The new Jacob Wirth will have four apartments on top

The Zoning Board of Appeal today gave its blessing to a plan by City Realty to convert some fire-ravaged living space into four apartments above the old Jacob Wirth that it's now converting into a new Jacob Wirth on Stuart Street.

The apartments, which would be carved out of what was once a single apartment, meet zoning regulations for the space, but needed formal approval by the zoning board because it's in a groundwater conservation overlay district. The district is aimed at ensuring rainwater is not diverted from the wooden pilings that support older Boston Proper buildings,which need to be bathed in water to keep from rotting.

The board issued its approval after Christian Simonelli of the Boston Groundwater Trust said City Realty had shown the work would not harm groundwater recharge in the area.

City Realty, whose principals have been buying up Boston bars in recent years, paid $5.27 million to buy the historic old Jacob Wirth earlier this year and has begun extensive renovation work to restore the German-infused bar and restaurant to the way it was before a 2018 fire. The fire, which started in the upper-floor residential space, did not reach into the restaurant, but most of the water used to put it out did, causing extensive damage.

Jacob Wirth had been serving up beer and food for 150 years, originally on the other side of Stuart Street.