During the Depression, moviegoers flocked to see “The Thin Man” series, with the elegant and witty Nick and Nora’s sleuthing taking a back seat to moviegoers desperate to be distracted by the rich swells fueled by omnipresent martinis and rat-a-tat sophisticated banter, their hotel swanky, their clothing enviable, their money no object.
When it opened its doors yesterday after more than a decade of development, the $300-million Mandarin Oriental did just that for the rest of us, becoming a clever, shining beacon of sophistication and style in times of gray economic gloom.
“This is a level of luxury that we haven’t even seen here in Boston,” said local real estate agent Lois Kunian. “There are several luxury buildings, but they don’t have the level of service that this will have. No other luxury high rise has the restaurants that are in this complex, … There’s nothing else that has the level of luxury, including the stores that are in the Copley. It’s a welcome addition.”
At the ribbon cutting yesterday, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said the arrival of the Mandarin to Boston signifies that our city has arrived. “It’s a world-class hotel in a world-class city. It will be a benchmark.”
In a time when there’s a sludge of real estate on the market, frozen alongside lines of credit, the Mandarin’s 50 units were sold a long time ago. Apparently, with all of the luxury high-rises already present and on the way, including an impressive collection of existing properties, there was still room for a property aimed at Boston’s elite, everyone from Back Bay residents to the international jet set.
“The Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group thinks very carefully about where to locate its new properties,” said new general manager Susanne Hatje. “They do significant market research, and we found that Boston is exactly the right city for our project. There is a wonderful diversity of economics here, and people here have a sincere appreciation for quality, service and style.”
The Mandarin’s guests, renters and condo owners benefit from the 776 Boylston St. property being nestled between Copley Place and the Prudential Center, which are connected to the hotel by a covered walkway. Tony Newbury Street and fine dining are just steps away.
The Mandarin provides to the Back Bay a new wealth of opportunity: 149 guest rooms, 50 luxury condominiums, 35 luxury apartments, ample event-planning space, a plush salon, fitness center, top restaurants and retail.
The guest rooms and suites boast the largest average room size in Boston, flat-screen TVs, wireless and wired Internet access, granite bathrooms with separate soaking tubs and shower. The top of the line suite is the indulgent 2,600-square-foot Presidential “Dynasty” Suite.
For business meetings and social events of up to 600 guests, the Mandarin offers configurable rooms and a ballroom, with high-speed Internet, a/v, lighting technology, professional planning team, translation services, and dedicated kitchen.
The classic and contemporary design is by local interior designer Frank Nicholson, who used Asian decorating accents to reflect the heritage of Mandarin Oriental, and comfort and warmth to reflect a more Boston accent. Guest rooms feature custom furnishings in exotic, golden-hued anegre wood and lush silk.
“I think it’s a very important hotel for the City of Boston and Back Bay as well,” said Back Bay Association President Meg Mainzer-Cohen. “I don’t think we’ve ever seen anything like this.”
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group is the award-winning owner and operator of 40 hotels in 24 countries, with 16 hotels in Asia, 14 in The Americas and 10 in Europe and North Africa. But the residential component of the Mandarin is fairly new.
When hotel owners were asked to also include a residential component, Boston was one of its pioneers in this combination development, said the general manager, who comes to Boston from her previous post at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
