A proposal to install removable, adhesive advertising decals on both sides of the pedestrian skybridge that connects Copley Place and the Prudential Mall came before the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay (NABB) Licensing and Building Use Committee at its May 5 virtual monthly meeting.
The translucent decals, spanning 60-feet wide by 8-feet high, would adorn only the inside of six panes of glass in the center portion on both sides of the three-section bridge, said Jeff Drago, an attorney for the applicant, while the upper skylight portions of the bridge would remain free from decals.
The adverting decals wouldn’t require affixing any structural component to the skywalk, added Drago, and they would use only natural light for illumination, “so basically [advertising] would be designed for the daytime.”
Moreover, Drago noted that other advertising was already a fixture of the skywalk.
Sebastian Amara, director of real estate for New Tradition Media, said the company would enter into a 10-year agreement with Copley Place, landlord of the skyway, with a five-year option to renew.
The applicant expects that stores from within Copley Place, like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, would largely account for renting the proposed advertising space, said Amara, and although advertisers (none of which have signed on yet) could potentially change on a monthly basis, the goal is to lock them in for yearlong leases.
While the applicant would typically avoid political advisements, and tobacco ads are prohibited nationwide, ads for alcohol aren’t entirely off the table.
“It could be for alcohol but most likely, it won’t,” added Amara.
For the project to move forward, however, it would require not only a zoning variance from the city’s Inspectional Services Department but also the approval of the MassDOT (Massachusetts Department of Transportation) Office of Outdoor Advertising for content, as well as to ensure that ads adhere to state regulations, said Amara.
Despite the applicant’s assurances that the removable advertising decals would cause no glare and have no impact below at the busy intersection where Huntington Avenue intersects with East Ring Road and Harcourt Street, Elliott Laffer, former committee chair and a longtime NABB member, expressed serious concerns with the proposal.
“This is a major thoroughfare,” said Laffer .”It’s a tough enough spot without people looking up at what any advertiser wants them to do, look at the ads.”
Laffer added: “It sets a dangerous precedent for anywhere where there is a pedestrian bridge, and we have several of them around here.”
Conrad Armstrong, committee chair, noted, “This case is a little unusual for us. It’s just on the border of NABB’s jurisdiction.”
In another matter, the committee heard about plans for Rosa y Marigold, a Peruvian restaurant proposed for Lyrik (the Parcel 12 development on Mass Ave across from the Hynes T stop), with a full liquor license.
Maria Rondeau, who together with her partner, JuanMa Calderón, own two other Peruvian restaurants, Celeste in Somervile and La Royal in Cambridge, said they’re opening Rosa y Marigold with two new partners, one of the original employees of Celeste and the landlord of one of their restaurant spaces, respectively.
The new restaurant will occupy around 2,500 square feet “smack dab in the middle” of the taller office building, said Rondeau.
Besides 84 diners inside, including 24 seats at a horseshoe-shaped bar, Rosa y Marigold will be able to accommodate another 16 patrons on a small outdoor patio on the side of the plaza, said Rondeau.
Proposed hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., seven days a week, although Rondeau added the restaurant would like to open at 10 a.m., only on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch, and at 11 a.m., for lunch on the other days of the week.
Although Rosa y Marigold intends to serve alcohol, Rondeau said the restaurant has yet to secure an all-liquor license and hopes to receive one of the city’s ‘unrestricted’ all-alcohol licenses via 225 new liquor licenses Gov. Maura Healey signed into law for Boston last fall.
“I understand it’s probably a longshot,” Rondeau acknowledged.
Otherwise, Laffer advised Rondeau that purchasing an existing all-alcohol license for the restaurant would likely cost them around $500,000.
The space will contain a “small nook” on the northwest corner, said Rondeau, which the restaurant intends to turn into a small concert stage for a jazz trio, with the live music possible spilling out onto the patio in the summer.
Laffer advised the applicant that the entertainment portion of their proposal would need to go to the city for additional licensing approvals.
Armstrong told Rondeau he would likely inform her of NABB’s position on her proposal (i.e. to oppose or not oppose) at the end of the workweek.
The committee also heard about plans for Venchi Gelato, a small shop that would serve gelato, chocolate, and ice cream (as well as expresso), proposed for a street-level retail space at 123 Newbury St., which was previously home to a hair salon.
The shop, which would have no kitchen or on-site cooking, will offer seating for 15 inside and have no additional outdoor seating, said Attorney Dennis Quilty, and its proposed daily hours would be 9 a.m. to midnight, to start.
Mark Daniel Ellis, Chief Commercial Officer of Venchi, said the chocolates would be imported from Italy once every three weeks while gelato would be made daily from fresh, natural, locally sourced ingredients.
Deliveries would be made via a panel track to an accessible ramp, according to the applicant, while the trash generated, which is expected to be minimal, would be kept indoors and left out just prior to collection in accordance with the committee’s directive.
“We will abide by what needs to be done,” said Ellis, who added that Venchi wants to contribute to the Back Bay community. “We’re committed to doing things the right way.”
If approved, the Boston shop would be only the 17th location of the international, privately owned, Venti in the U.S, according to Ellis.
“We won’t be ubiquitous,” he said. “This isn’t some massive rollout program.”
Venchi’s proposal would require zoning relief from the city’s Inspectional Services Department, as well as a CV (Common Victualler) from the city, to move forward.
Armstrong told the applicant he would “hopefully” inform them of NABB’s position on their proposal (i.e. to oppose or not oppose) by Friday.