Developers looking to reinvent historic hotel
Plans to restore the historic Hotel Alexandra building back to its glory days are in the works as developers await the next step in the approval process.
Developers JB Ventures LLC and TCR Development have filed a letter of intent with the Boston Planning and Development Agency laying out a plan to fully restore the old building and add a new 10-story structure next to the now-blighted building — which has stood vacant on Washington Street and Massachusetts Avenue for the past 30 years.
The plans call for a “Class A boutique style hotel” with rooftop amenity space, 150 guest rooms, a ground-floor restaurant, a limited fitness center and conference rooms for guests.
The letter of intent cites “extraordinary” preservation and restoration costs as reasons for variances on height and density.
Developers are also looking for a parking variance given “site constraints” and “ample availability of public transportation,” as noted in the letter of intent filed by LaCasse Law LLC in July.
The proposed tower, with a 60,000-square-foot footprint, would be behind the old luxury residential hotel, which was built in 1875.
Developers are buying the building from the Church of Scientology, which originally bought the South End landmark and adjacent lot in 2008 for $4.5 million.
The church abandoned plans to turn the space into its new Boston headquarters in 2014, citing strict city historic preservation requirements, and instead purchased an office building in Allston the following year.
The South End Landmark District Commission reviewed plans and renderings for the project earlier in the week, which describe the hotel rooms as “chic, urban and compact.”
Principals Jas Bhogal and Thomas Calus intend to file an Expanded Project Notification Form with the BPDA, which will further describe the features of the project in detail. Neither returned requests for comment for this story.