Berklee College last week bought the half-acre 2 Charlesgate West parcel where a British developer trying to break into the Boston housing market had won city approval - and even a change in city ordinance - to build a 28-story, 400-unit apartment building.

Berklee paid local developer Samuels and Associates $28.1 million for the half-acre parcel, now home to an abandone eight-story office building - on Thursday, according to Suffolk County Registry of Deeds records.

Samuels in turn had paid the same amount to buy the lot and its development rights on Oct. 16 in a foreclosure sale from CMTG, a New York lender that had foreclosed on the project earlier this year when developer Scape proved unable to make mortgage payments on the project.

Scape had purchased the parcel for $39 million in

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