e e e 1 hello good afternoon my name is Priscilla roas and I am the chairwoman of the bpda board thank you for joining the March 14th 2024 Economic Development and Industrial Corporation of Boston board meeting at this time the Boston Planning and Development agency is continuing to host public meetings in a virtual setting for the health safety and accessibility of Boston residents for more information and updates visit Boston plans.org the open public meeting law requires that I notify the public that this meeting is being recorded Please be aware that an audio and visual recording of this meeting is being made and broadcast by Boston City TV which is a part of the city of Boston office of cable communications at Xfinity channel 26 RCN channel 13 and Verizon files Channel 962 it's also being live streamed at boston.gov so to begin I'll take a roll call of the members uh Miss Bennett pres Dr Lanark present Mr Shephard Pres and the chair is present okay let's make this bigger all right agenda item number one request authorization for the approval of the minutes of the February 15 2024 rep uh motion is in order no move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I uh Dr lsmark I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes item number two request authorization to enter into a license agreement with 22 Dry Dock LLC to conduct pre-development activities at 20 and 22 dry do Avenue within the Raymond Elfin Marine Park and to enter into a three-party license agreement between the economic development Industrial Corporation of Boston doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency 22 dry do LLC and NSTAR Electric doing business as eversource energy to permit the installation of a temporary Transformer to Aid in the execution of pre-development activities Mor thank you madam chair members of the board on April 14th 2022 the bpda board of directors authorized the award of tenative designation status of the 20 and22 drock Avenue site to 22 drock LLC since then the bpda board authorized the execution of two license agreements for pre-development activity on the site the last license expired on September 30th 2023 in order to continue with the completion of the remaining construction items 22 dra LLC has requested one an additional license agreement to continue with the activities and two a license agreement between udic 22 drock LLC and urce to install a temporary Transformer to a with the predevelopment activities bpda and edic I'm sorry bpda and 22 d LLC have since entered into a 30-day agreement to allow 22 Dru LLC to reactivate the on-site due diligence with an affirmative board vote today bpda will extend that agreement through June 30th 2024 the director also has the sole discretion to extend for two additional 90-day periods through December 31st 2024 additionally a vote of authorization at this board will allow the tempor temporary Transformer to be installed in run on development site for a period of 2 years and shall expire on March 14th 2026 at this time staff is recommending that one bpda enter into a license agreement with 22 droc LLC to allow them to continue predevelopment activities and two to enter into a licensed agreement between the above referenced parties and evus energy to install a temporary Transformer to Aid in the execution of predevelopment activities thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions thank you any questions or comments from the board all right hearing and saying none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr lsmark I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion pass item number three request authorization to enter into an easement agreement with NSTAR Electric Company doing business as eversource energy for the installation of electrical distribution lines at the development site known as 20 dry do Avenue and 22 Dry Dock Avenue in the Raymond Al Marine Park Moren thank you madam chair this is in reference to the 2020 um 2022 Dr AB site that we just discussed um 22 Dr AB LLC has now requested the installation of a temporary Transformer in order to have the power to the site however OS will need to install new distribution lines adjacent to the site as the existing power sources can't sufficiently power the Transformer currently other sources requesting a grant of easement and easement agreement for the installation and use of electric utilities under specific bpda owned roadways within the Raymond offland Marine Park in order to install a transformer in response staff will execute a short-term agreement to cover a period of time prior to board approval in order to help expedite the installation due to a requirement of the bpda to relocate the existing overhead power lines into the underground bondu Network within the Raymond offl Marine Park no additional fee is proposed to evur for this relocation of distribution lines at this time staff is recommending the execution of a grant of easement and eement agreement with urce as it strict strictly relates to installing a Transformer on the development site known as 20 and 22 dry do Avenue thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions thank you any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is an order to move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Dr lsmark hi Mr Shephard hi and the chair buts I motion passes item number four request authorization to enter into a license agreement with Mass Bay Brewing Company Incorporated to reopen the outdoor Hospitality space on parcel S3 and parcel S2 in the rayel Flyn Marine Park and host Hub Sports Boston adult sports leagues and Mr swindle's traveling peculiarium and drink gory Garden um parcel S3 morning thank you Mass Brewing also known as Harpoon was founded in 1986 and has been a tenant of the bpda since 1987 on March 12th 2020 the bpda board approved short-term license agreements to Temporary change the permitted use of parcel S3 which was originally a parking lot into an outdoor Hospitality space parcel L3 is a tri triangular lot adjacent to the Harpoon building since then Harpoon has been approved to operate the hospitality space on an annual basis on May 12th 2022 Harum was approved to temporary temporarily relocate the hospitality space from parcel S3 to a small location within the lease premises also known as parcel S2 and approximately 25 2500 square ft on June 16th 2022 our was approved to additionally host Mr swindle's traveling peculiarium and drinkery garding drinkery garden on S3 March 16 2023 H was approved to additionally host Hub Sports Boston adult sports leagues throughout 2023 and Mr swindle's traveling pecly area in December 2023 Haun requested to reopen the hospitality space on parcel S3 and S2 for 2024 along with the seasonal Hospitality use souo continue to host adult sports leagues as well as Mr Swindle swindle's traveling area license fees will be collected at 12.5% of all gross revenue collected from all the activities on pel S3 including during the adult sports Leakes gross revenue includes but not limited to the Seal of outdoor Hospitality space entrance tickets merchandise beverage sales concession sales rental fees and or fees collected from outside vendors if our charg is a feed with their party vendor to park on the site or otherwise engages in a profit sharing Arrangement and the bpda is entitled to 15% of Revenue Mr swindles for Mr swindles Haroon has agreed on a flat weekly fee arrangement of which bpda shall receive 15% of Revenue collected additionally bpda shall continue to receive 12.5% of all gr Revenue collected on par on the for activities on parcel S3 and S2 at this time upda staff recommends Haroon be allowed to operate an outdoor Hospitality space through December 31st 2024 as well as to allow her to host adult sports leagues and Mr swindles thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions okay thank you uh any questions or comments from the board right hearing and seeing none a motion is in order moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr lsmark I Mr shephard I and the votes I motion passes thanks Marine oh one more okay uh number five request authorization to extend the license agreement with Deacon Transportation doing business as Oldtown trolley tours of Boston and to use oh to use bpda owned property located in proximity to the Flynn Cru Port Boston for the operation of a trolley stop program anticipated to run concurrently with the official massport Authority P of call cruise ship schedule morning since 2009 bpda has entered into annual license agreements with privately owned sightseeing to our companies to establish the non-exclusive use and operation of a trolley stop located on bpda property in near the Cru report The Trolley Stop allows the participating tour companies to serve the considerable influx of city of Boston visitors associated with the cruise fors boort of call cruise ship schedule currently Deacon transportation is in its third and final year of the awarded three-year contract the current license term for the 2024 Cruise season should be effective March 29th 202 24 through November 30th 2024 Deacon transportation and bpda have agreed on a base rent payment equal to $12,000 for the use of the bpda owned property to accommodate the passengers and if additional cruise ships are scheduled Deacon Transportation has agreed to pay $11,000 for every addition of 10 cruise ships placed on the schedule the fee is a 20% premium over 2023 bpda staff recommends accepting the proposed fee for a license extension of 2024 with the understanding that bpda will issue a new request for proposals for the trolley St program in 2025 which will reflect the then current status of the cruise industry thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions thank you questions or comments from the board hearing and saying none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr Lanark I Mr shephard I all and the chair votes I motion passes thanks Mark thank you all right item number six request authorization to issue an invitation for bids to repair the roof of the 12 Channel Street Building in the Raymond Elfin Marine Park William thank you good afternoon Madam chair members of the board this is the first time this matter is for you as you'll recall though 12 Channel Street is a ninstory masonry building originally constructed by the US military 1941 it is currently a light industrial manufacturing and Commercial office building several tenants including the mayor's office of Housing and our own real estate department up on the n9th floor uh this invitation for bids is seeking to restore the roof and install code compliant barrier fall protection uh we are experiencing some roof leaks and it's time to get that buttoned up uh the bid package has been prepared by STV they are a house doctor for Structural Engineering uh the bid package will be advertised following the state's uh requirements for chapter 149 the Construction contract would be would be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder after being brought back to the board for approval uh the work for this contract is estimated at around $2.3 million it is included in our current fiscal year 24 capital budget and we're hoping to return to the board with an award to uh with a recommendation to award in June so with that we're requesting that the secretary be authorized uh to advertise and issue the invitation for bids for this SCH if you have any questions happy to answer them now thank you questions or comments from the board hearing and say none a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Dr Lark hi Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes item number seven request authorization to invit to issue an invitation for bids to repair the roof drains of the 12 Channel Street Building in the Raymond Alin Marine Park William related to everything we just said but a separate project uh we're looking to clean and Reign the roof drains they are original cast iron drains and they have about 80 years worth of scaling and corrosion that needs to be addressed uh this invitation for bids would clean inspect and realign those pipes so they can last a few more decades uh the scope of work has been prepared inhouse we would issue it in accordance with chapter 149 and bring back for authorization to award the lowest eligible and responsible uh bidder our estimate for this work is about $250,000 and we'll have that in included in the upcoming fy2 capital budget so with that we're requesting authorization to issue this invitation for bids I'm happy to answer any questions you have um any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second we call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr lsmark I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes item number eight request authorization to issue an invitation for bids for South Jetty bulkhead rehabilitation in the Raymond Elfin Marine Park William I'm very pleased to be uh presenting on this matter this was last before you in March of 2022 to authorize a design contract with colins Eng Jers for this work and as you might recall the South Jetty is located in the northeast corner of the marine park it is land that is contained by 1940s steel sheep pile bulkhead that was originally constructed by the Navy uh the Waterfront site has direct access from the dry dock number three Ship Channel it also has direct access by dolphin W from Big KY Avenue and the site is adjacent to and this work will continue the bulkhead Rehabilitation work uh that we last completed for the East Jetty in 2020 so the existing Ste sheet pile bulkhead in this location uh is well past its useful service life um the work that we're putting out to bid will replace our failing bulkhead uh thus continuing to retain the infilled land of the jetty it will also demolish The Condemned and collapsing pure Warth that wraps uh The Jetty structure the new bulkhead wall will be approximately 400 ft in length um it will allow for future reconstruction of the South Jetty Pier uh and this work similar to the work done at the East Jetty uh will allow for future increase in elevation or Coastal resilience our bid package has been prepared by Colin Engineers uh we recently got our permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers a few weeks ago we'll be putting this work out subject to chapter 30 39m the work is estimated at $ 11.5 million it is included in the current FY 24 capital budget it is certainly a significant investment but one that we must make to continue use of the entire Jetty allow for future poost to resiliency improvements and further uh impact or prevent further negative impact on the marine environment uh if all goes well we'll do back for the board in junee with the recommendation for award and with that we're requesting authorizations issu with ifp happy answer any questions awesome uh questions or comments from the board okay hearing and seeing none motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr Lanark I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes item number nine request authorization to execute a contract with AK marine and general contracting LLC in an amount in an amount of 2 million $329,000 for the pier 10 upgrades and floating dock project in the Raymond Elfin Marine Park and to execute any change orders required to complete the work in an aggregate amount not to exceed 10% of the contract amount or $2,561 n00 William another exciting project for you this afternoon we were last before you November of 2023 requesting authorization to bid this work as a reminder Pier 10 is located at the end of the R delin Marine Park the site was identified as an ideal location for a new Transportation carry terminal the purpose of this project is to add a new stop for a commuter Ferry uh that would be operated by or in collaboration with the Cort transportation management association uh the dock that we're looking to construct will increase access to the marine park by water taxi commuter boat and Ferry as well as provide important dock access for the planned Boston EMS station that's going to be constructed here in the rain Park also out here 10 project was competitively bid in accordance to chapter 3039 M we had 70 interested parties who downloaded bid documents we received two general bids from reputable contractors AK Marine was the lowest bid at 2, 329,000 uh all of the documents required by chapter 339m and our invitation for bids were received uh the total contract uh we're looking to include a 10% contingency the contingency would be for $232,900 for total authorization of 25619 that work would be funded from the current f24 capital budget and with that we request an authorization for the director to sign and execute this contract work will begin this summer and be complete by Year's End happy to answer any questions you might have okay thank you questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr Lark I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes thanks thank you very much all right item number 10 request authorization to execute a contract with Williamson pump and motor for dry dock 4 pump maintenance service at the Raymond Elin Marine Park in an amount not to exceed $98,000 Lauren good afternoon constructed in 1941 D off number four in the Raymond L Len Marine Park has been deactivated for several decades and requires pumps to keep the water level low and ensure that the cas remains seated in a closed and upright position the original pumps were replaced in 2020 the scope of this contract includes all labor materials equipment parts Machinery Transportation supplies and service necessary for the maintenance repair and refurbishment of the designated pumps as authorized by the board on September 14th 2023 binp right on for maintenance for publicly solicited pursuant uh Mass general laws chapter 3B this opportunity for bid is advertised in local newspapers on the bpda website Statewide comine system and the state's good and services buard affirmative marketing to small local and diverse businesses was done through neighborhood and or multilingual Publications one bid was received by the deadline on December 22nd 2023 and was opened and read aloud via virtual bid opening after reviewing the submitted bid staff has determined at Williamson P conter to be the responsible service provider offering the lowest price quote requested Services the term of this contract is one year and includes two one-year extension options which the bpba can exercise at its sole discretion the annual contract price shall not exceed $98,000 glad to have answer any questions okay thank you uh do we have any questions or comments from the board okay hearing and saying none a motion is in order I'll move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr Lark I Mr shephard I and the chair VES I motion passes thanks Lauren thank you all right item number 12 Personnel Michael thank you madam chair members of the board uh Madam Secretary and director Jimson we have a number of items we are considering ation uh on the edic agenda with the exact details included in the board memos we have six appointments in the director's office Chelsea tetral operations assistant for executive director secretary Claire Noble operations manager in the Urban Design Department John Stewart Fishback senior landscape architect 2 and the real estate department Yuna cha and Benjamin merker real estate development officer in the office of Workforce Development Carolyn graet special projects manager we also have one contract in the office of Workforce Development Kimberly mofin we have two uh ins shurs internship sorry Co and co-ops in the planning department Daisy son and in the research Department pheb Kong we also have 10 out ofate travel requests we have uh departures in the office of Workforce Development Mary Kate Murphy grants administrator Saj sjad sharifi crew leader power core and Michael anderman senior program manager bank on Boston thank you and I'll answer any questions okay any questions or comments from the board hearing and saying none a motion is in order so move second we call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Dr Lark hi Mr Shephard hi and the chair I Mission passes thanks Michael um all right that was the last item so I need a motion to adjourn this meeting so moved second we call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mr Lark hi Mr Shephard hi and the chair v i motion passes meeting adjourned Okay so so let's start the the next meeting here thank you for joining the March 14th 2024 Boston Redevelopment Authority board meeting at this time the Boston Planning and Development agency is continuing to host public meetings in a virtual setting for the health safety and accessibility of Boston residents for more information and updates visit Boston plans.org the open public meeting Law requires that I notify the public that this meeting is is being recorded Please be aware that an audio and visual recording of this meeting is being made and broadcast by Boston City TV which is a part of the city of Boston office of cable communications at xinity channel 24 RCN channel 13 and ver and files Channel 962 and is also being live streamed at boston.gov so to begin the meeting I will take a roll call of the members Miss Bennett pres Dr Lark Pres Mr Shephard presid and the chair is present um before we go to the first agenda item um secretor pimus I believe we have uh um City councelor Fernandez Anderson uh here that would like to um offer some some remarks yes either she's here or staff is here oh either one so the floor is yours hello thank you can everyone hear me yes apologies I wasn't able to change my name in the settings um thank you so much to the chair and members of the board for taking me out of order my name is Angie and I'm representing councelor Anderson who is not able to be here at the time due to another meeting um she is reporting on behalf of many members of district 7 um and I would like to say that she uh appreciates the opportunity to address the board regarding the squares and streets draft zoning Amendment um after careful consideration and thorough review of community concern she regrets to inform you that she cannot support this measure in its current form the decision is based on over 40 emails that have come into the office specifically around concerns with the timing of this vote furthermore the community is requesting that bpda board defer the vote on squares and streets zoning text Amendment until the public has sufficient time to review the changes and provide Community feedback this decision was not made lightly and is rooted in counselor's commitment to ensuring responsible and sustainable development that aligns with the best interest of the community council remains open to further discussion and collaboration to address these concerns and find mutually beneficial Solutions thank you all for your attention on this matter chair you're chair you are muted okay uh thank you thank you um and uh so we've noted this and uh thank counselor Fernandes Anderson for uh for submitting her testimony definitely thank you okay let's go um agenda item number one request authorization for the approval of the minutes of the February 17th 2024 board meeting a motion is in order so moved okay uh y okay second second yeah got it uh roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Dr Lanark hi Mr Shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes item number two request authorization to schedule a public hearing on April 11th 2024 at 5:30 p.m. or at a date and time to be determined by the director to consider the proposed development plan for phase 1B 505 doorchester Avenue uh 65 allery Street and 75 Ellery Street in South Boston within plan Development Area number 144 also known as on the DOT and to consider phase 1B uh 505 Dorchester Avenue 65 allery Street and 75 allery Street as a development impact project uh motion is in order so moved second call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Dr Lark hi Mr shephard I and the chair that's by motion passes item number three request authorization to schedule a public hearing on April April 11th 2024 at 5:40 p.m. or at a date and time to be determined by the director to consider the proposed notice of the project change for the 39 stanh Hope Street Hotel project located at 39 stanh Hope Street in the Back Bay and to consider the project as a development impact project a motion is in order so move second call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Dr Lark I Mr shephards I and the chair VES I motion passes item number four request authorization to schedule a public hearing on April 11th 2024 at 5:50 p.m. or at a date and time to be determined by the director to consider the proposed First Amendment to the development plan for plan Development Area number 136 the fenway's corners project at West in the Fenway and to consider the proposed changes within the notice of project change to the previously approved F Corners project as a development impact project a motion is in order moved second R call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr Lark I Mr shephers I and the chair votes I motion passes item number five request authorization to petition the zoning commission to adopt text amendments to Article 2 article 8 article 23 and a new article 26 of the zoning code to establish squares and streets districts and related definition and use changes and to adopt text changes throughout the code to ensure article 26 and updates to article 8 are reflected consistently uh Kathleen thank you chair roas secretary pimus members of the board and director jemson I'm going to turn it over to Amy Chambers our director of planning who's going to kick us off uh good afternoon uh members of the board secretary pimus and director jemson I'm Amy Chambers director of planning and I'm here with the bpda zoning reform team including Abdul razak Zachariah Andrew namus Jack Halverson Kathleen anifer Maya catler gold and will Cohen we are here today to present amendments to the zoning code that will create new squares and streets districts and Advance comprehensive reform of the code I'd like to take a moment to openly acknowledge that this is a different approach to zoning than Boston is accustomed to however as you will see in today's presentation over the last 6 months the zoning reform team has done a great deal of research analysis and most importantly Community engagement which has Unearthed meaningful conversation thoughtful insight and constructive CR criticisms which have not been been taken lightly the team is working towards the development of a code that appropriately represents our built environment furthers excuse me furthers policy priorities respects and reflects Boston as one city of neighborhoods today we are requesting your approval to petition the zoning commission to add new districts to the zoning code to be used at a later date after much more engagement and after the development of recommendations and policies that will work interdependently with this zoning I will now turn it over to the team who will walk you through this Planning and Zoning initiative the process to date and the zoning text Amendment before you today next slide please squares and streets is a Citywide Planning and Zoning initiative to expand housing and realize the co- benefits of development in mixed use areas of the city and how those benefits Accord to small businesses onto the effectiveness of transportation and magnify the impact of city services and investment these zoning reforms are the first step in that initiative next slide please in this phase one we are bringing before you text amendments that establish zoning options that add tools to our toolbox of the Boston zoning code those options create Citywide zoning that could support squares and streets areas then through extensive planning including deep place-based work at thinking through the impacts of proposed resoning of a specific square a street an area or neighborhood we will move through the small area process working with these tools and the code overall and then only then come back to you and the zoning Commission in a third step to map a zoning Amendment and codify Zoning recommendations into wall next slide please in taking this approach we are pairing new zoning with planning together and priorities identified in the planning process will inform the zoning recommendations that come out of those plans squares and streets as a a planning initiative is interdisciplinary across the bpda being led by staff in bpda transportation planning Urban Design comprehensive planning Community engagement real estate and Zoning reform as well as many colleagues at the city to make sure that we're bringing all of the capital program and Investments That City departments can utilize to address neighborhood needs alongside planning for land use regulations and development as part of small area plans we are going to identify Community benefits that can be realized through future development we're also going to lay out a framework to coordinate mobility and public space improvements that increase accessibility and connectivity across the city we're going to to identify those capital and program Investments That City departments can utilize and bring forward and we're going to identify specific design recommendations to further historic preservation and enhance the uniqueness of the neighborhood square or Street and importantly we're also going to develop recommendations to expand tree coverage mitigate heat prepare for an electric future and Advance climate resilience and the ways those are then mapped onto specific locations in the city next slide please zoning is a single tool that must work in concert with other policies and programs to advance Citywide goals as part of this effort squares and streets planning process has already uncovered need for New City policies related to key topics that are crosscutting initial work to advance these critical goals both through the zoning as well as new expanded or refocused policies and programs are included as examples below reflecting the importance of this ongoing work to our Planning and Zoning for anti-displacement one way that the text Amendment combats displacement is tailoring District Dimensions to legalize existing non-conforming housing and encourage the preservation of existing housing stock alongside zoning new policy to Define and expand existing tools that various City departments employ to mitigate both direct and indirect displacement of residents small businesses and cultural Enterprises are needed for example the article 80 process is an analysis of the impacts of a project and the M mitigation of that project as part of planning we'll explore how this tool can be better utilized to better address concerns of displacement in our neighborhoods and City for affordable housing the text amendment makes Supportive Housing and allowed use in every squares and streets district and affordable developments are exempt from the ACT use requirement reflecting their unique funding requirements as a major policy goal the city and the state are seeking additional ways to expand and leverage funding to produce maintain and invest in affordable housing across all of its programs through small area plans for squares and streets areas the bpda and City Partners will explore how coordinating disposition of city and bpda owned property can align with affordability goals named and adopted into planning policy as part of squares and streets plans we also have heard throughout this process about the importance of protecting and creating spaces for small businesses to thrive in the zoning we've created categories for the sizes of retail uses so that we can make sure we're protecting spaces for small businesses and creating new ones simultaneous policy work including through small area plans continue to work to expand the the capacity of our Main Street organizations and our funding programs for small businesses to magnify their impact for example one-third of the small businesses that received space grants through the office of Economic Opportunity and inclusion to fill vacant retail spaces would have needed to receive zoning relief to open in downtown this reduced the speed of the impact that the seed funding could have by adding significant red tape to the process and so that's a place where both leverage funding and the updates of the zoning can work together to magnify impact next slide please and as Kathleen has explained we want to make clear that zoning exists as a single tool in the array of tools that the city has to support city-wide and Community Development goals in particular in doing this work we found it very important to make clear to Residents who haven't interacted with zoning before what zoning is and to make sure that we ground it in an understanding of zoning and how they experience it on the day-to-day as you likely know uh zoning is a set of laws that are used to guide development by dictating the allowed use shape and density of the buildings and structures in a given area zoning not only sets the standard or set standards that inform how and what is built throughout the city but also plays a really important role in how our city looks and feels because it's exactly where we embed a lot of our development regulations with rules that support short and long-term goals next slide please zoning in Boston in particular is heavily impacted by our zoning code which we found to be long complex and deeply impactful in the way that it produces costy barriers to development in particular Boston zoning code after being enacted in 1964 has received several Paca amendments and additions of chapters known as articles that have led to an almost 4,000 page document with inconsistent zoning regulations and inequitable development outcomes that stem from them between different parts of the city we've also found that the length of our zoning code serves as a kind of proxy for its complexity where there are often uh confusing zoning rules for property owners to follow and act on even those who aim to make simple changes to their property this leads to a series of bureaucratic hurdles longer periods of time for all scales of development projects confusion around what is actually allowed increased costs to Property Owners as factors accumulate in those Realms those increased costs in the process of development also carries over and leads to increased costs for tenants of projects that even do get built next slide please it's from this understanding that our zoning code is not structured to meet are comprehensive and City city-wide goals that we aim to go forth with the process of city-wide zoning reform as we pursue this opportunity to reform the zoning code we're really focused on achieving the reforms and aligning them with the goals of resiliency affordability and equity in practice these goals translate to a reformed zoning code that can encourage increase climate resiliency and sustainability in development projects they also translate to zoning that permits levels of density and smart growth near Transit resources that not only promote Housing Development but also makes much of our existing housing stock more compliant with the zoning code It Centers equity and by way of doing that we are able to promote zoning reform that pairs well with the tools that prevent displacement that encourages good design Citywide and that establishes Equitable development standards across all different parts of the city and not just particular areas our zoning reform work is also guided very strongly by our goals to actually make the zoning code more accessible and less daunting this this means making it readable and enhancing its usability amending many regulations to align with modern building accessibility and energy code standards as well as existing built forms to reduce the non-conformities that we see and to promote feasible projects and largely to establish regulations that are enforcable and that reduce our overreliance on the zoning board of appeals for development um as it goes forth next slide please you're muted Kathleen thank you this process is the very first step towards the larger zoning reform that the mayor identified as a priority in her vision for planning in Boston the work of zoning reform was expected to receive the very kind of intense interest that we want to acknowledge has come out through this process as well as to the board's uh consideration as you take up this item our role at the bpda has been to ensure that the city conducts a fair transparent rigorous and responsive process to achieve the goals we all agree on Drive our work the squares and streets initiative kicked off in September of last year based on deep Community engagement in October bpda staff uh started the zoning process not with a proposal but by presenting the reasoning behind the zoning initiative and our initial findings and ideas to the community from the very beginning the bpda has worked with community and stakeholders extensively to reexamine revise and improve what is before you here today next slide please our staff was able to utilize multiple methods to gather feedback on the zoning districts from residents local users of the code like small scale developers and designers as well as other City Hall departments including uh ISD and the office of Economic Opportunity inclusion this included several informational meetings for Community groups and focus groups with development and design professionals to inform uh those groups about the analysis and recommendations being created in the process and to hear feedback while men is being drafted additionally staff coordinated uh 35 sessions of hourong office hours that were held weekly between November of 2023 through early March just last week for local residents through these office hours our staff were able to provide a smaller scale Forum between our sequence of public meetings to answer questions gather feedback and encourage conversations around the role of zoning and planning in reaching Citywide and Community goals in particular staff including myself were excited to hear from residents that their attendance of office hours were some of the the few and new opportunities that they had to speak with another Resident from a different part of the city about zoning development and planning which is really indicative of our own goals to strengthen and uplift those tools as opportunities for Citywide comprehensive Planning and Zoning reform from December 20123 through February of this year we also had a public comment period for this zoning text Amendment during which we received over 240 public comments as well as over 35 letters submitted via mail or email staff would share these comments we on our website and through our zoning newsletter to share them um such that they are transparent for all community members who could access them uh through our website and through those means and so further encourage Citywide and public conversation on the shared and diversion ideas of planning and zoning and how it can help us in reaching Community goals each of these public comments and letters received during this period received an individual response from staff and was included in a packet that was provided to you today uh and lastly uh one of the major pieces of work we did to align with our comprehensive planning goals was to work with other City departments uh meeting with them to vet the zoning text Amendment and particularly aspects of the amendment that impacted or connected strongly to the goals and uh intentions of the work they are doing in their respective