By Isabel Hart
The plans to restore and renovate the historic Hotel Alexandra on the border of Boston’s South End and Roxbury neighborhoods have changed many times over the past several years, but developers of the property said they are close to getting the go-ahead from city planners.
The newest version of the proposal for the Victorian hotel, which dates to the late 1800s, is the fourth iteration of revitalization plans for the property. The years-long process to find a new use for the Washington Street building has taken turns from ideas for a hotel, then housing, back to a hotel again.
The current plan is a 68-room boutique-style hotel which will maintain the original look of the property and will include an adjacent addition at the same height as the original property. The plan includes space for retail or a restaurant on the ground floor. The latest proposal, which developer Tom Calus said is an updated plan from last year, is currently on deck to complete the Boston Planning and Development Agency process on May 15. An approval would give the developer the green light to begin.
Last year’s plan involved a more significant addition in the form of a 12-story tower, which proved to be controversial and a sticking point in the neighborhood, Calus said. The project is now more of a restoration, he said.
The cost of the project was not disclosed, but it is earmarked to receive $6 million in funding through the state’s economic development bill for the restoration of the historic facade.
Should the plan win approval from the BPDA, Calus said the hope is to begin construction this year.
“We like this plan and we are going to get it moving as quickly as possible,” Calus said.
The hotel market in Boston has still not fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, but developers and investors are looking toward the future. Another new hotel, this one a 15-story build in the Seaport, is also being proposed to the BPDA.