Proposed 23-story residential building in the Fenway now a proposed 30-story residential building

Scape, now nearing completion on an apartment building on Boylston Street in the Fenway, wants to increase the size of its proposed 2 Charlesgate, near the Bowker Overpass and the turnpike, from 23 to 30 floors - and to eliminate the 75 parking spaces it once planned there.

In a filing with the BPDA, Scape says its 406-unit apartment building, which would replace a nondescript office building, would include a "grand" outdoor stairway and publicly accessible elevator to get pedestrians between Ipswich and Boylston streets, next to a "major new public art piece."

Some 61 units would be rented as affordable - mostly studios. That's 15% of the total units - compared to the 13% now required by the city, but less than the 17% or even 20% officials say they hope tomove to.

The new building would not have any natural-gas hookups, the company says.

Scape says that not only will the building have no parking, its residents will be barred from obtaining Fenway resident parking stickers as part of their leases.

The Proponent believes the Project is well situated as a transit-oriented project best serving residents that do not rely on single occupancy vehicles for their ordinary day-to-day schedules

In addition to storage for 408 bicycles indoors, Scape says it will pay to have a Bluebikes station installed at the site.

Scape says the new height - which would mean just six more total apartments than it proposed in 2021, would let it minimize the impact on the neighboring Emerald Necklace parkland:

The Project massing is separated into two components on two new legal parcels that reflect the different character of the Boylston and Ipswich frontages. The Boylston massing is limited in height to continue the character of the neighboring row of pre-war apartment buildings and to comply with the height restrictions of the Parks Ordinance for parcels abutting and having an entrance onto the Emerald Necklace parks and parkways. The Ipswich massing and parcel boundary is set back from the proposed new Charlesgate bridge and separated by the Project’s proposed public stair. The taller massing along Ipswich allows for more much-needed housing – including affordable housing – while remaining in character with the spine of taller buildings along the Turnpike.

The building would have 2,860 square feet of ground-floor retail space.

Scape, based in the United Kingdom, originally entered the Boston market planning to replicate the dorm-like buildings aimed at students it builds in Europe. But after significant opposition to that sort of thing, the company switched its Boylston Street building, now nearing completion on the land where Machine used to be, to apartments.

The company will detail its proposed changes to 2 Charlesgate during an online meeting on Dec. 21.

2 Charlesgate filings and meeting and comment schedules.