“The addition of the residential component made this a very interesting and attractive project for Mandarin Oriental to partner with CWB Boylston,” said Hatje. “All of the residences will have access to the same services that the hotel guests do, which is a fun and exciting challenge for a general manager.”
The condos, which range from $2 million to $14 million as of 18 months ago when they first went on the market, were all sold, based purely on floor plans. That’s about $1,500 to $1,800 per square foot. A 4,500-square-foot, two-bedroom went for $8 million.
“The price per square foot far exceeded anything at the time,” said local real estate agent Lois Kunian, who is closing on some of the units. They went on the market 1 ½ years ago.” They sold when others lagged because of what the Mandarin offered for services, she said. “That kind of luxury hasn’t been seen before in the Boston area. This is a whole different market than those buying brownstones facing the river, or at the Four Seasons or the Heritage. People bought in because it was the Mandarin coming to town. It’s the services, and the name that gets attached to those services.”
Condo units feature one-two parking spaces, gorgeous views, 12-foot ceilings, spacious bathrooms, floors lined with African walnut, Indian rosewood, bamboo, and imported tile; home gyms, built-in safes, white marble windowsills, self-retracting kitchen drawers, mahogany entry doors, with additional upgrades available to buyers. Twelve units have private roof decks accessible through a personal elevator, where owners can order barbecued steaks and seafood.
Monthly fees of more than $5,000 a month include hot water, water, sewer, master insurance, security, exterior maintenance, landscaping, storage, trash removal and valet parking.
More than 40 of the buyers, who were invited to buy via exclusive invitation, are reportedly from Boston, and reportedly include Celtics managing partner Robert Epstein, former FleetBoston Chief Operating Officer (COO) Charles K. "Chad" Gifford, and mega auto salesman Herb Chambers, formerly of Commonwealth Avenue. Chambers told the Globe, "There have been several other high rises, but all of these pale by comparison to the Mandarin. It's a full-service building, and you'll have beautiful service."
One penthouse was purchased for $14.3 million by local developer Pritam Singh, who then complained about the lack of sunlight in the winter, and so the unit was then happily plucked by Needham developer David Rosenberg, according to reports. In fact, several of the condo units that were snatched up early were already being publicly resold before anyone could set foot within the unit.
Since they sold so quickly, is there room in Boston for even more luxury units of this caliber? “Not now, not in this economy,” said Kunian. “I might have given a different answer a few weeks ago.”
Are Mandarin developers a little nervous about opening its doors during a time of economic uncertainty? “We recognize that these are uncertain economic times, but we really believe in the economy of the city and of America,” said Hatje. “That said, we are pleasantly surprised to find that our occupancy rate is running ahead of our projections…and I should know – I check them every morning!”
The rental portion of the Mandarin has units ranging from $6,000 to $12,000 a month, which at one point had a long waiting list for the 25 available units. Some of the condo owners are renting out their units for $12,000 a month, up to $25,000 for a 7,000-square-foot, 14th floor penthouse, according to reports.
To meet affordable housing requirements set by Boston law, 10 apartments will be rented out in the 14-story residential tower between the fourth and eighth floors. For example, a two-bedroom which would rent for $12,000 a month would go for $2,300 to a family of four making $103,000 annually, or 120 percent of the area’s median income.
“I was quite surprised at the income ranges for the affordable units,” said Rep. Marty Walz, who led the Prudential Public Advisory Committee (PruPAC) meetings early on in the Mandarin approval process, which required the Mandarin to add residences to the project. “I was anticipating the incomes would be lower.”

