Amended Greenway Hotel Project Gets BRA Nod

A rendering of the Haymarket Hotel project on Parcel 9 in the North End.

BOSTON—The Board of Directors of the Boston Redevelopment Authority approved five projects valued at an estimated $250 million in new development. One project that got the green light was an amended $90-million hotel adjacent to the Greenway. The 562,000 square feet of total new development approved by the BRA on Thursday evening included 105 new housing units in Dorchester and Roxbury that include 82 units earmarked as affordable. Other projects include a $95-million 135,000-square-foot office building at Boston Landing with the Boston Celtics as its anchor tenant, and a 38,000-square-foot addition to Suffolk Construction’s headquarters in Roxbury. The new 225-key Haymarket Hotel at 111 North St. is designed by Perkins + Will and has been on the drawing board for about two years. A project that called for a main building of 10 stories and an adjoining two-story market pavilion was filed for Large Project Review with the BRA on Oct. 14, 2014. However, based on feedback received during public review, including comments from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, developer Harbinger Development and Normandy Real Estate Partners in April of this year reduced the height of the main building to five or six stories and the attached market pavilion to one story. The amended hotel plan still calls for a 225-key hotel and up 25,000 square feet of retail space that will open up onto the Greenway. The plan, approved by the BRA last week, totals up to 145,000 square feet of gross floor area and a Floor Area Ratio not to exceed 3.0. The project is expected to create 115 construction jobs. The hotel parcel to be built at the Central Artery Parcel 9 site in the North End is one of the few remaining parcels unlocked by the Big Dig. Harbinger Development also has the designation to build another hotel on BRA-owned land in the Ray Flynn Marine Park. The new office building at 40 Guest St. is designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects and will be six stories tall. The Boston Celtics, who currently practice in Waltham, will join the Boston Bruins in making Boston Landing their home for training. The Celtics facility will include two practice courts and seating for up to 195 people and will occupy the top two floors of the building. The two floors below will be for office or lab use, which could include clinical or research and development space. The ground floor will contain 7,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. A 190-space multi-level parking structure is also part of the project that the BRA states will create about 130 construction jobs. Another development project that secured approval from the BRA last week was the $37-million Indigo Block Redevelopment, a mixed-use project in Upham’s Corner on a city owned parcel that will include 80 deed-restricted rental housing units, nine market-rate condominium units and 20,000 square feet of light industrial space. The project located in Dorchester, is being developed by a team of Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corp., Newmarket Community Partners, Boston Capital and Escazu Development. The BRA also approved the $6-million Bartlett Station condominiums project being proposed by Windale Development. The 16-unit development will help revitalize a shuttered bus depot property. The development at the edge of Dudley Square will feature 13 two-bedroom units and three, three-bedroom units. The project is part of a larger residential and retail development known as Bartlett Place, which will eventually bring 332 units of new housing, 45,000 square feet of commercial space, a plaza for events, arts space, and a public market, according to the BRA. The $22-million expansion project by construction management firm Suffolk Construction on Allerton Street is to accommodate its future growth. The company expects to increase its 300-person workforce by 10% in the next few years. The approved plan calls for Suffolk to demolish four vacant buildings next to its current offices to make way for an upgraded headquarters that will include improved workspaces, a new employee cafeteria, a fitness center, training and conference rooms and outdoor gathering spaces.