Condos are coming to the former James's Gate space. The city's Zoning Board of Appeals this morning approved a proposal to replace the former Irish pub with an 11-condo building called "The Gate," reports Universal Hub.
Rendering of proposal for multi-use building at 5 McBride St., as of Dec. 7, 2016.
As previously reported on Jamaica Plain News, in December, the JP Neighborhood Council's Zoning Committee voted 8-2 with one abstention to support the plan at 5 McBride St. The project was scaled back from an initially proposed five stories to four, although it does include a design feature that juts up from the fourth floor so that the peak roughly reaches where a fifth story would have ended.
Most of the building's condos will have one or two bedrooms, and two of the 11 units will be designated affordable. The first floor will contain commercial space. According to Universal Hub, at the ZBA meeting, Mayor Marty Walsh and Jamaica Plain City Councilor Matt O'Malley expressed support for the project. Two neighbors voiced opposition, stating that the building is too tall and dense for the surrounding neighborhood.
The much-loved James's Gate pub closed abruptly in September 2015. Just this week, Egleston Square Main Street shared on its Facebook page that a reincarnation of the pub, also to be called "The Gate," is scheduled to open in Egleston Square this March. The new neighborhood restaurant and bar will serve lunch and dinner seven days a week and is being headed up by Paul Byrne, a former co-owner of James's Gate. Its website is already live.
More on Jamaica Plain News:
'The Gate' Building Would Take James's Gate Spot
So Long, Old Friend: James's Gate Property Sold to Residential Developer