Asana -- The hotel’s signature restaurant, serving refined American cuisine and authentic Asian dishes by Executive Chef Nicolas Boutin and incorporates seasonal local ingredients. A private Chef’s Table seats eight, who can view Chef Boutin’s preparations firsthand. The restaurant’s floor-to-ceiling windows looks onto Boylston Street, as does the adjacent M Bar & Lounge. The atmosphere is a custom-carved, exotic wood-paneled walls and cozy banquettes and glass-encased wine room.


Gucci – Perhaps the highest profile tenant to move in, giving the Mandarin the cachet of a top luxury icon. Gucci left Copley Place for the 6,750 square-foot space, and will bring with it all of its product lines when it opens in November.

Frette -- an Italian fine linens store that will provide linens and bathrobes for the Mandarin's hotel rooms, and sell handcrafted linens and upscale accessories for the bed and bath. Frette has supplied linens to royalty, the Vatican, and luxury trains and ocean liners.

L'Espalier – the city’s beloved contemporary French restaurant, which moved from its cramped brownstone this summer, gets twice the space and a chance at a higher national profile.

Lululemon Athletica -- This 2,800-square-foot upscale spa and fitness center and boutique will provide exercise gear and outfits, weekly complimentary in-store yoga classes, community boards, and information on local events, classes, run and bike trails.

The M Bar & Lounge – with glass and exotic stone-top bar, intimate banquettes and stunning floor-to-ceiling windows, serves select vintages from the hotel’s wine room and cheese room.

Mizu -- launched by Elan Sassoon, son of Vidal, this 3,000-square-foot salon offers haircuts and coloring starting at $125, and a secret staircase that leads to and from the hotel's fitness center.

Sel de La Terre – This State Street favorite opens a branch of its artisan, Southern French brasserie, with its fine wines, attentive service, and glass enclosed kitchen.

Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Boston -- Offer holistic treatments blending Eastern traditions with modern techniques from its nine private treatment rooms, including a Hydrotherapy suite, a spacious couples suite, and a deluxe VIP Mandarin suite. To nurture the mind, body and spirit, the 16,000 square-foot spa will feature Crystal Steam Rooms, Vitality Pools, ‘Experience’ showers and relaxation areas. Its Spa Café serves light, healthy fare and custom-blended teas. The health club also features personal trainers and TechnoGym and Kinesis equipment.

