s hard to say. We see a lot of people coming in and looking for something very specific,” he said.

Tufts said that Dovetail’s sales might be inversely proportional to the sales of chain stores as people search for one-of-a-kind pieces that can be passed down through generations. “People are just looking for more personalized furniture. I think people are less interested in having the same bed as two other people in their apartment building,” he said.

A spokesperson from The Druker Company, which owns the building that currently houses In Home Furnishings, said that rent on that block of Boylston Street between Arlington and Berkeley streets can be expected to fetch between $50 and $75 per square foot.

“There’s no question that prices have gone up,” he said, as business “spills over” from Newbury Street.

The Druker Company owns two other vacant buildings on that block, the 24,000 square foot site at 330 Boylston Street, the former home of Shreve, Crump & Low, and the 7,000 square foot site at 356 Boylston Street, where the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union used to be located.

The block “failed to thrive,” Mainzer-Cohen said, even though “there is an incredible energy on the other side of the street.”

“We should look at this as a major opportunity to finally let the Arlington-Berkeley block turn the corner,” she said, noting that the storefronts and infrastructure along the block are “in need of a major upgrade.”

Also on that block are home goods stores Jennifer Convertibles Leather, Neena’s Lighting and Tweeter. Mainzer-Cohen said that “a different kind of retailing” may be needed to revitalize the block.

Mainzer-Cohen said she would like to see the block form “one big development.” Since the vacancy rate in the Back Bay is generally extremely low, she said, the Druker Company may have long-term plans for the lot. “Having a vacant storefront when there’s a bigger opportunity down the road—there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said.

CAPTION:
#1 Because of its good signage, large front window for displaying merchandise, and sidewalk clear of obstacles, the building housing Cole-Hahn at the corner of Clarendon and Newbury streets gets high marks for being a retail-friendly property.

#2 On the other hand, Kate Spade’s store on Newbury Street is more difficult for shoppers to find because it is located on the second floor with a small window, has a small sign and a large sidewalk planter that separates the shop from potential customers.

CREDIT: Jamie Fairstone




Should you be in need of a Wee Wubba dog toy, tearless puppy shampoo, Happy Trails stroller or other pup playthings, try Pawpoochies, a specialty dog boutique located at 272 Newbury Street.

If you can find it.

“We’re on the second floor with a small window sign,” said owner Aaron Motta. “Many people don’t even know how to get in here. I think we definitely need some outside advertising, but I am not sure what we’re going to do about it now.”
“
Now” refers to the days since June 14 when five Inspectional Services Department code enforcers removed from the street 14 sandwich board signs that were in various ways calling attention to not very visible stores. Unhappy owners were handed $200 fines for violating a rarely enforced ordinance prohibiting such signs on public sidewalks.

“Before this incident, we were planning on standing a sign outside,” said Devin Bousquet of CopyCop. “I know it can become a problem when the streets get crowded, but a good sign is a good sign. It lets people know what’s going on inside.”

How to let people know what is going on inside the retail stores of Newbury Street is a major concern of the Back Bay Association, an advocacy group which represents and lobbies on behalf of local businesses, retail merchants, restaurants, hotels, property owners, major corporations, schools and churches to ensure the continued commercial strength of the area.

It was that group which took responsibility for urging ISD to remove the sandwich board signs from Newbury Street, likening them to litter which detracts from the overall charm of the street. “We want sidewalk signs banned. You do not solve big problems by creating smaller ones,” said Back Bay Association president Meg Mainzer-Cohen. “We did the right thing [asking for them to be removed], but it’s hard. Store owners are very upset.”

William Young, preservation planner for the Back Bay Architectural Commission, said the removal of the sandwich board signs is beneficial to the visual quality of the streetscape, a factor that is important to the commission.

Captain Michael Mackan, who oversees code enforcement and special operations for ISD, said the department supports the efforts of neighborhood groups that need help educating the public. “We did this [removed the sandwich board signs] in Dorcester, and it resulted in a good understanding of what the neighborhood group wants,” he said.

Mackan said the storeowners who had their signs removed can choose to appeal the violations by appearing in housing court or pay the $200 fine. ISD will give them the signs back if they show them a copy of the receipt. However, code enforcement officers will be following up on the sandwich board sting and continue to enforce the rules.

