Bpda Board of Directors - Regular Meeting

of Boston residents. Hybrid means that our board meetings are conducted in person at City Hall in our boardroom on the ninth floor and virtually via Zoom and Boston City TV. For more information and updates, please visit bostonplans.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 slash cable. Now, if there's anyone in the audience who's recording this meeting, I just ask that you please identify yourself now. Seeing none, we'll start with the roll call. Ms. Schock?

Here.

Ms. Bennett?

Here.

Mr. Shepard? Here. Mr. O'Malley? Here. And I, the chair, I am present. Item number one, request authorization for the approval of the minutes of the August 13th, 2026 board meeting. A motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Item number two, request authorization to amend the engineering design services contract with Child's Engineering for construction documents to repair defects at birth 10, increase the contract amount by $49,315, and further execute a 10% design contingency in the amount of $4,931.50 for an aggregate contract amount not to exceed $54,246.50 and the total aggregate contract amount of $189,090. Tyler.

Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board. We are requesting authorization to amend our existing services contract with Childs Engineering for additional design services for the Birth 10 repairs project at the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. Birth 10 is currently used by the Boston Harbor Patrol and Thompson Island Outward Bound. A previous inspection identified a number of deficiencies, including deteriorated concrete, marine bore damage to fender piles, and deterioration of the masonry seawall. Child's engineering was previously brought on to develop construction documents to address those conditions. As the design has progressed and we've continued coordinating with project stakeholders and several additional needs were identified. These include replacement of the two davit cranes, additional lighting and electrical upgrades, replacement of the public sewer pump out and replacement of the broken ladders and installation of a hose bib with heat tracing. We're requesting an additional $49,315 for the design services, along with a 10% design contingency of $4,931.50. For a total amendment of $54,246.50. This will bring the total design contract of... to $189,090. Funding for the design and resulting construction is included in the FY27 capital construction budget. Staff is therefore recommending authorization to amend our existing engineering services contract with Child's Engineering. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them at this time.

Okay, thank you. Any questions or comments from the board? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved.

Second.

Oh, gosh, yeah, second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. The opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Item number three. Request authorization to amend the engineering services contract with Gale Associates Incorporated for the repair of the platform and canopy at 12 Channel Street within the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park and to increase the contract amount by $25,000 and a 10% contingency for a total contract amount not to exceed five hundred eighty-six thousand three hundred sixty-five dollars. Tyler.

Thank you again.

We are requesting authorization to amend our existing engineering services contract with Gale Associates for the platform canopy repairs at 12 Channel Street and Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. The loading dock and canopy at 12 Channel Street have experienced significant deterioration from exposure to winter and marine weather. including spalled concrete and corroded reinforcing steel. Gale Associates was originally brought on to assess the conditions, develop repair options, and prepare the construction documents. During construction, we found that portions of the existing structure were more deteriorated than what was identified during the initial assessment. This required additional work, including structural reinforcement of the canopy supports and replacement of a larger area of the reinforced concrete loading dock slab. This amendment will provide additional structural engineering services and construction administration support through the remaining traffic coding work and final closeout. The project is currently scheduled for final completion on October 21st. We are requesting additional $25,000 along with a $2,500 contingency for a total amendment of $27,500. This will bring the total engineering contract with Gale Associates to $586,365. Staff is therefore recommending authorization to amend our existing engineering services contract with Gale Associates. Thank you, and I'd be happy to answer any questions at this time.

Okay, thanks, Tyler. Any questions or comments from the board? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved.

Second. Roll call for a vote. Oh, no, we're not going to do that. I can't get the votes right. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Okay, item number four, request authorization to amend the contract with DBI Waste Systems Incorporated for trash removal services in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in the amount of $25,000 for a total contract amount. of $140,087. No, $140,087. Please take over from here, Chris. I will. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of the board, Madam Secretary, Director Shen. I'm here today to request an amendment for funds to our current contract for trash removal services within the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. On November twenty first twenty twenty three, the board authorized the director to enter into a three year contract with systems in an amount not to exceed one hundred fifteen thousand eighty seven dollars. The current contract is set to expire on February twenty of twenty twenty seven and the total funds are close to being depleted due to the unforeseen amount of trash services needed during. and after the Sail 250 event within our Marine Park. In consideration of this unanticipated escalation of services, staff is asking to amend the current contract by a total not to exceed $25,000. The total cost of the amended contract is not expected to exceed $140,087 for this term. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Okay. Any questions or comments from the board? All right, hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thanks, Chris. Item number five, request authorization to issue an invitation for bids for trash removal in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park for a period of three years with two one-year term renewal options. Chris.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm before you today to request permission to advertise for trash removal services for the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park. The selected vendor will be responsible for our labor, materials, equipment, transportation, and services within the park. The IFB will be publicly advertised with local newspapers on the BPDA's website, the statewide combine system, the state goods and services bulletin, and through other channels as appropriate, including affirmative marketing to small, local, and diverse businesses. The resultant contract will be awarded to the responsible and responsive bidder with the lowest total bid price. The awarded contract will be for a term of three years with two single option years to be exercised at the sole discretion of the BPDA. Funding for this project will be from BPDA's fiscal year 27 operating budget, and the total cost is not expected to exceed $195,000 for the initial three-year term. Thank you. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Okay. Any questions or comments from the board? All right. Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order. So, 2nd, all those in favor opposed the ice habit motion passes item. Number 6. I was like, all Chris request authorization to issue an invitation for bids for inspection, testing, servicing and full preventative maintenance of heating ventilation and air conditioning systems at 12 channel street. And the Raymond alpha marine park for a period of 3 years with 2, 1 year term extension options. Chris.

