Board lets company renovating downtown tower buy a liquor license for a restaurant that doesn't yet exist; signals extra vigilance of such moves

A company renovating the skyscraper at 1 Lincoln St. in Downtown Crossing yesterday won the right to buy a liquor license for a currently unoccupied space to serve what it says is a growing demand for full service restaurants as more people return to office work by opening at least one restaurant, but possibly more.

It's the second time in four months the Boston Licensing Board has approved the purchase of a scarce liquor license by a landlord as an enticement to bring in somebody to build out a restaurant, rather than for an already operating concern. In December, the board approved a similar purchase by Samuels and Associates for a restaurant in the two-building complex it's now putting up along Massachusetts Avenue between Newbury and Boylston streets.

In approving the request from the Brooklyn-based Fortis, board members cautioned they're keeping a close eye on such transactions, because they don't want to see licenses effectively taken out of use for a long period of time in a city where limits imposed by the state legislature have turned liquor licenses into a scarce and increasingly expensive commodity.

"We look very closely at transfers that don't have operators," board Chairwoman Kathleen Joyce said.

Fortis attorney Lesley Delaney Hawkins said Fortis has no plans to simply sit on the license, but is hoping to have a restaurant operator selected within three to six months.

Delaney Hawkins pointed to the same shortage of licenses as board members did as a reason Fortis had to buy a license now - in this case from the Boston College Club on Federal Street. In a city where full liquor licenses now go for more than $600,000 on the open market, it's become very difficult to find a restaurant operator willing to commit to a space, or the full price of license, she said.

"In this market, it is becoming increasingly difficult to even engage in a conversation with operators if you don't have a license," she said, adding Fortis is "very much engaged" in talking to prospective operators. She said the area is "rapidly growing" and that "as people are returning to work, we're seeing demand for new establishments."

Board members added that once Fortis does find an operator, the board will require it to hold meetings with direct abutters and the local neighborhood association before coming back to the board to switch the liquor license to that person or company.