Boutique hotel planned for S. Boston

A Boston developer is switching plans for the redevelopment of a rental car site in South Boston, opting now to pursue construction of a boutique hotel.

Evergreen Property Group has proposed an independent hotel with up to 159 rooms and ground-level retail at 246248 Dorchester Ave., according to a letter of intent filed with the Boston Planning & Development Agency.

The site, bounded by West 5th Street and the South Boston Bypass Road, currently includes a single-story Enterprise Rent-A-Car business surrounded by parking lots.

Evergreen previously won BPDA approval in 2015 for a six-story building with 33 apartments and 4,400 square feet of retail space at the site.

The hotel would add vibrancy to the West Broadway commercial district and better serve the growing needs of the surrounding community, according to Evergreen’s letter.

“The proposed project will also provide a distinct hospitality use at a design-forward development that better activates the street frontage along Dorchester Avenue,” Evergreen attorney Joseph Hanley said.

The site is included in the BPDA’s South Boston Dorchester Avenue Planning Initiative, which encompasses prospective zoning changes that, coupled with community input and market dynamics, prompted Evergreen to change its plans, the company said.

The 86,000-square-foot hotel would have eight stories, with the top two set back from the main six-story section. The design includes outdoor terraces, a pool, fitness center, ballroom space and on-site valet parking for 64 vehicles.