Construction of the first hotel built in Roxbury since the mid-20th century is expected to begin this spring, with Boston-based developer Urbanica choosing Colwen Hotels to run the 135-room Melnea Hotel.

The $38 million project at a long-vacant 1.3-acre parcel at Melnea Cass Boulevard and Washington Street also will include 50 apartments and up to 8,000 square feet of retail space.

Melnea Partners LLC, led by Urbanica, was designated as developer by the Boston Redevelopment Authority in 2012.

“It was a complex project,” said Kamran Zahedi, president of Urbanica. “It’s kind of a frontier neighborhood and there haven’t been any hotels built there for 60 to 70 years.”

Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Colwen signed a 65-year lease with the Boston Planning and Development Agency last week, according to Suffolk County Registry of Deeds records. The lease includes a 34-year option to extend. A copy of the document was not immediately made available by the BPDA. Urbanica has indicated the hotel will operate under the Marriott Residence Inn flag.

The financing package includes new market tax credits and conventional bank debt, Zahedi said. A community benefits agreement calls for minimum wages of $18 an hour and a $400,000 contribution to a job training fund.

Groundbreaking is expected to take place in the spring, with an 15-month construction period, Zahedi said.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Colwen company manages 13 hotels in Massachusetts including two hotels at Patriot Place in Foxborough and the AC Hotel Boston North in Medford.