Last week the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) approved plans to add 9 units of housing and office space above Abe & Louie’s on Boylston Street.
The project at 761-793 Boylston St. will add nine new units of housing and 26,634 square feet of office space all while preserving the building’s historic facades.
According to plans filed with the BPDA all existing facades will remain in place while a five-story, mixed use, building is constructed from the interior.
The widely popular Back Bay steakhouse, Abe & Louie’s, as well as Atlantic Fish, both tenants of space inside the project boundary, will be preserved.
“The proposed development program provides a mix of uses complementary to the fabric of the Back Bay,” according to the BPDA. “The Project proposes an eight-story mixed use building, building upon the existing three-story building and adding five levels on top of 761-793 Boylston Street.”
Overall the project proposes approximately 15,830 square feet of retail, 25,720 square feet of office/fitness and nine residential units within the top three stories totaling approximately 18,600 square feet.
Abe & Louie’s and Atlantic Fish will still occupy the first level with additional retail on level two, followed by office space on levels three through five, and residential units on levels six through eight. A rooftop amenity for the residential units is also imagined. A lobby accessed from an entrance on Boylston Street will lead to a compact vertical elevator and fire stair core located to the northern edge of the floor plan. The core provides access to all upper levels.
“The project will preserve historic integrity while adding housing and office space,” wrote the BPDA in its ruling.