An architectural look at new BTU building. Rendering by Perkins + Will

The Boston Teachers Union (BTU) has filed a proposal with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) to bulldoze its existing building on Columbia Point and replace it with a new headquarters twice its size.

The plan, filed with the BRA on Dec. 15, would demolish the current building at 188 Mt. Vernon St. Its replacement would retain the current uses, including the BTU Health and Welfare Fund offices, a credit union, an optical shop, meeting rooms, and function halls. The proposal will also add an adjacent two-story parking garage. The new building, which they hope to complete by February 2018, would be LEED certified with updated landscaping.

As noted in the BRA filings, the BTU project’s building and on-site roadways have been designed with the Columbia Point Master Plan in mind. The additional parking garage will also meet the parking demand created by large events, which currently requires attendees to park in adjacent UMass Boston lot space.

BRA president Richard Stutman told the Reporter that despite the Olympic plans, he and others planned to go full steam ahead with the BTU project.

“We have plans filed to do whatever we have to do on our own facility,” Stuttman said Thursday. “These are independent actions. What they do isn’t going to affect us.”

Last week, Boston 2024, the private organization behind the city’s Olympic bid, announced the proposed sites for the summer Olympic games, which would include the BTU site and much of Columbia Point for the Athlete’s Village.

“We don’t anticipate any problems,” Stutman said.