Thank you again manager I'm before you today to request permission to advertise for heating ventilation and air conditioning system maintenance at 12 channel street in the Raymond Elfman Marine Park. He selected a vendor will be responsible for labor materials equipment transportation supplies and services at the Marine Park. Selected bitter. will furnish all supervision as well to test, service, and maintain heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems within the building. The IFB will be publicly advertised with local newspapers on the BPDA's website, the State Combine System, State's Goods and Services Bulletin, and through other channels as appropriate, including also affirmative marketing to small, local, and diverse businesses. The resulting contract will be awarded to the responsible and responsive bidder with the lowest total bid price. The awarded contract will be for a term of three years with two single option years to be exercised at the sole discretion of the BPDA. Funding for this project will also be from the BPDA's fiscal year 27 operating budget. This cost is not expected to exceed $255,000 for the initial three-year term. Thank you, and I'm happy to answer questions.

Okay. Any questions or comments from the board? Okay, hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved.

Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thanks so much, Chris. All right. Item number seven. Request authorization to execute a contract with the Peterson School to deliver instruction in hot works, commercial, and industrial refrigeration prep, HVAC R, ESCO, HVAC, NAIT, and construction math for the Power Corps Boston Building Operations Training Program for a period of six months and a and in a contract amount not to exceed $130,000. David.

Good afternoon, esteemed board members, and in particular, Madam Chair Rojas. You actually read my whole piece. I did. And so the Office of Workforce Development is asking that this request be granted. I can read back through it if that makes sense.

No, can you maybe just tell us a little bit about the program?

So it's a workforce development training program. It has a green industry focus. It's targeting folks that are 18 to 30, Boston residents, introducing them to green careers, providing the proper training and industry-recognized credentials that allow them to get entry-level employment opportunities. This training that we're requesting funding for helps in particular with the building operations track and prepares them to help decarbonize commercial-sized buildings.

Wow, that's amazing. Any other questions or comments from the board?

All right.

Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thank you, guys.

Have a great rest of the day.

Take care. Item number eight. Request authorization to execute a pass-through contract with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for the Link Up Greater Boston Congestion Relief Program grant. in an amount not to exceed 11,448, wait, no, $11,448,556 to support neighborhood shuttle and microtransit services in Alston-Brighton, Charlestown, Mattapan, Roxbury, and the Seaport. Jim.

Thank you, Chair Rojas, members of the board, Director Shen, Secretary Willemus. I'm Jim Fitzgerald, Deputy Director of Planning Review. And if we go to the next slide, approving this request will allow the EDIC to, and the next one, to access over $11.5 billion worth of federal grant funding in partnering with MassDOT to provide that funding for shuttle services throughout the city. I think I'm going to hand it over now for the rest of the presentation to get into the grant administration by Amina Scott. who's our deputy controller of strategic funding, and then Matt Moran, who's our partner from deputy director of the transit team at the streets department.

Awesome. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. If you can go to the next slide, please. So I just wanted to establish this grant. It's just going to be another grant within our portfolio. We already have the infrastructure in place to manage it, like we manage all of our other external funding. We have the accounting aspect down. It will be a part of our regular audit. It is a cost-reimbursable grant as well. And so we will have oversight of the reimbursement process, ongoing communication and oversight and check-ins with the project teams, as well as our state contract partners and managers. And if you go to the next slide, please. This just speaks a little bit more to the actual reimbursement process itself. It's already established. Again, this will just be another grant within our portfolio. And then the next slide. So it does trigger the single audit, which we are already subject to. And again, we have great auditors and a great finance team on the back end who would support the overall oversight of our fiscal year audits for this grant. And I will pass it off to Matt.