policies and programs next slide please it's through our public comment period that we were able to hear public feedback in a variety of perspectives um both folks who have interacted live development before and folks who are interacting with it for the first time uh it's important to note that a lot of public feedback that we heard um when it came to certain concerns and disagree disagreements uh underscored the importance of future planning also brought out topics on the discomfort with city-wide zoning reform and spoke to discomfort around the pace of change in particular we heard uh more requests for uh increased engagement concerns around development desire to preserve what is existing today a lack of trust in City governments different ways of discussing development than what people are often used to and confusion around zoning as a tool in general and we found that in this process a lot of the discomfort for residents uh came from a vocalized shift from engaging with development and achieving their goals in a project by project basis and instead what we are aiming to do in uh engaging residents with planning at a larger scale that allows for their Community goals and values to be embedded in Cross cutting policy and programmatic tools next slide please additionally we heard comments uh that strongly underscored some frustration with the status quo of um how development functions within the city as well as a desire uh a large uh urgency for Change and a desire for strong focus on housing in particular we found that folks saw the squares and streets zoning Tex Amendment as an opportunity to increase our housing production throughout the city as well as uh increase the opportunity for affordable housing they also saw as a way to uh encourage more predictable outcomes uh and saw as a way that we can off offer for better fairness in the development process through squares and streets as you'll learn uh when we re speak to the sections about the technical components they uh were excited about the improved parking and transportation regulations and overall what it this zoning text Amendment will do to improve neighborhood centers uh and what I would add is that as a whole we largely heard that this was a opportunity for folks to speak to Citywide goals while also being able to hold their local community interests and we saw that there is a real muscle and cultural shift in a way to the way that people were speaking to something that would impact development by way of talking to and involving themselves in this process when it came to a zoning text Amendment next slide please so the drafting process for the zoning text Amendment began with an analysis period starting in August of 2023 which was Then followed by a series of six public meetings where we were able to share our work in progress and explain the zoning analysis through the drafting up to the revision based on community and City Hall feedback in that first set of meetings during our analysis and recommendations period we also had ongoing engagement for the Saron streets planning initiative which included 29 Community meetings with neighborhood associations and other community groups five planner pop-up events and 19 intercept surveys around different locations throughout the city 750 public survey responses and workshops with young people uh connected with the mayor's youth Council through all of these activities were're able to additionally share notice of squares and streets as a broader initiative to make sure that the word was spread about ongoing work that was happening within the zoning components uh it is then through our work moving from analysis into recommendations into the drafting that we're able to share uh material that then was discussed throughout our public meetings and throughout our office hour sessions um as well as uh con uh holding and offering time to meet with residents as needed to further walk through or explain different components of the text amendment in its initial and revised forms as part part of this process as we uh laid this out from the beginning of analysis through to the end of an idea of taking forward a text amendment in order to begin planning we heard clearly from the community that our initial plan of a one-month com public comment period would not be sufficient and so a first initial step we took was to extend that comment period by two months allowing additional time for people to review to attend another month's worth of office hours to get detailed questions answered and um receive an individual response next slide please uh then based on that public comment period uh during that public comment period we held another public meeting we did treated it as an ongoing period for ongoing revision and discussion with those with concerns on the zoning and questions so as part of that meeting we announced revisions that were coming from common themes we'd heard in the comments to date and clarified comment questions that were coming in so that folks could use those as they move through the period the mayor and the bpda director attended a neighborhood meeting during that second public comment period extending it and affirming the need and the importance of squares and streets as a goal to put planning at the Forefront we prepared an individual response to every submitted public comment and letter and many changes were incorporated into the draft when we released a revised draft we annotated every change in that draft Amendment and why we made that change uh we also uh then looked to delay the consideration to you here at the board by a month because we wanted folks to have the opportunity to read through that annotated draft and attend another month's worth of office hours uh with any questions they may have uh simultaneous in this last month as we've held that those office hours we've also set this amendment through extensive additional legal review by outside legal council with extensive experience with the Boston zoning code to make sure that what we're bringing before you today is fully vetted to be able to work in concert with all of our neighborhood articles and other provisions of the code next slide please and so that brings us to the amendment that's before you here today and my colleague Maya um excuse me as Kathleen said we're now going to walk through the zoning text Amendment which is before you today and enable squares and streets zoning next slide so starting with the land use modernization aspect of this mment next slide for some context about zoning land use regulations in Boston zoning code each land use is delegated as allowed conditional or forbidden in each district of the city in a use table conditional simply means it requires a conditional use permit from the zoning Board of appeal based on a set of criteria to to create the Zoning for squares and streets we wrote a new use table in article 8 which is part of the city's base code you can see an example of what the new use table looks like on this slide as you can see this table has some uses regulated differently depending on their size and some uses are allowed or conditional only on the ground floor of buildings next slide to create this new table uh we started by taking an inventory of all the uses that currently exist in neighborhood articles of the code and then removing obsolete uses like payones um then we wrote a new set of Consolidated uses and definitions by grouping together uh uses that have similar impacts um we included size thresholds and form and performance standards for some uses to control impacts in a more targeted way um and we also worked with many of our colleagues in other City agencies to ensure that our new definitions are in alignment with um our regulatory requirements and policy goals um and that they have a clear interpretation for all user users of the code particularly the inspectional services department next slide this resulted in 16 pages of new zoning including the new use definitions and use table which has the regulations for squares and streets districts um our long-term vision is that this table will have the use regulations for every District in the city and this uh will allow us to make more timely amendments and updates to use regulations um because they will exist in only one place uh within the code next slide in our new use table uh We've created a category of uses called active uses um you can see them uh listed on the SL here these are uses that make somewhere feel like a Main Street um they're typically open to the public um and they make an area feel vibrant and welcoming we created this category in the zoning code because it allowed us to create a requirement that buildings in the S3 through S5 squares and streets districts have ground floors that are primarily occupied by active uses public open space or Civic uses next slide alongside uh modernizing land uses We examined the challenges caused by zoning outdated dimensional regulations um our current code does not align with our existing built environment or advancements that we've made in energy accessibility or building codes um which limits new opportunities for housing and mixed use growth um we set out to create updated dimensional regulations that align with building code uh creating more as ofri right housing options that are responsive to sustainability and public realm goals next slide um to do this we took a closer look at residential development that was extensively vetted and approved by this board uh through the article 80 process over the past 5 years uh the help of Adam Johnson from our Urban Design Department uh we took qualitative and quantitative measurements of over 200 precedents um taking a deep dive into a sample of about 40 to understand what can be built under under uh modern building code this analysis demonstrated how uh building code and project review thresholds really Drive Building size um how parcel sizes Drive building shape how building types can be categorized by use and ultimately how we can best shape uh building form and lot standards for new mixed use districts that can enable more housing and mixed use growth next slide all right thank you thank you very much uh the new article um that we're looking at primarily this evening is article 26 but as was noted earlier the draft Amendment touches a large number of Articles across the code article 26 is the new one um and there's new definitions in Article 2 and District declarations in article 23 uh or in article 3 we also want to note that we're removing parking minimums from squares and streets in article 23 and we adjust off- Street loading requirements Citywide to line up with the recently adopted changes in New Market which are also under consideration in matapan the changes in all these articles mentioned earlier will enable these primary changes to work with the rest of the zoning code next slide please the new article 26 will add six new mixed use districts to the code their use regulations are in article 8 in the modernized land use tables but additional use and form details beyond that additional level of detail live almost entirely in this new single article next slide please the districts increase in intensity and activity with form controls and different land uses at one end of the scale s0 and S1 the uses are primarily residential and lower in scale with some allowances for commercial inappropriate S2 and S3 allow for typologies we commonly see in Main districts and corridors today allowing or even requiring ground floor commercial while allowing for multi floor development on upper floors S4 and S5 provide the widest range of allowable uses in a scale of building that can still be appropriate in selected squares and streets study areas to ensure that modern zoning rules still provide a framework even for projects that will undergo more extensive project review next slide please underpinning much of this reform is a shift to a more form-based approach to zoning regulations across the code rather than been relying as is currently the case on the belt and suspenders if you will of not only dimensional constraints but also things like floor area ratio each of these districts are designed to that lot standards allow building form and uses all line and increase predictability and appropriateness of the various standards next slide please all districts include common dimensional limits to reflect existing Urban Design Transportation mobility and environmental goals this allows the districts not only to complement each other as part of broader City planning as was mentioned earlier but also to ensure that residents businesses stakeholders developers and Advocates alike can better understand apply and work with the zoning code AS it'll be written next SL please there also a common set of uses applied across the districts from s0 to S5 modified as is appropriate to their scale in all uses the in all cases the uses are primarily residential with Community uses as allowed as the scale increases some commercial uses are also allowed and eventually required on the ground floors as active uses as mentioned earlier research labs and pdas are not allowed in squares and streets districts next slide please great so now we will quickly walk through what distinguishes the form and land uses of each district starting with s0 transition residential district as the name suggest the SZ district is primarily residential it provides a transition from lower activity residential areas to the higher activity mixed use uh squares and streets that we're considering of the squares and streets districts SZ has the smallest floor plate and lot coverage requirements and the largest yards and permeable area of lot next slide allowed uses in SZ are mostly limited to residential uses and Civic uses like Child Care Centers and schools residential uses are only allowed up to 14 units which is sub article 80 scale in addition there are a few other uh uses which are conditionally allowed which allows for opportunities for things like corner stores and coffee shops in these transitional residential districts next slide in an earlier version of this zoning which we presented to the public SZ was more limited in terms of uses through the community engagement process we heard that many wanted to see opportunities for things like small retail in this District so we made small retail conditionally allowed as well as small service establishments which can allow for things like hair salons and other types of small businesses in the SZ District next slide please moving on to the S1 Main Street living District this district is also principally residential but introduces more mixed use activity and opportunities S1 also requires small scale side and front yards and minimum perable area flot next slide in terms of uses the small active uses which are conditionally allowed in s0 become allowed in S1 some restricted to the ground floor a few additional uses are allowed or allowed just on the ground floor such as museums clinics and medium-sized offices next slide a few additional uses are conditionally allowed on the ground floor in S1 and including large restaurants and medium retail stores as well as Banks and Standalone ATMs next slide S2 the Main Street mixed use district is distinguished by small to medium scale mixed use buildings and this is where buildings can begin to fill the width of a lot to help create a continuous and active Main Street environment the district introduces the requirement for outdoor amenity space requiring things like balconies PL or roof decks as it does not have yard requirements and it also sets a maximum for the blank wall of the facade next Slide the allowed uses in S2 are mostly the same as S1 with most residential uses and small active uses allowed there are a few additional active uses allowed including large retail stores next slide in S2 most large active uses are conditionally allowed there are also a few commercial uses conditionally allowed the main difference from S1 being that small hotels um are conditionally allowed in S2 next Slide the S3 active Main Street district is characterized by medium scale buildings that are required to have active uses on the ground floor and it is in this it is in this District that dwelling units on the ground floor are prohib prohibited on the primary facade next slide in S3 most residential uses are allowed most commercial uses are allowed or conditionally allowed and most active uses are allowed with some being restricted to the ground floor next slide next up the S4 Active squares mix use District enables medium to large scale mixed use buildings this district has the widest range of uses compared to s0 to S3 like S3 active uses are required on the ground floor and the district has a more restrictive lot coverage for larger lot sizes next slide as Andrew said S4 has the most flexibility in terms of uses with most residential active and Commercial uses allowed and very few are limited to the ground floor next slide and lastly the S5 placemaker District enables the largest scale mixed use buildings of squares and streets districts allowing the same wide range of uses as as S4 with ground floor active use and higher outdoor amenity space requirements this district is really only intended for highly active areas close to Transit hubs that can support planned for higher density we re received strong feedback supporting the inclusion of this District as a means of providing more zoning options to enable high density housing growth and services where it's appropriate the district is also an opportunity to align with advancements in building code standards and support efficient Sustainable Building methods such as mass Timber alongside new housing next slide together these districts form a pallet of zoning options that as applied in this hypothetical square can be used to inre housing opportunities a mix of uses and with it vibrant activity and economic growth in our existing neighborhood centers next slide how these districts will eventually be mapped will only be decided on through the squares and streets small area planning process working with the community to select and determine uh which districts of these five are more most appropriate to each area next slide and we want to acknowledge to all of you as a board as well as the broader public uh that is watching this meeting but during the comment period we have received many comments asking to slow down the process of updating zoning to make sure that neighborhoods fully understand and are comfortable with the changes as we've walked through in this presentation the proposed zoning will not immediately take effect anywhere it adds tools to our toolbox within the zoning code and we believe that on the ground significant engagement and work with the community to map these districts appropriately in real places will help make sure that we set up uh each square and Street in the city for Success small area plans have already kicked off in both clear square of High Park and Rosland Dale Square to start this process thank you and we're happy to take any questions thank you so much uh Team it was a full full team Amy Kathleen Abdul Maya Jack will Andrew really great presentation did I get everybody yeah okay good um so so great presentation before we go to um board member uh question and comments we have um additional City councilors that would like to testify so uh so coming first we have counselor Durkin and Then followed councelor Durkin uh counselor pen thank you so much chair um to your chair Roos and members of the board our city is comprised of dozens of unique neighborhoods the commercial and residential centers of our neighborhoods create worlds that welcome people to experience the broad variety of Cuisine culture and activity that Boston has to offer it is the district distinct character of our neighborhood centers that spur such loyalty and attraction recently our city has done a wonderful job of preserving beloved spaces the way they are but we also need to be determined to transform these Spaces by expanding the uses the uses design and space within them through a dedicated planning initiative I understand resident feedback that addresses concerns about how this would change the character of their neighborhoods but I also want to recognize the uses and density proposed in these subd districts exists across all neighborhoods in my district with the squares and streets funding initiative we have a really exciting opportunity to grow our beloved centers so that more people can afford to call them home while still maintaining the distinct character of places like rosale Square Codman Square and tront Street for example in fact many areas of my uh District to point to the possibility encouraging growth alongside maintaining Community character as the chair of the council's Planning Development and transportation committee I'm uniquely attuned to the fact that whether we acknowledge it or not our city has outgrown its built infrastructure Boston cannot continue to grow divorc from concurrent growth in the city's built environment while we can cannot continue to welcome new residents without welcoming new housing opportunities we cannot continue to be a resilient Coastal City without cre infrastructure designs to enhance and protect our changing landscape none of these necessary changes to our built environment are supported by the city's current zoning code that's where the targeted rezoning approach of squares and streets is so helpful not only does the targeted approach of squares and streets respect the current fabric of what makes our neighborhood so special but it prioritizes Community input on what changes to this fabric will benefit the neighborhood this transformation with its with planning at its Center will enable our city to accomplish the growth that it has been that has been knocking at its door for decades such a strategic targeted and intentional approach to growth will further encourage opportunities to enhance the city's affordability amenities and sustainability as everyone is aware we are in the midst of a housing crisis there was a recent survey that found 25% of greater Boston residents between the ages of 20 and 30 plan to leave the res uh region in the next 5 years and that the large majority of respondents identified housing affordability as the priority for their elected representatives as one of those electeds I speak today to lend my support for a step that I believe will bring us closer to helping us retain valuable residents that want to continue to call Boston their home but we can Envision a path that allows them to stay given our steep affordability crisis besides housing affordability the squares and streets initiative also improved City amenities that neighborhoods rely on with this change the opportunity to align development with city capital Improvement projects not to mention mixed use districts proposed that will allow for people to shop in their neighborhoods and walk to businesses which promotes environment sustainability and economic fortitude this is one step in a multipronged approach to gather Community feedback and as the chair of Planning Development and transportation I'm excited to convene some of these conversations to ensure Community feedback is at the Forefront alongside an Engaged Community process in each individual neighborhood I'm supportive of having robust discussions in every neighborhood um considered for these proposed zoning districts I've heard from many District 8 residents that this needs to be a deliberate process and I believe that this amendment once adopted we will have the opportunity to have these conversations about what we feel is most appropriate with recommendations coming from residents to make the spaces um uh even better than what they currently are so uh really appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight um again shared derkin District dat City councelor I do also um have another um is it possible to be taken out of order for another um uh support yes yeah go ahead thank you chair um I'm going to speak in support of 840 Columbus Avenue um Boston's AC dear chair Ro and members of the board Boston's academic institutions contribute to our city in a host of ways from sparking groundbreaking Innovations across a range of academic fields to support and contributing components of our public infrastructure including parks and streets I applaud our academic institutions nor Eastern included for the positive impacts they can bring to our city and the way they sustain vibrancy of activity from Commonwealth AB to hington Avenue I can point to a host of parks buildings and transportation infrastructure that have improved by nor Eastern but I understand that community in nor Eastern itself has waited some time to see another D dormatory come online because this is a commitment from their current m p I'm hopeful to see this coming to board tonight we need to ensure that institutions are meeting the commitment for beds in a scarce housing environment we this proposal to build 13 over 1300 bed dmitory on 840 Columbus Avenue is a Lifeline to the city's struggling housing stock and I hope it's the first of many oncampus living opportunities to come for North Eastern students although this proposal at 840 Columbus now poost M many benefits I urge the bpda to um host many benit I also urge the bpda to approve this project I do want to point out a number of residents and students concerns that I think Fair repeating while the proposal uh will serve to slow and stop further displacement uh of Roxbury families from the neighborhood I do acknowledge that this dormatory does not have a zero net impact on the over overall affordable affordability of neighborhood um or rockberry residents ability to Travers fely or conveniently students have added pressure on an R scarce resource in District 8 and are burdened um resources in the city of Boston which is affordable housing Additionally the benefits of oncampus housing um is only as good as its uptake I urge North Eastern to support resources to make this dormatory accessible to its student body having said that I commend the way the university has engage resident students in my office throughout the process and I believe um this is a better project because of that engagement I also uh appreciate the approach to design that creates an inviting environment for our students the ground floor uses um uses um uh are uh great and I look forward um this project highlights what the city needs more of mix use buildings on underutilized land such as the parking lot that exists currently exists at the location I also appreciate their commitment to CDC such as Fenway CDC with funds committed to helping alleviate the in crisis for this reason I asked the board to approve the proposal before you today and I sincerely hope that this is only the start of North Eastern's efforts to provide more on campus housing for their growing growing student body thank you so much again um District 8 city counselor thank you thank you councelor Jen um so we will go next to councelor Pippen and uh councelor Mia you'll you'll go right after him so uh the floor is yours thank you um good afternoon everyone my name is Enrique aing in District 5 city counselor so I have the honor of representing two of the neighborhoods that um squares and streets were have been prioritizing which is Rosendale in High Park I want to begin by thanking the bpda staff for being um so present in both neighborhoods both in multiple workshops multiple meetings um going on on walks visiting the the businesses so thank you for doing that um I'm here to elevate the voices of the residents of both those neighborhoods you know I I've gotten many emails and and phone calls from both sides of those that have questions and those that support this um and you know recently gotten emails from folks that are just still they're confused they they want to understand what does this mean what what does it mean to take a vote on today and i' I've also went on a walk with the Ros Ando coalition to to meet with business owners in Ros and square and you know they have questions as well of what does this mean for the neighborhood and for them as business owners um there were questions on the presentations on the maps that were being used by the bpda that um folks are just requesting that they um they become a little bit more clear when presenting in the community but I also want to highlight the other messages that I received and it's that folks feel that squares and streets will improve the public infrastructure in the neighborhood focused on you know development will now be focused on the squares instead of just sporadically across the neighborhood where it may not make sense um the appreciation of a collaborative approach to help map our neighborhoods will eventually look throughout the years the opportunity of bringing more diverse businesses and spaces to our neighborhoods um but more importantly this is an opportunity to bring more families to our district um and what I noticed is that from both the residents that had questions and concerns on squares and streets but also those that are in support of it is that they both understand that there's a need for density um and there's a need for more housing so I want to elevate that message as well I do know that by taking this vot today it will just it this is just a codify squares stre so this is not to basically say this is exactly what building um this is what's going on and for that reason I want to recommend the bpda to vote Yes on squares and streets um today and codifying it just because I know that the next steps is when the community engagement will truly begin to happen um and I want to make sure that the bpda continues to come to Ros andone High cour because folks still have questions um but this isn't cemented in stone and I want to make sure that the residents the RAS Ando coalitions the High Park naalh Associations um shout out to all of them that they have a voice when they're built when when this begins to happen um and to also include as many residents as possible at own businesses because they they want to make sure that they that they remain in Rosen and High Park because people have grown to love them and they want to be part of the conversation too without be this place but with that I recommend to vote Yes on squares and streets and make sure that this Contin used to be a community process for all thank you great thank you so much counselor um and uh next up we have councelor Mahia councelor Mahia the floor is yours uh good [Music] afternoon um it's good to see you and I see some of my other friends Mr Shephard it's good to see you here as well I'm not going to start name dropping everybody here because I can't say everybody but I just saw oh okay um everybody hello Ted um so at large city counsel Julia Mahia I um want to First just kind of start off with acknowledging um that a lot of the work that I've done on the council has been deeply rooted in community right and the importance of making sure that things are being done to us with us but not for us and or without us right and so I just want to make sure that everybody understand the the framing of what I what I'm about to share because I think it's important um for it to be received with the intention in which I'm trying to articulate this right because sometimes things get um misc conscrew and I I am deeply concerned um when we're talking about really meeting a moment and having an opportunity to restore trust and to create opportunities where people really feel seen and affirmed and I think it's it makes it really challenging for me um to see processes that continue to bypass a lot of people and the people who who um don't speak English people who aren't engaged in the political process people who aren't um The Usual Suspects right so there are a lot of stakeholders who are not engaged and then there are a lot of stakeholders who are and who have been around for a long time and know how things go down and so it's really difficult for me to um see see this playing out in a way where I'm still getting tons of emails from constituents who are asking us to slow down I'm not I I I think that there is some Merit in terms of really relationship building for us to say okay what the slowing down look like um and if we were to open up for a a a conversation in which the community stakeholders really felt like they had a seat at the table and a voice in the process what would it look like and I don't feel like we have gotten there I've been to meetings which I really do appreciate the bpda um in their efforts and and trying to get people up to speed but with so much uncertainty still and so many questions that still have yet to be answered if we're really serious about restoring trust and repairing harm this is an opportunity for us to reset and I'm not asking for a delay for another year I'm asking for a Slowdown for us to really get this process right because what we do today is going to impact the relationship of any type of projects that come before you moving forward and if people don't feel affirmed and heard then what we're doing is replicating bad behavior and I really do believe that we have an opportunity to slow down assess this vote not take it today and really think about what does it look like when we're really creating a community centered approach to these conversations and I think it merits um some reflection and um it is an opportunity for us to demonstrate that we're not doing business as usual that we are really listening to the people who pay our salaries or the people who we represent right ultimately those are our stakeholders and I can in good conscience um support something that still feels um unbaked if you will it still feels like there's still a few ingredients that are missing right um a little bit of s maybe I don't know I don't know what I do know is that I don't think we're ready for a vote of something that's going to just really impact so many people I don't have speech writers I speak from my heart and I am here to only represent me and the people who put me in position so I have nothing to lose with the things that I say I just say them from my heart because that's what we need to do is to show up and be courageous even when we are speaking truth to power and in many ways you are power right now because the decisions that you make are impacting the constituents that we serve and so I am willing to do that because that's what this moment is calling for and that's what our constitu want is for us to Advocate and bring their voices into spaces and places where they don't feel heard and so I am here just to ask the board and you ought to consider delaying the vote um and creating an opport for us to repair the harm and I look forward to joining you in that challenge right I'm not going to ask you to do something that I'm not going to roll up my sleeves and work alongside you all to do but I think we have an opportunity to really um slow things down and and work more collaboratively with with our constituents so I'd love to work with um Chief Json on on creating that Amy you and I have been working on a number of different um projects and so I think you know it I I don't I don't want to I not I don't want to be the counselor that is just going along to get along and you know I'm not a rubber stamp and I'm not going to just I just do what I I'm going to do what the people want me to do and the people want me to say slow it down and that's what I'm here to say slow it down thank you thank you thank you Conor M really appreciate um all of your words and and uh and your method of speaking from the heart I I I'm one of those two so with that um let's go ahead and um begin the um board question and comments portion of this item so are there any questions or comments from the board I wonder if um uh staff could elaborate on the uh composition selection and uh process that the small area planning uh groups could uh engage with what is the nature of future um Community engagement in this process absolutely um thank you Dr Lark I can take that question um and I want to just make sure that I completely understand um you're just looking to kind of understand what the small area planning process will look like and what the engagement um through that process will be is that correct yeah and what kinds of powers the community is going to have to uh not only um uh influence um the the outcome of uh decisions but um in in what ways will the community be able to shape what in fact goes on within their communities sure thank you um so we have been um you know talking about these small area plans uh both in the context of kind of scale and timing um we are looking at developing plans in a a a shorter time frame than we did um many of the kind of neighborhood-wide plans uh that you've seen come before you uh this past fall we're looking at um 6 to n month time frames um where we are working uh directly with constituents um on kind of two parallel tracks um one specifically being around uh um Community needs assessing um you know really being able to name um priorities for the neighborhood specifically uh we're trying to at this point in time really approach those conversations from the lens of level setting um educating uh around the types of tools that the city has presently um and being able to have conversation around the gaps that exist in those tools um in order to do that uh staff have organized a series of workshops um those workshops are um you know of different sorts of kind of styles we've had a kind of science fair style Workshop where there's been different tables and different ways to engage in conversation on different topics um just last night in Rosendale we had a uh kind of group discussion and then broke out into a smaller kind of uh databased conversation around housing and small business needs in the Square um we intend to continue to do those types of workshops and then to be able to shift into a conversation around uh visioning um on the basis of you know what comes out of these uh initial conversations but staff we doing uh is to be able to kind of circle back um and really vet the sorts of themes that they're hearing out of these larger scale workshops but what they're also doing is spending a lot of time having much smaller scale conversations um we've had staff attend ESL classes uh where the staff worked with the teachers in the ESL classes to actually translate um a presentation um and to give that presentation in Spanish um we've had staff go to uh public housing uh in Rosland Dale and to spend the afternoon uh with members of the community center there and just kind of have informal conversation um with folks who are in the community center uh we are setting up office space um in each of the neighborhoods that we're working in so that our planners are there on a predictable schedule and both being able to use that space um so that you know we're more accessible to Residents in the community but also to use that space as a home base so that staff are spending more time in the small businesses uh you know doing walks in the neighborhood Etc so we're really trying to utilize a combination of both kind of more formal and informal uh engagement um all that being said um you know we expect to uh really be able to identify the sorts of themes that uh individual the individual communities are are more focused on some communities may be more focused on small business needs some more focused on housing needs Etc um and to be able to use that information to inform um the to inform conversation around uh the the zoning component of this um as you've seen in the