Developer Proposes Bringing Back Beloved Allston Music Venue With Apartments Above
A developer is proposing to bring back Allston's popular Great Scott music venue down the street from where it closed in 2020 and construct a multifamily building above it.
The Noannet Group, in partnership with the owner of the Great Scott music venue and music management company Redefined, have proposed a new mixed-use development at 1-11 Harvard Ave. and 382-390 Cambridge St. in Allston, according to a Friday filing with the Boston Planning Department.
The developer plans to build a new 300-seat music venue, a bar and 139 residential units.
"The project will serve as a launching pad for Boston's next generation of talented musicians, create new employment and training opportunities in the local entertainment/retail/food service industries, and help meet the city's urgent need for additional housing," Donald Weist, founding partner at Dain, Torpy, Le Ray, Wiest & Garner and attorney for the developer, wrote in the filing.
The developer wants to "bring back Allston's beloved Great Scott performance space" with the new 300-person venue as well as the reconstruction of the O'Brien Pub music venue and bar that is located on the site.
Great Scott opened its doors in 1976 at 1222 Commonwealth Ave. and hosted acts including Charli XCX, MGMT, Jack Harlow and Phoebe Bridgers before they reached stardom, Boston.com reported.
The music venue closed in 2020 during the pandemic, but more than 25,000 people signed a petition protesting the closure, and the venue received more than $300K to find a new home in the neighborhood.
In July, the venue announced that it would reopen blocks away from its former home in an old Pizza Regina location at 1 Harvard Ave., Boston.com reported. The deal allows the venue to own its own space, something it hadn't done at its Commonwealth Avenue location.
The 105-foot-tall, 95K SF project is planned to include an acoustical barrier between the venues and the residential units on top. The project wouldn't include parking but would have "ample" bike parking and three on-site car-sharing spaces operated by a third-party company like Zipcar.
The developer also wants to incorporate unique design values like a modernized version of the music venue's notable green awning at the main entrance.
Redefined CEO Paul Armstrong and The Noannet Group President Jordan Warshaw, the developer behind the new project, worked on the deal with Great Scott.