Good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of the Board. My name is Matt Moran. I lead the transit team within the City of Boston Streets Cabinet. I just want to acknowledge a few folks. So first off, I want to thank the Planning Department for all of their partnership and hard work on this grant. It wouldn't have been possible without their support. I also want to acknowledge a few folks who are in the room, my colleague Amanda Caporoso, who will be helping to lead the administration of the shuttle services and the grant. She's from BTD Operations and has been leading a lot of our work in response to MBTA diversions over the past few years. We also have Scott Mullen from A Better City TMA, who, again, is a great partner and has been working with us tirelessly on coming up with this grant and facilitating its execution. So you might be asking, what is first mile, last mile transportation, which is what this grant is all about. So we are looking to connect residents and employees with MBTA services and other essential services that might be a little bit geographically difficult to reach today. And so we're not looking to duplicate MBTA services. We are looking to really add services to areas of the city that haven't traditionally had a lot of good transit, either because there hasn't been development there or because historically they've been underinvested in. We are looking at, as I said, working with the MBTA on this, so they actually supported this grant application back in 2024 when we first proposed this grant and wrote us a letter of support, and we anticipate that partnership to continue. Next slide. So we've been supporting these first mile, last mile shuttles over the past decade plus. So one example of this is the Mission Hill Link, which provides first mile, last mile service to residents on Mission Hill along with people who are going up to New England Baptist Hospital. We've done that through a few different means. We've put staff time into it, helping them plan, helping them think through their service options. We also use city staff time to apply for an ARPA grant to get them a new vehicle. And we're doing this with other services as well so we've supported not only the mission healing but easy ride and the lower mystic link along with working with a strong shuttles. And so this grant this eleven and a half million dollars will support five different transit services throughout Boston. And so three of these would be run by different TMAs. So a better city will be running the Austin-Brighton routes. The Charlestown and Lower Mystic program will be run by the Lower Mystic TMA. Seaport, which is down the bottom, but I'm just going to go through the order in terms of TMAs, will also be run by the Seaport TMA. And then there will be two city organized routes, one in Mattapan and one in Roxbury. Those two routes will need to be coordinated more closely with the community, so we're still working on what exactly those routes will be, but this is an idea of what they could look like, again, connecting people from rapid transit services, whether it's the red line, the orange line, to services, so the Mattapan Community Health Center, Mattapan Branch Public Library, Madahunt Community Center, Grove Hall, the Roxbury YMCA, and so on. This is like a bit of an example of what they could look like, but again, we'll confirm that with the community in the coming months. Next slide. And so while these would be individually run services, we're not looking to create one giant new transit service, they would have a few things in common. So that residents, people coming to the city to visit, people coming to the city for work, would be able to understand what they are. So one common brand. So they would all be branded with the link. You would be able to see that and understand exactly what that is. Consistent rider information. So one website that could direct people to what these services are, along with additional transit services that are provided in their area. shared expectations around accessibility. So if you are boarding this, we will ensure that all the vehicles are accessible to people with mobility devices. We'll be collecting data and sort of reporting that performance out over time. And we are looking, as I said, for these to be all tailored to their local communities. So to the extent that Austin-Brighton might have different needs than, say, the Seaport or than Mattapan, We're really looking at these to be individually tailored to the neighborhoods, and so there'll be a strong community buy-in process and discussion as we continue on. So we're asking for your acceptance of this MassDOT-administered grant in the amount of $11.5 million, and I'm happy to take any questions. So thank you very much.

Thank you. Questions or comments from the board?

Yes, thank you. You always started. Thank you.

This is really exciting. Really, really appreciate this. I think we should be exploring this even far beyond. So I'd love to see this start. You may have said this, and forgive me, I was taking notes. I was listening. Will this fund the program for one year? Is it multiple years?

Great question. So it's a three-year program.

Three years, so 11 and a half. And then... Provided these are successful pilots, will there be an opportunity to get increased funding three years from now?

So this is something we would be looking into over the course of the three years. So the first year we really see is understanding exactly what these services are. the ridership, the demand. And in year two, we will start to explore other grant opportunities. So for example, our colleagues at the Lower Mystic TMA have already won state money to start that service. That service is actually already running. It'll be expanded through this program, but there are other opportunities out there. So we'll think through things like state resources, potentially some development review money. So that's part of our local match is using development review money. And we'll think about other funding opportunities. But that's going to come later in the process, but certainly something we're thinking about.

And this will be free to all residents or guests or visitors. There's not going to be a need to show an ID to get on to prove you're a Boston resident, I assume. Exactly.

So the mayor's commitment to fare-free transit extends here. So these will be fare-free. And anyone who's visiting the city, who lives in the city, will be able to access these services for free.

Yeah. And I love the idea. I love the sort of the point about underscoring that every neighborhood is different in the needs and are going to be different. So it should be tailored as such. I think some consistency on on a public awareness campaign will be important. Will the roots and I guess maybe the answer is we haven't been decided yet, but follow like the roots. I mean, I'd imagine be looking at at major arterial roads to run.

Yeah.

So they're going to they're going to link. pardon the pun, with MBTA routes. So there will be transfer points either at the rapid transit stations or at key bus locations. But they're going to deviate in some specific areas and provide a service that the city doesn't really offer today. So for example, in Grove Hall, we anticipate that we will use the driveway for a stop and shop to really give a much easier connection for people to get to and from the supermarket. That's one area we'll deviate. We're looking at maybe using Quincy Street that has no existing transit service on there. But again, we would have to coordinate that with the local community to see if that makes sense. This will provide a crosstown option that doesn't exist today in Roxbury and Mattapan.

And I'm sure you know there's two other points. There's one I would just urge you to work with. The strong commission, I know recently mayor who had rolled out this great policy that allows seniors the opportunity to get a number of free ride share ride. So, a way to sort of cross pollinate the message and the amplification of this. That's when the 2nd, I believe this will be success. I look forward to hearing it continued success. As the opportunity for new routes to be developed comes into play, I would urge you to consider Southwest Boston, particularly Hyde Park, Rosnell, and West Roxbury. Those are 3 neighborhoods that do not have any access to subway stations. As many folks know many folks at this table. No, it's in a another commuter rail zone, which makes it even more expensive for folks to access this. So, anything we can do to include those, I think would be. Well well received across the board, but great work team looking forward to seeing this be a success really appreciate that Thank you.

I definitely that was gonna be my point the southwest corridor.

We definitely need to look at that Yeah, certainly when we're definitely open to ideas so anyone who has ideas we would love to hear them But certainly open to expansion opportunities as well as funding and time allows thank you

Hi, it's Kate. I agree. This is fantastic. I just was curious, is there any expectation that any BPS students will be using this service or not so much?

So to the extent that they'll be free and open to the public and operating during BPS arrival and dismissal hours, I can imagine a world where there will be some BPS students who are using them. But we haven't gotten into that level of detail yet, but we flagged it for our colleagues at BPS Transportation.

But you wouldn't preclude that?