presentation today we have you know six different districts that we have developed a variety of scale and you know differing sorts of uses and being able to kind of connect the sorts of themes that come out of those discussions to the types of opportunities that exist within uh the districts themselves is a first step but what we really want to be able to do is um marry that with additional data around specific development in those communities and then have residents and stakeholders really lead the discussion around what districts um and where those districts make the most sense in their neighborhoods so we've not come into this process with any you know specific plan as to how these districts should be mapped in any any location um what we are doing is looking to really work in concert with residents and stakeholders both to develop recommendations on the planning side um and to be able to identify the types of programs and resources that the city has presently that can be that those recommendations can help to inform and serve um to therefore be able to work with our partner departments to say you know we want to kind of you know because this conversation has focused on small business ooi please you know help us with space grant funding or because this conversation has focused more on housing uhoh letoh and BPD real estate how can we have more of a conversation around the parcels that we own that are in the area and what we you know recommend to be able to do with those Parcels but then on um you know kind of again on the back end really being able to then focus on these zoning districts have folks have a deeper understanding of the zoning districts themselves and the implications of using the different zoning districts and being able to map those zoning districts in such a way that um they're really kind of pieces of a puzzle um that no one area would have the same kind of range of districts or the same number of parcels mapped um but that there's real opportunity to tap into that dialogue and to make decisions on that basis um I suppose the last thing I'll just say is because we are looking to ensure that we're engaging communities that are not um typically or traditionally engaged in these processes a lot of our conversation um has been on that smaller scale and so the onus really is on the planners to be able to synthesize that in a way that is uh digestible and accessible to people um and we want to do that both uh from a virtual lens and in person um and I'll just say that um all of our planning uh meetings uh in rosale and High Park to date have been inperson meetings they've not been virtual meetings some of um our planning challenges extend beyond the uh scale and scope of individual distri resilience or uh addressing uh affordable housing issues um how will those priorities be factored into this process and um who will set those uh priorities for uh issues that uh extend across multiple districts sure um so I would say first and foremost that you know planning is an iterative process it's a process that you know needs to rely on recommendations um and processes that have come before us um obviously as you know there are a number of city-wide plans that address some of the the types of issues that you're talking about um our climate resiliency goals um you know our our parks department has plans with regard to tree planting um we have had a lot that has certainly been developed to dat around heat island effect Etc we want to make sure that um we're really setting the stage to be able to communicate um what research has been done um on a city-wide scale but acknowledging that these plans are really hyperfocused on small geographies we need to be able to kind of bring those recommendations down to the scale of those neighborhoods so when we're talking about public space for example um if we have data on you know heat island impacts you know where should we be focusing on pling trees um if we're talking about Transportation needs um from kind of a a broader scale around you know accessibility or Mobility what sorts of uh specific locations in these geographies present challenges and how do we begin to address those challenges um this is a different approach I would say than the neighborhood wide plans that we've been developing because um those plans are able to kind of paint with broader breast Strokes um in order for these plans uh the small area plans to be effective we need to be able to kind of focus on the hyper local while being able to feed those recommendations into what happens at a much larger scale across the city um and this is where we're really you know trying to communicate this goal around um the the I would say the the distinction um between this planning process and the ones that we've done in the past where we're really trying to make the connection at a Citywide scale while acknowledging what the needs are at the hyper Lal scale if if someone wanted to build something that uh didn't fit U with within the uh evolved context of of this uh is there an appell process built in what what is it that they would then do so our goal with the squares and streets zoning um is to really engaging conversation around what the vision for those squares look like uh what the that vision is um you know from the the community process and so I think if we have a developer that comes forward after we've done a you know a mapping exercise you know to say that they want to develop something that does not fit within um the context of the process that we've gone through the staff are prepared to uh communicate that that is not appropriate for these particular locations we have over the course of time become a city that is incredibly reliant on exceptions to our code through the zva process and um as the staff mentioned earlier in the presentation you know this is a opportunity for us to move away from that um but in order to be able to do that we want to make sure that we've gone through a zoning process where we really have built consensus around what that vision is and then that we're able to really stick to that Vision that's why we're not allowing pdas um because we really want to make sure that we're creating a predictable course of development in our squares and that it's happening at the scale that residents agree is appropriate for their for their swears thank you thank you okay additional questions or comments from the board I guess just a couple comments thanks um Madam chair um first of all thanks to the um staff for I I thought that was a really good presentation in terms of um both the technical aspects of of what is put before us tonight but also just the you know sort of acknowledgment of the debates that are kind of swirling around some of this process um and Distilling you know what has been I I'm sure just a massive amount of of work into um into a really great sum Mar and I you know I also want to thank the community for all of the comments that were submitted to us there were significant comments we get hundreds of pages of them and we we do read them um and you know for me the counselors all had things that really resonate for me the I I I kind of land on the side of of wanting this to move forward I think it's critical I think it's really good for our city um um and I think in order to get to some of the more substantive uh issues and engagement that this is a this is an important step to take and that that it doesn't foreclose or preclude uh meaningfully addressing the issues that have been raised um a variety of issues that have been raised um and there's also a lot of support that that we've read for going forward as well um I think for me you know Council mahia's comments about people needing to be seen and heard is is also really critical and that is always a challenge I think bpda is exponentially better at that uh than perhaps it has been in in Prior decades and uh I think with this process in particular that is just really critical to continue um to make it worthwhile for people to engage in these planning processes and I look forward to uh those processes as they continue following tonight thanks okay um additional questions or comments from the W um I think a lot of questions Dr lmar asked uh helped me out a lot um and Kate you did a lot of of thanking which I kind of want to do too I definitely want to thank the neighborhoods uh reaching out in the comments like Kate said we do listen and read the comments um uh thank the city councilors for you know shedding light on things and shedding their opinions in the areas that they cover uh this is tough change is always going to be tough but I just think that you know going forward being transparent is U definitely on the agenda and will remain on the agenda and also my last thing I just think this uh policy future will help create opportunities and um that's what I'm here for so um just want to give my peace and thank everyone that you know came out today and thank everyone that has responded it's good to see when a large amount of people um engage in things because it shows that the city of Boston is interested and steps to be take forward so thank you every thank you bpda uh staff as well for doing an excellent job on explaining things and as you continue to explain throughout the whole process just want to thank everyone that's all thank you um rahee uh any additional questions or comments yeah look um I think um I think this is this is this is just so this is tough um uh and uh you just want to you know Echo you know we're in like 500 600 almost 700 Pages you know um I didn't print them out but scroll through them um of of comments um and as well as um that were that were thoughtful um that had really great and valid points and I also saw the um the staff uh taking just as much time uh to respond directly to people I love the new like office hours thing because it's it's just a uh some of these things are you know uh are are tough to um to kind of absorb uh this is big this is big change um but from my persp perspective it uh and I'll just uh maybe just comment that uh I'll explain to you um so like when I first started like N9 years ago um uh I was I had not read the full zoning code um but I attempted to um and uh and I've gotten you know pretty far but I struggled I struggled with um with being able to um be on this board and um and adequately represent myself but also represent a um the voice of the the community because these are I mean we live here too right like we're we're just as uh just as concerned and involved as uh as everyone else we we you know um you know were appointed and agreed to do these roles so we're uh you know volunteering to be uh extra extra involved in the know in this but um but these are difficult Concepts and it's just drastically different than um than what it was before um I'm and so when I when I see this of these districts right and that that makes sense to me um that use real language to describe what it is that we're trying to do I am the happiest board chair on the planet um but I do recognize that you know we have a uh that we have a past as an agency um and uh and that trust is you know is something that that needs to be earned not just once but like all the time right um so sorry I get a little bit off track but um so I just really I really believe in um the importance of having these tools in the toolbx right um so that they're available and and we can go into this like squares and streets like these subd District places that we're going to go through that we can go through them with um with these tools I think it's to not have these in place and and you know still be trying to um kind of plan these specific squares and streets areas um is just it's kind of it's hard like you can't you you kind of this is the first step to being able to do all of the rest of the steps all of the deep deep dives into um you know I think that this should be you know um a you know subdistrict 5 versus subdistrict four right we need a language and a frame to uh to be able to have that conversation and and I don't want us to have that conversation on this like old 19,000 page like zoning code um so that's what makes it kind of difficult right to um to kind of balance you know what I know as a person who's super involved in this with um with a sentiment that um uh that people don't feel like they're they're being hurt um so I don't know I guess all that to say that even though we get called we called all the time a rubber stamp um in the press and and in uh um some of some of these emails and stuff um uh I'm not a rubber stamp and none of these none of my fellow board members are either um so whatever vote that we individually take is absolutely based on our experience based on our understanding based on our having read five 600 700 pages of um of input um and I guess I just wanted to make that clear um before we take and so before we take a vote I just want to have someone from the agency reiterate what this what the vote is uh is asking for what it'll allow us to do and then one more time in clearcut what it is not so um if someone can please indulge indulge me that'd be great yes uh so we're asking you to take a vote that would Advance text amendments to the Boston zoning code those text amendments would create occur in multiple articles um and I I'll open them off uh on the board mem to make sure I'm um exact in reading these uh to create those six new squares and streets districts those will be located in article 26 it also modernizes the land use table in article 8 and makes other changes in Article 2 article 3 Article 4 article 6 article 10 article 11 Article 13 article 18 Article 19 article 22 article 24 article 80 and article 89 never forget Urban agriculture to make sure that all of the existing provisions of our code continue to work with these new districts they are not being mapped anywhere in as part of this text Amendment they will just exist as options for a future zoning Amendment and at any time we bring a future zoning Amendment before you using one of these zoning options that requires both the vote of this board to petition the zoning commission uh a public hearing before the zoning commission and the vote of the zoning commission to adopt such math Amendment okay thank you uh any additional um follow questions or comments from the board I'll just say that uh We've needed a new and a clear um and a very inclusive framework um and direction for Planning and Zoning within the city for a number of years and uh my sense is that uh this accomplishes that thank you Dr lensar additional questions or comments okay hearing and seeing none a motion is an order so move second we call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr lmar I Mr Shephard uh and the chair votes I motion passes uh thank you everyone um the process continues all uh we now have tools that we'll be able to leverage in our planning exper exercise so just gather myself here and see what we are on here the agenda okay so that was our that was item number five item number six has been removed and let's go on to article oh no item number seven request authorization to petition the zoning commission to adopt text amendments for article 53 and Article 2 of the zoning code and map Amendment to zoning Maps 3A 3B and 3C to amend existing neighborhood subd District boundaries and create 10 new subdistricts uh update use and dimensional tables and consolidate and modernize the code in order to implement the zoning recommendations of Plan East Boston um Cyrus good afternoon chair rohos uh steam members of the board director Json secretary pimus uh my name is melli and I'm the planning assistant for the bpda zoning reform team uh I'm here today to share some proposed updates to the East Boston zoning next slide please on January 18th 2024 a couple months ago uh the bpda board approved Plan East Boston and voted to advance its accompanying zoning amendments to be considered for adoption by the zoning commission those zoning recommendations proposed changes to article 53 East Boston's neighborhood zoning article which were designed to advance the goals and recommendations of Plan East Boston as a part of ongoing diligence and preparation for the forthcoming Boston zoning commission hearing uh including ongoing public comment and vetting by Community leaders uh We've identified a few minor modifications needed to better align the proposed zoning with the Community Vision in the plan as well as the agency's broader zoning reform efforts these proposed modifications include one modified dimensional regulations for two of East Boston's economic development areas two small revisions to the structure of article 53's use tables and three the removal of several previously listed definitions from the zoning text other than the aformentioned revisions the proposed text and map amendments remain the same as presented to the board at their January 18th 2024 board meeting all of which are included as a part of this revised petition next slide please beginning with Eda Dimensions uh updates to East Boston zoning modifi dimensional requirements for the Saratoga Street Eda uh which you can find highlighted on the map on your screen uh the proposed zoning increases permitted F to 2.5 from its previously approved 2.0 and this increase applies to both underlying zoning and Zoning for paa projects and is a move generally which better aligns the area's regulation with the Community Vision established through the plan more specific spefically plan's Boston highlights the Saratoga Street Eda as a location appropriate for uh environmentally sound economic growth and mix use development uh the Eda sits within immediate proximity to both Oran height square and the bell is marsh and is well service and accessible by transit the existing sub area primarily comprises MBTA owned land uh including the orian heights MBTA station surface parking lots and Rail Yards uh but also includes several low density uh light Industrial and Commercial buildings uh these updates to the eda's F requirements align the re with the recommendations of Plan East Boston to help promote appropriately scaled mixed use development including for newly allowed residential uses which can be leverag to assist in the delivery of necessary public improvements such as District scale flood infrastructure improvements to the local Street Network and more accessible connections to the B Marsh next slide please in addition the proposed zoning amendments make updates to the dimensional regulations for PDA eligible projects in the mclen highway Eda you can find the mlen highway Eda highlighted on the map on screen uh the proposed zoning increases the permitted PDA height from 5 stories and 65 ft to 7 stories and 85 ft and the PDA permitted F uh from 2.0 to 3.0 uh this increase only applies to PDA eligible projects which is appropriate for the area given that every parcel meets the 1 acre land area threshold to enable PDA eligibility uh this change better aligns the area's regulation with the Community Vision established through the plan by incentivizing an increased scale of development on underutilized sites previously occupied by fuel storage uses and that are largely shielded from East Boston's existing residential fabric uh which then can be leveraged to help provide the neighborhood with needed job opportunities open space amenities Transportation improvements and resilience infrastructure next slide please the proposed zoning amendments also make structural revisions to article 53's use tables to align the formatting of the East Boston use tables with those crafted as a part of the agency's broader zoning reform efforts they do not change how the affected uses are regulated this update is important because it helps create consistency and Regulatory structure across the zoning code allev ating any possible confusion or conflict that may arise from having to navigate or interpret slightly different tables or uses in different parts of the code the updates do this while also maintaining the specificity and land use regulation determined through the plan East Boston planning process next slide finally the updated East Boston zoning proposes to remove several definitions which were present in the originally approved text these include one the Article 2 two definition of building width uh and two the definitions relating to land uses and dimensional regulations previously found in the article 53 appendex those definitions will now be inserted into article 8 and Article 2 as a part of the proposed squares and Street zoning amendments despite moving locations within the code the meaning and applicability of the terms within the East Boston zoning will remain the same with these changes this move is important as it removes substance of duplication from the code and streamlines the process of updating definitions in the future should revisions be necessary down the line and the removal of these 100 plus definitions also trims 12 pages from the text of article 53 further clarifying and consolidating East B and Zoning next slide and with that I'll close our presentation and also introduce Kathleen onifer our deputy director of zoning uh to the panel and Kathleen and I available to answer any questions you may have so thank you great thanks so much Cyrus uh questions or comments from the board um I do have one question um can uh you just comment on um kind what what drove these changes right like how did we come up because we did improve Plan East Boston in January um and you know we're doing some tweaks totally under understand um the tweaks but just want to get a sense of like how yeah what what made you tweak yeah thank you so um as we went over on the last item taking forward zoning uh is a two-step process where the bpda board votes to petition the zoning commission uh and then the zoning goes before the zoning commission um and as the draft zoning which represents uh you know 5 years of work and conversation uh with stakeholders in the East Boston Community uh and went through multiple cycles of revision before it came to you uh was a really large and extensive uh effort of work as it went through further vetting uh as it got ready for the process of the zoning commission so um you know some uh folks start paying attention when it gets ready for zoning commission uh and uh including uh some of the elected officials uh right also hearing from other um Property Owners stakeholders in East Boston uh as they really looked closely at what was getting ready to go forward uh came to us with these concerns um and as we met in extensive discussion with the elected officials in East Boston uh to talk about both how our recommendations had evolved over the planning process um including through work with them and engagement with them um and how that was ref reflected in um these specific areas of detail we found uh that there was an opportunity to address these uh concerns and make sure we're aligned um additionally because this is now moving at the same time uh as of squares and streets as cus uh highlighted for you we have these opportunities to provide sort of more structural Clarity within the code and avoid repeating uh information and that was another opportunity uh that in our quest to get below a 4,000 page code we were eager to to go for okay thank you um and a great illustration of you know I think the entire ecosystem working here um of engaging with your elected officials right getting in on these details and uh and the team being responsive to to do this so um so uh thank you for for demonstrating that um okay any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing not motion is in order so moved second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi your Lance Mark hi Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes uh thanks so much okay um it is 5:28 so uh we are going to take a uh a brief recess um to uh before we start our public hearing so let's come back and at um just 5:35 let's make it make it so we'll see you in uh in about 5 minutes thanks e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e uh and Dr Lark is recusing himself so he will not be present for this um oh there you are yes I will be recusing myself from this one thank you okay cool thanks um perfect so let's get started this is agenda item number 28 um simultaneous Spanish Mandarin and Cantonese interpretations are being provided for this meeting using the language interpretation function within Zoom we ask that you be that you please be patient in case of any technical issues language interpretation will not be enabled until the instructions on how to access interpretation Services have been translated into Spanish Mandarin and cantones once interpretation has been enabled a globe icon will appear at the bottom of your Zoom screen uh an important reminder to all who are presenting and commenting today we ask that you speak slowly for The Interpreter if you're speaking too fast I may interrupt you and ask you to speak more slowly so that the translator can catch up with the information thank you uh to enable interpretation for Spanish Mandarin and Cantonese please click on the globe icon on the bottom of your screen and select the language you wish to listen to also you must mute original audio so we have uh Juan will you now Please interpret the instructions that I just gave into Spanish certainly Madam good evening everyone this is the Spanish interpreter for than you very much back to you madam chair um gracias Juan um and now Terry will you please interpret the instructions that I just gave into Mand certainly thank you madam chair um thank you okay thank you Terry and uh finally Anna will you now Please interpret the instructions that I just gave into Canon of course Madam chair um good evening everyone I'm Anna I'll be a continuous enter for the meeting tonight back to you madam chair thanks Anna and uh so now uh Annie will you please now activate the interpretation of bsom okay as you can see the globe icon has appeared on the bottom of the screen so you can click on that and select your language um as you want okay just going to give people a couple seconds to join okay so if you're having difficulty activating the interpretation please call the phone number on the screen if you have difficulties with the translation later in the meeting you can call that same number and we have interpreters available to assist you over the phone uh just checking in Secretary pimus are all of the channels uh up and running yes they are so this project presentation has also been translated into Spanish mandra and Cantonese and these interpretations are available um on the bpda website at Boston plans.org slab us/ bpda dboard board- meetings please take note of the website address on the screen uh to view the translated project presentations this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development Le agcy being held in conformance with article 80 d-5 of the Boston zoning code to consider the proposed Third Amendment to the Northeastern University 2013 uh to 2023 institutional master plan for the for the 840 Columbus project as well as other updates this hearing was duly advertised on March 1st 2024 in the Boston Herald this is a PDA hearing on a proposed petition by the agency staff members will first present their case and are subject to questioning by the members of the agency thereafter anyone who wishes to testify about the proposed project will be afforded an opportunity we are taking support and opposition at the same time if you are planning to testify please take time now to verify that your computer microphone is active and click the hand icon on your Zoom control panel this will to the staff that you would like to speak when your hand is raised it will be blue if you are calling into the meeting and would like to testify please dial star9 to raise your hand when I call for all testimony staff will announce your name and allow you to talk you must unmute your microphone and your webcam will not be active in an effort to accommodate all who would like to speak about this proposal each person will be given up to two minutes to comment epda staff will indicate when 30 seconds remain and at that time please conclude your remarks so that the hearing may continue and others may be heard finally the proponents are allowed a period of 5 to 10 minutes for rebuttal if they so desire and Quinn uh will you now please begin the presentation yes thank you madam chair members of the board secretary pimus and director Json The Proposal before you is from article 80 large project at 840 Columbus Avenue in Roxbury New Associated Third Amendment to the nor Eastern University master plan the proposed project is for a 23 story approximately 445,000 foot dorm building with a community focused ground floor providing subsidized retail and small business support space and associative programming the proposed project will include up to 1,370 dorm beds allowing the university to exceed their commitment of a th000 new beds made in the current IM the proposed project also includes extensive updates to the public realm and infrastructure in the vicinity of the project site the associated third imp Amendment would add the proposed project to the current institutional master plan the amendment would also add the building formerly known as the South Tower of the Sheron Boston hotel to the list of University leas properties to bring that site into compliance with the terms of the PDA Amendment this board approved in January of this year finally the amendment would also allow for a future interior renovation project at the Renaissance Park Building at the uh adjas to the 40 Columbus site finally worth noting nor Eastern University has recently begun engaging with the BPA on their next 10-year institutional master plan anticipated to cover a term of 2024 to 2034 this public process will allow for extensive Master planning including a full analysis of the University's footprint and anticipated growth we look forward to being back to the board uh to present this upcoming 10year plan in the near future the bpda held several uh public meetings and task force meetings advertised uh through the course of this project all meetings were advertised in local newspapers and online and well attended I want to thank the bpda staff task force members and members of the public who contributed their time and efforts to improving this project through the course of our review I also want to thank councelor Durkin for her thoughtful testimony and support of this project earlier in the meeting I've now turned over to my colleague L from The bpda Zone and compliance team to discuss the planning context that was considered in the review of this project before the development team begins their presentation thank you good evening chair roas members of the board secretary pimus and director Json my name is lse and I'm the zoning compliance plan plan are assigned to this project during article 80 review BP planning staff uh review was informed by the underlying zoning the northeastern imp and Roxbury strategic master plan as well as the neighborhood context including the location at a key intersection of campus and the roxburry residential neighborhood other large development projects nearby such as Drexel Village across the street and proximity to Transit next slide and next slide please specifically the northeastern 2013 imp notes 840 Columbus as an area of interest and contemplates a potential hotel or Conference Center nor Eastern has since shifted the proposed use and design in response to market demand uh and feedback from community electeds and City agencies the vote today as Quinn mentioned includes a zoning map amendment to remove the site of the proposed project from the existing PDA overlay uh that anticipated office use and instead include it in the Imp next slide please in terms of zoning the ground floor uses are consistent with the underlying greater roxburry Eda zoning though the proposed Dimensions exceed under underlying zoning with today's board vote 840 Columbus will be subject to the northeastern Imp in terms of planning context the proposed project delivers the student housing needed to fulfill the commitment set forth in the northeastern imp to provide a th new uh student beds on campus and the proposed project will transform an underutilized surface parking lot into much needed on campus student housing in addition the Roxbury strategic master plan envisioned an improved Melia cast Boulevard and Columbus Avenue which the the proposed project is helping to deliver through public realm improvements provision of active Mobility infrastructure and activation of the ground floor thank you and I will now I will turn it over to the development team Victoria you're muted how about now can you hear me now yep I can hear you thank you Teresa thank you Ella and Quinn good evening chair Roes members of the board director Json and secretary pimus my name is Victoria abalina and I'm an associate vice president for campus planning and design at nor Eastern I'm joined today by my colleagues Kathy Spelman VP of planning real estate and facilities and John tolbin VP of city and community relations as well as our partner Jason Wills from American campus communities and the design team David manf Freddy we're here today to share a proposed project for our student residence hall that is located at 8:40 Columbus Avenue in Rock as Ella and Quinn described in North Eastern IP was approved by bpda board in 2013 and last fall this board approved our request for a 2-year extension in order for us to complete this third amendment to the northeastern imp so we're back as promised with this project and we're very excited to be here um two other items as part of the start Amendment um our a lease of um space in 39 Dalton where we're leasing about 250,000 Square ft uh for student uh dormatory uses and um a minor change in use um which is a the Renaissance Park renovation project which consists of interior Renovations of four floors that were formerly used by Beth Israel and are now turning back to University uses so um this project will be coming down the pipeline so origin Ally filed uh this project A40 Columbus Avenue was filed in November of 2019 and it has undergone significant public review but it has also changed significantly um since the original filing and the dpir filing so as an academic institution and research institution with the largest student population in Boston we are stewards of our build environment and take pride in design and quality of projects we propos uh in the city of Boston and our Global Network we're also committed to mitigating our impact on City's already tight housing market so this project is very important to us not only because it'll fulfill our bedc count but it'll also help us fulfill our commitment to provide an economic development program at the ground floor of the project site as discussed in our 2013 I we believe that ground floor programming that and design that provides con activ ity that David man Fredy will discuss brief in in a short um while we'll provide the much needed public realm improvements and connections to Northeastern campus in the adjacent neighborhoods and we'd like to thank our task force the bpda and City staff the bcdc for the thoughtful feedback we've received throughout this process and I will now hand it over to David man Freddy from alus man Freddy Architects to speak about the project and public realm and Landscape and Kathy John and myself will be available to answer questions thank you V thank you Victoria uh I'm David manf Freddy from elas manf Freddy Architects Madam chair director jamson secretary Bemus and members of the board I'm very pleased to be here this afternoon you can go to the next and you will see the site which is located at Tremont Melia cast in Columbus adjacent to the Renaissance Park Building uh and today as as Victoria mentioned uh is a Surface parking lot um if you go to the next you see a diagram of tront and you'll see everything in in light blue represents uh buildings of Northeastern University everything in the light yellow represents development that is either underway uh at the gresen parcel and and where your choice or that is in the midst of entitlement process uh at P3 um this is clearly this site which you see in the terracotta color uh is clearly at the intersection of the university and the surrounding neighborhood all of the buildings um I mentioned um in in blue and in yellow represent recent development some adaptive reuse development uh and uh Treemont itself um has been called appropriately an economic development Corridor and where these two use types or ownership types come together is at this pivotal site if you go to the next the next slide please thank you um the design proposal that you are looking at has Ben ited greatly from input from the neighborhood from BPD bpda as well as bcdc uh over the course of all of that engagement the building has reduced in height but has in fact increased in beds uh and I can explain why we've removed uh four floors of of academic use at the base of the building so there's a ground floor very active shared use I'll show you that in a moment and then it is all residential above you'll see that in the massing of the buildings there's three elements of massing at 13 stories on Mia cast 20 stories at the corner of Mia cast and Columbus and 23 stories on the interior what I'm calling the interior portion of the site we separated these three elements primarily by massing but also by material and by color and I'll explain that a little bit as I go this is a view from Tremont looking South one of the three primary views maybe four primary views um that you will see this building from different directions from the public way if you go to the next here in the foreground is the 13 story element which is on the corner of Tremont in lioc cast it's clad in a warm almost bright red brick with accents of a darker brick the 20 story element is um in the buff brick just to your right and uh the tallest element is ultra high performance um concrete panels uh and the street level and I'll point it out through several different views very open very transparent very accessible from all sides and you'll see when I show you a plan the intention is that it is fully accessible it has multiple points of entrance and it becomes a kind of Crossroads not only between the neighborhood and University but the neighborhood and and and rugle station and a number of different activities along the way you go to the next now the second major View Corridor is from Melia cast so I am looking West arriving on Melia Cass uh and again you see those three elements and again this idea of separating them primarily by massing but also by material and by and by um color uh in a way that uh connects to the surrounding especially in terms of the height along Treemont and development along Treemont and then heading towards the university you go to the next this is a view from the south on Treemont uh you can see the the police headquarters on your left and then International Village uh and then you can just see beyond the edge of uh the tallest part of this building uh which is that 23 story piece and obviously you're looking well beyond uh through the south end and and uh Into the Heart of the City if you go to the next this is a view from Columbus so um you can see on the right northeastern's newest science building uh and you can see beyond uh the International Village now you'll notice in all of these renderings that the ground floor is very open very transparent here the primary entrance for the student population meaning closest um to the bridge and