Straddling The South End and Roxbury, Abandoned Alexandra Hotel Project Gains Momentum

​BOSTON–A new proposal to the Boston Planning & Development Agency has gained further approval for the project developers to preserve and restore the facade and renovate the property to a 150-room boutique hotel.

In a release, the developers have stated, “the project will simultaneously protect and preserve a piece of Boston history while also activating a street corner with positive economic activity that it has for so long been lacking.”

The building site is at the corner of Mass Ave and Washington Street on the border of Roxbury and the South End, where the Alexandra Hotel has sat vacant and boarded up for decades. It has attracted numerous failed development attempts made to save the historic structure.

Now the development team, Alexandra Partners, LLC, is proposing to maintain the historical facade and renovate the building to a new, approximately 150 room, twelve-story boutique hotel. The investment team of Jas Bhogal, a Boston real estate professional for Gibson, Sotheby’s, Thomas Calus, of TCR Development and construction manager,Nicholas Colavito, are working with CBT Architects to bring life back to the once-thriving property that has been abandoned and seen as an eye-sore at the busy intersection.

Built in 1875, the building was once a shining example of that period’s Ruskinian Gothic architecture. According to the plans, due to decades of neglect and extensive water infiltration, the existing structure is no longer viable and will accordingly be replaced. The new plans propose a rooftop level bar-restaurant with access to a deck overlooking the City. The basement may include a fitness room as an amenity for hotel guests.

New Hotel Alexandra Rendering, courtesy CBT Architects