Lansdowne Street clubs to become concert hall

Nightclub owner Patrick Lyons won city approval yesterday to build a $14 million , 2,500-seat concert hall on Lansdowne Street across from Fenway Park.

The board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority unanimously endorsed Lyons's proposal to combine his two existing Lansdowne Street clubs, Avalon and Axis, into one posh entertainment complex. Lyons said the larger scale of the new venue is necessary for Boston to attract top-tier music acts in an era where live performances are more important than ever for artists.

"There's been a change in the music business because of digital music and the fall of CDs, where the only way artists make money today is touring. The 2,500-seat or 3,000-seat venue is the sweet spot for those tours," Lyons said, adding that Boston currently doesn't have such a facility. "This will keep us ahead of the curve," he said.

Lyons also revealed more of his ambitions to transform Lansdowne Street from a drab party strip into a swanky, illuminated entertainment and dining district anchored by his new club and five restaurants that he controls. Two of those restaurants, Game On and La Verdad Taqueria , are already in operation, and Lyons plans to renovate two of his other clubs on the street -- Modern and Embassy -- into eateries.

He also has designs on another restaurant, which he said should open before the start of baseball season next year. He declined to disclose the location or concept behind that restaurant.

"We've made a significant investment in the transformation of Lansdowne Street into a restaurant row," he said.

That area of the city may be further transformed by other significant developments on the books. Developer John Rosenthal, for example, has proposed building a 1.3-million-square-foot complex, with two residential towers, on Massachusetts Turnpike Authority property a few hundreds yards west of Lyons's Lansdowne Street holdings.

Lyons said his music hall project should be completed within a year. Currently, Avalon and Axis can hold 2,100 and 1,100 people respectively.

Under the new plan, the clubs would renovated into one 35,000- square-foot facility, to be called Lansdowne Street Music Hall.

It would have a stage that could be moved to accommodate the props and sets of various bands and new dressing rooms for performers.

Renderings of the proposed hall show several boxy additions somewhat taller than the existing low-level structures, but with the facades of the existing buildings preserved.

During the meeting yesterday, BRA board member Christopher J. Supple questioned whether Lyons was certain the existing facades could be saved, and was told by architect Gary C. Johnson, a principal of the firm Cambridge Seven, that the company would make every effort to do so.

Lyons's plan also has the support of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who released a statement lauding the development.

"The addition of this new music venue will enliven the ever-popular entertainment district, and the much needed restaurant space will give people more options when they attend a concert or Red Sox games," Menino said.

Keith Reed can be reached at reed@globe.com.