Last year about this time, the owners of 1-2 Thompson Sq. filed for a major renovation to their property on Warren Street next to the Five Cent Bank building, only to be postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
However, now they are coming back to the table with their $10.6 million project, which would add a five-story building where the one-story real estate office is located next to the Five Cent – a Landmarked property in Boston – and build out nine condo ownership units in an L-shaped structure.
Owners James DeVellis and Thompson Square Partners re-filed with the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) in January for Small Project Review and have a comment period that ends on March 30. Already, they’ve had some preliminary meetings with the BPDA and Boston Landmarks about how to fit the building appropriately into the historic area – not to offend the nature of the showstopping architecture at the Five Cent Bank.
The development plan, in brief, would consist of filling out the empty spot next to the Starbucks where the one-story building is located, going up five stories and wrapping around the back of the Five Cent. Inside would be nine units of condo ownership, with nine parking spaces in an internal garage accessed from Church Court/Dexter Row. There would be retail space on the ground floor and a brand new granite stone plaza area in front of the new structure. Amenities for new residents would include a common roof deck, a kitchen and gym above the third floor.
The unit count would include some rather large condo spaces, with six two-bedroom units and three, three-bedroom units. The two-bedroom units average 1,240 sq. ft., and the three-bedroom units average 1,568 sq. ft. A three-bedroom penthouse style unit is 3,408 sq. ft. with a 635 sq. ft. exterior deck. The amenities would be on the fourth floor, including a gym, common space and shared exterior deck facing Warren Street.
The hope would be to commence construction, if approved, in September 2021, and the construction period would last about one year.
A key component in the development are the materials used on the exterior of the building given the historic nature of the Thompson triangle.
The filing indicated they would be distinct, yet complimentary.
“At the front elevation, the fourth and fifth floors will step back from the lower three floors, minimizing the new addition’s perceived massing along Warren
Street,” read the filing. “The lower three floors will be clad with copper panels. The upper two floors, as well as the bridges linking the new addition to the existing building, will be clad in grey Rheinzink panels and be similar in color to the slate mansard roof of 1 Thompson Sq. The granite plaza below will create a visual buffer between the existing sidewalk and new addition. The east, north, and west elevations will be red brick, similar to that of the existing building. The first floor will have maximum fenestration to provide a visually pleasing storefront, to enhance the existing streetscape.”
Public meetings have not yet been scheduled on the project, but the comment period for the initial filing does end on March 30.