The Back Bay Association is sympathetic to the problems of operating retail establishments under the strict guidelines imposed by the architectural commission, and, among other things, wants more visible signs attached to the storefronts. “The elements of a successful retail street are good sight lines, large windows and appropriate signage,” said Mainzer-Cohen. “These elements are contrary to those of the Back Bay Architectural Commission. We want them to update their guidelines.”

Other architectural guidelines the business group believes keep people away include the large boxes of plant materials along the street lot lines. “Big planters built out in front of the shops block the entryways, and many are not even planted most of the year,” she said. “Sidewalks need to be able to accommodate pedestrians. There are more retail-friendly ways to use plants.”

Many of the storefront windows are also very small, dating from the days the buildings were all residences, and shopkeepers cannot effectively display their wares, she said.

In March, Gary Saunders, former association chair, wrote to Anthony Casendino, chair of the Back Bay Architectural Commission, asking that it update the business sector guidelines for the district, and that the BBA be part of that process.

Young said the commission does plan to invite constituent organizations to meet with it to discuss the guidelines. Because its first priority is to review applications from individuals seeking approval for architectural changes, the commission had not yet had time to schedule a meeting with the Back Bay Association but said that it would most likely occur in the fall.

A controversial idea that was around about 10 years ago has come to life again due to the need to reconstruct the Storrow Drive tunnel: create on and off ramps from the Mass Pike Extension into the Back Bay to enable cars coming from the east to get off and cars heading east to get on.

“It is critical to improve access between the Back Bay and South Boston and the airport,” said Meg Mainzer-Cohen, executive director of the Back Bay Association.

A direct connection to the Back Bay from the eastern section of the turnpike extension has frustrated drivers since the extension was built.

“Our president, Brian Koop, says that everyone’s instinct tells them they can get off in the Back Bay [if they’re coming from the Southeast Expressway or the Ted Williams Tunnel],” she said.

In fact, early Big Dig plans included ramps that did connect to the Back Bay. But James Kerasiotis, who was then secretary of transportation for the commonwealth, killed the plan, allegedly in response to objections from Chinatown residents, according to Fred Salvucci, also a former secretary of transportation, who was instrumental in executing the Big Dig. “At the time, Kerasiotis said, ‘We already have a ramp to the Back Bay. It’s called Storrow Drive’,” Salvucci recalled.

But Storrow Drive, which some say was built illegally given its location in the Esplanade, now functions as a major artery, carrying more than 100,000 cars a day. Civic leaders see the tunnel reconstruction as a chance to move traffic from the edge of the park to the pike. They also see a chance to get traffic that now moves from Storrow to the Back Bay’s commercial district off the neighborhood’s residential streets, especially Arlington, Beacon, Berkeley and Clarendon.

“We should downsize Storrow Drive to what it was intended to be,” said Robert O’Brien, executive director of the Downtown North Association, and one of a number of park lovers who have written to the state’s Executive Office of Environmental Affairs. “A lot of the traffic belongs on the Mass Pike Extension. The real key is to see if the turnpike can serve more local functions,” he said.

O’Brien said he would like to see a study that analyzes how the two roads function together. If it showed that on and off ramps at Arlington Street, would reduce traffic on Storrow Drive, for example, a plan for them should be considered.

But state Representative Marty Walz is wary. “The challenge we face is that there is insufficient capacity in the Back Bay right now,” she said. “Making it easier to drive in and out of the community? The roads are clogged now. We’ve got to accept that there is a finite capacity.”

Walz pointed out that the state already did the mid-1990s studies showing the effects of Back Bay on and off-ramps. “Is [another study] the most appropriate use for the limited funds we have?” she asked. “What changed circumstances would justify a new study?”

Walz said she would prefer to find solutions that involve better public transit rather than making it easier for cars to drive around. She said that putting three-car trains on the Green Line, running a shuttle train using the existing commuter rail tracks between South Station and the Back Bay and Yawkey stations, and extending those tracks into South Boston would be projects that could get cars off the road.

Walz pointed to the “slingshot” as perhaps going a long way to facilitate movement between the Back Bay, the convention center and the airport. The slingshot is a ramp reserved for taxicabs and buses that makes a 180 degree turn near the Allston toll booths to enable vehicles to get to the Back Bay on the ramps that already exist. It is scheduled to be completed this fall.

