BRA Approves $60M Mixed-Use Complex in Downtown Crossing

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) unanimously voted in favor of a development project called “59 Temple Place” that will transform a pair of connected buildings on Washington Street between West Street and Temple Place in Downtown Crossing into a 135,500-square-foot complex featuring a boutique hotel, restaurant, retail space and a spa center.

By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) unanimously voted in favor of a development project called “59 Temple Place” that will transform a pair of connected buildings on Washington Street between West Street and Temple Place in Downtown Crossing into a 135,500-square-foot complex featuring a boutique hotel, restaurant, retail space and a spa center. The approval was granted almost six months after Chicago-based real estate investment and development firm Oxford Capital Group LLC unveiled its intention to revitalize a part of Boston’s shopping district.

According to Boston.com, the developer acquired 59 Temple Place from Northland Investment Corp. for $23.2 in early 2012, with plans to transform the building into a 240-room boutique hotel with entrances on Washington Street and Temple Place.

Under plans created by interior design and architecture firm Gettys of Chicago, the $60 million project will renovate the historic Blake Building, an 11-story office facility located at 59-63 Temple Place, and the six-story Amory Building at 501-507 Washington Street, which is owned by co-developer Walton Oxford Capital Temple, LLC.

Apart from the boutique hotel, the development will feature a 4,800-square-foot restaurant, 2,800 square feet of retail space and a spa center of 1,500 square feet. The project will create 90 construction jobs and 100 permanent jobs and, once completed, it will generate around $1.5 million in property taxes and $1.4 million in City hotel taxes.

Walton Oxford Temple will donate $100,000 to The Wang YMCA of Chinatown, Boston Asian: Youth Essential Services Youth Ready for Work Program, Kwong Kow Chinese School Afterschool Program, and Asian American Civic Association Work Force Development. Also, the company will work closely with the MBTA to upgrade lighting and signage at the Downtown Crossing T stop.

The development team also includes Goodwin Procter, legal counsel; Epsilon Association, permitting consultant; Exclusive Real Estate, development consultant, and Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, transportation consultant.

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Photo of 59 Temple Place courtesy of the Boston Redevelopment Authority

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