Developer AvalonBay is hoping a residential tower is the right fit for the site at 45 Stuart St. in Boston’s Theatre District, after others’ plans to build an office building and hotel and condominium tower fell through.

AvalonBay has proposed a 29-story, 390,000-square-foot residential building for the site where Downtown, Chinatown and the Theatre District meet.

The new building, named 45 Stuart Street Residences, would replace an existing surface parking lot with 404 residential units, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority filing. The upper 22 floors would contain studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. The ground floor and floors two through five would house 198 parking spaces. The first floor would contain the lobby and support space.

In 2008, Eastat Realty Capital proposed a 24-story office building at the site. Eastat’s plan came after an earlier plan to develop a hotel and condominium tower were withdrawn.

In AvalonBay’s new proposal, the company said public benefits of the new building would include increased affordable housing, an improved street/pedestrian environment, the creation of a LEED certifiable building and public parking for the Theater District.

"The project has been designed to enhance the urban fabric of the neighborhood, bringing residential uses and active frontage to the site," AvalonBay wrote in the filing. "The project will transform an underutilized site, which currently is an open-air surface parking lot, into a residential ‘24/7′ neighborhood. The project will contribute to the revitalization of this area and provide additional residential opportunities to complement the surrounding cultural, medical and education resources."

The 45 Stuart St. property, which sits next to Boston’s historic Jacob Wirth Restaurant building, was purchased by real estate investment and development company Eastat Realty Capital LLC for $7.5 million in 2009.