After a plan to develop a 28-story residential/hotel project ran amuck, a new developer has stepped up with a new plan for the parking lot next to the historic Jacob Wirth Co. building at 45 Stuart Street.
The front of the Jacob Wirth Co. building. The proposed tower would go next door.
The proposal calls for a 24-story office and retail tower with as many as 174 parking spaces. The breakdown would be about 250,000 square feet for office space and approximately 2,000 square feet for retail. The historic Jacob Wirth Co. building next door would also be unaltered. Other features of the proposal include rooftop gardens to help make the building environmentally friendly, multiple entrances, a two-story indoor winter garden, and a cafe.
Previous proposals called for a residential and hotel tower that was taller and would have required the partial destruction of the historic restaurant next door, something that will not happen with the current proposal.
If the BRA approves the plan as designed, the project would cost an estimated $140 million. Eastat Realty Capital, LLC (the current developer) does not have financing in line for the project, preferring to wait to get approvals from the city before securing the needed funds. The company does, however, have an agreement in place to purchase the parking lot next door to the Jacob Wirth Co. building from FitzInn Parking Systems, the current owner of the lot.
Assuming all goes according to plan, the project will break ground in July of next year, and would like to open the new building in 2011.
Source: Boston Business Journal
Filed under: Boston, Massachusetts, Mixed-Use, Proposal, Theater District