Right, exactly. Yeah.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

I do have a couple of questions. So I just want to get a sense of a lot of different players here. Who are the roles? Who's doing all this stuff? And particularly, I would like you to explain the pass-through concept and want to make sure that there's awareness of what that really means and kind of why we do it in that structure.

Sure. So I can start an answer and then me and Jim, if you guys want to add as well. So the who, right? Yeah. So we are working with our colleagues here within the streets cabinet to actually administer sort of the on street services. So as we think about where shuttle stop locations will have to be.

Yeah.

We're going to work to identify places that are accessible, and we'll put post signs, and we'll be able to have a really good experience for somebody who's trying to board the bus, and an accessible experience. So you'll be able to board with a mobility device. So we'll work on the operations within streets. And as we think through the grant and contract administration, we'll be working with Amina, with Jim, to make sure that we fulfill all of the requirements of the grant. So whether that's the data collection, whether that's the financial oversight, we'll make sure that that's all covered. Why pass through? So at the end of the day, MassDOT is primed to receive federal grants in a way that is efficient. They are already receiving half this grant, which is sort of a bike share program. So it was just thought to be more efficient if one party received the money from the federal government, as opposed to having multiple grantees within the same grant. Got it.

Got it. Now it makes sense. And who's going to be doing that community outreach? Does that go into our processes, our people, or is that in a different area department?

So it will be city staff who lead that outreach. So at the end of the day, it's going to be a combination of folks from the streets cabinet who are already working in Blue Hill, along Blue Hill Ave and Mattapan, Grow Fall, and then it'll be folks up here in planning who we will coordinate with, and ONS, of course.

Got it. Okay. Let me see if I have any other questions. I scribbled them everywhere. Well, I do want to thank you, and it wasn't lost on me, the accounting and the risk management and the financial controls slide and, you know, the risk that comes with pass-throughs. And I'm glad that you deliberately put that there. So thanks for reading my mind on that one. I am an auditor, that's what I do for a living. So this is, it was all there and financial controls. I'm glad that we've kind of set up the infrastructure already, that we have a program grant management with like new tools and new processes and I'm geeking out, but like all of this stuff, right? All of that hard work that you did for like the past 10 years that I've been watching is, you know, is we're benefiting from all of that work. So just wanted to kind of shout out and recognize all of that hard work that leads up to this, to a more smooth and well-controlled administration of these large sums of money. So that was just really exciting for me.

And credit where credit's due. Amina and her team put this all together.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah. Is there one question? I think I saw on the slide that the application was in 24, submitted in 24. You've just received it. Where does the three years come into play? Is it three years from to put the money out there?

We have to spend the money by 2030. So that's where the three years comes into play. And it's funding that will allow us to get to that level.

Great.

Thank you. Okay, good. And okay, the last thing, I know we haven't done, I know we have gone with the community process. It does make me nervous that the two that were less sure about the routes are Roxbury and Mattapan. So I know you've got lots of work and outreach and stuff like that to do that. but Yeah Any kind of update I mean I just wanted to say that that you know that worries me for that But I know why and I know that you know the city staff will do their proper community outreach and due diligence to really find out like a what are those paths, right? Like some of those paths I'm on and I'm just like, oh, okay, I can see this, but I also see how we walk around all over the place. So anyway, so what happens now if we, right, we're going to, What are the next steps, right, after we take a vote? Certainly.

So at this point, we sort of divide into two different segments. So there's the three TMA-run routes. And this gives the TMAs the ability to sort of work with us, begin procuring, sign all the final legal paperwork, procure their vendors, and begin running the routes. The next step on the engagement side is we would start to work with our colleagues within Office of Neighborhood Services, within streets and being to identify what is the sort of proper community process. How do we want to start to sort of speak to the community about these ideas? Again, some of this work is already happening with our Blue Hill Ave work. So some of it might get sort of tacked onto that, but there's definitely going to be some standalone public meetings that will address these.

Exciting. Okay, great. Any other questions or comments? All right. Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? guys have it motion passes thanks jim thank you all so much all right item number nine personnel teresa

Good evening. We have a couple of items for your consideration on the EDIC agenda with exact details included in the board memos. We have one contract in the IT division, Zachary Gagne. We have one internship in the urban design division, Varshita Gorla. And we have one resignation in the research division, Emily Correst, who is a research associate.

Okay. All right. Any questions or comments from the board? We'll definitely want to welcome our new intern and, you know, new contractor consultants that are working with us. And to, again, thank Emily for all your contributions here at the city and the research department. You guys just churn out these, like, analysis and reports that and make them really available. And I just really appreciate that, too. So I just want to say that. And any further questions or comments? Did I already make a motion? No.

Did I move? No.

No. OK. A motion is in order.

So moved. So seconded.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thanks, Teresa. And finally, I need a motion to adjourn the EDIC meeting.

