The Government Center Garage could be replaced with the city?s latest mixed-use project overlooking the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway.
A controversial icon of Boston?s urban renewal of the 1960s could face the wrecking ball.
The owners of the Government Center Garage, previously mum on plans for the site?s future, said Monday they want to replace the concrete structure with a mix of hotel, office and retail space as well as condominiums.
Erasing the city?s largest parking lot would reconnect the North End and the Bulfinch Triangle neighborhoods with the downtown, Stephen G. Kasnet, chief executive officer of the Raymond Property Co., the building?s owners, told Banker & Tradesman.
?That building is like the Berlin Wall and we want it demolished to create a destination that fits into the fabric of the city,? Kasnet said.
Last year, Bulfinch Congress Holdings, a subsidiary of the Boston-based developer, paid $132.8 million for the 11-story facility adjacent to the Haymarket MBTA station. It includes 2,310 parking spaces, 275,000 square feet of office space and several retailers.
Kasnet said the timing could be right to demolish the building because the facility?s largest office tenant will end its lease in 2010.
?We have lots of ideas, but nothing is set in concrete,? he said. ?The question is what proportions of office, retail, hotel and residential makes the most sense. But if we cannot reach consensus on what is appropriate for the site, we could live happily with a new tenant in that building and reexamine the idea in 10 years.?
The developer has scheduled a community meeting June 18 for residents to share ideas on how the four-acre site should be redeveloped. The session will be held on the 10th floor of the garage at 6 p.m.
