Apple's proposal to raze site worries Back Bay panel
Preliminary design proposals for Apple Computer's first Boston store got a cool reception last night from the Back Bay Architectural Commission, but several commissioners said a revised design might address their concerns.
Apple hopes to demolish a small building at 815 Boylston St., which is occupied by a Copy Cop store at street level, and build a flagship store across from the Prudential Center.
Projects involving the demolition of an existing building in the Back Bay Architectural District generally require the commission's approval.
Apple has not formally presented any designs yet to the city.
Last night's meeting was an opportunity for Apple to rough out some early design ideas and get commission feedback.
One concept presented was a three-story building whose front would be largely glass. The building would likely have a green roof, said Bob Bridger, an Apple vice president of retail development.
Donna Prince, an alternate on the commission, acknowledged that the design was ''beautiful," but that it ''doesn't have a sense of place."
Ali Rizvi, the commission's vice chairman, said a developer needs to demonstrate an ''overwhelming justification" to be granted permission to tear down a building in the district. Stephen V. Miller of McDermott, Quilty & Miller LLP, a Boston firm representing Apple, said the flagship store would be a ''nonstarter" if the existing building can't be demolished.
One possible solution, several commissioners suggested, might be an Apple design that preserves or replicates the existing building's facade.
''There are a number of ways to save that facade," said commission chairman Anthony Casendino.
During his presentation, Bridger noted that Apple operates several stores in historic districts in cities such as Chicago and San Francisco, and the company works hard to ensure that design and materials are top notch.
While commissioners expressed concerns about exterior designs, no one objected to the scale and height of Apple's proposed store.
Last night's meeting is likely an early step in what could be a long approval process for Apple.
''I'll be anxious to see what they come back with," said Elliott Laffer, a long-time Back Bay activist who attended the hearing. ''Having an Apple store would be very exciting."
The site where Apple wants to build its store is just inside a boundary of the Back Bay Architectural District, which is smaller than the actual Back Bay neighborhood.
Development projects that propose demolition of existing buildings are unusual within the district, said William S. Young, the commission's senior preservation planner.
Since assuming that post in 1991, Young said only one demolition project in the district has gone forward. In 1998, a Sunoco gas station at the corner of Boylston and Fairfield streets was razed.
An office building went up on that site, and it now has a Fidelity Investments office at street level at 801 Boylston St.
''I am aware of no instances in which demolition was proposed but denied," Young said in an e-mail. ''It is a course very rarely pursued."
In the 1980s, another developer won permission to demolish buildings that had fallen into disrepair, Young said.
The site, at 855 Boylston St., is now an office building with an Eastern Mountain Sports store at street level.
The site where Apple wants to build is between 855 Boylston and 801 Boylston, where two previous demolitions have taken place.
Apple's team noted that the building occupied by Copy Cop was built in 1906 and renovated many times. According to Apple, the building has little architectural significance.
Chris Reidy can be reached at reidy@globe.com. 