Image courtesy of Stantec

A $226 million construction loan will jumpstart construction of a 34-story apartment tower on Huntington Avenue in the Fenway.

Homebuilder Toll Brothers’ apartment division and PGIM Real Estate announced they formed a joint venture on the 446-unit project at 252-264 Huntington Ave., to be known as Lyra, and new rehearsal space for the Huntington Theatre Company.

Wells Fargo, BNY Mellon and The Bank of East Asia provided the construction financing for the project, which is Toll Brothers Apartment Living’s first in Boston. The company had previously bought and financed a previously-permitted 525-unit apartment building in Cambridge’s Alewife neighborhood.

The groundwork for the project was laid in 2016 when Quinlong Management and Matteson Cos. acquired the Huntington Theatre and two single-story buildings from Boston University for $25 million. Boston University previously had leased the 870-seat theater to the Huntington Theatre.

Developers and theater organizers worked out an agreement to include the cultural component in the project and deed the theater building to the arts organization. The Boston Planning and Development Agency approved the project in July 2019.

Plans include 14,000 square feet of cultural space and a 5,500-square-foot restaurant in the new tower. Next door, a five-story, 42,000-square-foot building will provide rehearsal space, costume shops and dressing rooms for the theater company, replacing the existing annex building. The tower includes a roof lounge and terrace and a 114-space underground garage.

“In the wake of COVID, we have seen a strong rebound in the demand for apartments in Boston, leading to rising occupancies and rents throughout the cities’ neighborhoods,” PGIM Real Estate Managing Director Frank Garcia said in a statement.