The Mandarin Oriental replaced the old Prudential Center garage, a gap in elegance between the Prudential Center and Saks. The front of the development is right on the sidewalk, its walls several shades of light marble, and tall windows and store entrances create multiple entryways along the stretch of Boylston.
Susanne Hatje, general manager of the Boston Mandarin Oriental, said she’s excited to be part of the revitalization of Upper Boylston Street. Noting that the hotel takes the place of a parking garage ramp, she said, “I think that we're bringing some interest and warmth to the streetscape … It's a beautiful, wide boulevard, and I think that we will really begin to reactivate the street and bring it some more excitement.”
Most agree about the excitement there and the luxury and the retail additions. But not everyone is happy with the building’s actual design.
“Obviously, a lot of work went into the design,” said Elliot Laffer, who was on PruPAC (Prudential Public Advisory Committee). “Some liked it, some didn’t.”
The initial plans for the spot that would be Mandarin’s began in 1990, when CWB developers Stephen Weiner and Robin Brown excitedly talked about replacing the Prudential Center’s parking garage, a Duck Boat loading area, multiple parking lot entries, and most of Ring Road with a luxury hotel.
A series of neighborhood meetings led to the formation of the PruPAC group, which would help advise the Boston Redevelopment Authority about what should go up in the area. They wanted residences. Brown and Weiner wanted a hotel. After objections, the developers met with 22 neighborhood groups, “every one of them passionate about preserving the beauty of the Back Bay,” recalled Weiner.
They came back a year later with a hotel and residences project, with the tallest component rising to 155 feet. The Ring Road “moat” around the Prudential was replaced by a two-tower, 14-story building designed by project architect CBT/Childs Bertman Tseckares. Everyone was happy. “If you could get an agreement with 22 lively neighborhood groups, you could get peace in the Middle East,” joked Weiner.
After 13 years of searching for a site, battling with neighborhood groups, getting site clearances, moving the front door for proper fung shui, and recovering from a minor fire in the Mandarin’s spa and fitness center that delayed the project by a few months, the long journey ended with yesterday’s ribbon cutting, with Mayor Thomas Menino and an appreciative crowd. “We thought this day would never arrive,” Weiner said to the audience. “Thank you for welcoming us into the most civilized of neighborhoods.”
The residences are sold out, and the hotels are reporting decent bookings.
But when the scaffolding was removed and the front the Mandarin was first revealed, many were surprised at the design, the height, the shadows cast on nearby cafes, and how close it sits on the sidewalk.
Local real estate agent Lois Kunian, who lauded the level of luxury that the Mandarin will bring to Boston, doesn’t think the building fits in. “It certainly raises the level of what was there before. There was a parking garage, and the duck tours picked up there. It’s very different from that. There’s no setback. It is a huge massive building on the sidewalk. I’m sure they didn’t have the footprint of the building take every ounce of space.”
Marlborough Street resident Laurie Thomas has been watching the project for a while, and although she’s happy that the construction is finally over, she said she and her husband were surprised at what they saw when the scaffolding came off. “We were appalled to realize that the facade was actually finished, and that no nicer bricks were going to cover it. It’s such a strange color and so plain. It doesn't blend into the character of the neighborhood. … It looks like it’s a couple of steps up from low-income housing,” she said.
From an architectural point of view, the Mandarin’s scale and design doesn’t fit well in the area, said some. “When the scaffolding came down, I was actually astounded at the scale of it, and lack of relief in the street wall aspect of it,” said a local architect who wished not to be named. “My first reaction is, ‘How can we improve it?’”
The architect has heard others say “I didn’t know there would be shadows on the street for three hours,” and “What about the wind? How will that affect things?”
“It’s inevitable things will change, and the impact of this was not expected. It’s a real departure from what people expect of the city. The perception is that Boston is a very walkable, human-scaled city. I think the Mandarin is sort of in conflict with these expectations.”
Isn’t it an improvement from the old parking garage, with the Duck Boats? “At least the garage was open space,” said the longtime architect. “When the Prudential Center was just the tower, it was just stark. It had a lot more sense of open space, but it had problems, too. There clearly were constraints with a project like this, but I felt there were some lost opportunities.”
With the opening of the Mandarin comes the examination of other building projects. Boston Properties is proposing a 200-unit apartment building on Exeter Street beside the Lenox Hotel, and a 19-story office building on Boylston Street.
“It’s the canyonization of Boylston Street,” said the architect.
Added Thomas, “It looks like the plans for this area is to Manhattan-ize it. I thought we had learned that lesson.”
Thomas is actually not concerned about the shadows, since she prefers the shady side of the street, anyway, but she said the sheer size of the building will take some getting used to. “It's definitely a big, looming presence that changes this neighborhood. It's too close to the sidewalk, so it seems forbidding, too, like some looming hulk,” she added.
Given the design, the rest of the hotel adds a great benefit to the area, say many.
City Councilor Michael Ross loves the new hotel and residences, calling it “one of the greatest recent contributions to the fabric of the Back Bay from an architectural and socioeconomic perspective. The fact that it also creates affordable housing is a tremendous statement as to our priorities as a community.”
When Meg Mainzer-Cohen first started working with the Back Bay Association, this project was the first issue she worked on. “It replaced a driveway cut-through,” she said. “I’m very thrilled to see it. It’s a testament to their vision and a lot of hard work…People were criticizing the hotel when the scaffolding was still up. It takes time to get used to a new building, and for it to become part of the street. Wait until there’s activity, with people coming in and out, and you will see the vibrancy of this hotel.”
The Mandarin’s general manager, Susanne Hatje, noted that the Mandarin is a positive part of the evolution of Boylston Street. “The change that the neighborhood is undergoing is exciting. I think that people who would not necessarily have come and explored this section of the Back Bay will be very interested in coming to our section of Upper Boylston, and that will certainly mean more economic activity in the neighborhood. For example, Mandarin Oriental, Boston created more than 600 construction jobs while it was being built, and we are going to employ more than 300 colleagues,” she said.
Hatje also promises that they will become an active member of the local community. “We will establish ourselves as good corporate citizens, doing our part to give back to the community,” said Hatje.
State Rep Marty Walz likes the fact that the stores and restaurants open onto the sidewalk. “It’s not a big wall with no doors,” she said. “We still have the Duck Tours [on Huntington Avenue], plus retail and hotel activity on the sidewalk, which is terrific.”
And Thomas is looking forward to buying fresh bread at Sel de la Terre's bakery. "Back Bay really needs a good bakery. I can't wait to check it out," she said.