Motion to adjourn. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. EDIC meeting adjourned. Okay, we're going to start the next portion of the meeting. Thank you for joining the September 17, 2026 Boston Redevelopment Authority board meeting. At this time, the Boston Planning and Development Agency is hosting public meetings in a hybrid setting for the health, safety, and accessibility of Boston residents. Hybrid means that our board meetings are conducted in person at City Hall in our boardroom on the ninth floor and virtually via Zoom and Boston City TV at the same time. For more information and updates, visit bostonplans.org. The open public meeting lot requires that I notify the public that this meeting is being recorded. Please be aware that an audio and visual The 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 Fios Channel 962. It's also being live streamed at boston.gov slash cable. If there's anyone in the audience who's reporting this meeting, I just ask that you please identify yourself now. OK, seeing none. Also, please note that demonstrations of approval and disapproval from members of the public are not permitted during the meeting. And we're going to start with a roll call. Ms. Jacques. Yeah, it's been it. Yeah, Mister Shepard yeah, Mr. Malley president and I have some present item number 1 request authorization for the approval of the minutes of the August 13 2026 board meeting a motion is in order so move. 2nd, all those in favor aye opposed. i was i too the eyes have it motion passes um item number two request authorization to extend the tentative designation status of a joint venture between asian community development corporation and the community builders incorporated as the redeveloper parcel p-12c in the south cove urban renewal area project number mass r-92 located at 290 tremont street in chinatown for a period of 12 months until september 30th 2027. ben

Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board, a member of our real estate disposition team, and we are requesting board approval to extend the tentative designation status of the joint venture between Asian Community Development Corporation, also known as ACDC, and the Community Builders Incorporated, which is known as TCB, together known as the redeveloper, for the redevelopment of parcel P12C and to continue lease negotiations with them to facilitate the long-term ground lease. Parcel P12C, located at 290 Tremont Street in the Chinatown neighborhood, is an approximately 29,000 square foot site located in the South Cove urban renewal area. The current proposed plan is for the development to include 111 affordable rental units after it went through a notice of project change that the Board approved last year around this time. All rental units will be income restricted at rents affordable to households with income levels ranging from approximately 30% of area median income to 80% area median income. Additionally, the proposed project will include approximately 1,900 square feet of ground-level community or commercial space and 111 bicycle parking spaces. Since receiving its tenant designation, ACDC and TCB have made great strides in moving their project forward, which you can see the specifics in the board memo. And during the next 12-month extension, the development team hopes to achieve the steps necessary to receive final designation and maybe even start construction. Given this information, we respectfully request that you vote to extend TCB and ACDC's tentative designation status for 12 months. Thank you and happy to answer any questions.

Okay, any questions or comments from the Board? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it, motion passes. Thanks, Ben.

Thank you.

And great progress on that project. I'm excited. Item number three, request authorization to convey parcel number 0202822010, located at the corner of Mount Vernon Street and Loney Way in the Charleston neighborhood, also known as Charleston Peace Park. to the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Stephanie.

Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the board. I'm here to request authorization to transfer one parcel known as the Charlestown Peace Park from the BPDA to the City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department. Peace Park was originally dedicated to the late Robert McGrath, a beloved Charlestown resident who was tragically the victim of violence 30 years ago. The park has a strong history of community stewardship, starting in 2019, when a group of neighbors and community members took charge to add new plant beds, repair park furniture, and repaint fences. Around this time, the Charlestown Coalition Youth Program turned it around, began maintaining the park. They soon after began holding peace-focused events at the site, following receipt of a Love Your Block grant from the City of Boston in 2020. The next year, in 2021, the City of Boston awarded the Charlestown Coalition a CPA or Community Preservation Award to fully design and build a renovated park. In November 2023, the BPDA real estate team presented a request to the board to acquire the parcel from MassDOT in order to oversee the park redesign in coordination with the coalition and prior to transfer of the completed park to the Boston Parks Department. The team returned to the board in June 2024 and April 2025 to request authorization to release an invitation for bids and to execute a contract with Haven Contracting Group for the completion of the work, respectively. Since this time, the real estate capital construction team has worked closely with the Charlestown Coalition and Parks Department staff throughout the design and construction process. This included helping the coalition refine and bid out the design work, overseeing the environmental site assessment, bidding, and execution of the construction work, and overseeing or assisting in the coordination of all final closeout documentation for the CPA grant and construction work. We're happy to report the park is complete and very beautiful. Following this request to transfer, this parcel will be brought before the Parks Commission for their formal vote to accept the property into their inventory. As the final step, staff will record the deed for a nominal fee of $1. Thank you, and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Excellent. Thank you. Any questions or comments from the board? All right. Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thanks, Stephanie. Item number four, request authorization to issue a request for proposals to hire a licensed design consultant. to provide landscape and engineering design services resulting in construction documents for the Shipyard Park Landscape and Infrastructure Repairs Project in the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, Massachusetts.

Tyler.

Thank you again, Madam Chair, members of the board. We are requesting authorization to advertise a request for proposals for landscape and engineering design services for repairs at Shipyard Park in the Charlestown Navy Yard. The park dates back to the 1980s and we're looking to have consultant conduct a comprehensive condition assessment of the park's landscaping, hardscape, and utility infrastructure. with a particular focus on the irrigation system. The consultant will develop construction documents, obtain permits, assist with bidding, provide basic construction administration. We have $150,000 budgeted for the design contract with an anticipated construction budget of $850,000. Our goal is to complete the design and bidding process and begin construction in spring of 2027. Staff is therefore recommending authorization to advertise and issue the request for proposals for the landscape and engineering design services project at Shipyard Park. Thank you for having questions at this time.

Great.

Thank you. Any questions or comments from the board? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thank you, Tyler. Item number five, request authorization to issue an invitation for bids for the construction of the China Trade Center roof replacement located at 2 Boylston Street. Tyler.

