Add another new Boston development to the list. The former owner of the Park Plaza and Copley Square hotels wants to build a hotel that that could rise up to 35 floors. It would be deliberately designed to be a unique addition to the city's skyline. Per Casey "Scoops" Ross in The Globe:
No formal plans have been filed with the city, but people with knowledge of the project said the developer intends to seek approval for a 400,000-square-foot hotel and residential complex along Stuart Street. ... In a statement, the project’s joint-venture partners—Gary and Jeffrey Saunders, and Jordan Warshaw—said they want to create a “signature’’ building that complements the existing architecture in the neighborhood. The hotel would go on the site of the old John Hancock Hotel & Conference Center, which the development team, led by the Saunders' group, bought in December for $22.6 million. Also, it would join the relative rush of building not only in Boston at large but in Back Bay specifically, where property has enjoyed a particularly bouncy recovery from the recession. Perhaps the surest sign of this recovery: the green light last fall for a 47-story tower over Copley Place. It will be the tallest condo tower in Boston, with luxury retail mixed in, and it won approval from the city despite "Occupy the Mayor's Office" and other vociferous opposition.
This particular tower appears to be on the path to facing less local opposition. A neighborhood panel recently flagged the Hancock site as capable of hosting significant development, with a few caveats surrounding shadows and wind. Plus, the development team told Ross it wants to work with neighbors on fitting the skyline addition into the streetscape.
· Hotel Tower May Join Skyline [Globe]
· Boston's Tallest Condo Tower O.K.'d Despite 'Occupy' [Curbed Boston]