| A Kenmore Square hotel was granted Boston landmark status in a vote that could limit a developer’s attempt to build a life science complex on the Beacon Street property.
Developer IQHQ has proposed a life science development at the location of the 1897 hotel, prompting preservationists to rally against major changes to the property.
As a result of Tuesday’s vote by the Boston Landmarks Commission, Mayor Michelle Wu has 15 days to approve or deny the decision. The City Council can overturn Wu’s decision by a two-thirds vote.
The designation would require changes to the property to be reviewed by the Landmarks Commission, in addition to the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
“IQHQ has been working with the city to ensure that our plans for redeveloping The Buckminster recognize its historical significance to Kenmore Square and the needs of the neighborhood. The proposal before the Landmarks Commission would allow us to revitalize a key corner of Kenmore Square, while preserving historical elements of the building’s facade,” IQHQ Development Director Kim Thai said in a statement today.
In January, IQHQ notified the BPDA of a proposed 461,300-square-foot life science project at the hotel property and neighboring parcels at 615, 655-665 and 677-679 Beacon St. In the notification letter, the company said it would substantially renovate the hotel.
The Boston Preservation Alliance sought to protect the hotel, submitting a petition last year seeking to designate the property as a landmark.
“After so much loss of historic fabric in Kenmore Square and the larger Fenway neighborhood, The Buckminster Hotel is now that much more essential to the neighborhood’s sense of place, character, and history,” the Alliance wrote.
A report by Landmarks Commission staff detailed the Renaissance Revival-style building’s historical and architectural significance, ranging from appearances by jazz luminaries Louis Armstrong and Dave Brubeck at its Storyville nightclub in the 1950s, to the hotel’s role in the 1919 World Series-fixing scandal as the meeting place between a Chicago White Sox player and a Boston bookmaker.
“This iconic site is now one step closer to becoming Boston’s next historic Landmark and we look forward to that official designation and future discussions with the owner about how to bring the Buckminster back to life,” Boston Preservation Alliance Executive Director Alison Frazee said in a statement following this week’s vote.