Thank you again. We are requesting authorization to advertise and issue an invitation for bids for the China Trade Center roof replacement project at 2 Boylston Street. The China Trade Center is a six-storey, approximately 90,000 square foot historic building that dates back to 1887 and is both listed on the National Registration of Historic Places and designated as a Boston City landmark. The existing roof was replaced in 2001 and is now beyond its anticipated service life. A recent building systems assessment found significant deterioration, including water infiltration, structural and life safety concerns, and insulation that does not meet current energy code requirements. The project will primarily consist of replacing the existing roof system along with replacing the skylights, roof hatch, mechanical curbing, and adding guardrails. The estimated construction cost is $1.5 million, which is included in the FY27 capital construction budget. The invitation for bids will be publicly advertised under Mass General Law Chapters 149 with the contract award to the most responsible and responsible bidder. Staff is therefore recommending authorization to advertise and issue the invitation to bid for the China Trade Roof Replacement Project. Thank you. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them at this time.

Thank you. Questions or comments from the board? I'm just going to, so with a roof, are there opportunities to like, I'm getting into Matt, your zone here. I thought you were going to ask the question, but yes, opportunities to get it, you know, ready for solar ready or just, you know, replacing it in a way that is like forward looking. So that way it's, you know, ready if we wanted to do something like that, or I don't even know what the roof looks like if you can't.

The way this roof structurally is, we were just kind of designing it off of what's there, like replacing the skylights themselves.

Just something to think about.

Just something to think about when we're going through all these, like I just saw a roof and I thought, Matt always wants to throw some stuff up on a roof, so I thought I'd ask. All right, no, but it's good stuff.

Ask about apprenticeship.

Okay, any further questions or comments? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thanks, Tyler. Thank you. Item number six, requests authorization to issue a certificate of completion for the successful completion of 1003 through 1013 Harrison Avenue project in accordance with section C.4 of the cooperation agreement buying between the Boston Redevelopment Authority and doing businesses of Boston Planning and Development Agency and the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, dated November 29th, 2023. This is a certificate of completion that we'll hear about at the closing remarks, but there's no presentation, so a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Item number seven, informational update on our one-year progress of A Place to Thrive, an anti-displacement action plan for Boston. outlining targeted policies, programs, and resources city departments committed to advance on a two-year implementation timeline to mitigate residential, small business, and cultural displacement.

Catherine.

Hello, everyone. Apologies. It's a pleasure to be with you. I'm Catherine Lusk, executive director of the Planning Advisory Council. I was last before you a year ago when the board adopted A Place to Thrive, Boston's first anti-displacement plan. It's a pleasure to be back in front of you with an update one year on. Next slide. So as a quick reminder, in July 2025, Boston adopted our first citywide anti-displacement plan. Within the plan, we focused on residential as well as small business and cultural displacement. At the time, the plan included 29 new or updated residential stabilization policies or programs and 15 commercial and cultural stabilization initiatives. The tools were designed to fill gaps in our existing toolkit. So there was a rigorous process, which I won't remind everyone of, both engaging with community, looking at best practices, and doing a deep dive into all of the resources that we have at our disposal at the time and really understanding what those gaps were that we needed to fill. It was an administrative-wide effort. The plan was created in partnership with more than 20 departments and together with community. At the time, we stated we were on a two-year implementation timeline, and we made a public commitment to a one-year progress report. Next slide. Again, by way of additional background, to be most effective, we started with a common understanding of what we mean when we say displacement. In general, it means when people are forced to leave their homes and neighborhoods due to external pressures, But there are different kinds of displacement that we see and hear from our residents that they're living with on a day-to-day basis. And the plan worked to address all four. So direct displacement refers to when a household is forced to move, typically to something like an eviction, a foreclosure, a demolition of the property. Economic displacement, sometimes also called indirect displacement, is when people are priced out of their chosen community, be it the city at large or their chosen neighborhood, due to rising costs and expenses or lack of supply relative to demand. Commercial and cultural displacement refers to the closure or relocation of a business which may be due to direct or economic displacement. Our businesses experience the same kind of pressures that our residents do. And then lastly, gentrification typically describes a pattern of neighborhood change where a neighborhood experiences new public or private investment, often accompanied by a demographic change. Historically, that's referred to instances where low income residents are replaced by higher income earning residents. Next slide. Again, last slide by way of final reminder. Boston's approach was structured around the four Ps of stability. So this was just a way of explaining to the public, as we think about a broad array of tools and resources, how do we sort of philosophically and through a framework work to mitigate displacement. So on the residential side, we work to protect low-income renters and homeowners from displacement. We work to preserve affordable public and private housing and make sure it stays affordable, to produce new housing for people of all incomes, and to support prosperity. So building wealth through home ownership, workforce development, and financial empowerment is as important as responding to a crisis a household might be experiencing. We have those same principles when it comes to commercial and cultural stability, working to protect, anchor small businesses and cultural enterprises, preserve physical spaces and places that are important to community, produce new affordable and market rate commercial cultural spaces and priority areas, and support prosperity for our small businesses by building wealth through ownership and contracting opportunities. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to my colleague, Joy Armstrong, who is going to take you through some updates and some specific progress we've seen over the last year. Great, thank you.