and um to the university itself um a two-story base this represents the entrance retail uh a kind of Market space but also second floor amenities and a a rooftop uh at the second floor of an outdoor amenity space that connects to all of the indoor but again you can see the primary design direction is um to create one building with three parts um that come together in in this configuration if you go to the next I'll bring you down at street level this is a sidewalk view at Mia cast and tront again invitation into the building um the idea of a Florida ceiling glass operable invite as a destination and as I said as a cut through uh with uses on that ground floor that are destination and attraction for the neighborhood as well as uh the student population you can also see that what I call the bright uh reddish um orange brick an inset of a darker brick that gives us a kind of vertical proportion that's a device that's used on all parts of the building uh to to create another level of scale uh and and introduce a kind of visual pattern uh that creates points of of focus on each of those sleep building Els if you go to the next the fourth of the views is that view from Columbus and and Mia cast and here you can see the closest point to the university the entrance is just around the corner on Columbus the corner is retail the um second floor is is um uh amenity space space for the students and then one last image which is the ground floor plan um to talk about the public realm you'll notice that um especially on tront and on Mel has very wide sidewalks and not just complete streets but more than complete streets so on Mia has uh a dimension uh from the face of building at the middle of the block uh out to the curb of um almost 40 ft uh you can see a new cycle track on Mia Cass new cycle track on Columbus um sidewalk and then a kind of apron zone of seating that is not intended to be um transactional meaning I'm not sitting out there to a connected restaurant it is open and welcome to all um you can also see on on Tremont wide sidewalks 26 ft from from building building to to curb um the all of the elements of complete streets an entrance on Tremont an entrance on Mia cast an entrance on on Columbus what the intention is that there's kind of a diagonal path through the building through the elements of of um uh the economic development Community as well as the elements of of the student community that lives here and those all those things that they have in common and with that um we'll go to Jason Wills who will conclude our presentation thank you David um my name is Jason Wills I'm the senior vice president of development and corporate responsibility for American campus communities and we're fortunate enough to be the University's Partners in this development and we partnered with them on light view back in 2019 uh ACC does specializ in student apartment communities we're long-term owners of student housing and many of the student housing professionals like myself uh have been developing and nurturing living learning environments uh since we were Ras uh in college ourselves so a few things I wanted to add to what David said um first of all uh these are student Apartments these are not dormatory accommodations they have living rooms private bedrooms full kitchens these are the accommodations that students are looking for and these are uh effectively what is attracting them out of the workforce housing environment um secondly I do want to point out that this is a Boston based union labor project it's creating roughly 500 jobs on the site there will be 12 full-time jobs once the building opens and the project itself will pay full Boston ad warm taxes we're really excited about the ground floor Community Economic Development space and how it is effectively bringing town and gown together in 15,000 square fet there will be a liaison there will be a business and Resident locally owned food and beverage co-working just a lot of opportunities um and then lastly I wanted to point out that the building is going to be very sustainable it's an all El electric building it's going to be lead gold as well as passive house certified and we're also going to be fit well certifying the building uh in order to really showcase what a healthy uh residential and Community uh uh Community Showcase it is now having said that I wanted to really thank uh the bpda uh staff the task force and bcdc and then most importantly the neighborhood and Community member uh members who participated in this ongoing dialogue that we've been having both uh in person in workshops and in these uh task force discussions and then thank you to the council members and the board leadership we believe this has been an extremely collaborative and uh healthy process and we're really pleased at our Collective accomplishments here so that ends our presentation I think we're ready for uh questions thank you okay thank you um all right so this is a public hearing uh so we will take a public testimony first secret secretary pimus do we have anyone who would like to testify Andrea G you can unmute yourself Andrea G if you're having difficulty you can call the phone number on the screen Kelly brilliant you can unmute yourself hi um can you hear me um want to say thank you U Madam chair and Secretary of Fus and all the members of the board for allowing me to speak on behalf of the 20 additional members of the Fenway Alliance we strongly support this project full disclosure um nor Eastern is a dedicated member of the Fenway Alliance but we appreciate all the work that's gone into this and how they really listen to the community and made some significant changes in the project how it's also returning housing stock to the city of Boston which under three Mayors have urged um our academic institutions to do and with 1240 student beds that will certainly satisfy um some of those requirements and we particularly like the community piece of the project on the lower level and is um what I understand is that also the community will have even more say into some of the um uh amenities that will go into that u space face I love what they did with the northeastern Crossing I think the Fenway alliance members think that was a dynamite project many of us enjoy that for meeting spaces and community members use that I and so I like that same process will be utilized to kind of fill in that community space where they're really taking um serious the ideas of community members who best know what could go into those spaces so we urge the board to um uh vote favorably upon this project and I thank you for um time to speak on this thank you Kelly Allison ptinus you can unmute yourself thank you uh good evening um I'm a member of friends to Mia cast Boulevard and um we uh co-signed a letter a comment letter related to some of the impacts but I'm only going to speak about one uh factor that really um is long in the future of the uh bike infrastructure and um I think there'll be opportunity to uh rethink the design a little bit this is the uh bike lane on The Melia cast block between Columbus and tront and as it's presented right now it's a stub it leaves um cyclists right at that corner of uh tront and Melia cast where um The Turning traffic that's moving from the boulevard to uh Treemont in two lanes is very uh chaotic very uh always congested and not a safe place for a cyclist to cross um so uh on the other side of Mia cast Boulevard is the South Bay Harbor Trail and um to think about what will make a great network connection between the Southwest Corridor connection uh bike path and the South Bay Harbor Trail is something that nor Eastern I'm sure can figure out and but really safety has to be the priority you don't want bikers um Crossing in front of the Turning traffic at that corner um thank you for listening thank you minor Perez you can unmute yourself thank you Madame secretary Madame chair members of the board this is min Perez representing the Carpenters Union on behalf of hundreds of members that live in work throughout city of BOS I want to call record support spr thank you minor chiton green you can unmute yourself uh hello can you hear me yes we can hear you hello everyone uh my name is ChatON green I'm a Boston Roos rockberry resident um I'm also a business agent for the Boston Building Trades unions I first want to say thank you to the bpda for hosting and facilitating these important meetings um any chance for the community voice to be heard I think is very important so I'm very appreciative of the chance to to be heard um I also want to say thank you to nor Eastern University as a good Community partner and a special thanks to John toin for all all of your work on this great partnership this this project will be Union build ensuring access ACC to Great careers as we know great careers without a doubt help build strong communities the ability to earn family sustained wages along with health and retirement benefits uh right right here where you live um and also the great training unions provide through world class appren programs and our commitment to keep safety as a top priority um this is where residents of the community need um great jobs like this help us um able to live live in our community now but also for future Generations so I'm extremely um excited for this project and and happy to be in partnership with uh nor Easter and um I support this project it's a great project thank you thank you Richard giodo you can unmute yourself uh than you secretary Pon members of the board Madam chair director cherson my name is Richard jordano I'm a member for the task force representing Fenway Community Development Corporation we're a 51-year-old uh affordable housing Builder a nonprofit Community elected board Community Driven um We rise basically uh in appreciation for all the work that's gone on here and we want to go on record wholeheartedly and support um as we've all been saying for a decade at least now we need uh more student housing and no e is delivering it uh they've also uh promised to create a $1 million pilot fund uh to be turned into the mayor's office of housing we hope uh to be used for uh subsidizing a for a home ownership rather uh in in the roxburry and Mission Hill Fenway area uh that's the area impacted by absente investors who brought up everything and put all of the students in them and this is a two crown way to deal with it we build a dorm we create a fund we hope we we make a lot of progress um and I would just urge the board to uh vote in favor of this and also uh to keep in mind that North Eastern is hoping to be able to uh de accession some of its uh dorm or housing in the fanway and we certainly want that to go to affordable housing so we'll keep working with the university and the bpda on the next master plan thank you all and please vote in favor thank you shamaya Turner you can unmute yourself good evening my name is shamia Turner I'm a home I'm a homeowner in Boston as well as a representative for the sheet metal workers union representing um sheet metal workers who will work on this project and I would also like to say thank you to the northeastern team in particular Tobin um John Tobin for your dedication to the Boston area and creating good jobs and adhering to Great labor standards um when I did work in the field with my tools I had a chance to work on some Northeastern dorms in academic buildings and that is one reason why I'm able to live in the city of Boston so I'm proud to speak in favor of this project thank you very much thank you would anybody else like to testify about this project project please raise your virtual hand was the the one phone call in listener that's oh no they don't have their hand up they don't have their hand up okay no I think this concludes the the public hearing portion of this of this item okay thank you um so let's now move on to uh board questions and comments um I did have one um or a couple couple things that uh the bike uh safety um and infrastructure um Can can either of both Northeastern and the agency kind of um talk about what uh what this project how this project contributes to that or where um where this be feedback kind of should go because I know there's a lot of different Transportation studies there's a lot of different things um going on so um yeah just wanted to make sure that this kind of comment gets to the right place sure I'm happy to try and tackle it um I'm not sure if a site plan would help um and also if Nick Schmidt is on the call from bpda Transportation um if he can chime in on the broader studies but we worked very closely with the bpda transportation and BTD Transportation Planning team in responding to some of the studies the active studies on connectivity and bikes um so there's a lot of work as you know going on at the Ruggles NBTA station so some of the um required bike lanes that came out of this process are uh an effort to create a more robust connection from the southwest Corridor into Melia cast and the neighborhood so we're providing um bike Lanes on the Columbus side we're providing a protected to bike lane on nelia cast uh Boulevard along our project site and that should be connecting to some of the other bike infrastructure that the city is planning um as you know there's also a Southwest Corridor bike paath that is on the north side of Columbus Avenue uh along the garage um so we're not touching that but we have um made significant improvements to that uh bike path as part of our um other imp projects which is the the latest uh lab building that's called ex and also um another building that we completed several years ago so we have made a significant bike infrastructure investment and all of it is tied to um the city's uh bike Network planning so um we didn't propose anything that um hasn't been vetted or um specifically asked um for by um the BPD Transportation team and uh the BTD Transportation planners I'll chime in quickly just from agency perspective Madam chair thank you and I really don't have too much to add Beyond but Victoria already covered um but it was all done in coordination with both bpda uh Transportation staff and BTD um you as as you know it's our practice to work through these kind of parcel by parcel as we're able um so this does allow for future connections along uh Tremont Street uh should there ever be BTD uh projects to change that that layout and provide those there okay okay great thank you um and have any other questions um no I I don't have any other questions any other questions or comments from the board okay hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second call for a vote Bennett I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes uh congratulations good luck thank you so much thank you very much appreciate it cheers thank you so we're going to now move on to the second public hearing um make sure that I'm on the right one this is item number 29 9 10:33 through 10:55 Washington Street is that correct secretary pimus that is correct yes um all right uh simultaneous Spanish Mandarin and Cantonese interpretations are being provided for this meeting using the language interpretation function within Zoom we ask that you please be patient in case of any technical issues language interpretation will not be enabled until instructions on how to access interpretation have been translated once interpretation has been enabled a globe icon will appear at the bottom of your screen also an important reminder to all who are presenting and commenting today we ask that you speak slowly for the interpreters if you are speaking too fast and may interrupt you and ask you to speak slower so that the translators can catch up with the information thank you to enable interpretation service for Spanish mandar Mandarin and kinty click on the globe icon on the bottom of your screen and select the language you want to here also you must mute original audio so let's start with one will you now please inter interpret the instructions I gave into Spanish mad chair for thank you very much Madam chair back to you and Terry will you now interpret the instructions that I gave to mandre sure thank you madam chair thank you okay thank you Terry and Anna will you now Please interpret the instructions I gave into canones thank you madam chair thank you back to you madam chair you and finally Annie will you now please inter turn on the interpretation uh and we'll give folks a few seconds to join uh okay you can see the globe icon on the bottom and you just have to click it and select your language if you having difficulty activating the interpretation please call the phone number on the screen if you have difficulties with the translation later in the meeting you can also call that same number we have interpreters available to assist you over the phone secretary pimus uh are the channels up and running yes they are uh the project presentation has been translated into Spanish Mandarin and cantones and is available on the bpda website at Boston plans.org sl- us/ bpda dasboard SL board- meetings please take note of the website addressed on the screen to view the translated project project presentation this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency being held in conformance with articles 31a 8 a-2 uh -5.3 D and AD C-5 of the Boston zoning code to consider the the proposed plan Development Area development plan number 150 1033 through 1055 Washington Street this hearing was duly advertised on February 28th 2024 in the Boston Herald this is a bpda hearing on a proposed petition by the agency staff members will first present their case and are subject to questioning by members of the agency thereafter anyone who wishes to testify about the proposed project will be afforded an opportunity we are taking support and opposition at the same time so if you're planning to testify please take time now to verify that your computer microphone is active click on the hand icon on your Zoom control panel and this will signal to the staff that you would like to speak when your hand is raised it will be blue if you are calling into the meeting and would like to testify please dial star9 to raise your hand when I call for all testimony staff will announce your name and to talk you must unmute your microphone and your webcam will not be active in an effort to accommodate all who would like to speak about this proposal each person will be given up to 2 minutes to comment bpda staff will indicate when 30 seconds remain at that time please conclude your remarks so that the hearing may continue and others may be heard finally the proponents are allowed a period of 5 to 10 minutes or rebuttal if they so desire Sarah will you now please begin the present present thank you and good evening Madam chair members of the board director gemson and secretary pus my name is Sarah peek and I'm a senior project manager in the development review Department we are here before you this evening to discuss the proposed development plan for plan Development Area number 150 1033 d155 Washington Street and the associated 1033 1055 Washington Street project the 1033 1055 Washington Street PDA development plan is located on on approximately 2.1 Acre Site at 1033 1055 Washington Street in the Southend neighborhood of Boston the development plan envisions the construction of two new buildings containing approximately 588,000 ft of gross floor area including 6,400 ft of retail space with the remaining building area as office and research laboratory space the project also includes up to 353 vehicle parking spaces located in a below grade parking garage the development team filed their project notific ation form on February 7th 2023 followed by a supplemental information document on June 27th 2023 the development team then filed a draft plan Development Area development plan on May 2nd 2023 the bpda hosted three public meetings and two iag meetings between March 2023 and July 2023 to review the project and the PDA development plan these meetings were advertised in local neighborhood newspapers posted to the bpd's calendar and an email notification was sent sent to All subscribers of the bpda South End Neighborhood updates the proposed project received approval from the Boston Civic design Commission on December 5th 2023 at this point I would like to hand it off to my colleague Ted Ted schwarzburg excuse me sorry Ted uh from the planning department to present the planning context for the project followed by a presentation from the development team thank you all thank you Sarah good evening chair roas members of the board director jemson and Secretary of pimus my name is Ted Schwarz ber assistant deputy director for zoning compliance I'll present two slides tonight on the Planning and Zoning context next slide please the local neighborhood plan the Harrison Al Albany Corridor strategic plan was adopted by the B board in November 2011 subsequently this plan was codified into zoning by the Boston zoning Commission in January 2012 the proposed project is located in The Economic Development Area North subd District of the Southend neighborhood zoning District the site is also located in the groundwater conservation overlay district and the coastal flood resilience overlay District the Harrison Albany Corridor strategic plan sought to activate this portion of the south end with a balanced mix of active commercial and residential uses the neighborhood plan created a zoning mechanism to allow a dimensional bonus to proposals providing affordable housing or cultural space the plan also required inclusion of new inter cyal streets and pedestrian connections connections to break down the scale of larger blocks found in this part of the South End next Slide the proposed dimensions and design are aligned with the provisions of article 64 for plan development areas these provide for greater densities for prop proposals that provide affordable cultural space the proposed uses are consistent with the uses envisioned by the areas plan and zoning and finally the proposed publicly accessible open space and midblock pedestrian connection fulfill public realm goals from the Harrison Albany Corridor strategic plan that are now encoded into the neighborhood zoning I'll now turn it over to the proponent to begin their presentation thank you um thank thank you Ted my name is Ronald drer president of the drer company a firm which was established in 1901 by my grandfather we've developed such landmarks literally as uh the hotels can and braymore and by the way the uh Square was named after the hotel not the hotel after the square we also did develop and redevelop the New York streets area where our subject site is this evening as well as the colonade the Heritage uh and currently 350 Boon Street which is under construction as banon company's headquarters um we we between Sarah and Ted they really covered uh everything uh that I was going to speak to we do conform to all of the zoning requirements uh we've had numerous uh community and neighborhood meetings we've worked with them we have strong support uh from the neighborhood I think that uh what you really want to be uh aware of is that we will be providing a 7,510 320 uh payment linkage payments that 6 6,344 th000 payment for housing and a M16 166,000 payment for jobs uh we will provide approximately 4 million uh dollars in new property taxes we will create 400 construction jobs 900 permanent jobs uh will'll be creating an open space Park on land currently owned by the B ra a uh from Days of your um at 142 Shaman Avenue uh we will be designing that part in concert with the bcdc uh The bpda Design Group as well as most importantly the the community that Park will cost approximately a million5 to $2 million uh we'll be creating a publicly uh accessible pedestrian Plaza which will link Avenue and Washington Street uh we will also be creating uh affordable community space uh which can be used for both Innovation uh and educational space it will be uh a total of approximately 500 5,830 uh Square ft uh we will also be uh reenvisioning uh the streetcape and um and the public realm and as well uh we will be compared to existing uh large lab buildings our energy uses would be 51% less uh and I've mentioned uh the million5 and 1300 uh new jobs we're very excited uh to be doing this project we uh have had great support from elected officials as well as the community uh on that note I will introduce you to a man who is no stranger uh to uh this session uh David man Freddy our architect thank you Ron uh good evening I said good afternoon my first presentation so good evening Madam chair director Jamon secretary paus and members of the board U please go to the next Slide the site is located in the South End between Washington and Charan between uh East Berkeley and uh and Harold Street if we go to the next one you'll see that um today the site is occupied by a one-story building you see the big um white box in the red dashed outline uh and and surface parking uh the parcel really is a very key Block in that 2011 uh Harrison Aly Corridor study that was mentioned just just a moment ago which anticipated new open space uh in the South End anticipated increased density in height uh and very importantly anticipated the restoration of the East West connections from Albany to Washington and Beyond to tront which of course existed for a very long time uh in the in the New York streets if you go to the next our design proposal and the building massing was shaped uh very specifically by those Urban Design principles we proposing two buildings separated by a publicly accessible pedestrian passageway that connects Harrison uh through um uh across U uh to Washington Street uh Beyond to millison um uh lane and then all the way to tree and uh the buildings are unequal in size uh and that was really determined by uh not by the not by the marketplace but by the public realm the idea that we would make this connection from the intersection of Washington and traveler uh head directly um to millison way the path through um the the housing that's on the west side of the site uh be visible from a distance open uh at Washington Street and then continue uh through the parcel into a park space uh and then beyond to charm and you see your destination uh across shet and onto Al Street if you go to the next the passageway is wide and open lined with with active uses that include third- party restaurants and retail on Washington Street include the most active uses um for the tenants above and then um at that point where we about 50% along that pathway uh it opens out into a bigger park space and that was the subject of uh our presentation a month ago at the bbda board of 142 Charan and Ron U explained how we will proceed in a collaborative process uh with all of the parties uh you can see that um there are a very limited number of curb cuts um complete streets on Washington Street as well uh as on on Shan uh and um all of the loading all of the backup house activity happens within the the loading dock area within the building itself behind closed doors um to minimize any disruption to our neighbors either by noise or by truck movement you go to the next please the building uh the buildings uh as proposed um are fully compliant with all dimensional regulations uh it is 150 ft um to the roof um as as uh allowed um U by PDA with public benefits um the mechanical floor uh is limited to a screen that is 20 ft tall uh and you can see if you look at um where the 150 ft is measured and the screen above basically we have pushed approximately half of all of the rooftop mechanical FL lab buildings into the volume the zoning volume of the building um on the on the south building it's a full floor on the North building it's two half floors and um the intent is simply to be fully compliant in fact be U lower than than uh what is required uh for mechanical areas at the top of research buildings if you go to the next um this is a view from traveler or the the parking lot across the street from traveler uh with the south building to the left the north building to the right and um the intention the design intention here is create a very active base of the building on the ground floor uh minimize uh even the lobby or entrance to the lobby of the building and any um herb cut for Access into those loading areas but the two buildings are different and the two buildings are different um because together it is a significant amount of of massing on the street um and you are at this kind of point of transition between the historic south end and it's very U specific red brick vacular and um the to the north uh all of the development that has um Spilled Out of that very successful Harrison Albany Corridor study and so the south building is clad in brick red brick um highly detailed uh as you can just begin to get glimpses of in terms of uh the horizontal banding the detailing around that The Terraces um that are are for tenant use uh and that material pallet that goes all the way up not just at the top of the building but even the screen that is above the roof and then the north building U subscribes to all of the similar metrics uh but it is different in its its um its proportions uh its fenestration pattern very similar building they are clearly um close friends uh but different as they relate one to the South and one to the north I also point out uh at the first two two floors of 10:55 and 10:33 you can see first two floors of 1055 three floors on on 10:33 um this very welcoming gesture we want to announce almost like lifting a curtain uh that there's an important pedestrian passageway here and it is publicly access accessible and you are welcome uh it is an important connection um uh through this big block uh onto onto shamet and eventually all the way to tr if you go to the next you can see we're zooming in to that passageway there's no barriers uh it's fully open uh and the building is is offering this welcome gesture uh and again you can see a little bit more of Our intention on the detailing of the brick as well as the detailing uh on the North building um which is um M panel if you go to the next this is a view looking South on uh Washington uh you can see this now in the context of all the way to the left uh ad East Berkeley uh which is makes uh a third part of of this composition reaching all the way from from Berkeley Street and if you go to the next uh this is a view now I've come through the passageway I'm about halfway through the site opens up you can see our building on the left with its Terrace on the second floor uh you can see the Lucas on the right which is the renovation of the former German Catholic church and then of course uh the new Hancock and the old Hancock Beyond and our very last slide which is Sharman Avenue U uh looking back so we're on sharmut uh with 1055 on your right fcas on your left and straight ahead is um 10:33 you can see that that gesture again presents itself on shamit and in the park again as a a way of of invitation um to come through the space to use the public open space uh and um be it becomes all part of public real and that concludes our presentation and uh thank you for your attention so St thanks David uh just in conclusion uh I want to thank uh director Jameson and uh Sarah black uh P who uh worked on this project and uh and all the rest of the staff of the bpda uh and the bcdc um who spent a lot of time on it together uh and with the community as well uh and we would welcome uh any questions which you might have at this okay thank you um so uh this is a public hearing so we will first begin with public testimony secretary PA heus do we have anyone who would like to testify pus you can un mute yourself yeah I'm Ted petris oh I'm Ted petress I'm a resident 32 Traveler Street a block and a half away I support project and I like the architectural design a lot I'm also the president of friends of Peter Park which is one block away and our board has voted to support this project um and lastly I'm on the board of the South End Business alot and I personally support the positive impact this project will have on the local businesses through 400 construction jobs and 900 permit jobs who a lot of the people will be shopping in the neighborhood so I support this project strongly thank you thank you shamia Turner you can unmute yourself hi thank you once again thank you so much Madam chair and the rest of the bpda board um I want to support this project the Dreer company has has been a really great partner to the Building Trades unions um let me introduce myself again my name is shimia Turner I am a representative for the sheet metal workers unions and so we appreciate the dker company for their partnership and I want to say a special thanks to Ron derer as well we are in support of this project thank you thank you Stephen Tisdale you can immute yourself yes um my name is stepen Tisdale and I am a member of the Board of Trustees and for the Lucas which is we are a direct abutter to this entire project and have been working closely with the developer and their team uh I would say the residents uh that I represent over 33 families and their children are excited about the parcel that will be uh developed by the developer and maintained in perpetuity is part of this project it will add a significant enhancement to the neighborhood and I also feel that the manner by which the developer has gone about seeking Community involvement and input uh has given us a real level of comfort and we support this project thank you Bradford sprogis you can unmute yourself hi my name is Brad Fritz broes I'm a long-term business owner in the South End and involved in the residential real estate business for many years uh I want to speak to the long-term success of all of the duer projects around Boston and I strongly support this project and and believe that it will be another success by the Jer company and also a wonderful connection in the design uh connecting The Traveler Street and ink block areas um over to the shaman Avenue component parts of the south end so um I hope You' support the project and look forward to seeing its completion thank you Peter monbeck you can unmute yourself uh thank you uh uh Madam uh secretary uh uh Mr Jameson board uh I'm speaking today on behalf of ccba that is the owner of the uh cart property which is immediately to the north of the Northerly building um and in contrast to uh the Lucas uh group um ccba heard only once from the developer uh and it was to explore access uh via uh uh the land uh that that that we own um and we haven't heard since in the past year and in contrast to Lucas where there's a very large and gracious uh Park proposed uh on their southernly side on our southernly side as far as I can tell there is a uh a full height wall of the building and I can't tell how close it is to the property line or what it looks like uh and so my question would be uh is there an appropriate setback and is the treatment of that wall commencer with the uh already permitted by the bpda uh 14 story Housing Development which we are pursuing uh immediately to the north of the Northerly building thank you Peter John Neil you can unmute yourself hello uh I'm also a long-term Southend res president and business owner uh as a member of the board of the South End Historical Society I and the historian for the organization I give a lot of walking tours of the neighborhood and I can't tell you how wonderful it is to see another one of the mega blocks that were created in the South End in the 20th century are uh to see it pierced again with uh a walkway and some as pleasant as just another way to get from ad to be uh I I think this is going to be a wonderful project uh and uh look forward to seeing it happen happy to see that the local AB betters are also so supportive and uh you have my full support thank you thank you minor Perez you can unmute yourself thank you Madame secretary Madame chair members of the board this is Miz repres presenting hundreds of un Carpenters to living workr city of Boston uh we are in strong favor of this project I also want to say thanks to uh Ron drer and his team for great community outreach as usual they do a an amazing job and finally I want to thank the office of Mayor woo for allowing the community to be part of the process thank you thank you minor Robert Wells you can unmute yourself Robert you need to unmute yourself can you hear me now yep I can hear you now um my name is Bob Wells I'm a a nearby neighbor I live about a block away and I'm also a member of the iig for this project um I'm here to support the project obviously it's been through substantial review um and in that time it's been very resp want to comments from both the community and the city the city's also come through uh on the offer to adopt and beautify that little adjacent Green Space and maintain it uh and enhance it and that'll do nothing but enhance the project and the entire neighborhood so I'm uh just it seems like a slam dunk to me here to support the project thank you Robert Aaron Manning you can unmute yourself good evening everyone my name is Aaron Manning I'm the executive director at project place um we are neighbors to this project at the corner of East Berkeley in Washington Street um and I'm here to support the project this evening I'm especially grateful um for the ability to um have been a part of the planning process I'm very excited about the open space um that will be brought available also the creation of parking um the activation on Washington Street with the addition of retail um and as others have commented um The Pedestrian walkway um appreciative of the drier company reaching out to community members particularly the nonprofits in the area um talking with us about how we might be able to get folks um access to employment um and also listening to and hearing um from our needs for the neighborhood so deeply appreciative and in support of the project thank you thank you win L you can unmute yourself hi my name is Wink L I want to thank the bpda board members for holding this open meeting uh I am a long long time member uh Community member of Chown okay and I'm hearing that uh a lot of the community on the uh inbox side speak and they welcome this project but at the same time I kind of repeat what Peter said earlier M said apparently somehow uh uh Chown side uh is being completely ignored considering that it's just a stone Flow Away from the building considering that CMA which is the largest about the uh Chinese Asian grocery store next door uh where most Chinese chese resident from China go to buy food it's not being um all the members over in Chown organiz ation has never been contact I like I said I've been around for a long time time and I never even heard of this project until this time so you mention CCPA which I'm a member of they are oration CH resent Association CH neighborhood Council chatan Main Street and I know all of them and nobody know about this project so when I keep hearing Community involvement uh Community engagement I kind of somehow missing the picture so anyway the other thing is that this is a Lifest lab not just an office I'm also an ex-member of the tough IBC gu Safety Committee and labs are different from office building I believe this is a BSL one and bsl2 Labs where there is a lot of safety concern for the neor somehow that never been brought up at all in just meeting okay so but I can go on but anyway I'm two minutes up yeah thank you thank you very much can I have for go one more minute oh sorry sorry I have to I have to be fair but I will um uh address some of the questions that your the concerns that you raised we'll we'll bring those up at the uh during the board questioning peace on green you can unmute yourself hello my name is ChatON