Developers plan to revive, expand long shuttered landmark hotel

If there is another five stories added on, I'll assume that your 'structurally sound' comments are irrelevant because of the added loads of the addition. Is this true and if so, then is it literally a facade with a new steel structure and total modern building inside? I assume the addition will resemble the existing building. I understand the added value but can it really be called historical? I'm thinking historical tax break-wise.
I did some work on an old barn a while back (inexpensive repairs, not a 'real' restoration) where it was decided to use 2x stock to intentionally make it look modern. They want restoration, they can come up with $$$ for hand carved pegged beams.

I'm also thinking of the old Customs House that started out so small.

My opinion? It could be a site like the Vendome. Buildings like that, vacant for so long are killers even (and especially) when they are being renovated.
Anything done with it is good in my opinion.

We used to skip skool to get all the hip records there!

#metoo

Nope.

But I can already feel the angry mob gathering that doesn't want a "10 story monstrosity" in their neighborhood and doesn't understand why they can't just fix it up as is. As one other commenter here has already plainly stated it's "economically viable" in its current configuration without showing their work or any other explanation beyond nostalgia.

My vote is to let the thing fall down on itself, then leave it to the neighbors who end up dragging this process out for several years to clean up the mess and hope for a savior who will restore this thing to its former glory for free.

Good guess, though.

I've been doing historic renovations in the City of Boston for over 25 years. I shouldn't assume that an 'anon' would know that just since I post under my real name. I've restored buildings in the South End in much worse structural condition than this one built from roughly the same time period (1863 to 1910). This building is particularly unique as it is so large and beautiful, has not been altered in any major structural ways over the years, and sits at the crossroads of two of the most important streets in Boston.

Some rough math:

Let's make a rough estimate that the building has 5000 square feet per floor. That's 25,000 square feet for the building. (Please excuse my memory on the exact figures, I haven't looked at the building plans in years, this is a rough ballpark).
http://app01.cityofboston.gov/ParcelViewer/?pid=0801445000

Finished high end condos in the South End are selling at roughly $1,000 per square foot. That gives you end sales numbers of $25,000,000. Commercial space and hotel space are generally valued at higher, but I'll stay with the $1000 a foot as a safe number.

Renovation costs can run typically from $400 to $700 a foot. Let's stay on the safe side and say $700 a square foot for renovations which is $17.5 million dollars, and let's throw in another $500,000 for soft costs, financing, etc.

That leaves $7 million dollars to play with, as well as the vacant parcel next to it. That parcel if rebuilt would have roughly 4000 square feet which could bring (after construction and sales figures similar to above--even though new construction is easier than renovation) roughly $1 million more.

Let's say the developer wants to make at least $2 million profit on this 2 year project. That leaves about 6 million dollars to buy the building and the parcel next to it. The city has the two parcels valued at about $4 million dollars.

It has been reported the Scientologists bought the property for 4.5 million is 2008:
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2017/08/01/hotel-alexandra/

This is where the 'business' sets in. The current owners have had carrying costs, etc. How much are they into the property for? They likely paid too much for it in 2008. So, they are holding out for the real estate market to keep going up so they can recoup or gain as much money as possible OR they make an option contract with a developer who proposes a project 10 stories high that makes the project worth much more than it currently stands. This is the value of zoning variances.

It isn't a matter of nostalgia, it's a matter of the sales price asked for by the seller. There is an old real estate truism "you don't make your money when you sell a project, you make your money when you buy the project". It is up to the neighbors and the various city agencies whether they are willing to have a 10 story building that towers over everything in the neighborhood (the 5 story building currently there dwarfs everything else now) in order to get the project done sooner rather than later. The seller will get their money, the developer will make his profit, the neighborhood will have a modern 10 story tower with an historic facade in a unique historic district. The other option is the neighbors and the City say clearly and unambiguously that they want the building restored to its former glory in its current configuration. The Scientologists would likely then have to sell the building for $3 to $6 million dollars or keep holding on to it until real estate values get up to the level they want.

As I said in my earlier post, it will be interesting to watch what happens with the project. I do think getting something done will be a boon to that major intersection and the neighborhood.

And it is huge, framed out in all wood, much bigger than private elevators today.