“I’m wary of any proposal that puts more cars in the Back Bay,” she said. “Before we do anything I want clear proof that it will improve traffic congestion, not aggravate it.”

Ramp proponents have many suggestions for possible locations for ramps. The Back Bay Association suggests looking at Arlington Street, Boylston Street and Brookline Avenue as appropriate for on-ramps, with Berkeley, Stuart, and Newbury streets and Brookline Avenue for off-ramps. O’Brien favors looking at Arlington Street. Walz wonders where there is room to build any ramp at any of these locations without taking historic buildings or removing streets.

Peter Sherin, chairman of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, is waiting to form an opinion on ramps until receiving the results of destination studies that will analyze where drivers are going when they use Storrow Drive. Those studies should be finished this fall.

He agrees that Storrow Drive should become a road that is more suitable than it now is to its park environment. And he would support a number of different solutions that would make access to and from the Southeast Expressway, the airport and the convention center in South Boston easier for Back Bay residents. But he is cautious. “Back Bay residents would love to have more entrances and exits to distribute traffic, not increase it,” he said. “Knowing one from the other is going to be hard to understand.”

People from other parts of the country make fun of the Big Dig. So do some Bostonians. They point out all the cost overruns, the leaks and the wavy road surface in the tunnel. They mention the scam artists and contractors who are now in trouble for padding the bills or skimping on the quality. They talk about how the problems with the project broke grown men who operated on bravado and ruined their careers. They scoff at the waste in almost $15 billion of mostly federal funds. Burying the Central Artery even produced skeptics among some of our favorite politicians. Remember Barney Frank, who remarked that it would be cheaper to raise the city.

The only problem with the naysayers is that they obviously never anticipated nor have they encountered the results of our 15-plus years of construction. It is luscious.

Let’s talk about the quiet. Walk down Causeway Street or behind Faneuil Hall. No more horns, road noise or engines idling. Because of sound absorbers lining the rim, it’s even relatively quiet where cars emerge from the tunnel to climb over the Zakim Bridge.

We’re assuming that the air quality has improved without those belching engines idling on the elevated road.

The old streets are back. You can now walk from the Back Bay and glimpse the harbor along some streets before you get there, and you don’t have to go under a frightful, dirty elevated roadway. We seem like a maritime city once again. This was the way Boston was meant to be.

The sun is back. It’s hard to imagine the mind-set that caused 1950s’ leaders to tear down a string of buildings and turn a ribbon of Boston into a dungeon covered with green-painted steel. But the dungeon is gone. When you look down one of the streets that cross the Greenway it is as if the sun shines now from all sides rather than just from above.

It’s easier to drive around Boston because of the new streets, tunnels, bridges and intersections. That probably won’t last for long, as more cars take advantage of the faster flow. But for now we’ll enjoy it.

The Big Dig has opened up economic opportunity with old, low-use buildings near the Greenway being turned into housing. Businesses in that location will surely enjoy a renaissance as the harbor and the Greenway draw tourists and residents from other neighborhoods to investigate the new vistas and amenities.

For civil engineering buffs—and what city dweller doesn’t admit to a certain amount of interest in the subject—the construction has provided more than 15 years of entertainment. From the day workmen began to relocate utility lines to this spring when plantings began to go in, it was a marvel of construction sequencing and planning.

One downtown observer pointed out that relocating all the utility lines downtown gave our city the opportunity to upgrade every type of service. Boston now has one of the most technologically up-to-date utility systems in America. Old cities have few chances to make those changes, and we were able to do so.

For those of us who live in downtown Boston neighborhoods, it makes our enjoyment of the city more extensive and more profound.

There is a way to go yet in getting a community center and several cultural institutions built and in making sure the green space works. After all, we didn’t get a Copley Square that people liked until after a couple of tries.

It took an earthquake for San Francisco to get rid of an elevated eyesore. For Boston, it took the leadership of Fred Salvucci and a score of other promoters who slowly and surely solved the problems of politics, design and financing.

We buried the Central Artery and accomplished a few other things besides. Looking back on it, we are in awe. It cost only $15 billion? We got a bargain.