green um I'm a Boston resident I was actually born and raised in South End um then later moved to uh lower rockberry but South End is uh near and Day to my heart I want to say uh thank you to the bpda for hosting these super important uh Community meetings allowing for Community voice to be heard um I'm very thankful for that um I also want to thank the drooper company for being long-standing partners with the with the um oh sorry I didn't mention I am the business agent for the Boston Building Trades unions uh we represent over 35,000 uh members with thousands of members who live and work in Boston um so again I just want to I want to thank uh the Dua company for being long-standing partners with the building trade unions and a special thank you to uh Ron Dua for always being a great partner as well this job will be Union built providing great wages health and retirement benefits and access to world class apprenti programs and journey level uh training as well um ensuring the most skilled and safest Workforce get the build in the neighborhoods in which we live these are the type of jobs that allow residents um to raise families and and be able to stay in their Community for for for generations and um yeah it's it's all all to Great projects like this so um I want to speak into I want to speak in support and thank you for um being heard thank you chatan David Goldman you can unmute yourself uh thank you and uh I want to thank uh the bpda for giving us the opportunity to speak here tonight um I live uh right next to the parcel I about it it's my view I look out at it and I can't even begin to tell you what an improvement it's going to be under the uh over the one story stco building that's there now um they're not only creating green space but I just want to emphasize the importance of The Pedestrian uh passage wood uh it will connect uh the residents of Shaman AV which includes a lot of senior citizens in Castle Square who cross the street uh to to go shopping on the other side of of Washington Street uh which includes the seaart as well as uh Whole Foods and all the other markets over there um there are a lot of elderly people and having a pedestrian passageway that connects them uh to to the markets that they use uh I think is very very important and shouldn't be overlooked uh it's really a much safer environment than the existing environment right now um so I lend my support uh as a direct of butter and look forward to seeing it completed thank you Madam chair that this concludes the public hearing portion of this item there are no further hands raised oh one more sorry Roger oh no it went down anybody else oh Roger no you okay last call Roger okay Roger you can unmute yourself just talk I think you I think you unmuted yourself huh Roger you can call the phone number on the screen if you would like to testify is there anybody else who would like to testify about this project Madam chair I'll let you know if if we get a call from him okay um otherwise this concludes the public hearing portion of this item thanks so much um all right let's move on to board questioning any questions or comments from the board um I do have some uh questions so um let's see I always like to to um raise any of the questions that from from the people who uh who testified so can um can you speak to the um uh I'm I'm not sure which which side of the building but the side of the building that was referen that was referenced by U CCPA and uh and Chinatown kind of what that um what that looks like the you know describe like the setback some of the things that were that were maybe um unclear and and how kind of you um yeah how the the other side of the building will experience the uh the project hope you're muted yeah no you're still muted oh I um Madame chair Zoe's got her hand up which means she may have the person on the phone so can we take testimony quickly let's take yeah let's take testimony um thank you is Roger you're all set to begin I'm sorry I don't know my and I just want to share that is the part of this Pro and that's going professional um sh on the personal one I'm a long time sou resident I live on um won and Washington Street so I live and work in the neighborhood and I think this project the is a great one so on a personal level is well I support it thank you for thank you thank you all right uh there you go yeah yeah so um we we through the bpda did have conversations with the development team to the north uh as we discussed Mutual access to um each of our projects and the majority of that conversation was really had uh by the bpda also at our public meetings uh we we addressed the uh Chinese community and Ed Flynn who also uh represents uh that Community as as well uh we also reached out to to to Castle square but I think the answer is is that there were a number of conversations uh with the uh Team to the north um at the time we were we were doing the project and it was the bpda who uh addressed those issues more than we um okay um can you just briefly describe the um the just the specific uh uh question around the setbacks on that side or what the experience like is that might I mean there there is not a setback okay um all right let's continue with questioning um life science portion uh so can you uh do you have a ATT tenant identified already no we do not we we we we do not okay and uh have you and what bios safety levels are you building uh just Ju Ju Just One and Two we're not we're not not going beyond that and that was uh that's part of our LDA um and it was discussed at Great length from the very beginning of our process with uh the bpda okay um and final question um on a life science piece um you know we get feedback a lot or just read the newspaper on you know the uh the number of lab buildings that have been uh that have been approved already in the city of Boston so um I've been kind of asking all of the developers that are building with uh for additional lab space kind of if you can give us some insight into you know your decision-making why you believe this is still uh that you know there there is a market for uh additional life science building and uh yeah just kind of your view well we're we're very optimistic about that and if um if if the news is um something we're all following uh there is much more investment through uh Venture Capital into life science these days uh there is uh a lot of uh interest both from outside of the country in Boston um as well in the Pharma companies and we're very optimistic we have had conversations with institutions uh about uh our projects um and um the the news is changing and we're confident the fact is is that Boston still is the The Hub of the country for life science and life science research and um we confident that we will land tenant good good yeah I read that article this morning too there was there was one just this morning on um you know things warming up and and the venture capital I follow Life Sciences really closely for work so I mean that that that that's listen you know what happens is is that all of a sudden you get articles that are bad and now we're beginning to get articles that are more optimistic so whether that that's so or not I can't say but it's more good news than bad news and the fact is is that uh our meds and EDS aren't going to go away and Cycles are cycles and I think we're now coming back to uh a better time and and by the way last year we actually did as much in this area uh as we did in 2019 we just had a presentation from our from our broker on this site and that that was encouraging for us oh great great well thank you for sharing that um okay uh and the last oh last question uh so um given the proximity uh to uh or the location of where this is um uh can you speak to any um mitigations or how you address potential or no inevitable level rise and and resiliency yeah David you want to talk about that because we we have the the the elevations of our buildings uh are very much influenced by uh future potential sea level rise and and David would you just want to speak to uh what we're doing inside of the space not outside there won't be exterior ramps there'll be interior ramps uh but David you can be much more articulate than I no exactly what Ron just said um we have a finished floor elevation over both buildings uh at uh elevation 19 as prescribed by uh BBD the sidewalks are are um up to 18 in lower than that maybe a little bit more in some places uh and so all of that uh transition from existing sidewalk elevation to finished floor happens inside the building you'll walk into uh the retail spaces you'll walk into the building lobbies uh there will be both ramp and stairs so that there's no obstruction or intrusion into the public realm in any way uh and will be raised approximately 2 ft above uh those sidewalks any openings for uh loading or access to parking will uh be protected by Deployable barriers okay great thank you very much um okay I don't have any more questions um I think uh um uh I think it makes sense to kind of maybe re-engage with with some of the uh some of our Neighbors on the Chinatown side um after you know after we take this vote um just to um you know answer any additional questions and um and rightly so you know we uh it is very uh the whole bio safety level um situation uh for these lab buildings this is all um you know probably new to most to most uh most just you know us lay people right um I know what bio safety levels are but um the uh you know I can't can't make the assumption that everybody does so I know um uh at the agency uh we were working on something around this or some sort of um some sort of something to uh to communicate um or just you know educate educate the uh the public on um lab buildings and bios safety levels so this is a question for the agency not really for um the developer how are we doing on on that you asking the agency or no sorry the life sciences the life sciences sorry this is just to the bpda um yeah just to the bpda how are we doing on the life sciences uh you know plan communication plan thing that we were doing yeah Madam chair I'm happy to jump in on that real quick um I know question came up from you at the last board too and so since then we've been working diligently essentially to round up uh the folks on our planning team as well as um other City departments that we were coordinating with on the issue um I think we have a couple more due diligence steps that we can take before coming back to the board with a full update but I just wanted to reassure you that that collaboration is still ongoing and we hope to be back at you within the next you know month or so with more information on how that's going awesome thanks so much for the update um and uh yeah I think it's it's perfect for one of your really cool Instagram uh story feeds that have been uh going I love those um and share them all the time but I I you know um yeah if you could throw an Instagram uh Instagram story on the BIOS safety levels or something uh I think that would just be really helpful more we can communicate about this uh the better uh so yeah I think uh that's all for me any additional questions or comments from the board just agree agree totally chair about re-engaging on the Chinatown side thank you yep thanks for reinforcing um additional questions or comments all right uh hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Dr Lark hi Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes uh congratulations good luck I like the building uh uh the curves and and all of the uh asymmetry I think it's a really cool looking building so thank you and and we'll we'll work with everyone on yeah yeah I trust thank you all very much thanks everyone thank you thank you thank you okay so let's uh go to our third public hearing all right uh simultaneous Mandarin and pantones interpretations are being provided for this meeting using the language interpretation function within Zoom we ask that you please be patient in case of any technical issues language interpretation will not be enabled until instructions on how to access interpretation have been translated once interpretation has been enabled a globe icon will appear at the bottom of your Zoom screen also an important reminder to all who are presenting and commenting today we ask that you speak slowly for the interpreters if you are speaking too fast I may interrupt you and ask you to speak slower so that the translators can catch up with the information thank you to enable the interpretation service for Mandarin and cantones click on the globe icon on the bottom of your screen and select the language you want to hear you must also mute original audio so uh Terry will you now Please interpret the instruction that I gave into M certainly thank you madam chair thank you thank you and Anna will you know Please interpret the instructions I gave into C thank you madam chair back to you madam chair thank you Anna and Anie will you please now um turn the interpretation function on we'll give uh our translators and folks few seconds to join their reective chance oh wait the globe the globe's not there yet there we go okay then you can now see the globe icon on the bottom of the screen and go ahead and select uh the language you like to hear okay so if you're having difficulty activating the interpretation please call the phone number on the screen if you have difficulties with the translation later in the meeting you can also call that same number we have interpreters available to assist you over the phone the project oh uh secretary paus are we uh good to go we are good to go awesome uh the project presentation has been translated into Mandarin and Canton and is available on the bpda website at Boston plans. .org sl- us/ bpda dboard slbo D meetings please take note of the website address on the screen to view the translated project presentation this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as a Boston Planning and Development agency being held in conformance with articles 88-2 and 8 C-5 of the Bost zoning C to consider the pro proposed plan Development Area master plan number 144 425 Medford Street this hearing was duly advertised on February 29th 20124 in the Boston he this is a bpda hearing on a proposed petition by the agency staff members will first present their case and are subject to questioning by members of the agency thereafter anyone who wishes to testify about the proposed project will be afforded an opportunity we are taking support and opposition at the same time so if you're planning to testify please take time now to verify that your computer microphone is active and click on the hand icon on your Zoom control panel this will signal to the staff that you would like to speak when your hand is raised it will be blue if you are calling into the meeting and would like to testify please dial star9 to raise your hand uh when I call for all testimony uh staff will announce your name and allow you to talk you must unmute your microphone and your webcam will not be active in an effort to accommodate all who would like to speak about this proposal each person will be given up to 2 minutes to comment the staff will indicate when 30 seconds remain and at that time please conclude your remarks so that the hearing may continue and others may be heard finally the proponents are allowed a period of 5 to 10 minutes for rebuttal if they so desire Sarah will you now please begin the presentation yes thank you again and good evening Madam chair members of the board director Json and secretary polyus uh again my name is Sarah peek and I'm a senior project manager in the development review Department we are here before you this evening to discuss the proposed master plan for plan development area number 144 425 Medford Street the 425 Medford Street PDA master plan is located on an approximately 24.6 Acre Site located at 425 Medford Street as well as portions of 465 Medford Street and 529 Medford Street in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston the master plan contemplates the construction of six new buildings containing approximately 1.79 million square ft in total of mixed use development this includes approxim 51,3 gross squ ft of residential uses 989,50 gross ft of research laboratory and office space 210,000 gross squ ft of Hotel space 65,00 gross squ ft of retail and restaurant space and a 6,500 gross foot Community Center space with up to 889 vehicle parking spaces located in a below grade parking garage the master plan also includes the creation of a 2400t long resiliency component along the Waterfront by The Mystic River with publicly accessible Landscaping throughout this resiliency component will notably be delivered in the first phase of the development of the master plan the development team filed their plan Development Area master plan on November 5th 2021 the bpda hosted three public meetings and four iag meetings between February 2022 and January 2024 to review the PDA master plan these meetings were advertised in the local neighborhood newspapers posted to the bpa's calendar and and an email notification was sent out to all subscribers of the bpa's Charlestown neighborhood updates the proposed project received approval from the Boston Civic design Commission on August 1st 2023 at this point I would like to hand it off to my colleague El from the planning department to present the planning context for the project followed by a presentation from the development team thank you thanks Sarah next slide please next slide please good evening chair and members of the board my name is Ella Wise and I'm the BPA zoning compliance reviewer assigned to this project the proposed project is located within and was significantly informed by the recently adopted plan Charlestown area as you all know well after a four-year planning process bpda board adopted the plan and in SE in September and shortly thereafter the Boston zoning commission adopted map and text zoning amendments ppda planning staff review was also Guided by the underlying zoning uh the all the proposed buildings are all are subject to the Charlestown Maritime economy Reserve sub District in addition the proposed pro project is within the coastal flood resiliency overlay District next slide please on that note the proposed project significantly advances recommendations of the coastal resilience solutions for East Boston and Charles Town final report which analyzed and recommended near and long-term strategies for protecting the neighborhoods from sea level rise and coastal flooding as shown in the image on the left based on the modeling and Analysis of the report the highest priority flood entry point to address is at suan Square where floodwater would inundate shf C City Center Ryan playground and a large portion of the neighborhood's low-lying interior uh area as shown in the image on the right to address this threat the report recommends integrating Coastal flood protection with as you can see kind of in the green although it zoomed out um open space improvements to provide effective and also adaptable Solutions um that provide additional public benefit through the open space the proposed project was designed to provide the resilience infrastructure contemplated in the report of a new system of elevated parks and Pathways along the Waterfront and I'm sure we'll hear we'll hear more about about that next slide please in terms of zoning plan development areas or PD on this slide are allowed on the site given that they provide certain public benefits and in turn the pdas themselves establish excuse me the dimensional requirements of projects in terms of planning the proposed project was highly shaped by plan Charlestown as I discussed um delivering planning for resilient and publicly accessible Mystic rever book Waterfront um intended to connect to Ryan playground new pedestrian bike connections they existing lots and more um the proposal's density is consistent with the plan's recommendation and although the Project's parking ratio exceeds the plan recommendations the proponent has committed to reducing parking Supply as public multimodal transit improvements envisioned in the plan are built and provide alternative Mobility options allowing for the reduced parking with that thank you and now I will turn it over to to the development team good evening members of the board and directed genton my name is John Roach and I am the CEO of the flatly company the longtime owner of the properties known as St City Center in Charlestown that are the subject of this proposed master plan Development Area the flatly family has been an active member of the Charlestown Community since 1985 and both Dan Flatley and I have children and grandchildren living in Charlestown today we have worked very hard over the last 2 and A2 years to bring our vision for the Redevelopment of the 425 Medford Street to the community and I'm proud that our proposal includes a resiliency component with parks and recreational amenities designed to protect well beyond our own properties inclusive of hundreds of Acres of lower Char toown that are today at serious risk of climate change flood damage we are also excited that our talented team of designers have integrated a community path in 13 acres of new open public space which for the the first time in 90 years welcome the public back to the Waterfront along the Mystic River once known as dwey Beach we thank you your staff electives and the community for helping us to get to this point I will now hand the mic over to our design team to briefly walk you through the proposed project thank you John I'm Jamie Von clemer uh con peton Fox architect directing the architectural design for the project and thank you Adam chair members of the board director Jameson so this is a view onstead way uh opening up from a minimum of 100 ft to broader Dimensions looking from the community of Charles toown towards the water next please and this is next one shows a very quick summary of the major steps taken in the design since September 2019 making changes is in response to discussion you can see the list of all these meetings with uh members of City boards and BDA uh bcdc and the community uh will go through some of the characteristics of this design Improvement as we move along next please so the basic location the lay of the land which you see here the site between Medford Street and the Mystic River the Green Arrow pointing up towards dty Park and along Medford Street next please and the existing condition of adjacency to parking lots to uh buildings uh of a industrial nature and also uh the street side and sidewalk of Medford Street at this is before the improvements next please the major the drivers of the design include quickly enumerating from uh upper left over the Mystic Waterfront which was virtually a park in a waterfront Recreation Zone the public access running north south between dty Park in the community and the river the Medford Street Greenway along when also has a historically uh historical rail line now no longer used and then uh coming across the bottom the minimizing of vehicular movement the integration of resiliency infrastructure into the plan as a benefit to the community uh without provide without making a barrier to the water and then finally uh a way in which these buildings will be responsive to uh a liven ground plane and the community uses next please uh the Red Arrows here showing the connection running North and South between dely Park and Charlestown and water and in green the major walkway bike path Etc uh along the river a kind of open Recreation Zone also protected by resiliency measures and then finally what we call the railroad ramble uh right parallel to and next to Medford Street for walking running dog walking Etc next please at this point you you'll see a number of the Open Spaces a very big component of this project public realm we don't have time to go into each one but suffice to say they're very generous in dimension varied in use to create a kind of uh a tapestry of of great possibilities for recreation and everyday life next please The View I'll turn it over now with this view towards Homestead Way looking from the water back towards Charlestown to I'll turn it over to Sun juk desen our partner and colleague uh in on the team from field operations Landscape Architects thanks Jamie um thanks everyone for your time um as Jamie was pointing out the site planning has really allowed us to create a range of spaces the primary attra action of which as course the 5 acre Waterfront Park the shoreline allows us multiple opportunities for great views out and for the first time unlocking uh this really great amenity for the entire neighborhood and allowing allowing access to the Waterfront next uh as was mentioned before this is an essential tooth um in the resiliency planning for this neighborhood uh and and the measures we are taking really tie the idea of Waterfront access with providing an integrated uh resiliency barrier next uh as you can see here this this is the notion of the uh landscape integrated resiliency infrastructure where the idea is that it is seamlessly integrated into the landscape so that it doesn't uh have any impediments to the actual Shoreline access um and really balancing uh that idea of ecology Shoreline access and resiliency that meets the 2070 targets and requirements uh for elevations that have been set uh by the various residency planning done for the city next a view of what that would look like uh on the left side you sort of see that raised BM with with Pathways that are raised to the required elevation but on the water side you you see sloped uh edges and Bing to access um title pools beaches and walkway that are lower uh which means that the majority of the site is elevated but there are ways to slope down gently to the water next this is this is a view for hestad B which is a really Central um Park likee walkway to the side it was really important for us that this aligns well with dty playground which is a significant Homestead site uh and it really influenced the way we were thinking of the landscape architectural idiom for the site itself the idea of Meandering through the site to get to the Waterfront as this expression of delight and surprise that finally gets you uh to that destination the dimension uh of this part of this area which is a minimum of 100 ft will really allow us for Park like programming so feel like just an Alleyway or a road but has really um generous um a generous interior and also interaction with the ground floor programming uh on the buildings adjacent next this is another view of one of the other ways into the site that's mystic way again a really generous Park like access that takes you Theo which Jamie will get to later but really one of the another ways to publicly get from the community to the Waterfront next uh and then the Third Way which we were calling Beach way because it was taking to what we were thematically calling Dy Beach 2.0 really uh combining the idea of the bike path and the trail that takes you to the center of the park in some ways uh and um really emulates that idea of the New England beach and getting to the beach um uh at the at the mstic riverfront next uh a really key part of the uh project is the railroad CLE and the community path uh which is a really generously dimensioned Park uh we really love the relics the the post industrial relics that are Remnant here the the railroad which has to remain in place and also the really mature trees that we are doing our best to keep in place uh which is why the Topography of this park responds to to uh keeping those trees where they are and therefore creating this really Lush gream uh Park which really is the entrance entrance mat for the community to arrive at the site next uh core of the site is is Mystic Square uh this is where all of the ways really come together all all of the sort of more uh uh all of the ground Flo really participate in this in the Centric quality of the space we really see this as a sort of active urban center uh of the site next yeah thank you s so that last slide um all the parking and services will go underground which allows for This Heart of the project to be a pedestrian space for Community use next please uh and this diagram shows you how the parking servicing can move along the edge inside the roadway Medford and we'll all go underground uh in you in addition there are arrows within the site that describe how uh parking ramps up and down will siphon off this traffic before it goes across the internal part of the site so it will not be heavily trafficked next place and then the orange parts of the plan active retail much of it Community Based and then the darker red is a community space 65,000 Square ft uh which will be uh again for a variety of uses to be determined by the community um next please and and the uh dark sort of purple Zone there that showed up in the image that some D talked about at the end of a Mystic way uh it is an indoor Pao a kind of Galleria space you see a sketch of it on the upper right uh very double height quite generous space that will be open to all um and sheltered uh uh from the temperature but the possibility of opening up big doors for Summer Breeze to go through and you see some of the materials indicated there possibly we could use those ideas as well next please speaking of materials although we are sort of in pre- architectural stage it's very important uh in our discussions with uh bcdc bpda that there would be some notion of the character of the architecture as coming from the traditions of Charlestown historical well crafted brick and other solid materials also recalling some of the heritage of industrial architecture uh this would include depth in the facades and some variation in color and material so that there is kind of a play of a patchwork of urban fabric next please some of the statistics uh we won't go in great detail here but uh 13 acres of open space uh one and a half acres of public space along Medford an acre in omstead way 400 new trees about 5 Acres along the Waterfront four pedestrian passages from Medford Street passing those red arrows previously shown to the Waterfront and then that all important sea level rise resiliency which is really a kind of a gift to the community in the way of providing safety uh and then a shoreline of half a mile of integrated and accessible Recreation uh and wellness space next please and finally for these statistics uh overall you said 65,000 of community space shown previously in the magenta dot uh 10,000 square ft of community retail Community pass bike pass and then for the economy uh $15 million in aable housing exactions in the city of Boston 20% affordable housing units uh with estimate a th000 construction jobs and maybe more important permanent jobs of 25,000 uh for the variety of uses of master plan so thank you next we'll just show a finishing image looking from a kind of Arial view down from the Waterfront looking back along the axis of oad way towards doy Park Rising towards Charlestown thank you very much okay thank you um great presentation let's go ahead and start with the public testimony secretary memus do we have anyone who would like to testify yes shimia Turner you can unmute yourself I uh thank you once again to Madame chair and the board of bpda my name is shamia Turner I'm a resident of Boston as well as a representative for the sheet metal workers um I represent hundreds of Boston Building Trades members in in the city and so on their behalf I would like to rise in support of this project and also um highlight that this project will bring many good jobs to the area and I commend the commitment to labor standards thank you very much thank you Carl Alexander you can mute yourself hi can you hear me a yes um great thank you um my name is Carl Alexander I am the Greenways program manager for the Mystic River Watershed Association I was also a member of the impact Advisory Group um for this project I'd like to favorably tonight about components of the project are align with our mission of protecting and restoring the Mystic River Watershed and its tributaries um project will Revitalize the Mystic River Shoreline providing ecosystem services and right Paran habitat restoration they'll also improve resiliency and protect the Charlestown neighborhood and critical Regional infrastructure from flooding during uh 2070 1% storm the project proponent described this this particular benefit as all important just a minute ago and I'd like to very much like agree with that statement um it's also going to provide um heat resiliency um and help address Urban heat island effect that's really prevalent in this area especially in Salin Square um the shoreline in the Boston Harbor walk is also going to serve as a space for mental and physical wellness uh and allow residents of the community to access the natural environment uh and the Waterfront and the Boston Harbor walk and proposed lower misstic Greenway uh Community path as described will plug a critical Gap in the Region's Greenways networks for non-motorized transportation one one last note is that our organization is stewarding the resident Le revitalization of open space along the little mytic Channel um just on Medford Street uh one of uh the parcels that we're working on is a bpda own motorized boat gramp which we actually believe will become less functional over time due to light rising sea levels in the Chelsea Street Bridge um so with this in mind um perhaps maybe a public motorized ramp at Port at this project site um could be beneficial for the public in the WR long run um there might be additional studies needed to to Really determine that use but I'd like to make an open call tonight also to key stakeholders um to potentially um convene and determine a long-term strategy for thank you chaturn Eric Zach you can unmute yourself thank you um uh I uh am a uh resident my name is Eric zerson I'm at N saell Street I uh want to um speak out um unfortunately I can't support this project it has uh as it's been presented to us it has been uh they have been um very unable about a number of things originally uh telling us that that the up hour was much lower than it really was they've compared the heights of these uh very tall buildings to a church on a hill a half a mile away and to a casino in Everett they um even now they they're asking to be padded on the back for reconnecting the community of the water even though they are the ones that have been disconnecting the community from the water for for quite a bit of time um in this presentation they're very careful not to show how these 160t tall buildings are so much taller than their three and four story Neighbors on the other side of menford um in one meeting they told us that uh this is not a Pleasant area to to walk around ignoring the fact that the other side of Medford is a Pleasant area it is only their side of the street that is a half a mile long and has been U neglected for decades and now they they come in as if they're going to save the neighborhood from the blight that is their own property that um how are we supposed to believe that they are going to plant and maintain these lavish Gardens when they don't even take care of the uh narrow strip of trees and grass that exist along Medford at the moment um those photos that they were showing uh are indicative of the neighbor that we expect them to be and yet they are promising something different but fundamentally I have to beg the bpda to either reject this proposal or cap its height for professional reasons if my clients and other developers see this they're going to believe that if they propose 220t tall buildings and come back with 160t tall ones uh the bpda will uh will support that and and this project could do a lot of good things as those Union Representatives have mentioned but it does not need to be for an f 2 it does not need to be 160 ft tall thank you thank you minor pz you can unmute yourself thank you Madame secretary Madame cheer members of the board this is Maya pz representing hundreds of union carpenters the living work the city of Boston we want to go on record on strong support of this project I also will thank the proponent for addressing most of the concerns that we hear tonight at the uh long Community meetings that we had uh great job well done and finally I like to close by saying thanks to the thanks to the the office of Mayor woo for allowing the community to be part of the process thank you thank you minor guy Rosman you can unmute yourself hello my name is Guy Rosman um I live a few minutes away from the project I'm a local 26 member and I just want to say I'm in full support of the project um you know it's got very resiliency plans you know it's really bringing much needed housing uh to the area um you know again the view corter for from Dory Park to on way is great and um you know again as from Local 26 I want to reiterate we full support of the project and you know Flatley is going to be a great partner for great hospitality jobs thank you thank you Joanne gregoli you can unmute yourself hi I'm Joanne gregoli I'm a resident of charl toown and um I'd like to compliment you on your renderings and I have some very specific questions um you stated that there were 10,000 square feet of um space for retail I was wondering with the amount of people that you intend to live in this building I believe you said there was 9,000 I'm sorry 5,000 square ft of residential space if you're uh planning on including a grocery store because at this point the only grocery store we have in Charlestown is Whole Foods which is supremely expensive and anything else we need to drive to and if this community is supposed to become more climate resilient we are not going to use our cars more we need ways to grocery shop that are not convenience stores and liquor stores which is what we have all along Bunker Hill Street so I want to know if you're going to add that many residents if there's going to be an affordable grocery store not Shi boutiques in this development thank you thank you Joanne would anybody else like to testify about this item please raise your virtual hand Madam chair this concludes the public hearing portion of this item okay thank you very much and thank you to all who came uh to testify uh we appreciate you uh questions or comments from the board um so I have a couple couple questions uh so uh based on the public testimony so can um first of all the developer speak to the uh to the building Heights and their relationship to the neighborhood um and uh and then from the the agency perspective kind of speak about the you know the planning context and kind of the thought process that that we went through for um determining the appropriate height and so forth so let's start with the developer on yeah uh I could speak to that as the architect um uh we did uh look at as we said Bringing Down the height significantly uh and also at the height that we have the buildings stepping down the massing within each building so that they don't go from the topmost to the ground uninterrupted but there are soort of speak you know shoulders to the body and then and then lower elements as well uh those show up in the renderings and those have the effect in our experience building cities and larger projects of humanizing the scale of the space so uh we think there's overall a lot of care in taking uh uh the shape of the building seriously uh for the for the purposes of these of softening sight lines and shadows and and giving a sense of proportion okay and just someone from the agency talking about the again just reiterating the planning context I just add one point to the previous one um I do think as the Landscape