Developers will soon file plans for recreation of Allston's Great Scott in new building with 139 apartments

A developer and two local-music fans say they will soon file detailed plans to turn the corner of Harvard Avenue and Cambridge Street into a next-gen music hub, with a re-opening of the fabled Great Scott able to hold 300 people, next to a rebuilt O'Brien's Pub, in a "striking mid-rise structure" that will also include 139 apartments and "neighborhood retail food/beverage and retail space."

Great Scott closed in the early days of the pandemic at its longtime home at Harvard and Commonwealth Avenues, where it was replaced by a Taco Bell Cantina.

The new building would include the current O'Brien's and space now taken up by the former Stingray Body Arts, according to a "letter of intent" filed with the Boston Planning Department this week by the lawyer for Carl Lavin, who now owns Great Scott's intellectual property, Paul Armstrong, who runs Boston entertainment Web site Vanyaland, and developer Jordan Warshaw, who built the Raffles hotel in the Back Bay.

The project will serve as a launching pad for Boston's next generation of talented musicians, created new employment and training opportunities in the local entertainment/retail/food service industries and help meet the city's urgent need for additional housing.

The letter promises the new building would shake up the current low-rise and brick stylings of the intersection of Harvard and Cambridge:

It will be wrapped in a bold, non-traditional architectural design that will symbolize the energy and rhythms of the performances taking place within it. The new building will be strategically set back to create relief areas for concert attendees as they queue, and it will feature an updated take on Great Scott's signature awning over the main corner area.

The building would be 105 feet tall.

The apartments will be "small, economically efficient units in this lively corner of the city with excellent transit access," the filing continues - adding the building will include an acoustical barrier between the Great Scott and O'Brien's spaces from the residences abvoe.

The proposed building would have no parking for residents, but will have three spaces for Zipcar or another car-sharing service.

One thing the three won't have to worry about is buying a liquor license for the venues. In August, the Boston Licensing Board gave them permission to buy O'Brien's and its liquor license. They have said they will keep O'Brien's open during construction.

1 Harvard Ave. filings.