A downtown nightclub building is being converted to residential space

A former nightclub might soon see new life in residential apartments. 

Brookline developer Jiahao Chi of Franklin Holdings Group, which owns the building, submitted an application to the Boston Planning Department on Friday with plans to convert the commercial building at 295-297 Franklin St. into residential apartments. 

The project would create 18 apartments with average market rents of $2,600 to $5,700 per month and continue to have ground-floor commercial space in the former multi-story Umbria Prime steakhouse and nightclub. 

The application says the new buildout could include a vertical expansion of the building, subject to structural engineering studies. 

The proposal includes 13 studio apartments and five one-bedrooms. To meet the 20% affordability minimum, the developers will reserve four units for households earning a maximum of 60% of the area median income. 

The Boston assessors department says the building, over 14,000 square feet, was built in 1900. 

The developers estimate the project will cost $4 million. Team members include Peabody-based architects DMS designers and H+O structural engineers in Boston. 

The proposal is the latest commercial building to transform under the City’s Office to Residential Conversion tax incentive program. The city extended the deadline to apply to the end of 2025. 

Those in the program will enter into a payment in lieu of taxes or PILOT agreement, providing an average abatement of up to 75% of fair market-assessed residential value for up to 29 years. The program also gives a fast-track review by the Boston Planning Department. 

At the end of June, the state announced an additional $15 million in funding for the program to encourage larger-scale office buildings to convert to housing. The state funding will go toward $215,000 per affordable unit, with a cap of $4 million per project. 

The pilot has received nine applications to create 412 housing units across 13 buildings, converting 403,000 square feet of office space to residential as of the end of June.