The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board in 2019 approved more than 10.2 million square feet of new development worth $5.6 billion and 4,974 residential units, including 1,216 income-restricted units, representing over 24 percent of total units.
This
year’s Board approved projects will generate more than $2 million in new
Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP) funds and $21.7 million in Linkage fees
to support affordable housing and job training. The development projects
approved this year will also create 8,462 construction jobs and 7,799 permanent
jobs.
“Under Mayor Walsh, our economy is continuing to thrive and create
new opportunities throughout Boston’s neighborhoods. The development projects
approved this year have created affordable housing opportunities and new open
space, benefited our economy and job market and contributed to workforce
development programs,” said Boston Planning & Development Agency Director
Brian Golden. “We have an unprecedented number of neighborhood planning studies
underway that allow us to listen to residents and shape the future of Boston
together with the community.”
The residential units approved this year make progress
towards Mayor Walsh’s goal to create 69,000 new units of housing by
the year 2030, as called for in the Administration’s housing plan Housing a Changing
City: Boston 2030. This fall, Mayor Walsh announced that
Boston had surpassed 30,000 units permitted, including 6,000 income-restricted
units, under the plan.
The BPDA held approximately 458 Agency-sponsored meetings across every single
Boston neighborhood, open to the public and advertised on the
BPDA website in 2019. These meetings included a series of
community meetings on urban renewal that gave the public an
opportunity to learn more about the urban renewal process and provide input on
next steps.
Other highlights from the year include:
•GrubStreet, the
largest creative writing center in the country, kicked-off construction of
new cultural space at 50 Liberty Drive at Fan Pier in the South Boston
Waterfront. The narrative arts center will serve as a literary destination with
year-round programming for students of all ages and backgrounds.
GrubStreet will receive a $25 per square foot construction allowance —
totaling approximately $329,150 toward improvements to the space — and will
pay $1 per year in rent. In 2018, Mayor Walsh, the BPDA,
the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and The Fallon Company announced
that GrubStreet had been unanimously selected to operate the space.
•Mayor Walsh signed a Home Rule Petition that enables the City of Boston to have more flexibility to fund affordable housing and workforce training through Boston’s Linkage Program and would codify IDP into Boston’s Zoning Code to protect the City’s ability to create and fund income-restricted housing. The legislation is now at the Massachusetts State House where Mayor Walsh testified in support in December.
•Mayor Walsh’s Tuition Free Community College Program (TFCC), funded by the Neighborhood Jobs Trust, expanded to Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology and Massasoit Community College. TFCC was launched by Mayor Walsh in 2016 and pays for up to three years of college for Boston’s income-eligible students who have earned their high school credential.
•The BPDA worked with the City of Boston’s Disabilities Commission to update the development checklist that prioritizes accessibility and inclusion. The Article 80 Accessibility Checklist provides best practices in accessibility for developers undergoing the development review process.
•In September the BPDA Board adopted the Coastal Flood Resilience Design Guidelines, building on Climate Ready Boston, Mayor Walsh’s ongoing initiative to help Boston plan for the impacts of climate change and build a more resilient future.