Two new high rise buildings proposed by the owners of the Prudential Center provoked vocal disapproval from some neighbors at a Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA)-sponsored community meeting last week.
The ill feelings centered most viscerally on the height of 888 Boylston Street, envisioned as the new 11-story centerpiece of the Prudential Center. At 242 feet, the building far exceeds what is permissible by zoning, and the developers must seek a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeal. The project has the backing of the BRA.
“I think this is a travesty; I’m disappointed in the BRA,” said resident Rick Gleason, who criticized the height of the building and questioned the value of zoning codes that aren’t enforced.
Shirley Kressel, a local activist and landscape architect, also criticized both the buildings and the development process. “We’re all led to believe that these buildings are a done deal and inevitable, but they’re not,” said Kressel, adding that the BRA had no power to change zoning. She said the project could still be stopped by community involvement.
Kressel then called for the complete dissolution of the BRA, which she claimed is in the pocket of developers and not responsive to community needs. “We don’t have a real planning authority [in Boston],” she said.
Several residents called on the developers to draft new plans that meet the requirements laid out in zoning and Boylston Street’s planned development area (PDA) guidelines,
“It’s very hard to discuss a plan that doesn’t respond to zoning,” said Jackie Yessian, president of the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay.
Residents said they would support a building of 155 feet, but that there was no demonstrable hardship that excuses the additional height. Back Bay resident Sue Pringle also pointed out that new shadows from the towers would extend all the way to the Commonwealth Avenue Mall.
The developers stressed the positive impact the buildings could have on the neighborhood, bringing office and residential space—including affordable units mandated by law—and additional prime retail to the Prudential area, said Michael Cantalupa of Boston Properties.
Still, not a single resident spoke in support of the project.
“This building is the exact opposite of what this city needs,” said Mary Sonnabend, who criticized the secretive process of the development.
The project, which could start construction as early as next June if the necessary approvals are obtained, calls for construction of two new towers: an office and retail complex at 888 Boylston Street, and a residential tower next to the Lenox Hotel on Exeter Street. The 888 Boylston building has been rumored to be courting Bloomingdale’s to take up residence in its proposed lower retail section. The building would also be fronted by an expansive new pedestrian plaza with elaborate plantings and fountains.
The Prudential Public Advisory Committee, composed of local residents, business owners, and officials, has been working with the developers on the project for over a year.

