Conversion of downtown Boston offices into 95 apartments wins city approval

The project is the second of its kind to receive backing from the BPDA so far.

Advancing the city’s hopes of reviving some liveliness into Boston’s post-COVID pandemic downtown, the Boston Planning & Development Agency recently backed plans to convert 10 stories of office space into 95 rental apartments.

The $36 million conversion proposal from STJ Devonshire Equity Partners LLC for its three adjoining buildings at 85 Devonshire St. and 258 and 262 Washington St. won approval from the BPDA’s Board of Directors on April 11.

The renovations make up the latest project to take advantage of a new initiative Mayor Michelle Wu has spearheaded, the Downtown Office To Residential Conversion Pilot Program, which offers tax breaks to landlords who convert workplaces into housing.

The goal, officials say, is to help bring back some of the bustle to Boston’s downtown, as the rise of remote work routines have emptied the city’s offices and diminished foot traffic — changes that have rippled through the local economy.

“Luckily, provided the building is laid out correctly, these struggling buildings can absorb and can contribute to the critical need of housing in this city,” John Pulgini, an attorney representing the owner of 85 Devonshire St., told the BPDA Board last week. “85 Devonshire will do just that.”

The three-building complex will cover 60,800 livable square feet. Of the total 95 units, 19 will be income-restricted, as set by the city’s Inclusionary Development Policy, Pulgini said.

The conversion will create 29 studio apartments, 54 one-bedroom units, and 12 two-bedroom units, plans show.

The ground floor and mezzanine levels will keep their current retail spaces, totaling 15,798 square feet, according to filings.

“This adaptive reuse not only provides much needed housing, but also will contribute a significant boost to our struggling downtown businesses by providing a much-needed influx of potential customers,” Pulgini said of the project.

Under the conversion program, developers will enter PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, agreements and will be subjected to a charge of 2% of gross proceeds should the property be sold, according to the BPDA.

Applicants must submit plans by June and start construction no later than October 2025 to be eligible.

With the green light given to 85 Devonshire, there are now two conversions that have received approval from the BPDA since the program launched last fall. BPDA officials have said that the agency’s initial hope is to create 200 to 300 new housing units and that, as of late February, it was on track to at least meet, if not exceed, that number.

“Thank you for responding to the call that we put out there to reimagine and to recognize that so many of our buildings in the downtown area have plenty of life left,” Priscilla Rojas, chair of the BPDA Board, told the developers behind 85 Devonshire.

Rojas said she was glad to see the historic buildings, each built in the early 1900s, reused rather than demolished.

“It might be a little bit of a different use, but I think it’s just a great way for us to still retain that character and have that balance and history,” she said.