Developer hopes to button up city approval for short-term housing in Downtown Crossing

Work's already underway on Temple Place
A developer hopes to turn vacant space above the Windsor Button Shop, 29 Temple Pl., into 44 housing units marketed to medical residents and film makers in town for short stays.

Joseph Hanley, lawyer for the Suites at Temple Place, told the Boston Licensing Board the button shop would stay where it is. He emphasized the suites would not be marketed to undergraduates.

Nearby merchants and residents generally spoke in favor of the plan as a way to bring more vitality to the neighborhood, although one resident expressed concern about the building turning into an SRO if the economy continues to sour.