The Newbury Boston

The Newbury Boston is a historic luxury hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. It opened in 1927 as The Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The property is a Boston landmark and anchors fashionable Newbury Street and the picturesque Boston Public Garden, located in the heart of the Back Bay

The Newbury Boston
The Newbury Boston, overlooking Boston Public Garden, 2004. The original 1927 wing is in the middle, the 1981 wing is on the right.
General information
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
Address1 Newbury Street
Opening1927
OwnerIconiq Capital, New England Development, Eastern Real Estate, Lubert-Adler, Rockpoint Group, and Highgate
ManagementHighgate
Design and construction
ArchitectGeorge B. Post & Son
Other information
Number of rooms286
Number of suites44
Website
The Newbury Boston

The hotel was for many years part of first one, then a second chain using the Ritz-Carlton name. The Ritz-Carlton Boston was purchased in 2006 by Taj Hotels[1] and renamed Taj Boston on January 11, 2007. Taj Boston closed on October 31, 2019 and was subsequently renamed The Newbury Boston. It was set to reopen in early 2020,[2] but the reopening has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

History

The Ritz-Carlton Boston

The Wyner Years: 1927–1964

In 1926, 29-year-old Edward N. Wyner bought a third-acre parcel at the corner of Arlington and Newbury streets and formed a partnership called The Ritz-Arlington Trust with his father, George,[3] and business associate, John S. Slater.

The Ritz-Carlton under construction, September 7, 1926

The trust sold $2.1 million of bonds to finance the construction of an apartment building, to be called the Mayflower. The 18-story, 201-foot (61 m) brick building, designed by Strickland, Blodget & Law Architects, was far taller than anything else along Newbury Street at the time. Construction had started on the second floor when Wyner was persuaded by then-Mayor James Michael Curley to make the Mayflower a world-class, 300-room hotel. Wyner received permission from the Hôtel Ritz Paris and the US-based Ritz Carlton Investing Company, founded by Albert Keller, to use the Ritz Carlton name and the The Ritz-Carlton Hotel opened on May 19, 1927. Room rates were $5 to $15 per night; $40 per night for suites.[4]

After a hugely successful opening, the stock market crash of 1929 and ensuing Depression brought financial difficulties. The Wyner family funded the hotel’s operating losses during the early 1930s, although the interest on the bonds went unpaid. Still in 1933, when only 30 guests were registered in the hotel, Wyner turned on the lights in every guest room to give the appearance the hotel was full.

Wyner died of a heart attack on Dec. 5, 1961. His six sons tried to continue operation of the hotel, but it was too difficult, and a decision was made to sell.

The Blakeley Years: 1964–1983

The unpaid interest on the bonds dissuaded many from trying to buy the hotel. But Cabot, Cabot & Forbes principal Gerald F. Blakeley Jr. was interested. After more than a year of legal work, Hale and Dorr succeeded at clearing the bond obligations, and in October 1964 Blakeley and associates Paul Hellmuth and Charles Spaulding acquired the Ritz-Carlton Boston for $3.8 million.

"Out of the 20 years I owned it," said Blakeley, "it made money three years. The other years it broke even, but from a public relations standpoint for CC&F, it was a tremendous asset,"

Blakely spent seven years, from 1972-1979 gaining community approvals and municipal permits to construct an 18-story addition on land adjacent to the hotel, at the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Arlington Street, where the Engineers Club formerly stood. Local residents feared it would cast a shadow on the Boston Public Garden. The new wing opened on September 13, 1981, with a grand ballroom, three smaller function rooms, and 80 additional hotel rooms. 52 residential units in the addition opened later that year.[5]

In the late 1960s Blakeley obtained the rights to the Ritz-Carlton name in North America (with the exception of Montreal and New York). In June 1978, Blakeley was awarded the rights and privileges of the Ritz-Carlton trademark in the United States and was given a US Service Mark Registration.

The Corporate Years (1983–1998)

In August 1983, W. B. Johnson Properties bought The Ritz-Carlton Boston and the US trademark for $75.5 million and established the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Johnson would expand the company from only the Boston property to 30 hotels worldwide in just 10 years.

He obtained financing to do so from Manufacturers Hanover Trust of New York in 1983 in the amount of $85 million secured by the Ritz-Carlton Boston. This loan was refinanced in 1989 by Manhattan Tops USA of New York for $136.5 million and again in 1994 by Sumitomo Bank of Japan. By 1996, this mortgage was in default and the interest and penalties brought the total debt to $214.8 million.

