Developers have begun planning a new apartment building at the northern corner of the Back Bay Fens, delivering a renewed stretch of public space and desperately needed mid-tier housing.

Scape North America, the project’s proponent, first submitted its plan in August. It’s now one week away from completing its public comment period and has begun review with the project’s Impact Advisory Group (IAG), a group of residents gathered to ensure the construction fits with the surrounding community.

The proposed building at 2 Charlesgate West Street has 23 stories and 250,000 square feet in total, divided into 400 apartments, 3,000 square feet of retail on the first floor, and 75 parking spaces underground.

Andrew Flynn,, CEO of Scape North America, said the project would fill a gap in the Fenway’s housing market.

“This plan would deliver additional workforce and middle-market housing to the neighborhood,” he said.

“We want to meet not only the existing shortages in the Fenway but also the increasing need for housing that will come with the neighborhood’s planned commercial developments. That said, this is just a starting point, and it's going to evolve through the public input process.”

Apart from the 52 units of affordable housing units the new building would bring, developers are offering improvements to the public spaces along the northeastern edges of the property. The plan would remove some parallel parking spaces along Ipswich Street to widen sidewalks and create a small park at the corner to link it with the Back Bay Fens.

Architects also say it would be a boon to the urban fabric of the neighborhood, strengthening pedestrian connections behind the property and replacing the incongruous building currently on the lot with one that better fits the aesthetics and height of the neighborhood.

The property has long been a target for development, serving as a gateway to the neighborhood as the first thing many people see driving in.

The towering 23 stories now planned are nevertheless significantly smaller than an abandoned 2016 proposal, whose 29 stories would have been over a hundred feet higher.

Though the IAG was receptive to the developers plans, there were a couple of points that it suggested might need changing.

Marie Fukuda, longtime Fenway resident and board member of the Fenway Civic Association, was among the IAG members that noted how the current mix of housing prioritizes smaller apartments.

“There’s so much this project has to offer the neighborhood, given our lack of workforce and mid-income housing, especially the lack of units with two or more bedrooms,” she said.

“The mix right now is weighted largely toward the studio program and I’d like to see it change to deliver what's missing in the Fenway, the two-bedroom and larger apartments that would allow working families to stay in the neighborhood.”

Another aspect likely to see scrutiny is the wind profile of the building. While most areas around the property in the wind analysis saw negligible change, the current plan would funnel wind toward the northeast corner. IAG members said that sections of the Bowker overpass can already be difficult to navigate on windy days, and a wind rating of “uncomfortable” even in just a narrow slice might be a problem.

Overall, the members of the IAG were enthusiastic about the proposal. Developers had already taken note of some of the issues they highlighted and stressed that the plan is all but certain to adapt to community feedback.

A planned redesign of the streets around the property will need to be taken into account, possibly connecting the sidewalks even further to Boston’s alternative transport network.

“It’s a very thoughtful plan on a very challenging site,” said Tom Yardley, vice president of area planning and development with city planning nonprofit MASCO.

“Widening sidewalks is fantastic. As the project proceeds, incorporating any of the plans around a redesign of the Bowker Overpass might be helpful. From a regional perspective, connecting to the Esplanade and the Paul Dudley Bike Path could make this part of an important bike corridor. The bridge is expected to have multimodal elements, and that’s going to dump cyclists right here.”