The Center Plaza office complex in Government Center.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority yesterday approved $136.3 million in projects, including 216 residential units and a makeover of the Center Plaza office complex in Government Center.
Shorenstein Properties plans to spend $25 million to update the 900-foot-long retail arcade that wraps around the front of the 717,128-square-foot building, as it looks for new tenants to replace the Federal Bureau of Investigation offices in anticipation of the agency’s relocation in 2017. The project includes a 9,400-square-foot addition to the ground and mezzanine levels for new retail and restaurant space. Other new amenities will include a conference center, bike room and rooftop renovations, including a 21,000-square-foot penthouse addition with office space and a roof garden.
Shorenstein acquired the complex, which was built as part of the Government Center urban renewal project in the 1960s, for $307 million in 2014.
Other projects approved Thursday by the BRA board:
- A $44 million redevelopment of the Whittier Street public housing complex into 387 mixed-income residential units and 7,600 square feet of new commercial space.
- A $37 million project to add 76 housing units along Melnea Cass Boulevard near the Ruggles MBTA station by the nonprofit Madison Park Development Corp.
- A $12 million facility in the Newmarket Commercial District for Boston Self Storage.
- A $10 million conversion of an industrial parcel at 425 LaGrange St. in West Roxbury into a 49,800-square-foot apartment complex containing 48 units by Charles River Realty.
- An $8.25 million mixed-use building at 120 West Fourth St. in South Boston, including nine residential units, photography studio and retail space.
- The board also designated Melnea Partners LLC, led by Boston-based Urbanica, as preferred developer for a $38 million hotel and mixed-use complex on parcel 9 off Melnea Cass Boulevard in Roxbury. The project will include a 108-unit Melnea Hotel and Residences operated by Residence Inn, 50 apartments and 8,000 square feet of retail space. The property is owned by the BRA and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