Hi, I'm Joy Armstrong, Implementation Manager with the Planning Advisory Council. And yes, here to give you guys an overall update on progress over the last year of implementation. So we're looking at 53 tools in total. Nearly 70% of our commitments are already actively being implemented or are in development. This includes 10 new initiatives launched since the original plan was adopted. Eleven policies are sitting in our legislative pipeline, awaiting state or city council action. Six initiatives are currently paused or under review. These are driven primarily by shifts in the broader regulatory environment or resource constraints. Next slide. Now we'll go into a few progress highlights from plan implementation over the last year. In January 2026 we launched the article 80 direct displacement disclosure pilot under which proponents of new small and large projects must notify existing tenants of the project and disclose potential direct residential commercial or cultural displacement to the city at filing including proposed mitigation where relevant this pilot puts two things in place. One, a unified review process across the departments that would need to respond to this disclosure, including Planning, the Mayor's Office of Housing, the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion, and the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture. Two, it puts in place a clearer, more transparent pathway so displacement commitments stay visible as projects move forward. Since launching, we've accomplished four major milestones. One, we built out the core toolkit for the disclosure, including standardized disclosure forms, tenant notification templates, and priority population guidance. Two, we embedded the requirement into our development review process, adding it to pre-file guidance and internal review tools. Three, we strengthened our cross-departmental coordination so roles are clearer among relevant departments. And four, finally we set up an internal tracker to evaluate the pilot over its 12-month run. Next slide. To see an example of how this has worked in practice, We're looking at a project on Washington Street, which came in earlier this year. Here, the city received information earlier in review that previously would have been discovered much later. In this example, the proposal would replace an existing retail building with 35 homes and two new storefronts. With this pilot now in place, our staff flagged those active uses during initial intake and requested the direct displacement disclosure. Next, the disclosure made potential displacement more visible. The disclosure documented two current commercial tenants, including a long-standing small business. In this case, the proponent also indicated willingness to work with qualifying tenants on relocation terms and potential return to the new development. Finally, it also established clear city ownership and cross-departmental handoffs. After being circulated internally, the disclosure development review connected the project with our dedicated team in OEOI and small business, ensuring the right city staff are engaged to support those tenants as the review moves forward. It's still early in the pilot, and projects have not advanced far enough for us to point to many completed mitigation agreements yet, but we are already seeing the process do what it was designed to do. Tenants are receiving advance notice, proponents are documenting existing tenancies at filing, and the city has information earlier in review that previously could have been difficult to identify.

Next slide.

Moving to our next progress highlight, we're looking at the Boston Acquisition Fund. The Mayor's Office of Housing created a public-private revolving loan fund to support mission-driven developers in purchasing and preserving occupied multifamily properties to convert them into permanently affordable housing. On the progress side, the fund now sits at $45 million. It's actively administered by our partners at the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation. Recent acquisitions align with community priorities set during planning and processes. A great example of this, pictured here on the left, is the recent acquisition of Parkside on Adams and Rosendale Village, which successfully preserved 43 rental units as long-term affordable homes for the neighborhood. Next slide. Our next highlight is on the Housing Accelerator Fund. This is a $110 million municipal revolving loan program designed to jumpstart residential construction and make stalled mixed income projects financially viable across the city. That $110 million is broken down across three main buckets. 50 million was dedicated to the Bunker Hill redevelopment. This funding enabled construction to kick off on a 266-unit mixed-income building in Charlestown, which includes 58 deeply affordable units. The next 50 million was dedicated to preferred equity financing for market-rate rental housing. These investments are being made alongside the state, matching their ongoing investments in housing creation across Boston. And the final $10 million was aimed at market rate home ownership projects. On this piece, the Boston Housing Authority has issued an RFP for its first round of accelerated funding and is currently actively reviewing proposals with another funding round anticipated in the future. Next slide. Next, our office-to-residential conversion program, our fast-track permitting and tax incentive program to accelerate the conversion of older, underutilized office buildings into mixed-income, multifamily residential units. Looking at our progress, 19 projects are now board-approved, representing nearly 1,500 units total, 276 of which are income-restricted. Seven projects are actively in construction, and one is fully completed. And we have another nine applications currently underway. Next slide. Additionally, there are some instances where we've had to remain adaptive in the last year. Some efforts are on hold due to staffing or financial constraints that limit feasibility at this time. And in other instances, there have been impacts from federal actions or regulatory changes. Next slide.

Oh, you can skip through these.

And another. Yeah, there you go. In the last year, we've also been able to add 10 new tools to the toolbox responsive to the needs of community. These center around lowering utility burden, ensuring that our business districts are vibrant, and contributing to long-term planning efforts. Next slide. You can learn about our progress and all other tools from the plan in our year one progress report, which you can find at boston.gov slash antidisplacement. Thank you, and we're happy to answer any questions.

Great, thank you. Questions or comments?

Through the chair.

Yeah.

Quick comment. With access to capital being so tough right now for projects to pencil out, we need programs like this to accelerate housing and also to accelerate construction projects to get people in the city back to work. So definitely, I think this is a great program. 266 units in the area. That's great to see.

Additional questions or comments. Well, this is informational update. Go ahead. Please. Yeah. Kate, the floor is yours. Sorry, I can't see this.

I know. Should I go ahead? Yes. I'm just wondering what the disclosure notice, like can you just briefly summarize what that says and does the city provide that language or do the developers?

Sure. Yeah, Kate, great question. There's three components to the Article 80 direct displacement disclosure process. The first is the tenant notification form. So we provided tenants, sorry, we provided proponents with templated, what we call TNFs. There's a version of it for residential tenants and there's a version of it for small business tenants. In both instances, it's providing the tenant with information about the proposed project and it includes additional resources that are available on the city side. So for example, for residents, it would direct them to the Office of Housing Stability and other folks that can call in the city within Mayor's Office of Housing. In the small business TNF, it would direct them to the neighborhood business managers and other people they can reach out to for additional resources. The disclosure itself, the proponent fills out and submits to the city. And that's where we're getting additional information about either current residential tenancies or current small business and cultural tenancies. So who are the tenants? What's the nature of the terms of their leases? And then has there been discussion with them about the proposed project? And has there been any discussion with them about either relocation or options to return in the future? The third piece of the project, as it moves through the pipeline, is documentation of any of those considerations about relocation Or options to return and those unfold in partnership with both the tenants, of course, with input from community led by our colleagues in development review and with input from staff from supporting departments.