By splitting this mortgage note into three parts, Sumitomo Bank was able to unbundle the Ritz-Carlton Boston from the trademark rights to the Ritz-Carlton brand worldwide. Blackstone Real Estate Acquisitions of New York bought the Ritz-Carlton Boston at auction for $75 million in February 1998.

A month later, Host Marriott Corp. of Bethesda, Maryland, acquired the hotel from Blackstone for $100 million. Marriott International, which franchises and manages Marriott’s 325,000 rooms, bought the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. and rights to the Ritz-Carlton name worldwide from W.B. Johnson for $290 million in a two-part transaction completed in 1998.

Millennium Ownership (1998-2006)

In 1998, Christopher Jeffries, founding partner of Millennium Partners, obtained Ritz franchises from Marriott for four hotel properties under construction: two in Washington, one in New York, and one in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, Jeffries was searching for a brand affiliation for the new 155-room hotel and 270-luxury condominiums he was constructing as part of Boston’s 1,800,000-square-foot (170,000 m2) Millennium Place, a mixed-use complex on lower Washington Street. Because of noncompetition clauses, the only way he could obtain a second Ritz-Carlton flag in Boston was to own the existing Ritz-Carlton.

Millennium Partners acquired the original Ritz-Carlton Boston for $122 million (though it had sold for just $75 million less than two years prior) and spent $50 million for renovations. Marriott agreed to allow the Ritz-Carlton affiliation for the condominium complex, known as The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, and sharing all of the services of the hotel.

In 1999, when Millennium Partners of New York, the new owners of the original Ritz-Carlton Boston, announced that the company was building a second Ritz-Carlton in Boston (today's 193-room Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common), there was much local disapproval. A member of the old guard summed up: "The movement of a name from one place to another doesn’t do it. There would never be that special atmosphere; a grace, decency, and ambiance that once existed." Millennium Partners admitted they had no intentions of trying to duplicate the Ritz.

The Ritz-Carlton Boston Common Hotel opened in 2001 and from then until 2007 Boston was home to two Ritz-Carlton hotels that faced each other on Boston Common.

In October 2002, The Ritz-Carlton Boston celebrated its 75th Anniversary with a major restoration to bring the facility 21st century amenities while maintaining its 20th century decor.[6]

Taj Boston (2007-2019)
Taj Boston (the adjoining red brick buildings at center), 2011

In November 2006, Taj Hotels, a subsidiary of the India-based Tata Group, purchased The Ritz-Carlton Boston from Millennium Partners for $170 Million.[7] The Ritz-Carlton Boston was renamed Taj Boston on January 11, 2007.[8]

The Taj Newbury Street side entrance in 2017, today the front entrance.

In July 2016, the hotel was purchased for $125 million by New England Development/Eastern Real Estate and their partners. The group, led by Steve Karp, includes New England Development, the Rockpoint Group, Eastern Real Estate, and two other unnamed partners.[9]

The Newbury Boston (2019-present)

The Taj Boston closed on October 31, 2019 and was renamed The Newbury Boston. The hotel was extensively renovated. Its main entrance was moved from Arlington Street to the former side entrance on Newbury Street. All 273 existing rooms were redesigned and 13 new rooms were added. In addition, the seasonal rooftop restaurant was enclosed, to make it year-round.[10] The hotel was set to reopen in early 2020,[11] but the reopening has been postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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References
  1. "Taj buys Ritz-Carlton in Boston for $170 m - Economic Times". Articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  2. "Don't call her the Ritz. She's the Taj no more. Say hello to the Newbury, Boston's grand dame of hotels". Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2013-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-19. Retrieved 2013-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Ritz celebrates Grand Ballroom opening". The Boston Globe. 1981-09-13. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  6. Lienert, Dan (6 October 2004). "Boston Bliss". Forbes.com. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  7. "Taj acquires Ritz-Carlton Boston". Air & Business Travel News. Panacea Publishing. 13 November 2006. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2010.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. Logan, Tim (2016-07-13). "Group purchases Taj Boston hotel for $125 million". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  10. Carlock, Catherine (2018-10-11). "Developers begin long-planned renovation of Taj Boston". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 2018-10-12.
  11. https://boston.curbed.com/boston-development/2019/11/4/20944142/the-newbury-the-taj-boston-hotel

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