Architects I'm with field operations as well I think with the the question on height to um there were a series of studies and of course lower buildings also mean wider buildings which means much less open space and also in many cases um creating barriers to access to the water front or not having as many openings and as many sort of uh transparency to the water itself thank you thank you for that it's a good contact great and I can oh go ahead Seth chair Ras Seth Risman bpda Urban Design uh in response to your question the U height steps up from being fairly low on the waterfront to 160 ft uh towards the uh neighborhood side of the project uh and that's in part to be in conformance with chapter 91 requirements which require lower buildings along the Waterfront and allow for greater height in the rear and I believe the original proposal for the site uh was at 220 and through the community process uh buildings came down in height on uh certain portions of the site okay that's good um I'm I'm good good with that no need to unmute Ella um okay so um next question was just about um uh plans for the retail do you have uh do you have any plans for the type of retail that you're going to be um locating here um and so for this specific project and then you know again from an agency Maybe standpoint um yeah like how do we factor in this you know grocery stores into into our plan and accessibility of that um I can speak to that um John Roach um what we envision for the retailers it will certainly be communitybased as uh was mentioned previously but uh we've heard from other um Charlestown residents that there was a including plan Charlestown uh that there's a strong interest in US pursuing a supermarket um we're more than open to that um we can accommodate it um we have had dialogue with um and way when we first started this process what I'll say is a regional supermarket chain so um it certainly makes a lot of uh sense and for us to be able to get a supermarket and we will certainly do what we can to get one hi um okay great sorry I've got a barking chihuaha situation um okay so great I think that answers um uh that answers the question um and uh yeah yeah I think uh okay happy to jump in from an agency perspective and helpful but I I don't mean to go on if we're good oh yeah know go ahead yeah great yeah I mean I can underscore John's point that you know we've been working closely with this project team over the past 3 years plus um they've been really paying close attention to the plan Charlestown process and we have had those conversations with them you know another Supermarket is certainly something that was identified as a need in the neighborhood at this stage of review for the project we know it's not you know at that level of detail yet but it's again certainly something that we've had conversations with the development team about and so they are aware of it as a need for the overall Community great thank you um any additional questions or comments from the board um okay one last comment um I do love the uh the intentional design and the welcoming um uh Pathways that you have to uh you know create uh Revitalize this destination and and uh resource of the waterfront and the Mystic River um I'm just really excited for that so um but let's take a vote so uh there are no further questions a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr lmar I Mr shephard I and the chair v i motion passes uh congratulations good luck oh and I forgot to say the Poo thing so cool I'm really excited I that's so cool okay thank you very much thank you very much thank you so much than everyone um okay the fourth and last public hearing it's not the last one Madam chair don't get excited we have five public hearings oh yes okay the second to last public hearing okay um this is a public hearing uh also this is uh 66 Cambridge Street this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency being held in conformance with sections 80 B- 5.3 D and 80 C-5 of the Boston zoning code to consider the proposed development plan for plan Development Area number 152 66 Cambridge Madam chair yes you just skipped number 31 uh you're in a hurry right okay the third amendment to Harvard University right you got it okay perfect um so many pages all right so this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency being held in conformance with articles 8 a-2 80 d-5 and -9 of the Boston zoning code to consider the proposed Third Amendment to the Harvard University Longwood campus 2018 to 2023 institutional master plan uh this hearing was duly advertised on February 29th 2024 in the Boston Herald um this is a bpda hearing on a proposed petition by the agency staff members will first present their case and are subject to questioning by members of the agency thereafter anyone who wishes to testify about the proposed project will be afforded an opportunity we are taking support and opposition at the same time if you're plan to testify please take time now to verify that your computer microphone is active and click on the hand icon on your Zoom control panel this will signal to the staff that you would like to speak when your hand is raised it will be blue if you're calling into the meeting and would like to testify please dial star9 to raise your hand when I call for all testimony staff will announce your name and allow you to talk you must unmute your microphone your webcam will not be active in an effort to accommodate all who would like to speak about this proposal each person will be given up to 2 minutes to comment upda staff will indicate when 30 seconds remain and at that time please conclude your remarks so that the hearing may continue and others may be heard finally the proponents are allowed a period of 5 to 10 minutes for rebuttal if they so desire Quinn please begin the presentation thank you madam chair members of the board secretary pimus and director gson proposal before you is for the proposed Third Amendment to the Harvard University Longwood campus institutional master plan the proposed amendment seeks to revise the dimension of a previously described uh project within the originally approved imp that project known as the building C Edition was previously envisioned as an approximately 10,000 ft 2 to three story Courtyard infill project the project description as amended would allow for an approximately 19,800 ft five-story Edition that's still fully contained within the volume of the building's existing Courtyard this amendment was reviewed under the expedited review procedure of section 80 D- 9.2 of the code this procedure which is reserved for minor amendments that meet specific criteria only requires a public meeting the request of the community and one was not requested I'll now turn it over to the Harvard team to begin their presentation thank you Quinn good evening uh chairwoman roas secretary or secretary pus Chief Json uh and members of the board my name is Mark Handley I'm here with you tonight representing Harvard University and I will run through a brief presentation on this uh building seat Courtyard in project and we can go to the next slide please so we're locating you here in the historic Harvard Med School quad you see Longwood Avenue uh to the north here the infield project is uh within contained within Building C to the South uh west of the screen again it is interior to the existing building and it is not visible from the public sidewalk on Longwood Avenue next slide please here again is an isometric view of building C you can see uh the courtyard in there circled in red next slide please so here is a uh view of the project the section we've got a infill project that creates a roof and makes the interior Courtyard um significantly more useful all year round we have meeting rooms across approximately five floors and we're adding some storage space and most especially the common space interior to the Courtyard um overall this is going to be great new convening space for the HMS Community um our architect this evening is the firm a o and the Harvard Med School very much looks forward to using this new space for Community for collaboration and for Gathering next slide please so Quinn did a great job outlining um why we are here for an expedited Amendment this project had originally been proposed as a 4200 ft um footprint with 8 to 10,000 GSF we are now proposing a 8,100 ft footprint um in just under 20,000 ft² GSF at 19,800 um again it's contained within the courtyard we have made sure um that the addition will not be visible from the ground level um and we are looking forward to proceeding and are very appreciative for Quinn's project management also to the Urban Design Group and elizabth stifel and theor manani for helping us through this one that concludes the presentation okay great thank you uh this is a public hearing so let's take public test testimony um secretary pimus do we have anyone who would like to testify yes we do minor Perez you can unmute yourself thank you Madame uh Madame secretary Madame shair members of the board Mina perz representing the Carpenters Union uh we like to go and record and strong support of this proposal and we will take the opportunity as well to thank uh Harvard University there's not a single day that this the Carpenters are not are working on their campuses included maintenance there hundreds of jobs that have been created thanks to them and that's the reason why we're here in strong support of this proposal thank you minor shimia Turner you can unmute yourself hi thanks once again to Madam chair and the rest of the um the bpda board my name is shamia Turner I am a Boston resident and I'm also a representative to the sheet metal workers and I'd like to um rise in support of this project Harvard University has been a really great partner to the Building Trades um building strong careers all across the city and committing to Great labor standards and I want to give a special thanks to Mark Handley Paul curan and Zach c um and the whole Harvard team um wise and strong support of this project thank you very much thank you sha Shan green you can unmute yourself hello uh good evening everyone um my name is Shon green I'm a Boston resident I'm also business agent for the Boston Building Trades unions we represent over 35,000 members with thousands of members who live and work right here in the city um first I want to say thank you to the bbda for hosting these important Community meetings um it's so important for Community voice to be heard and I'm excited to share mine um we are here an enthusiastic support of Harvard University's Longwood campus institutional master plan um I want to give a special thanks to Mark Hanley Paul Curran Zach C and the whole Harvard team arvit has been a longstanding partner in in an institution providing great careers to our community so I'm here in support uh thank you very much thank you chitan would anybody else like to testify about this project please raise your virtual hand Madam chair this concludes the public hearing portion of this item great any questions or comments from the board all right hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second we'll call for a vote Miss Bennett I Lark hi Mr shephard I and the chair VES I motion passes uh congratulations good luck thank you Mrs thank you Mrs Ron appreciate it and appreciate the speakers and the PPD staff here we see you soon um okay uh agenda item number 3266 Cambridge Street is that correct correct it is correct this is a public hearing before the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency being held in conformance with sections 80 B- 5.3 D and 80 C-5 of the Boston zoning code zoning code to consider the proposed development plan for plan Development Area number 15266 Cambridge Street and to consider the 66 Cambridge Street project as a development impact project this hearing was duly advertised on February 28th 2024 in the Boston Herald this is a bpda hearing on a proposed petition seat by the agency staff members will first present their case and are subject to questioning by members of the agency thereafter anyone who wishes to testify about the proposed project will be afforded an opportunity we are taking support and opposition at the same time so if you're planning to testify please take time now to verify that your computer microphone is active and click on the hand icon on your Zoom control panel this will signal to the staff that you would like to speak and when your hand is raised it will be blue if you are calling into the meeting and would like to testify please dial star9 to raise your hand when I call for all testimony staff will announce your name and allow you to talk you must unmute your microphone and your webcam will not be active in an effort to accommodate all who would like to speak about this proposal each person will be given up to 2 minutes to comment bpda staff will indicate when 30 seconds remain and at that time please conclude your remarks so that the hearing may continue and others may be heard my the opponents are allowed a period of 5 to 10 minutes for rebuttal if they so desire Sarah please be good a presentation yes once more thank you and good evening Madame chair and members of the board director Json and secretary polyus my name is Sarah peek I'm a senior project manager in the development review Department uh we are here before you this evening to discuss the proposed development plan for plan Development Area number 152 66 Cambridge Street and the associated 66 Cambridge Street project the 66 Cambridge Street PDA development plan is located on a 4 Acre Site at 66 Cambridge Street in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston the development plan envisions the construction of two new buildings containing approximately 82,000 ft of gross floor area including 10,000 ft of retail restaurant space with the remaining building area as office and research laboratory the project also includes up to 487 off Street vehicle parking spaces and approximately 41,000 ft of of open space the development team filed their project notification form on July 27th 2022 followed by a draft project impact report on September 20th 2023 excuse me uh the development team then filed a draft plan Development Area development plan on December 5th 2023 the BPD hosted three public meetings and three iag meetings between August 2022 and January 2024 to review the project and PDA felin plan these meetings were advertised in local newspapers posted it to the bpd's calendar and an email notification was sent to All subscribers of the bpa's Charlestown neighborhood updates the proposed project received approval from the Boston Civic design Commission on March 5th 2024 at this point I would like to hand it off to my colleague l once again from the planning department to present the planning context for the project followed by a presentation from the development team thank you thanks Sarah next slide please good evening members of the board chair roas my name is ell I'm the zoning compliance planner assigned to this project so this proposed project is located also within the plan Charlestown area um after a four-year planning process the board adopted the plan in September 2023 and shortly thereafter the zoning commission adopted um text and map zoning amendments to codify the land use height and density recommend recommendations those amendments included replacing the light industrial Zone in Sullivan Square and brother Rutherford Avenue with mixed use commercial and neighborhood shopping districts additionally due to the opportunity provided by a relatively large size the the relatively large size of many of the parcels in this area the zoning update facilitates the use of planned Development Area overlays to encourage coordinated and strategic development the this project is with within the new Charles Town neighborhood mixed use subdistrict and the new PDA 6 subdistrict next slide um the the proposed project was highly shaped by the plan Charlestown process as shown in the images on the screen which are copied from the plan the neighborhood plan envisions a scaling up of density and height in Sullivan Square and Rutherford Avenue to redevelop the underutilized light industrial uh property um leverage Transit access and buffer the residential areas from the impacts Visual and sound of i93 next slide please in terms of zoning plan development areas or pdas are allowed on this site given that they provide certain public benefits the project is the proposed project is consistent with the allowed uses and dimensional requirements for PDA days per the PDA 6 subdistrict although the Project's parking ratio in terms of planning exceeds the plan recommendations the proponent has committed to reducing parking Supply as public multimodal transportation infrastructure improvements envisioned envisioned in the plan are built and provide alternative Mobility options as discussed the project is not only consistent with key planning goals but also the community priorities for new development that are highlighted and identified in the plan including ground floor retail new open space adding to a proposed network of open space and chares town called Green Loop and contributing to a Transit shuttle with that I will turn it over to to the development team thank you thank you Ella Sarah Madam chair secretary pimus director jemson members of the board we're grateful to be here tonight to talk about the 66 cambrid Street project uh my name is Danny guoli I'm with the Fallon company and I'm joined on the call today by our development partner on the project the Owens companies uh the Owens companies have owned uh this site for a long time and joining me today is president of the Owen Owens companies Ed Owens um sorry next slide please oh yep that one awesome thank you um joining me today on the on this meeting is Ed Owens president of the Owens companies and before we get into the specifics of the project I wanted to pass it over to Ed to talk a little bit about the history of the site thanks Danny Madam chair secretary members of the board Chief gemson epda staff I know it's been a long night still I'll try to be fast um Ed Owens Jr president of the Owens companies my family has owned this site for over 35 years it was once home to Boston public school buses for over two decades um it's an old site hasn't changed much in over 35 years it's an industrial site and we're looking at activating and we're really excited about this project I wanted to thank our partner the Fon company um all of our Consultants Architects as well as the Charlestown community so with that I'll turn back over to Danny thanks Ed also joining me on the meeting tonight is John rigan of Da Piper and Joe Mamay of sgaa who's our lead architect on the project so Joe will get into the specifics of the design momentarily but first I wanted to set the stage just briefly here with some site context and uh a brief overview of the project so in terms of the site Ella alluded to it earlier obviously this is a emerging development Corridor in charl town and this site is situated in a really important node it connects or has the opportunity to connect I should say um Hood Park to Sullivan Square station and facilitating a connection to the Lost Village so it really sits in an important location something that we were excited about when we looked at this project Additionally the relationship to 93 is a unique one as you can see the back of the site AB buts i93 and the rail infrastructure uh behind the site as well next slide please just a little bit more on existing conditions as as we all know this area has been an industrial uh area for a long time and that's what um the nature of this site is today if you look on the top left image you can see it um outlined in in a blue um this site south of that is Hood Park and uh page North is is the suan square MBTA station so this site provides the opportunity to connect those two areas as you can see a few things to note on this site it's basically entirely impervious today so one of the things we'll be doing is reducing the impervious area by about 28% with this project and as you can see there's also a significant grade change on the site so if you look at the bottom right image that's looking down on the site from Cambridge Street as you're looking towards the park and so there's about a 16t grade change as you go uh from D Street and Hood Park up to Cambridge Street where Sullivan Square station is so navigating that was a a big design challenge for us um and also you can see the highway and the rail infrastructure how it kind of looms over the site so those were some big elements that that we responded to in our design that Joe will elaborate on in the moment next slide please and so just a quick snapshot of the project this is an 82,000 squ ft project geared towards life science and R&D uses over two buildings about 10,000 ft of retail uh two levels of below grade parking and about an acre of publicly accessible open space and that open space is really the key piece for us in terms of creating that contion that I alluded to if you look you kind of see Hood Parks buildings their proposed buildings in Hood green ghosted out on the left portion of the page and what our project we hope does is really create a connection through Hood Park and through our site to Sullivan Square station and a really great front door on D Street and so part of the project also is improving D Street and raising the site grade by about 5 ft to 21.5 uh for for flood resiliency purposes with that I will pass it to Joe to take us through the design next slide please thanks Danny and I'm very happy to give an update with the presentation we're going to start off with the site plan there's five key elements that were really um part of our focus and approach to the uh project first of all connecting was a critical item and connecting the neighborhood to celan square in the emerging area west of Rutherford and number two the buffering by taking the actual um site and the actual plan of the building itself and making that adjacent to the i93 ramp we are allowed to have that buffering of the buuck as well as the rail infrastructure um creating a new and active and vibrant public realm that allows a connection from D Street to uh Cambridge Street Greening the site was really important currently it's Auto Centric site uh with sustainable and resilient buildings that are new and improve the site Itself by having an enhanced tree canopy that continues throughout the site lastly was providing a diverse and active ground floor uses and Best in Class in terms of training opportunities for charest town community the next one I want to share with you an elevation um this is a site section uh D Street is on left hand side you can stre on the right hand side in the foreground is the north building which is 11 stories on the left hand side is the south building which is 13 stories uh what was really important in terms of the building massing and Architectural strategies which were informed by the existing as well as the emerging uh Urban context the base expression was reinforced by the diverse and active ground Flor and the paracity um at the base is really key in terms of signaling where the entrances are where key retail opportunities were with added uh attention to human scale such as um the architectural fence lighting uh Landscaping elements and signage were all to enhance the public realm experience the next one please this is the next slide thank you uh this is a site section um in the west elevation this runs parallel to i93 in the uh rail infrastructure the podium base has been strategically designed and programmed with backup house spaces the loading Ducks utilities and Etc up against the i93 and what elevates from the podium are the two buildings themselves the in the design in terms of sustainability and resiliency it's lead gold with aspirations of platinum there will be rooftop PBS that are integrated uh with both buildings the zero carbon zoning compliant is part of the design and the entire site is raised 5 ft to comply with the 2070 sea level rise requirements next one please this is a great um perspective of the site a a slight aerial uh what was key here is uh the improved arrival in the front door uh for the experience um for all users on the site um the open space uh that is in front is is a result of the transition on D Street which we have a lot of improvements in terms of sidewalks and trees and stock Street runs on the left- hand side that convergence allows for a wonderful welcoming and transition into the site uh in terms of the open space it was key to have the grain more accessible and active pedestrian and bike friendly environment throughout the site relative to the building base um in the planning for it uh there's a focus to expand and prioritize the ground floor space that is welcoming to all users and complement the adjacent public realm next one please here's a series of images that really get a good sense of the public realm experience in the upper leftand corner there's a real focus on the enhanced arrival in the front door experience there's a graceful transition from the drop off to what we call the resiliency level which is 21 ft 6 in um you can see the main entrances um and a complimentary uh retail cafes that really energize and activate the area on the right hand side upper right hand side you have sort of the extension around the north building you can see the enhanced ground floor uses including the Cafe and Restaurant spaces as well as indoor and outdoor Gathering spaces the paracity of the architecture helps to really frame those moments along that edge the lower left hand side there was a focus on the universal and Equitable acceptability throughout this environment you're looking primarily at the arcade and the sh path that's just in front of it on the right hand side lower right hand side uh this is the Gateway entrance to the site this is on Cambridge streets really a threshold to the site in the neighborhood um the Hood part neighborhood Beyond there's a focus on the public realm as well as pedestrian safety um at the corner itself um we wanted to activate that corner that Civic Corner was really important with just the start being in that space it's a Workforce Development that has a focus on biomedical career training program that will be located that location the next one please and finally one of my favorite you know slides uh this image really gives a good sense of the overall project and the contacts here again you can see the buffering um you repositioning the building in such a way up against i93 and the infrastructure of rails below it by Shifting the building itself provides that great opportunity for that uh vibrant you know public realm that occurs at the base um and it really connects solivan station and transition you know to that that threshold through the site in a connection Beyond to hood Park the result is a project that becomes a iconic Gateway for the neighborhood and for Charles Town and with that I transition and hand it off back to Danny for closing comments thanks Joe in closing and on behalf of the the full team uh we just want to express our gratitude for the continued engagement and collaboration on this project it's been a little over three years and um we've had such tremendous feedback from a variety of stakeholders from the iag uh to elected officials bcdc bpda staff uh city and state agencies and of course members of the public so we're thankful for that engagement and that collaboration and um we're excited to bring the project to fruition and deliver these benefits to the Charlestown community in the city um with that that concludes our presentation and again thank you so much for the consideration and the time this evening okay thank you thank you so much great presentation uh public hearing so let's go to public testimony first Secretary paus do we have anyone who would like to T yes Corin stoyanov you can unmute yourself oh thank you for the opportunity to speak uh my name is Karen stoff I am representing here representing just a start Corporation and happy to um express our enthusiastic support for this project um we are a 55-year-old Community Development Corporation and um of the many programs that we offer I um am overseeing the biomedical careers program that Joe spoke about um we have been around for quite a long time and trained over 500 residents for family sustaining jobs in the Life Sciences sector we're really excited about this project in particular um we are looking forward to being able to operate another 18 person uh cohort in this building every year in a state-of-the-art training facility we offer a 9mon free training program that provides Technical and durable skills that set up our graduates to thrive in entry-level positions and build family sustaining wages for themselves and their families um our program has uh graduation rates and job attainment rates of over 75% with average salary gains of more than $20,000 per person um previously we've had our own space limitations um having to share lab space at Bunker Hill Community College so this provides an opportunity to have that really um nice new space that our students deserve in this uh this area um up until now we've only been able to serve a handful of Boston residents I think the location of this project really um and the design and the welcoming space is going to really open up the opportunities for Charlestown residents and we look forward to serving them we've had really great opportunities um so far working with the developers and Fallon on this project um I think they're really aligned with uh our mission and really looking forward to supporting our residents or our students and we're really excited to be uh collaborating with them on this project thank you Joseph Nicholas you can unmute yourself hello uh my name is Joey Nicholas and I'm the executive director of Street to Ivy which is a local nonprofit that focuses on um entreprene entrepreneurship and business development for local youth um we've been uh working very closely with the F company uh for years now um and they've been great supporters of um of us and what we do and uh we run a summer program uh called uh real estate development uh entrepreneurship program and every single summer we uh get a class size of between 15 21 students uh coming and learning entrepreneurship in the real estate development industry and finding career Pathways uh to attain that right so uh you know I just wanted to hop on and express my support uh for this project I think it's really um a good sign um that our students would be able to follow along and see the entire development process um get kind of some Hands-On exposure to that um and I just also want to express that the entire Fen team including Danny uh are really caring about the community and have been there for us to help support our students and really have an impact on their lives and on their careers so I just want to express my support and thank you all for uh being here tonight thank you minor Perez you can unmute yourself thank you Madame secretary Madame chair members of the board Mar Perez representing hundreds of union carpenters the LI World cross here of Boston I want to take the opportunity to thank Jo fallen and his team for great Outreach to the community the Fallen comp are being a bring of the for a very long time and we look forward to keep working on the relationship um and finally I'd like to thank the uh mayor of Boston mayor Michelle W for allowing the community to be part of the process thank you thank you minor Steve Janelle you can immute yourself hi Steve Janelle Charles son resident I just wanted to uh come out in support of this project um the the Owens companies and um Fallon has been great about their community outreach with this project um The Greening of the site is something we really need for our neighborhood and uh you know uh connecting Hood Park to uh s installation is a it can only be seen as a as a positive um so uh from a resident standpoint um this this the Outreach and The Greening in particular has been what makes this uh a positive project in my happen thank you Steve chitan Green you can unmute yourself hello my name is shaton green I'm a Boston resident um I'm also the business agent for the Boston building trade unions I want to start off first by thanking the bpda for hosting these um great important Community public meetings it's been a long day and um thank you so much for for doing a a great job at facilitating and hearing Community voice um good evening um 66 G Street is a great project with a great development team and a great contractor thank you to Joe Fallon and Mike Fallon for always being great Community Partners we're excited because this project will support great Union careers and we all know great Union careers build strong communities because of the family sustaining wages the health and retirement benefits for every worker the training by way of apprenticeship programs and journeyman training harnessing the most skilled Workforce The Building Trades unions um priority and Investments to safety will allow for the safest sites I'm excited uh that residents get to have access to such great careers and get a chance to work um work where they live um and actually Thrive and stay in the community so uh I speak and building trade speaks and support of this project um thank thank you for D thank you chatan shameia Turner you can unmute yourself thank you Madame chair and the BPA board um it has been a long night so thank you so much for facilitating this process um I am my name is JIA Turner I a Boston resident and also a representative of the sheet metal workers and I represent hundreds of men and women some of who live in Charlestown um and I'm happy that they're going to be able to build their career um on this project I especially want to congratulate the um development team they've been great Partners special shout out to Joe and Mike Fallon and I'm really excited to hear about how they have been partnering with the community and being responsible to the community that they want to build and U make money in so I enthusiastically rise and support of this project thank you and have a great night thank you sha Mark Rosen Shin you can unmute yourself good evening Madam chair members of the board my name is Mark Rosenstein I'm 23y year resident in Charlestown and the owner project manager representing H Park uh the largest direct butter and as you've heard uh tonight that both the proponents and some of the speakers talked about the critical nature of this project both in and of itself but also in terms of its relation and ability to connect Hood Park and the Charlestown neighborhood on that side of Rutherford Avenue with Sullivan station I just wanted to come to the meeting and and say we at Hood Park are incredibly supportive of this project there's been a long and really positive relationship between the Owens family and the Canan family for years the addition of the Fallon companies has been a positive aspect of this and we have an ongoing dialogue really good coordination about traffic and sidewalks and alignment of Stack Street um and the open space that they've created will be a tremendous benefit to Charlestown the residents uh that live at Hood Park and the business people and employees that go back in forth across a pretty tough walk right now along spice Street this will be a tremendous Improvement and we hope will encourage people to really use elvan station the orange line for both Hood Park um for the related property that's just to immediately to our South and for this project between the ens and Fon company so we see this as a great addition to the west side of ruford Avenue and speak on behalf of hood Park and and in favor of this project and thank the development team and their efforts here thank you Mark Paul paresi you can unmute yourself I thank you U Madam chairman and everyone involved in this U uh meeting today and again it's been a long day so I'll be brief I just like to uh mention my enthusiatic enthusiastic support for Ed Owens and his team um we invested in the TR neighborhood in 1979 so 44 years ago and um we seen our business grow at our 78 to 100 C Street Properties we recently converted to U new tenants two robotics companies and the ad daycare company and we've been really marveling at the positive changes happening in Charlestown and we think that the development of 66 Cambridge will be an enormous Catalyst to continue that Improvement and growth and positive change for the community and for all of the Boston residents so my strong support to Ed Owens and this whole team thank you Jack Kelly you can unmute yourself hi my name is Jack Kelly I'm a lifelong Charlestown resident and own a home since 2008 and also will be owning a business at 31 campas Street I would like to go and record of support and Echo a lot of the positive comments everyone else said thank you very much thank you would anybody else like to testify about this project please raise your virtual hand Madam chair this concludes the public hearing portion of this item okay great um questions or comments from the board just do two comments I think um I'm super excited about uh the incorporation of the biomedical Career Training um uh it's just it's awesome we have a lot of lab um you know lab space is going up a lot of really great jobs so I appreciate you contributing to to training our uh our Workforce um and yeah any other questions comments hearing and see n a motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Lark hi Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes uh congratulations uh good luck great project thank you thank you very much all right now that's the end of the public hearings right secretary pus yes it is okay and so back to number eight correct yes okay item number eight request authorization to extend the term of and amend the applicable fee pertaining to the existing license agreement between cap Long Warf LLC and the Boston Redevelopment Authority during visits at the B Planning and Development Agency for the use of approximately 15,000 square ft of land adjacent to the Chart House Restaurant on Long War for the purposes of employee and visitor parking D subject property is a 15,000 ft law Loc immediately adjacent to the CH House Restaurant or ring War um since 2015 bpda has licensed the parking lot to cap long LLC which is a subsidi subsidiary of capital properties um Capal work uses the uses the um the lot for uh monthly parking for the tenants of the custom block building and visitors to the child House Restaurant both of which are owned by uh Capital properties um Capital properties was found founded in 1977 they manage over 18,000 proping units and 8 million squ ft of commercial space primarily in Boston and Atlanta uh the current license agreement which is a one year at a time license uh expires in May of this year 24 um we're proposing a new term from June uh 1st of 24 to May 31st of 25 monthly fee will be $155,100 per month or $181,200 for the year which represents a 4% increase uh from the current fee that they're paying um uh the leasing department staff did a market analysis of parking garages in the immediate area and um that that the rate that we're charging approximately $400 per month the car is very consistent with theing uh parking right structures um we're only considering onee terms at a time while BPD bpda in the city of Boston continue to plan the future of longor in the meantime the proposed use allow long with visitors convenient parking and generates revenue for bpda without sacrificing future planning options thank you