Boston Common - Niche Media - A side of Boston that's anything but common.
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BOSTON'S CIVIC COLOSSUS Three generations (and spouses) of the Saunders family. Copley Square in 2007 because, Roger says, "I had never seen real estate prices like that." Nonetheless, the family found the decision "very emotional." "It was like we were selling him," says Roger, referring to his father (the Copley Square Hotel was the last property in the company's portfolio that Irving had bought). The Park Plaza went to Starwood in 1997. The sale made the company liquid in a way it had never been. But the Park Plaza still exerts its gravitational pull on the Saunders family: In 2011, Donald, Roger's brother, purchased a 55 percent interest in the building. PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORKY BUCZYK (KEY), COURTESY OF THE LENOX HOTEL (POSTCARDS), MARK KARLSBERG/STUDIO ELEVEN (FAMILY PORTRAIT) Preserving the Legacy The sons have avoided the acrimony that characterized Roger and Donald's relationship after they earned a shared interest in the Saunders real estate empire in 1976. All four sons attribute their rapport to the "family roundtable," which Roger started in 1983. Jeffrey says that while it was great that their father gave them the opportunity to do whatever they wanted in the business, he and his brothers weren't always ready for the jobs they assumed. "There were reporting issues," he says, "you know, when one family member is reporting to another." The roundtable became the arena in which to hash things out. There were rules: Each monthly session began with an "appreciation period," in which the brothers would commend each other for recent accomplishments and empathize over difficulties. The last person who showed up had to be the secretary, and the chairmanship changed monthly. "He created a setting where each of us had an equal voice and vote," says Tedd, who credits the forum with allowing him to proselytize for green initiatives. "We learned how to listen carefully, hear different perspectives, communicate effectively, and work cooperatively. From early on, Dad would let the four of us work through issues to reach a consensus. I don't remember him ever stepping in to take sides or force his opinion." Says Jeffrey, "Any time we had pebbles in our shoes, we had a forum to voice them." Their business relationships have become so harmonious that the meetings now occur only quarterly, with some participation by the latest generation of Saunders children. Roger is now chairman of The Lenox. Though he spends half the year in Florida, he's quick to say, "I haven't given up my Massachusetts citizenship." It is Gary and Jeffrey who are steering 40 Trinity to completion. By this fall, the designs and prices of the 15 floors of condos, which will have floor-to-ceiling windows, should be finalized. The Saunders Hotel Group will run the hotel, which will feature a sky lobby on the 17th floor and a ballroom and conference facilities on the 18th. In January, Alex—Jeffrey's son, who has worked for three other hotel companies—became GM of the existing hotel, now called the Boston Common. Boston is underserved by luxury hotels and condominiums, and there's not a lot of room to build. "You can walk from the waterfront to Back Bay in all of about 20 minutes," says Jeffrey, and much of it is a historic district. Since the hotel boom of the '90s, there has been more hotel reflagging than construction. "We could get a 50 percent return today on the [Lenox] site, but that's not what our family is about," he adds. "We're long-term holders." BC "WE REVERE HIM," SAYS JEFFREY SAUNDERS. "He walks the walk." By this, Jeffrey means that his father The four sons of a is not only a good businesshotel legend follow man but a good soul, as in their father's evidenced by the numerous philanthropic cultural, socially conscious, footsteps. and civic causes he has supported in Boston. Roger Saunders donated $1 million to the Boston Lyric Opera and substantial sums to the New England Aquarium. He single-handedly endowed the Roger A. Saunders School of Hotel & Restaurant Management at Newbury College, and the Saunders Hotel Group provides four-year, full-tuition scholarships to the school for children and grandchildren of current employees of its Boston-area hotels. Roger is a member of the board of overseers of the Museum of Fine Arts, an overseer emeritus of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a trustee emeritus of the Citi Performing Arts Center, and a member of the Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital boards. "They were great role models," says Todd about his parents. "They worked hard and were involved in causes they believed in." That started at home, with the brothers' allowances. "One-third had to go to charity," recalls Todd fondly, "one-third had to be saved, and one-third we could spend." Says Tedd, "My dad always thought about the bigger picture." (Which seems to be a family trait: Irving Saunders donated the winnings of Proper Bostonian, one of his racehorses, to the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter.) Gary Saunders has been cochairman of the Boston Groundwater Trust, charged with monitoring the integrity of the city's water table, for 15 years. That may not sound important, but many of Boston's historic buildings, especially in Back Bay, rest on wooden pilings whose structural integrity depends on being immersed. He also "gave five years of his life to shape the Back Bay Association," says Meg Mainzer-Cohen, its president and executive director. "He's very like his father." Tedd has been a force for the green movement in the hotel business, Jeffrey has held a number of positions in associations that support the Massachusetts travel industry, and Todd was a board member of the Boston Preservation Alliance and the Boston Heart Foundation for more than 10 years. He also sits on the regional board of the AntiDefamation League. He sums up the family's philanthropic approach: "We were taught the values and principles of secular Judaism—most importantly tikkun olam, repairing the world and leaving everything better than we found it." Despite their numerous commitments, Roger and his sons maintain a hands-on involvement in Boston civic life. "They're not afraid to pick up the phone and make the calls that need to be made," says Mainzer-Cohen, "and people answer the call." Yet Roger still sweats the details. "He'll phone me," she adds, "and say, 'Meg, the lights are out at the Mass Pike entrance at Dartmouth Street. Can you do something about it?'" BOSTONCOMMON-MAGAZINE.COM BC_F_TheLenox_Spring13-fryda.indd 101 101 2/12/13 3:17 PM