The Boston Planning and Development Agency recently released the Downtown Waterfront District Municipal Waterfront Plan (the “Waterfront Plan”). While virtually the entire Boston Harbor Waterfront is subject to Chapter 91 jurisdiction, municipalities are allowed to modify Chapter 91 regulations, as recently amended and promulgated by MassDEP, by enacting municipal harbor plans. In return for the
Boston Redevelopment Authority 1957-2016 – RIP?
Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced this week that the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is not only changing its name, but changing its business practices and approach with communities affected by the unprecedented real estate development boom Boston is currently experiencing. The BRA’s new moniker is the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) and will still
Affordable, Or Just Tiny?
Efforts to promote affordable housing in Boston are starting to sound like potato chip marketing, boasting “40% less fat” for a bag of chips that’s actually 40% smaller. The Boston Redevelopment Authority is now authorizing apartment units as small as 450 square feet within one mile of public transit stops.
The problem, according to Boston’s chief planner,
Harvard’s Big Plans For Allston Are Alright And OK
Harvard University recently released its new master plan (pdf) detailing expansion plans for its Allston campus. Besides adding several new buildings to the Business School, Harvard plans to resume construction of the science center complex where a lonely foundation sits, a casualty of the economic crisis that hit a few years back. The master plan also contemplates the resurrection of
Innovation in Allston: Nation’s First Green District Takes Root
In 2007, Boston was the first city in the nation to adopt Green Building provisions, known as Article 37 (pdf). Those provisions require reduced emissions from privately-owned buildings, and require all 
buildings over 50,000 square feet to comply with LEED certification standards. Now, Boston’s Allston neighborhood is home to the nation’s first Green District. The 500 sustainable rental
BRA Approves $615M Project to Fill the Filene’s Crater
It looks like the 5-year-old hole in the ground where Filene’s used to sit in Downtown Crossing is finally going to be filled. Last night, in a much anticipated vote, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved the proposed Millennium Tower and Burnham Building. The 1.2M square-foot project includes housing, office space, retail space, restaurant space, and a health
New Roxbury Project Sure Beats a Highway
Tremont Crossing, a project that recently filed for approval from the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), is a $300 million mixed use
development slated for construction on 8 acres of land on Tremont Street in Roxbury. The project filing follows the groundbreaking of the Dudley Municipal Center and is proposed for a long-neglected but strategically located parcel that is an an important piece of
More on the Kick-Start of the East Boston Waterfront
As reported here, the City of Boston has committed to kick-start redevelopment of the largely dormant East Boston waterfront with the construction of sewer and water lines and roadways. Listen here for Radio Boston’s recent interview of two long-time players in Boston waterfront redevelopment, Vivien Li of The Boston Harbor Association and Rich McGuinness, Deputy Director of Waterfront
Boston’s Biotech Building Boom – a Glimmer of Hope for the East Boston Waterfront
In another sign that the the Boston-area commercial real estate market is on the rebound, construction of biotech facilities is taking off. Of the approximately 2.6 million square feet of major construction currently taking place in Boston and Cambridge, over 2 million square feet is to house new pharmaceutical R&D facilities for the area’s major biotech
$500 Million Copley Place Residential Project Shadowed by Opposition
Simon Property Group’s proposal to build a residential tower to complete the expansion of Copley Place was unanimously approved by the Boston Redevelopment Authority last week. At 47 stories and 800,000 square feet, Simon’s project will include 318 residential units (condominiums or rentals to be determined), and additional retail space (including an expanded Nieman Marcus), making