Housing plan put in play for Southie’s Broadway Theatre
A Quincy man wants to convert the former Broadway Theatre property in South Boston into a residential development with 42 units and retail space.
Developer Brian Crowley, of West Broadway Theatre LLC, has filed plans for the project at 420 West Broadway, between F and Dorchester streets, with the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Crowley proposes to demolish and replace the main portion of the long-vacant theater building, which opened in 1920, with a new six-story, 44,000-square-foot building at the rear of the property. Underground garage parking for 42 vehicles would be accessed by Athens Street.
The two-story brick portion of the existing building fronting West Broadway, which contained the theater’s lobby, would be retained and restored for a residential lobby and 1,350 square feet of retail or restaurant space.
“Great care has been given to respecting certain remaining facade and unique conditions of the distressed property site and the history of this section along West Broadway,” the project filing states.
Boston’s RODE Architects Inc. designed the new building. A roof deck and side and rear balconies are among planned amenities.
Crowley purchased the property for $5 million last September, according to a Registry of Deeds filing. His proposed project is subject to the BPDA’s small project review process. The project also requires zoning variances for off-street parking, open space, height and other issues.