Photo courtesy of IQHQ
Life science developer IQHQ Inc. will seek approval for a 461,300-square-foot project in Boston’s Kenmore Square including the former Hotel Buckminster property.
IQHQ proposes constructing a new building next to the Kenmore Square hotel, which shut down following the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020.
The Boston Landmarks Commission received a petition to designate the hotel as a landmark in 2022 and is preparing a study report, spokeswoman Stacia Sheputa said today.
The 1.1-acre site also includes a parking lot at 615 Beacon St., and a pair of 4- and 3-story commercial buildings at 655-665 and 677-679 Beacon St., both of which would be demolished. Boston University owns the 677-679 Beacon St. property, according to property records.
The new building would have a height of 215 feet, and include nearly 28,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and restaurant space, according to a project notification form.
IQHQ bought the hotel and 655-665 Beacon St. properties in November 2021 for $42.5 million. At the time, IQHQ said the acquisition fits into the company’s plans to turn the Fenway into Boston’s next major life science cluster.
The company is partnering with Meredith Management to build two office-lab buildings above the Massachusetts Turnpike.
IQHQ also received approval last year to convert 109 Brookline Ave. into 239,000 square feet of office, lab and research space.
Its proposal to demolish a Brighton building that contains the Sound Museum recording and rehearsal studios has reignited a debate about the displacement of Boston’s arts and cultural venues by higher-income-producing uses.