okay thank you uh questions or comments from the board hearing and saying none a motion is in order so move second we call for a vote Miss Bennett I lar I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes item number nine request authorization to amend the license agreement with Boston Harbor Cruises LLC for the Boston Planning and Development agency own property at longm North for the purposes of continued Maritime Services Dennis thank you um thank you madam chair founded in 1978 Enterprise cruises is one of the largest entertainment Cruise companies in the United States operating in over 20 markets in 2019 uh long longstanding tenant Nolan Associates sold their harbor cruise line business they Boston Harbor Cruise Line business to entertainment cruises um and BPD authorized the assignment of the leases on Long war from Nolan Associates to entertainment cruises um now doing business uh once again as Boston H Cruses for for consistency um the new Boston hocus is utilizes the BPD own uh we own a float and a boardwalk and the water on the on the north side of uh longm where they use uh to Service uh the MBTA Ferry services uh the Salem Ferry the New England Aquarian wh watches and Boston harbard cruise excursions um the existing 5year license expires on April 30th of this year we're proposing an extension of the license term through April of 2027 um with up to five one-year extension terms at the discretion of bpda the 2027 expiration date was for terminous with the abing of water Bol Marina which which currently um their lease will expire in 2027 it's renewed annually um the short-term nature of both of all those leases this one in particular allows bpda to continue planning for long work resiliency measures to address flood resen um flood resilien measures without unnecessarily interrupting these important maritime operations um the proposed fee is $153,300 for 2024 which will escalate by 4% in 2025 and again 2026 we believe that this fee is consistent with the market rate for water sheet and floats in in Boston har we did a market analysis to confirm that and we're requesting commission to extend the license term for Long Wolf North with with Boston Harbor Cruises LLC until April 2027 with up to five oneye extensions only one year at a time at the so discuss thank you questions comments from the board hearing and seeing none the motion is in order second call vote Miss Bennett hi Lark hi Mr Shephard hi and the chair I motion passes thanks Denis item number 10 request authorization to enter into a license agreement between Uptown transport doing business as Boston sight seating and the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as Boston Planning and Development Agency for a downtown Waterfront trolley kiosk program from April 1st 2024 to March 31st 2025 pleas thank you madam chair and members of the board I am here tonight to request authorization to enter into a license agreement between Uptown transport and doing business as Boston sand and bpda for the downtown Waterfront try kiosk program the downtown Waterfront area is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city of Boston making it a valued location for trolley tour businesses several trolleys are located on bpda land between long and Central Wars uh the downtown Waterfront trolley kiosk program creates opportunities for local small businesses business vendors to sell their merchandise and tours bpda issued a request for proposal in January of 2024 to ensure maximum participation and awareness in the trolley stop program one qualified vendor responded to the RFP accordingly staff is recommended that the available kiosk be operating by be oper ated by Boston San who will operate walk up ticket sales for trolley tours of the Floric Boston the license agreement is subject to city of Boston restrictions in permanent the license agreement will be for one year or one season stting April 1st 2024 and end in March 31st 2025 staff is recommended that Boston sight and pay $5,000 per month bpda will receive $60,000 in total for the 2024 tourism season thank you and I'm I'm happy to answer any questions thank you any questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second I'll call for a vote Miss Bennett i l Mark I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I Mission passes item number 11 request authorization to amend the license agreement between black owl LLC and the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as a Boston Planning and Development Agency for the use of approximately 2,850 ft of open space adjacent to the ductail restaurant located at building 34 in the trown Navy Yard for seasonal outdoor restaurant seat until March 31st 2025 LS thank you in 2020 the city of Boston's licensing board piloted a program to allow for expanded use of public and private spaces for outdoor dining because of its success the city Boston announced a permanent outdoor dining program in February of 2023 with an online application portal that includes outdoor dining consultations accessible design templates realtime application tracking and annual license renewals in June of 2020 the board authorized a license agreement with black owl LLC for the use of approximately 2,850 ft of open space for seasonal outdoor restaurant seat and adjust adjacent to the dovetail restaurant additionally terms extensions were approved by the board in 2021 2022 and 2023 extended the term to March 31st 2024 the current request is to amend the term of the license agreement for an additional year commen in April 1st 2024 and expiring in March 31st 2025 uh bpda is following suit with the city of Boston's outdoor dining programs process and procedures and due to the required payment of monthly fees by the outdoor dining program and anticipated additional fees to be incurred by the ly to meet the city of Boston submission requirements bpda will foro the market rate rental fees and will assess a one-time only maintenance fee of $1,500 the fee is responsible if the lensee fails to obtain permit from the city of Boston's outdoor dining program black owl llc's are the owners of the popular Brewers Fork restaurant in Molton Street in Charleston and dubil restaurant in the Charlestown Navy yard and thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions okay questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second Miss Bennett hiar hi Mr Shephard hi and the chair vs I motion passes item number 12 request authorization to enter into a one-year lease agreement ment between Dio construction company and the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development Agency for the use of suedes 109 and 110 located at two Bon street from April 1st 2024 to April oh no to March 31st 2025 LZ thanks uh two Boyston Street also known as the China Trade Center was built in 1887 is a designated Boston landmark and is listed in the National register of historic places in 1993 the BR purchased this 80,000 ft² six floor Class B office building and it serves as a symbol of the city of Boston's commitment to revize the Boston's Midtown and Chinatown area Dio construction company was founded in 1930 and has steadily grown to become recognized among the leading construction organizations in New England uh DCC um Deo construction company was hired by St Francis House to lead the renovation and development of their downtown location and are seeking to leak off to lease office space for their daily operations to manage this project DCC will also share the office space with San Francis house while the renovation is ongoing uh San Francis current San Francis House current and soon to be developed building is adjacent to um China Trade Center and St Francis House which I'm sure many of you know rebuilds lives by providing refuge and pathways disability for adults experienc in homelessness and poverty they are the largest day shelter in Massachusetts the attentative lease terms will be for one year commence in April 1st 2024 and expiring March 31st 2025 within their terms they have the option to have two consecutive six months terms extensions um if they need more time um dependent on the construction schedule uh bpda staff conducted an analysis of the Char Charlestown mid Chinatown Midtown Class B office market and determined DCC will pay the market rate of $30 per square foot for Suite 109 and Suite 110 with a combined square footage of 2,662 square ft during the term of the one-year lease bpda will receive $ 79,80 in fixed rent um demo construction company was represented by Tucker estate advisory and management mpda will pay a broker fee not to exceed $665 thank you need to answer any questions thank you uh questions or comments from the board seeing none a motion that's in order so moved second call for a vote M Bennett hi Dr lart hi Mr shefer I and the chair votes I motion passes item number 13 request authorization to to extend the lease agreement between Dr Daniel Lee doing busness as Trade Center Dental and the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as of Boston Planning and Development Agency for the use of suet 210 located at two Boon Street until March 31st 2029 list thank you um to Boon Street as I already described in the previous um uh presentation the China Trade Center um is a historic building and we love that building anyway Dr Daniel Lee opened um Trade Center Dental in 1984 at China Trade Center after he began teaching at T's School of Dental Medicine Dr Lee has been providing services to the Chinatown residents and has been an excellent tenant of the China Trade Center for almost 40 years Dr Lee is requesting to extend his lease for an additional 5 years the amended lease terms commence April 1st 2024 and expire March 31st 2029 no additional extensions are contemplated at this time um trade Dental Central will accept the premises in its existing conditions bpda staff conducted an analysis of the Chinatown Midtown Class B office market and determined Trade Center Dental will pay the market rate of $34 per square feet for sweet 210 with a square footage of 658 Square ft during the term of the 5year lease bpda will receive 11,900 in fixed rent thank you thank you um questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so move second call for a vote Miss Bennett hi lar hi Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes uh thank you Liz thank you okay item number 14 request authorization for the conveyance of approximately 9,818 ft of property known as parcel 9A and parcel 5A located on the mass located on Massachusetts Avenue in the Fenway urban renewal area project Mass r-115 to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for accessibility and safety improvements to the symphony station on the E branch of the MBTA gra line Dennis thank you madam chair um this vote involves the the MBTA uh Symphony stops on the E branch of the mvta green line anybody just I assume most of us can picture that just in case anybody can't it's on either side of massab approximately at Huntington at the Boston C the archestra um bpda owns just under 5,000 s ft of Plaza area on either side of massav at those T stops the land is used exclusively for access to the mvta symphony stations on both the inbound and outbound sides um it's it's really the Bri the brick closet that is traversed to ENT enter the Subway or or one of the retail locations have there the NBTA is planning extensive improvements to the Symon stations including enhanced uh accessibility via new elevators and um and other improvements and as much as the dpda owned property is is truly not developable as a standard on parcel it's really it's only real utilities to support the M simp stations um the mbta's proposed improvements will result in enhanced ridership accessibility and safety deep for all uh bostonians and visitors to Boston that are utilizing the public U public transportation uh we're proposing to sell the subject properties to the NBTA per dollar to Foster needed accessibility and safety improvements uh for the MBTA 7y stop branch of the MB um and the MBTA owning them in P simple would make it easy for them to get permit Etc um and there's really no reason that BP should than thank you okay um questions or comments from the board okay hearing and seeing none um motion is in order so move second call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Lark hi Mr shepher I the chair votes I motion passes thanks Dennis thank you all item number 15 oops request authorization to extend the final designation status of Nubian sends Partners LLC as redeveloper of the Blair lot in the Nubian square area of Roxbury through March 31st 2025 at thank you madam chair and members of the board the Blair lot is a bpda owned site consisting of approximately 87,8 79 ft of underutilized land between Washington Street Harrison AB Palmer Street and US Street parcel was subject to an intensive Community engagement Pro planning process through plan new and square and site specific Community meetings the Blair lot RFP was released in November 2019 and responses were due in February 2020 after several public meetings and Community review Nubian asense was tally designated for redevelopment at the December 2020 bbba coordin day the proponent proposes to create approximately 389,000 gross Square ft of new mixed VI space including 15 units of affordable housing a parking garage a lab training and is building a combined cultural Hall and Marketplace and culinary Center and an artist Lab at the final designation for the proposed project in March 2023 board authorized the project to be deliver to be delivered in five phases of construction with separate ground lases for each building in order for nubi and ascents to receive ground Lees for each site component and maintain their final designation status they are required to have financing acquired BR suply negotiated and ready for execution and be ready for construction commen by specific dates since the last final designation extension the pro the project has prised timelines and facing for the commercial building garage and affordable housing components the new dates for each building have been reported in this board mono the commercial building and garage components of the project are now expected to be delivered first with all the necessary financing terminate completed by August 2024 the bpda staff are working diligently with Nubian sense team on closing out the remaining items for the first phase of the project that construction can begin on site this Sumer with that being said I request that the board authorize final designation and extension to Newan and partners the Redevelopment of the Blair law thank you I'm happy to answer your questions okay thank you uh questions or comments from the board all right hearing and seeing none a motion is in order they moved second call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Lark hi Mr Shephard hi and the chair votes I motion passes okay um item number 16 request authorization to issue a request for proposals to hire a licensed design consultant to provide engineering and Assessment Services for a building systems assessment report for the China Trade Center located at two Boon Street William uh thank you madam chair and members of the board I'm presenting this vote on behalf of William tonight I'm Rebecca H or Rebecca Thomas OIC um I am here to request author authorization to advertise and issue a request for proposals pursuant to Mass General Law chapter 30b to procure an engineer for the China trade build systems assessment project for the China Trade building located in downtown Boston the building last had its systems evaluated in 2011 this effort aims to generate a Building Systems report that will be used to plan and Implement identified Capital repairs and improvements over the next 10 years the value of this work is estimated at $350,000 the request for proposals would be advertised following the Commonwealth of massach its requirements under chapter 30b this opportunity will also be posted on the bpda website at bulletin boards the Boston Herald the state comi system and marketed with mwbe mwbe firms and various online trade Publications consistent with the agency's designer selection policy the design contract will be awarded to the top ranked engineer through a qualifi qualifications based selection process after being brought back before the board for approval no PL specifications or construction will directly result from this contract the end project product of this effort is a written report assessing the building systems with recommendations for prioritizing repairs and improvements therefore we are requesting the secretary be authorized to advertise an issue a request for qualifications to procure Design Services for this project thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions thank you uh questions or comments from the board hearing and seeing none a motion is in order so moved second I'll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Lark hi Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes thank you item number 17 request authorization to adopt a minor modification to the Charlestown urban renewal plan project number Mass r- 55 located at zero School Street to create part x-28 e and clarify its land uses Zachary Zach you muted oh there we go we're all good uh thank you and good evening Madam chair members of the board secretary Paul heus and director Json my name is Zachary G and I am the urban renewal and development review data management associate here at the bpda um as stated before you was a request for minor modification to the Charles cown renewal plan regarding parcel x 28b uh the parcel in question is a sliver parcel of approximately 65 Square ft positioned between single family home at 67 School Street and an open space parking area located at 69 School Street um parcel was included in the bpda as a butter Parcels program which was designed to uh convey vacant unbuildable Parcels to AB budding residential property owners the disposition of parcel x28 B was approved on January 18th 2024 along with the execution of a deed and a land disposition land dispos disposition agreement um in order to finalize the disposition and ensure a clean title transfer that's consistent with the urban renewal plan TI's request is to formally amend the Charlestown urban renewal plan to create parcel X 28b for inary open space uses here for any questions okay thank you questions or comments from the board here can say none a motion is in order so move second I'll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi hi Lark hi shephard I and the chair VES I motion passes item number 18 request authorization to adopt a monor modification to the South End urban renewal plan project number Mass r- 56 located at 0 cabin Street to create parcel x- 26-2 and clarify it land uses s thank you again uh similar to the previous action this minor mod is uh just for the formal creation of the parcel for disposition um parcel X 262 is also known as the Frederick Douglas uh peace Gardens it's located between uh cabat and Warwick streets in the rockbury neighborhood um the final designation and disposition was already approved on October 12th 2023 uh which included the execution of a deed and an LDA so just in order to finalize the disposition process uh today's request is to formally modify the South End plan to create parcel X 26-2 for open space and community garden uses great oh was that no that's it yeah thank you great um okay uh questions or comments from the board here again see none motion is in order so moved second for a vote Miss Bennett hi Lark hi Mr shephard I and the chair of v i motion passes thanks Zachary thank you right item number 19 request authorization to issue a certificate of completion for the successful completion of the 745 Atlantic Avenue project in the leather District pursuant to section c d or no C5 C C5 yeah of the um cooperation agreement by and between the Boston Redevelopment Authority during business as a Boston Planning and Development agency and OPG 745 Atlantic owner d e l LC dated June 22nd 2022 Nick oh no no no this is a certificate of completion so no presentation uh a motion is an order so move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Lark hi Mr shepher I and the chair votes I motion passes item number 20 request authorization to issue a certificate of completion for the successful comple of construction of the 89 East Dam Street Building and 99 East Dam Street Building within the Harrison Albany block project in the south end pursuant to the cooperation agreement bying between the Boston re Development Authority doing businesses of Boston Planning and Development agency and me SL LMP Harrison SL Albany block LLC and me/ LMP gambro building LLC dated December 21st 2017 certificate of completion no presentation a motion is an order so move second we call for a vote Miss Bennett I Lance Mark I Mr sheer I chair votes I motion passes item number 21 request authorization to issue a certificate of completion but successful completion of 64 Alpine Street and 41 region Street known as as the Tommy Rock Tommy's Rock Tommy's Rock residences project in Roxbury pursuant to the land disposition agreement by Between the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency and Catalyst Ventures solidarity Enterprises LLC dated December 29th 2021 uh certificate of completion no presentation a motion is in order move second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I lwar I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes item number 22 we have an informational update on the new interm review process for notice of project changes Nick I can I can't hear you okay uh you now yeah okay great uh good evening Madam chair members of the board secretary plimus and director Json I'm here before you this evening to present the interm standard operating procedures for the review of notice of project change filings also known as NPCs as you all know mayor has task bpda with the Performing article 80 in an effort to modernize how how development is done in Boston with an eye towards efficiency and predictability among other uh State buties while that process is still ongoing we have taken this opportunity to review some of our current practices and find places where we can improve um while we wait for the results of article 80 reform in particular we felt that the review of NPCs lacked a formal guideline for review and that the process was often laid out on an ad hoc basis depending on the project and the nature of the changes being proposed to provide a more efficient structure for the review of NPCs we evaluated the most common types of changes that we see brought to the bpda broke them into categories and evaluated the standards of review needed for for each additionally we have created a process for the expedited review of NPCs that meet certain thresholds a project that has been deemed appropriate under this new policy would be able to submit a letter outlining the changes to the project and materials related to the change this submission would trigger a 30-day comment period in which a public meeting would be held by request of public official only after the conclusion of the comment period and bpda staff have concluded their review the change will be taken to the bpda board for approval where staff would present the appropriate changes to the board in our review of NPCs we found that a majority of the changes can be broken into either change in ownership a change from condo to rental program or vice versa request to lower parking account lapse in time requests to add height and or density and changes of use in discussions with our staff we feel that the following gr process for each type of change is appropriate for a change in ownership no NPC or review should be required and going forwards all board M should include language approving current proponents and future successors for a change from condo to rental program or vice versa with no changes to unit count or an increase in IDP no NPC shall be required and a public meeting may be held at the request of a public official finally a board action would be necessary to update affordable housing agreements only for a request to lower parking accounts and expedited NPC and review at the bpda staff discretion shall be conducted focusing on mitigation to offset the change in parking count if there has been a significant lapse of time from a Project's board approval to the development for you prior to receiving the Project's stamped construction documents certificate of approval and building permit at the bpda discretion the project will be required to submit either a full notice of project change and conduct a full review process if the laps in time is greater than 3 years and to submit a new project notification form or small project review application and conduct a full review of the filing if the laps in time is greater than 7 years finally for either requests to add density Andor height or requests for change in use the bpda shall require a full NPC and review at staff discretion we hope that this new standard operating procedure will produce a more efficient and predictable process for staff the development community and members of the public thank you for your time and I I'm here to answer any questions you may have okay any questions from the board okay so I believe this is an informational update so no vote correct correct okay perfect um M thanks for the update thank you very much um yeah I I it's good uh good to work I can't find the words but good job okay let's see number 23 um request authorization to issue a scoping determination waving further review pursu to section 80b 5.3 D of the zoning code for the proposed construction of 96 income restricted residential rental units 36 incom restricted home ownership units and 132 bicycle parking spaces located at 290 Treon Street located on parcel p-12c and the South Cove urban renewal area project number mass r-92 and to take all related actions Daniel thank you uh uh good evening uh Madam chair members of the board director Jameson secretary kimus my name is Daniel palano and I'm the project manager for the proposed article 80 large project before you tonight at 290 Tremont Street parcel 12C located in the Chinatown neighborhood in B own parcel RFP for redevelopment Project's proponent Asian Community Development Corporation is proposing the construction of new 12-story mixed income residential development of approximately 13,700 ft of gross floor area compromise of approximately uh 13,400 ft of general floor area of income restricted restricted rental housing um 37,800 ft of uh uh GFA of income restricted residential home ownerships as well um the project will approximately build 132 units all of which will income restricted including approximately 36 home ownership units and approximately 96 rental units the bpda sponsored sponsored and held an impact advisory meeting and public meeting for the proposed project on December 20th 2023 project also was subject to Boston Civic design commission review and appeared in front of the commission on January 2nd 2024 and received full vote on February 6 2024 the project will bring forth great benefits to the Chinatown neighborhood by creating approximately 132 units of multi family housing units 100% of them which will be deed restricted affordable for a variety of income levels propos project will deliver income restricted units well in excess of the city's inclusionary development policy requirements it's also important to note that the proponent will work with tough's shared services to direct the butter and the Boston fire department to verify the projects as proposed will meet with the fire code and at the S and it has satisfi satisfactory adjustments that will be made for the plans to satisfy to satisfy the fire code requirements thank you for your time and consideration tonight I do have the development team here with me today to present the project in detail and to answer any questions in regards to the project and other questions you may have I'll now turn it over to for delu to talk about the planning context thank you perfect thank you Dan uh can we go to the next slide please good evening chair roas secretary pus members of the board and director jeson my name is Ford Delio and I'm the bpda zoning compliance reviewer assigned to this project parcel tsy is located at 290 traymont Street at the Western Edge of Chinatown the Chinatown neighborhood immediately to the west of the property is Elliot Norton Park Park which provides a buffer between Chinatown in the Bay Village neighborhood parcel 12 SE is located near the southern Edge of Chinatown as well with residential developments neighboring the parcel to the South and large institutional buildings of TS Medical Center and other large developments neighboring it this includes the property that shares the other half of the block which includes the Double Tree Hilton Hotel and the Wang YMCA of Chinatown besides Elliot Norton Park to the west and Pine Street Park to the east the landscape is dominated by asphalt and concrete currently this is accentuated by the abundance of concrete buildings and the brutal style that surround the proposed development these include both the residential quinsey Tower and the Josiah quinsey School in next block South the site is located in a very well-connected Transit Network the tus Medical Center and BTA Orange Stop line is located immediately off the parcel in addition the building is a 10-minute walk from South Station and commuter rail as well as the green line at Boon MBTA station the street outside the building is conductive to a high volume of local traff efforts to increase the complete streets potential the a are evident as well as protected b l bike Lanes exists Sur the proposed development next slide please uh there are currently no applicable neighborhood plans for this area of Chinatown oops sorry next slide uh sorry thank you uh there are currently no applicable neighborhood plans for this area of Chinatown instead city planners use combination neighborhood context recently constructed development as well as Community input to make their determinations thank you and I will now hand it turn it over turn it over to the development team to present the project in more detail thank you thank you Dan and thank you Ford um good evening uh for members my name is angre L and I am the executive director of the Asian Community Development Corporation um so next slide please um first I'd like to introduce our development team so um this proposal is a joint partnership between the Asian Community Development Corporation and the Community Builders so ACDC we have been based in Chinatown for the last 36 years we invest in our residents in the places they call home over the past three decades we have developed over 400 affordable homes in chinat town including 66 and 88 Hudson Street at one Greenway shown on the upper right as well as parts of R1 on Hudson Street on the upper left that we expect to start construction soon ACDC also provides Financial Empowerment to support our residents and we offer youth leadership training and place keeping programs to ensure that Chinatown can remain a vibrant and resilient Community um and I'd like to invite David uho from the Community Builders to talk a little B about TC thank you Angie um first of all thank you board members and thank you to the vpda staff that has helped us get here for several months now but um the community build Builders our mission is to build and sustain strong communities where all people can Thrive um we actually started in Boston in the 1960s and we have grown uh probably grown out of Boston uh to have over 14,000 units that we own and operate uh we of course have our headquarters in Boston and we have um several uh units of our portfolio are in Massachusetts but especially located in Boston here you can see Charles V residence which is a rental home ownership component in in Brighton and uh we have also um a project in Chinatown where we're proposing uh p12 which is chy house uh but overall we're very proud to be part of invitation Community Development Corporation in this project and uh we thank you for your time tonight next slide please so this chart shows the development team that we have assembled and this includes Architects Engineers attorneys and other Consultants the team that we have put together um is 64% diverse our team take the city's diversity and inclusion goals very seriously but we also want the team to reflect our community over half of our team members are women and or people of color and we're using many local minority and women-owned businesses the labels here in red are uh minority and women-owned Enterprises and team members MERS who are women and or people of color are highlighted in the light light beige color next slide please so parcel 12C as board had uh referenced before has been included um in numerous Chinatown plans in the last three decades it was identified in previous Chinatown Master plans as a housing priority site and in 2015 ACDC actually led a summer long visioning campaign for this parcel that engage hundreds of Chinatown residents in a series of shetes to study potential uses and affordable housing consistently roast to the top there have been more recent studies that identify climate related issues such as poor air quality heat island effect and lack of tree coverage as concerns for Chinatown residents but above all housing affordability continues to be the biggest barrier that Chinatown resident space as many of them experience rent burden and have very low incomes next slide please so the program that we are proposing includes 132 units all of which are affordable the project um is a little over 70% rentals with the remaining portion being condos you can see that there is a high number of three bedroom units in both um the rental and Home Ownership units we have 22 uh um three bedrooms this is in response to China he community's feedback and desire for larger size units in order to accommodate multi-generational households we also have a mix of area media income levels to accommodate a spectrum of affordability we've received city funding commitment for the project and we applied for State funding just in February this article 80 approval will be an important factor in a state fending decision as they prioritize projects that have high Readiness and now now I will hand it off to Julio Barbara from Stant thank you Angie next slide please as it pertains to the design of the project the concept is based on a 9th century Chinese poem by U that describes the beauty and appreciating your journey through Nature's undulating path while the right inspiration from it we go to the next slide we'll see that the facade design is contextualized to fit within the urban fabric of Boston's masonry vernacular while also drawing its inspiration from the concept imagery with moments of accent colors on the next slide you can see that the building face has a unique Rhythm that accentuates The Pedestrian experience along tont Street we go to the next slide please on the internal side of the project you can see that the same facade rhythm is consistent while the landscape design opens up to a publicly accessible wien space on the next slide you'll see that in keeping with the spirit of the Project's concept the site plan has been designed to allow pedestrians to extend their Journey from Elliot Norton park across Trea street through this Project's internal green spaces to eventually connect through to Washington Street while respecting an existing vehicular easement with the abutter to the South this design allows for activity within ground floor amenities to dialogue with exterior activities for the benefit of both residents and the public if we go to the next slide you'll see that in this bird's eyee view uh the potential for different activities within this space from people enjoying themselves on the Lawns to sitting and playing chess or ping pong or just enjoying a stroll along an undulating path our next slide which is our last slide again shows the vibrancy of the Plaza and how it improves what is currently in existing surface lot to regreen Oasis for the residents in the Public's benefit that concludes our presentation and thank you again for the opportunity to present and we're happy to take any question yeah great um great presentation uh questions or comments from the board just seems like a great project thank thank you awesome additional questions or comments definitely seems like a great project um affordability is what we need and um just great project good to see yeah um Ted anything no I I love it I know me too right like um I am consistently pleased and impressed with um uh with the agency and Community Builders I love that you come to us with these like buildings that have stories and um you know are inspired by uh by the uh the the home culture of the majority of of the community so um just really excited uh to see this um and really excited for that lawn the green space in this area used to be my neighborhood so um is just so few and far between and the addition of this and all of the um you know the community the games and the taichi and all the things that you're putting in there um are just going to be so awesome uh for for the community I'm I'm excited um but let's take a vote first so um OT uh any other questions comments okay hearing seeing none emotion is in order so move second okay roll call for a vote Mr Bennett I Dr lsmark I Mr sheer hi and the chair votes I motion passes congratulations good luck so much thank you everyone um okay item number 24 request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80e small project review of the zoning code for the proposed development located at 281 Franklin Street in the downtown and War District Netherland and to execute and deliver an affordable rental housing agreement and restriction in connection with the proposed project and enter into a quick claim deed to take a real property interest in the 281 Franklin property and enter into a pilot agreement for the proposed project and to take all related actions Dylan good evening Madam chair members of the board Chief Json and secretary pa heus um my name is Dylan Norris and I'm a project assistant with development review I'm here today to present the first application of Mayor Woo's downtown office residential conversion program the proposed article 80e small project located at 281 Franklin in the downtown neighborhood and the proposed 121b agreement to effectuate the downtown residential conversion incentive pilot program on October 30th 2023 Boston Pinnacle Properties LSC applied to Maru in the bpda downtown residential conversion incentive pilot program the pilot program was authorized by the bpda board on October 12th 2023 and offers approved applicants to tax abatement in exchange for converting their underutilized office building into multif family residential rental units um next slide um the October board vote authorized the creation of a demonstration plan area in downtown Boston where the bpda is able to act pursuant to Massachusetts General Law chapter 121b and provide a contract for payment in Li of taxes pursuant to chapter 121 B to qualify for the P pilot program the project must meet city of Boston inclusionary zoning standards 177% of all newly created units must be deep restricted and affordable restricted for households making up to 60% of the arean median income and an additional 3% of units must be available at fair market rent and reserve for voucher holders additionally applicants must also comply with current green energy stretch goals