A notorious globe-trotting graffiti artist was arraigned last week in Boston and East Boston court, and will face several upcoming court cases for tags she allegedly placed on properties in Back Bay, East Boston, Quincy and New York City.
Danielle “Utah” Bremner, 26, is an infamous tagger known to police in Boston, East Boston, and Quincy, as well as Paris, London, Connecticut, Chicago, and New York, the latter where she is studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York. Her parents are a New York teacher and a retired police officer.
“She keeps finding herself in more and more trouble, but it appears that Utah is reaching the end of the line,” said Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley. In the Back Bay case, many victims showed evidence of graffiti damage and cleanup costs to Boston Municipal Court (BMC), which listed 33 counts of 2007 tagging along Newbury Street and Commonwealth Avenue, and from Exeter to Gloucester streets in-between, as listed by Boston Police Detective Billy Kelley.
Damages to the Back Bay properties were priceless, because it was done to historic personal property. “It’s certainly a high dollar amount, conservatively estimated at six figures,” said Wark. “These are historic buildings in the Back Bay, hundreds of years old, that must be cleaned using historically appropriate techniques.”
“A crime such as vandalism and tagging is a property offense, and residents take it very personally. We respect and commend this. Our goal is to have the defendant pay for any expenses incurred during cleanup.”
Assistant District Attorney Patrick Driscoll asked for $10,000 bail, and presented the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) notebook of photo evidence to Judge Annette Ford.
However, Bremner's attorney argued that these were old charges linked to her Brighton charges, and asked for $2,500 cash bail or $25,000 in surety, saying Danielle's mother had brought $5,000.
A previous MBTA case in Brighton District Court was resolved in 2006, after Bremner admitted to the facts and paid restitution to avoid the case going to trial.
Those “were MBTA charges that had no relationship to the Back Bay charges,” said Anne Swanson, who leads NABB’s Graffiti NABBers team with Kathleen Alexander.
Judge Ford considered the evidence and promptly set bail at $10,000.
“This was very encouraging for our first court appearance,” said Swanson.
The next court dates are pretrial conferences on November 4 in Courtroom 11, and December 3 in Courtroom 18. No trial dates have been set. NABB is asking all witnesses and affected parties to come to the hearings to help in the case.
“The attorneys both need copies of our notebook of evidence to prepare for the trial,” said Swanson. “The judicial process takes a long time, and the selection of the judge who decides the case is pure chance, but we are optimistic.”
The day after the BMC hearing, Utah then appeared in East Boston Municipal Court for five counts of tagging done in 2005 in the Orient Heights train yard. The next court date is a status date, set for November 5. “There’s been some talk by the defense counsel to join the BMC case, but that’s a decision for a judge to make,” said Wark.
Charging Bremner in the Orient Heights vandalism took a while, since there was no evidence until, in a separate New York City case, detectives searched her mother’s house and found incriminating sketches and photos, said a spokesman from the district attorney’s office.
The attorney general’s office takes graffiti cases very seriously. “In the Back Bay, like any neighborhood in Boston, every resident has a right to a safe, clean neighborhood,” said Wark. “The defendant’s actions represent a physical deterioration of the quality of life for every visitor and resident in the Back Bay and any Boston neighborhood. Whether it’s public property like a playground, or a private property, like a residence, or a train yard, there is no reason to damage property and leave without paying for damages.”
Swanson, who has a degree in fine art, said graffiti “has nothing to do with art. It’s pure ego.”
Bremner was captured in August at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after returning from backpacking across Europe with friends. She faces some combination of fines, jail time, and/or restitution “which is tricky when the city of Boston's Graffiti Busters do so much of the removal,” said Swanson.

The voters have spoken

Sandra Chang-Diaz’s primary victory over veteran Senator Diane Wilkerson and a recent recount affirming her victory isn’t the end of this political story.
Senator Wilkerson has decided to fight to the end. She is mounting a sticker campaign, which requires her supporters to place a sticker with her name on it on the ballot on Election Day.
A sticker campaign, generally, is as difficult as it gets for an incumbent or any other candidate to win, and so, too, will it be for Senator Wilkerson.
Facing the obvious but failing to understand it is difficult to appreciate when you are a veteran senator with many years of service on Beacon Hill. The obvious should tell a veteran senator, governor, state representative, or even a Boston city councillor, that when your time has come, your time has come.
There is such a thing as magnanimity in victory and magnanimity in defeat.
Chang-Diaz has been gracious and hopeful.
Senator Wilkerson is trying to hang on.
Perhaps she will hang on and eke out another term in the Senate.
More likely still, is another futile effort to redo what has already been done.
Snatching victory from the clutches of defeat with a sticker campaign is much more difficult than winning a primary, and that will be proven on Election Day.

Boston Common redux

With Mayor Menino keeping his promise to regulate the use of Boston Common, the condition of the Common has already vastly improved.
The reseeding of the Parade Ground has healed this important slice of open space that so many use. In fact, the Friends of the Public Garden should be pleased.
However, the use of Boston’s most precious open space in the heart of the downtown still, by far, exceeds the area’s ability to regenerate itself.
One of the greatest problems facing the Common is how to regulate the use of a hilly stretch of open space where Joy Street intersects with Beacon.
This is dog territory, and it looks it. The dog problem must be addressed. Because structures aren’t allowed on the Common, the type of dog venue the city has developed at Peters Park in the South End won’t work here.
A dog run is what is needed - that, and increased transparency by the city so residents are aware of when the Common is being used, by whom and for what.

Sarah Palin

She didn’t come out of a log cabin and educate herself like Abe Lincoln did.
She is no Teddy Roosevelt, who read more than 10,000 books and who traveled to the far ends of the world.