Developer plans hotel near Fenway
A Boston developer is proposing to build a new hotel on Brookline Avenue near Fenway Park, scrapping prior plans for a lab and office building on the property.
Bill McQuillan, principal of Boylston Properties, filed a revised proposal with the Boston Redevelopment Authority today, outlining plans for a 183-room, extended-stay hotel and a ground-floor restaurant or retail store at 121 Brookline Ave. The hotel would replace a one-story retail building that currently houses ACE tickets.
The firm is the latest of several developers to propose a hotel or apartments in place of new office space, which has become harder to finance as rents fall in the current economy. Boylston Properties received approval in June 2007 to build a six-story lab and office building at 121 Brookline Ave., but the firm was unable to proceed with construction.
"The proposed extended stay hotel will address the need of Boston's visitors, the area's educational community, and in particular the medical and research community of the nearby Longwood Medical Area," Boylston Properties wrote in its filing.
The revised plan still needs approval from the authority.