are applicable um before this proposed small project before today contemplates the gut Renovations of portions of the sixth floor commercial and Retail Building located at 281 Franklin Street on the corner of battery March currently located on a 2100t lot the project does not include any changes to the building footprint or increases or enlargement to any dimensional non-conformity the proposed conversion will result in a GFA of approximately 12,834 the F of the project will remain at 5.2 and the resulting Building height will remain unchanged CH at 70 ft the upper five floors of underutilized office space will be converted into approximately 9,630 ft of residential rental space including 15 rental units 10 Studios and five one-bedroom units the proposed project will also meet the city's IDP requirements of the downtown conversion pilot program at 20% uh IDP at 60% airing uh in median income the project will also fully Electrify HVAC systems in compliance with applicable green energy stretch codes project also contemplates the creation of 16 new residential bike parking spaces as well as maintaining both retail tenants that are currently at the site based on BPA staff review under article 80 and the review under the pilot program the proponent has been selected to receive a pilot agreement based on the pilot program criteria the proponent will upon approval by the bpda board tonight enter into a pilot agreement with the city of Boston and the bpda if approved today the city and the bpda will provide a the proposed project an average tax payment of up to 75% of the assessed residential value for a term of 29 years terms which are consistent with the October board vote in order to comply with the rules and regulations under Massachusetts General Law chapter 121b section 16 the bpda must take an interest in the project site to effectuate that the bpda and the owner of 281 Franklin will enter into a quick claim deed which conveys limited rights in the 2 281 Franklin Street property additionally the owner and the bpda will enter into a deification agreement agent to ensure that bpda does not have liability on the property on December 19th 2023 the bpda re received a small project review application from the proponent the bpda hosted a virtual public meeting on January 23rd 2024 which was well attended and well received the public meeting was advertised in the local newspapers and a notice was posted on the bda's calendar the comment period for this project closed on January 31st 2024 I'm also joined today by John W bpda senior program manager for the downtown conversion pilot program um thank you all so much I will now turn it over to Adam Burns and Philip SEMA from the development team to give their presentation good evening Madam chair members of the board uh director Json and secretary pus I I think that Dylan did such a beautiful job he left me with very little to say about this project other than we're very excited about this program and what this building represents um in in working with the bpda under the downtown conversions pilot program um my name is Adam Burns I'm the project proponent via Boston P properties and the property owner 281 Franklin Street development um like I said Dylan already did such a great job going through uh what we're creating here but before you we have the building at 21 Franklin Street on the quter Frank and Battery March we are going to be converting the underutilized office spas on fors 2 through 6 to to uh three Apartments per floor that will be a mix of two studios in one one bedroom we uh do have a largely historic building here so we are doing our best to not touch any of the exterior and uh doing so in um respect of the architectural significance of the facade um I will turn it over to project architect Philip Su from balance Architects to take us through floor plans and we will reserve some time to answer questions at the end I appreciate your time thank you great thanks everyone I'm Philip Sea from balance Architects Dyan if you can just go to the next slide can review the context of the project uh so 281 Franklin Street it's in the warf District really the heart of downtown surrounded by some historic buildings uh to give a better sense next slide chose it at the street level is a yeah you can kind of and then this is perfect so that's what Adam was talking about this absolutely gorgeous facade we have arched it's a brick and beam building with Arch brick over the some of the windows uh Coral brick and as you can kind of see there's a line at the fourth floor at one point it was a four-story building that was made into a six-story building um and we're really going to restore and keep everything that we're seeing along here you can move to the next slide and again how it fits in extremely well with the context um of the neighborhood and it's just kind of a gem of that time piece and then if you go to the next slide so uh fairly significant on here is that we are um bounded by battery March Franklin Street in a private way we'll be using that private way to provide um an accessible entrance to the building which the residential so or the the really the building doesn't have for those upper floors so if you go on next floor or sorry plan yeah roughly 13,000 uh square feet GFA and I'll be going into detail so you can move to the next uh slide which I believe is the basement floor plan so uh here's where we will be doing very minor modifications but adding long-term bike parking to the basement so we'll have more than 1:1 ratios for um for the residential units and then if you go to the next floor if you look at plan left uh this is where we'll be creating an ad grade accessible entrance um that uses the existing elevator so residents will be able to go down the private way uh directly go in there as well we still have an existing historic entry on Franklin Street that can be used will still be used as a means of Eris and there won't be changes to the two retail spaces that are on the ground floor so those will remain as they are if you go to the next slide uh really these are uh going to be repeating uh pretty much throughout levels 2 through six but we have a one bedroom unit that has exclusive access to the elevator on the plan left Studio unit in the central a Studio unit to the right and then um eag via the existing stairs and the existing elevator and this is assistant on all floors so you can go to the next slide you'll see there's some funny changes with the existing stair Wells but pretty much we just have the the common corridors um hugging that existing stair and one one bedroom two Studios and as um Dylan mentioned that the units with the elevators will be grouped two units and the other Studios will be group One units for accessibility this is not required um perod so this is kind of where we're really increasing the accessibility of the of the units next please uh so again top floor similar to the rest the roof the there will be no changes to the roof other than new um the heat the minisplit um electrified HVAC units going up there but the roof is just for um backa house Mechanical Services next slide and there does it all right thank you um I'm just going to switch my screens um any questions or comments from the board um I am just so excited for for this um and uh yeah this is just a really great pilot so uh so thanks for answering the call to uh call to action um and uh yeah I guess I through the chair I I will add this something similar this is very interesting this is um new to us new to the Boston area and um we want to see you succeed and we hope other people um think about this as an alternative uh it puts people to work and it gets housing as well so um Good Luck great great additional questions or comments I love seeing the uh uh 8 accessible units it's terrific agreed great great all right are we ready for a vote motion is in order yeah okay so moved second okay roll call for a vote Miss Bennett I your Lark I shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes congratulations good luck thank you thanks much Madam chair I'm going to uh recuse for this next one okay okay then good um let's go to yeah item number 25 request authorization to issue an an article 80 B- 2.5 wer for large project review or the mild SE haly Apartments pursuant to the agreement between the Boston Redevelopment Authority during buiness as the Boston Planning and Development agency and the Boston and Housing Authority dated February at 2024 to provide significant Rehabilitation renovation and replacement of kitchens baths Windows Plumbing hbac roofings elevators sprinklers building envelope and landscape and approve the housing quality of 456 456 units of public housing Camille thank you and good evening Madam chair members of the board director gemson and secretary pimus my name is Camille Platt and I a project manager in the development review Department with the bpda we we here before you this evening to discuss the proposed article 80 waiver for the modernization at the mil sea Haley apartments in Jamaica plane um as you mentioned on February 20th of 2024 pursuant to article 80 B- 2.5 of Boston zoning code the Boston Housing Authority requested to wave article 80 review this project will rehabilitate and improve the housing quality of existing milit SE Haley affordable housing units including the renovation and replacement of kitchens bass Plumbing Windows HVAC and domestic hot water system Roofing elevator sprinklers building envelope and Landscape repairs the project has been publicly reviewed in various venues can be convened by the Boston Housing Authority as well as through the city of Boston's capital budget process and the mil SE Haley tenant organization strongly supports this project I will now turn it over to Carl with the Boston Housing Authority to provide additional context on the project thank you Camille uh good evening everyone my name is Carl pops I'm senior project manager with the Boston Housing Authority Capital Construction Department um and I'll do a brief presentation of the project um so uh maybe next slide please and then uh I'll ask you to come back to the first slide in a little bit um so milard C Haley apartment is a public housing community owned that operated by the Boston Housing Authority offering a variety of living arangements for low and moderate income individuals and families located on 25 acres of land in Jamaica L milc Haley Apartments originally comprised two separate developments heat Street which was built in 1941 brownley Park built in 1952 today the combined mild T haly development is home to over 700 households or nearly 1,700 residents to address unmet demand and to improve quality of life for all residents the BHA has embarked on a two-pronged approach to the future of the site involving both Redevelopment and modernization um and the map on the right um shows the Redevelopment area that's outlined in in Orange um so that's where the BHA along with um a group of nonprofit developers is redeveloping uh the site including demolition and new construction but um what we're presenting tonight uh for the waiver uh is regarding the plant modernization area that's outlined in red um so this area includes um 18 buildings uh and U 456 units um various uh unit sizes um and there I should note there's also an area um on the left hand side of the plan there it's already modernized uh where we already modernized um four buildings uh about um 10 years ago um so just want to be clear that the area uh in rant will not involve any demolition or new construction um these buildings are planed to be preserved and renovated um um the the map on the left um shows the phasing for this work uh we're planning to start at the northwest corner of the site um with phase one um this area of the site has the oldest buildings that have not received comprehensive modernizations um I said the buildings were originally built in uh 1941 so so over uh 80 years old and then the plan is to continue um clockwise to to renovate the whole site um the BHA engaged the Architecture Firm bman Henry plus archetype in 2022 to complete the thorough in investigation of existing conditions and proposed designs uh for required improvements based also on Resident input gathered at a series of community meeting um what they found is that the bones are good but most of the other building components need significant work uh so we will be doing comprehensive renovations to bring these buildings uh up to 21st century standards and make sure they provide a good living environment that meets the needs of our residents and supports the sustainability goals of the BHA and the City of Boston um I could ask uh for the previous slide please thank you um so um the scope of work is listed on the left hand side and I'll go through it briefly So within the apartments we're planning to provide um significant quality of life improvements including new bathrooms and kitchens uh with all new appliances including inunit laundry and dishwashers a new arack system with Central AC new interior finishes to improve security uh providing new outdoor lighting new video intercom system new windows and doors uh and for any energy and sustainability upgrades we will be going 100% fossil fuel free with new heat pump based system Source space Heating and Cooling as well as for water um there will be a new thermally insulated building envelope with energy efficient Windows also planning to put solar panels on the roof to offset some of the energy use with Renewables so we're currently estimating to achieve 66% uh reduction in energy use intensity and 51% reduction in emissions um the project also includes significant renovations to the existing basketball CT splash pad and Plaza on forway next to the existing daycare which will provide a vital open space amenity to the community uh other outdoor improvements include upgrades to The Hardscape and Landscape uh throughout to support new play areas for children at different ages places for residents to gather eat together or just relax um increase permeable surfaces and groundwater recharge areas will reduce the strain on M Municipal storm water infrastructure native planting and canopy trees will provide shade and help mitigate the urban heat island effect existing high carbon materials that are in good condition will be maintained or repaired including concrete Paving curbs ramps and stairs increased bike racks and improved walkways will encourage more active and less poing modes of transportation new containers to collect trash Recycling and compost will improve sanitation and promote waste reduction um so in conclusion we're excited to start uh these long overdue Improvement at milit Haley uh to enhance living conditions for for current and Future Families there and um hope the board supports the waiver thank you for your time all right thanks so much Carl um okay questions or comments from the board yes through the chair uh all the families construction will will they still be inside the apartment or will they be relocated to a new or different apartment a good question thank you and and I probably should have mentioned in the presentation so uh because of the extent of uh improvements required replacing Plumbing electrical so on uh it's not possible to um have the family stay so there will be a temporary relocation uh of each building during uh the renovations we're estimating about um 4 months each um and so we're working closely with our relocation consultant who's who's talking to all the families individually to find appropriate um accommodations for them within our portfolio um depending on their needs so yeah the the goal is to to stay uh either on site or or in close proximity um in the neighborhood at our other properties and one more question I might have missed it but um What's the total unit count um I don't know if it's phase one or both phases combined however so all uh five phases combined is 456 units uh phase one is 87 units thank you thank you very much thank you some additional questions or comments right hearing and saying n a motion is an so move second we'll call for a vote Dr Lark I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes um thanks so much um thank you very much um all right item number 26 request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80e small project review of the zoning code for the proposed construction of 15 income districted home ownership units and 21 bicycle storage spaces located at 75 through 81 deadly Street and to take all related actions ebony good evening and thank you madam chair members of the board Madam Secretary in dark The Gerson my name is eony D roza and I'm a senior project manager in the development review Department we are here before you today to discuss the proposed 75 to 81 de Street notice of project change I thank you for your time today the proposed notice of project change consists of the construction of a new four story approximately 18,39 grow square foot building with up to 15 affordable home ownership units and 21 bicycle parking spaces the proposed project amends the original 75 to 81 W Street project which consisted of a four story approximately 23,9 40 rowt building uh with up to 20 affordable home ownership units ground floor commercial space and bicycle parking stores the notice of project changed was filed on November 13th 2023 a public meeting was held in January an additional community outreach took place in February at this time I am happy to turn it over to Ford Delo from the planning team to discuss the planning context for the project followed by a presentation from the development team thank you all right thank you uh good evening chair roas secretary bimus members of the board and director jemson my name is for Delio and I'm the bpda zoning compliance reviewer assigned to this project the proposed project is located at the intersection of Dudley Street and guil row directly across from the Dy Square the Nubian Square Plaza the site is located in the in the center of Nubian Square roxbury's commercial and Cultural Center her proposed building scale is consistent with this context of the immediate built environment which contains a mix of residential commercial and Civic uses the rockberry Strategic master plan written originally in 2004 serves as the area plan for this location and the roxburry neighborhood as a whole key elements of the plan include the enhancement of the Civic and cultural environment promotion of a diverse e economy and range of housing options and creation of safer Transportation Connections in a lively public realm the proposed project helps fulfill these planning goals through the creation of new income restricted housing housing on currently vacant land in addition to new to in addition to net new housing production proposed site improvements will enhance the parcel's edges improving the public experience of this block uh next slide please the proposed project is also located within plan Nubian Square study area this parcel was cited by the plan as an exemplary location for infill development in the context of an established neighborhood fabric when new fored The Proposal is well aligned with the plan and goal of ensuring that the new development is both responsive to the neighborhood context and consistent with surrounding uses thank you and I will now turn over to the development team to present the project in more detail hi good evening my name is in I'm BG SAA I the director of real estate at Madison Park Development Corporation and I'm here to discuss the 75 dudly project thank you for your time this evening um here you can see some of the context in general uh the thing to note about the development history at the parcel is that we had originally planned to build the 20 unit Home Ownership plus commercial building um and as that pering process advaned towards construction permits um it was determined um with the city staff that uh in an effort to save the five silver Linden trees that you can see in the public way here that the building had to be completely redesigned with a reduced square footage um that would step the building back away from the trees and an effort to preserve those trees and because of that we spent the next couple of years redesigning the project and working through the city's approval process to do so um along with mayor's office of housing uh design review staff because this project is uh primarily funded by the mayor's office of housing next slide as you can see um we still uh hope to comply with the Roxbury strategic master plan goals of the project um particularly in promoting economic development in the form of home ownership and wealth building for the families um in BO next slide please here you can see some of the context in the existing um Street trees next slide please here you can see the square footage of the first floor and the Landscaping site plan um and the preservation of the shet trees we also will include some open space in the back of the building and the building is significantly um Step Back From the sight lines and provides ample Landscaping in the front of the public of the building in the public sphere next slide please here you can see the elevation and cross-sections of the building it's four Stories We also uh another significant piece of the redesign um from the 20 unit building to the 15 unit building was the addition of an elevator which um we understood originally to not be a requirement uh but was called for um through the design review process and so that also added significant cost um and took up significant square footage within the building next slide please here you can see the renderings of the building and we have here a brick alternate that we've been exploring with the community and um have heard uh uh you know support and like of that brick alternate and so that's something that we hope to carry through the design um cost allowing um as the design proceeds and we've uh gotten a letter of support from the Highland Park um PRC and we've also met with the Highland Park Conservation District uh group as well and we'll be going back to them um if this vote goes through this evening next slide um here you can see some of the architectural considerations and um you know the historic and brick aspects of some of the surrounding buildings that we're hoping to incorporate into the design and then also the building next door 2451 Washington was also developed uh by Madison Park Development Corporation it's also a home ownership project and so we're also kind of speaking to that design in the correct design of 75 Dublin next slide please uh it's 15 income restricted units so all of the units will be income restricted um they will all be home ownership at um with eight units at 80% Ami or less and S units at no more than 120% Ami we're actually holding those currently I'm hoping for a low or Ami at 100% Ami um and that that would be our goal but we may have to go up to 120 depending on cost um and we are going to pursue a passive house certification in compliance with the city sustainability goals I think that's the last slide happy to answer any questions but I know it's been a long night so I won't hold you yeah um okay any questions or comments from the board um thank you for saving those trees they um uh I know that was extra um extra work to to redesign that so thank you for being responsive to um Community concerns and um yeah with that uh motion is in order no mov second roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi that's I Mr shephard I and the chair votes I motion passes congratulations and good luck thank you good evening great project okay um item number 27 I'm going to recuse SOI it I don't number 27 request authorization to issue a scoping determination waving forther review pursuant to Section 8 ADB 5.3 D of the zoning code for the proposed renovation of the basement first second fourth and fifth floors of the existing building located at 716 Columbus Avenue Northeastern University and to take all related actions thank you madam chair members of the board secretary pus director Json The Proposal before you is for article 80 large project is 76 Columbus Avenue in Roxbury proposed projects an interior renovation of the approximately 124 ,000 ft building the building is primarily used today as the headquarters for North Eastern University Police Department as well as the university centralized M sorting operation uh along with other Administrative Office Space the proposed renovation project only applies to approximately 34,000 ft of the building uh while the site lies within the northeas university institutional master plan area the project does not trigger additional IM review or compliance du The Limited square footage the proposed renovation project will include public realm and Transportation improvements to Bent the street to mitigate impacts of the existing mail room operations the bpda held a virtual task force meeting for this project on February 27th 2024 and a virtual public meeting on March 6th 2024 both meetings were well attended and the public meeting was advertised in local newspaper and online I'll now turn it over to my colleague El from the bpda Z and compliance team to discuss the planning context to consider the review of this project before the development team begins their presentation thank you good evening chair and members of the board my name is Ella and I'm the zoning compliance planner assigned to this project the proposed renovation uh will not result in any change in use or new gross floor area the site is within and subject to the northeastern institutional master plan our imp so you might be wondering what am I doing here during articulat review BD planning staff focused on interestingly mitigating the impacts of the existing mail room seen here in the image um the mail room loading operations on the benon street sidewalks to advance one of the key public realm objectives in the Imp to improve pedestrian connections the proposed renovation project now formalizes existing loading within the roadway reconstructs the sidewalk and curb ramps and introduces curb extensions to further protect the accessibility of the public RightWay with that I'll turn it over to the development team thank you thank you Ella and Quinn good evening again chair roas members of the board director Json secretary bimus my name is Victoria abina and I'm an associate vice president for campus planning and design at nor Eastern University I am joined tonight again John tolin BP of city and Community engagement and Connor Sullivan and Kelly Hall who are project planners on our team we're here today to cover a proposed renovation project at 716 Columbus Avenue which is an administrative office ISU building in nor Eastern Campus in the Roxberry neighborhood next slide please as discussed earlier tonight the institutional master plan was submitted to bpda on June 14th 2013 and was approved in November of 2013 and it was subsequently renewed last fall for two more years so I'm not going to discuss the INB because we've already covered it earlier today next slide and this project was identified in the in as Administrative Building and renovation proposed renovation project is not going to change the use next slide please 716 Columbus Avenue also referred as Columbus place is 124,000 Ft Administrative Building it is a substantially sized building which is why Renovations um that exceed half of the assess building value triggered a large project review even though that the scope of work is actually under 50,000 sare ft so for that reason we're here uh and and I'm sorry it's not as exciting as the previous projects um that we just heard so the renovation will include upgrades to the mail room next slide please next slide um I can talk about the context in a little bit next slide thank you uh the renovations will include upgrades to the mail center to accommodate broader receiving and delivery needs and athetic upgrades to existing administrative office spaces to accommodate departmental growth and high work models we will also be replacing end of life mechanical equipment which uh comes at a substantial cost as well as addressing adaa concerns in the bathrooms uh accessibility for elevators and so forth next slide please we decided to focus only on one floor plan as this is really the place which touches the public realm so with the exception of the Louver um replacement and the addition of another delivery window along Benton Street this project is not going to undertake any modifications to the existing enclosure of the building we're not adding to the height we're not adding to the square footage uh we're just um doing interior Renovations and next slide please so Benton Street really question is the place where which um where we use uh the receiving windows and that um is the only way to deliver mail to Windows uh to the basement because of the design of the building and section you the loading dock actually lands in the first floor but all of our mail for the whole university is centralized in this location in the basement so we worked with the transportation team uh at the bpda and we appreciate their support in sorting out a way to do dedicated loading uh along Venton Street and next slide as the mitigation um uh with uh the the BPA Transportation uh Team suggested is to move the loading docks uh and the parking onto um another side of Benton it'll help with the traffic calming and it'll also help with um loading and reduce any conflicts between vehicles and pedestrians we will next slide please we will pay for all of the sorry go back one we will pay for all the mitigation um of the sidewalk um and uh restriping improving the crosssection curve cuts and the project will also be contributing to the blue bike back share program thank you for your time awesome thank you um any questions or comments from the board uh through the chair quick question uh just out of curiosity um I know you all as nor Eastern do such a great job of U inviting General Contractors smaller ones to get them started get them on their feet um to basically like U what am I looking for basically you know get them some EXP exposures uh people that haven't been inside your campus um I know you you guys kind of rotate and use people try people out so do you have any idea of who you might be looking at for this one as far as general contractor due to the the the complexity is not as hard and it's a good opportunity for maybe one of the smaller General Contractors to um Step into the game I'm G to have to ask um Paul is Paul on the call Paul Herbert is um the architect was gbridge 7 he might know I don't have an answer but I can get back to the board but you're right we're usually focused um uh to ensure that our Capital project spending is spent on uh smaller contractors especially when the projects are contained to Renovations but I'm not sure who we're using oh that's all right we'll F though that's fine thank you though thank you you okay great additional questions or comments okay hearing and seeing none motion is in order so move second roll call for a vote uh Miss Bennett I Mr Sheard I and the chair votes I motion passes thanks so much thank you have a good night thank you with um okay thanks all right let's we did the public hearings uh item number 33 request authorization to ratify and confirm the First Amendment to the memorandum of agreement between the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing businesses Boston Planning and Development agency and the City of Boston to uh ratify and confirm and amended and restated Grant agreement between the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as the Boston Planning and Development agency and Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology request authorization to enter into a quick claim deed between the Boston Redevelopment Authority doing business as of Boston Planning and Development agency and Benjamin Franklin com Institute of Technology for several Parcels referred to as 41 Berkeley Street and authorize a director to take any and all related actions including but not limited to executing an in demn ification agreement Devin thank you madam CH you did a very nice job with that sorry I'm like getting loopy just like deeply appreciate you deeply appreciate the forward staying with us to the late night Edition here at bpda appreciate all the staff who are still here at City Hall at 10 p.m. I promise to be quick I'm here to once again talk about um and request this fors financial support for Benjamin Franklin coming Cummings Tech a technical college that has been training bost's Workforce since 1789 and today today provides affordable technical education to a student body that is majority Boston residents and majority people of color uh in 2019 Franklin Cummings Tech acquired land on Harrison Avenue in Duan Square to build a new State ofth art campus for training the next generation of B bostonians this new campus is primarily financed through the sale of their existing campus at 41 Berkeley Street in the South End and many of us had the opportunity to attend um the groundbreaking of this new campus earlier this week the mayor and I can definitely tell you it's going to be a transformational opportunity for um both the neighborhood uh the future students and the city r large um importantly as the project has progressed toward closing the future of the development project at 41 Berkeley Street which is the what is financing this has continued to face some uncertainy to to economic conditions in order to secure an ex execution of the purchase and sale agreement this week the financers involved in that project and the Nubian Square development project identified it need to quickly build an additional financing Gap to close this Gap the city of Boston has offered to transfer $2 million of additional American Rescue plan act or a dollars to the bpda for us to immediately transfer to Franklin count stack in order to fill that Gap and to immediately proceive to construction so I'm here to request your support to amend our previous Grant agreement to incorporate those funds and then to amend our grant agreement with Franklin coming St to then uh disperse them and have answer any questions thank you um any questions or comments from the board all right uh saying hearing and saying none motion is in order so moveed second we call for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr Lanark I Mr shephard I and the chair VES I motion passes thanks de 34 uh Personnel mik great uh thank you madam chair members of the board uh Madam Secretary and director Jimson uh we have really one item for your consideration at the B agenda with the exact details included in the board memos uh it is we have three out of state travel requests and that's all for personnel I'll answer any questions thank you I questions or comments from the board hearing and saying n a motion is in order so move second all for a vote Miss Bennett I Dr lmart hi Mr shepher hi and the chair votes I motion passes thanks Mike thanks everybody cheers and item number 35 contractual I need a motion to pay the bills I move that we pay our bills I'm second that okay roll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi Mark hi Mr Shephard hi and and the chair votes I motion passes please pay the bills thanks and finally director's update uh Chief Json the floor is yours thanks very much to and members of the board uh appreciate you and I I say it every every time we meet but uh your hard work away from uh away from the board uh and your preparation for the board is uh much appreciated uh I know it's late I'll keep my comments very brief uh I want to congratulate um our Planning and Zoning team for the work on squares and Treet zoning districts approved tonight the amendment will need approval by the zoning commission and then uh that's when the fund starts really the engagement process and the plans uh where citizens will work with uh work together with the city uh to identify which uh if any of the particular um things adopted today will be mapped into their neighborhood so I'm excited about that part because that's where the the dialogue and the um the joint work will really begin um we're excited about getting that started today was a meaningful step uh towards updating the code uh it's a job all done to staff want to thank the board members for their uh important questions tonight uh and tell the community that we're looking forward to uh working with them and continuing the pace and momentum of dialogue that's happened and we appreciate the extension of trust that uh both citizens are are have given our staff and the board uh has given us as well with their vote tonight we intend to make good on that uh extension of trust um I'm also excited tonight to talk about a major milestone for office the residential conversion program uh with the approval of uh the project at 281 Franklin Street I've had a chance to uh to visit it myself and talk to the developers uh it's the first applicant in the program they're going to be begin Construction in the coming months their financing was recently uh described in the newspaper looking forward to Bringing forward more of these projects to the board we think we've got ones uh in either April or May scheduled to appear so we're really thrilled about that would like to also take a moment to highlight the approval of 290 uh Tremont Street uh also known as parcel p112c which are going to bring more than 100 new affordable homes to the downtown Chinatown Community excited to have this development happen uh finally I did want to highlight two projects um 66 Cambridge and 425 bford um two projects in Charlestown that come with significant benefit benefits in the neighborhood and were shaped significantly by plan Charlestown 66 Cambridge uh is going to provide higher density mixed use development ground floor retail uh close proximity to public transportation improving pedestrian and bicycle access through new connections and open space uh and creating uh greater height and density along i93 to buffer residential neighborhoods from Visual and sound impacts I'd also like to highlight um the team U working on 425 Medford uh that PDA was approved tonight night and sets the blueprint for a development of the space over the coming years reopening the neighborhood to the Mystic River for the first time in more than a century and providing six new residential buildings uh with over 500 units of housing it's a huge win in particular for resiliency which was um this is one of the first projects I got to work on um uh Mr roach and and the whole team there are to be Cong graduated for stepping up and providing integrated resilience barrier on the waterfront that's going to protect against sea level rise for a very significant section of Charlestown uh as well as parts of um Cambridge and Somerville um so we're really thrilled about both these projects and the unique things that they bring to us um so we I'll dispense with the sort of normal um uh recounting of the of the numerical progress we made this year uh so far and that we've made this month but suffice it to say between the planning work and the development approvals tonight continue to advance City uh and do the Boston so um with that I'll pass it back to you rowh house and say thanks again to each of you and the board members for your thoughtful preparation for tonight right thank you so much Chief Johson um all right I need a motion to adjourn this meeting so move second we'll call for a vote Miss Bennett hi lar hi Mr shephard I and your votes I motion passes meeting adjourn thank you so much everyone and we'll see you next month thanks everybody car