That's great. Thanks Catherine. And. So, if I understood what you said, it sounds like it's too early to know. If there are, are you measuring actually actual displacements through that process?

At the moment, it's a notification process. So it's both ensuring that there's greater transparency for the existing tenants about the project kicking off. So they're not finding out from natural examples, right? Someone's walking their dog, saying, did you know that your building's being redeveloped? So that there's really transparency up front for the tenants. And then it's also just putting in place to ensure predictability for all parties. that the city also has information and is able to provide both support to those tenants and then also work with the proponent throughout the development process to ensure that any ways that they might want to mitigate displacement impacts or think about, obviously in some instances, folks really want to hang on to a really important small business that has great foot traffic and great pathways to bring them back, and we just want to make sure that we're accounting for that as the development process, as the filing process continues. So we have a 12-month pilot underway right now. We're really making sure that the process is working, that the developer is doing what they're told to, we're doing what we're told to, our colleagues in other departments are at the table, and community is well-informed. And then we'll report back to the board at the end of the calendar year. The pilot officially went into place. You all adopted it in October, and it officially went into place in January of 2026.

Great, thanks, appreciate it.

Great. Just a couple of questions. So I think it's great. This is more just on the process of the Planning and Advisory Council. I love that it's there, that it's in place. But I'm just curious, right? Like who, from an ownership and roles and responsibilities structure, like how do you manage that? And I just love, love, love this, you know, this annual report, right? of the pilot. It shows great transparency and accountability of what we're, you know, of what we're doing, all the things that we're doing, and gives us the kind of the working definition so that we can have kind of these nuanced conversation, right, about what is displacement, right? And what are the specific things that we can do depending on the type of displacement? And I really appreciate the examples that you give. Because anyway, I just really like this because it helps me have these conversations, right? As when you're talking to your neighbors and trying to not combat some of the real challenges, but to highlight the different things that we're doing to be able to address those challenges. So in there, there was a question, but yeah. The ownership, how's it going with the council? Sure.

I think this perfectly exemplifies the reason for the formation of the Planning Advisory Council. We really were designed by the mayor and the planning department to be a central coordinating body for plans. In this case, we stood up a plan. It was truly a cross-departmental effort. So even in the early days, we had five, ultimately seven cabinet chiefs who said, how do we actually create this plan together? And so it's very much a sense of collective ownership. And then the Planning Advisory Council, as our team, is taking responsibility for doing the ongoing tracking and then public progress reporting. Fabulous.

All right. Oh, last thing. I hope I'll be seeing some more, like, Instagram reels and stories and stuff about this with the peas and all of that. Like, I want to just also commend everybody on their social media, like, pages. And those little videos to kind of explain some of these definitions to explain those concepts I think are just really great. So, you know.

We appreciate that. That was one of the things that we tried to do at the beginning. I think it is a topic about which people feel deeply and experience in their day-to-day lives and trying to help people understand the coordinated way that the city is working together to advance it, but also do explainer videos and other things on social media as we did when we adopted the plan last summer so that folks really know that this is a coordinated strategy versus just individual tools being deployed by individual departments. Yeah.

Yeah, that's so great. All right. Any other questions or comments? All right. This is informational update. I feel very informed. So thank you so much. Really appreciate it. Keep up the awesome work. Okay. Item number eight. Request authorization to execute an amended and restated cooperation agreement for the Alston Green project located at 20 Linden Street in Alston. to adjust the payment schedule for mitigation and public benefits funds from the project. Aaron.

Thank you, Chair Rojas. Good evening, everybody. Members of the board, Director Shen and Secretary Pohamus, I'm here. My name is Aaron Hallquist. I'm manager for developer compliance. Here to request that the director be authorized to execute and deliver a first amended and restated cooperation agreement for the Alston Green project at 20 Linden Street in Alston. When the board approved this project back in December of 2020, Alston Green was approved by the board. Following contributions were included in the overall suite of mitigation and public benefits. $100,000 to the BPDA to be paid at the issuance of the building permit, held in escrow by the BPDA and released to the Alston Brighton Community Development Corporation. $30,000 towards the Alston Brighton mobility study due at building permit as well, and a further $5,000 also at building permit for an Alston Brighton youth coordinator position. Over the past several years, the ongoing real estate market uncertainties and post pandemic operational disruptions have delayed construction beyond the original construction schedule. I'll turn the timeline for the construction of the 3 buildings that comprise the overall Austin green development. For instance, we have 3 buildings in this project buildings a B and C. Building C is the first one that is underway. We've kind of gone backwards. And it's also the smallest of the three. It's only 49,000 square feet with 68 residential units. So that pooled permits last year in the fall, reached out to them looking for payment, and basically found out that ultimately the cash wasn't there. And we're seeing this across the real estate market, as you probably know. um these circumstances have led the owner and us to renegotiate the milestones at which these uh the mitigation and public benefit contributions are to be paid uh going forward then these contributions we provide in two installments the first half 67 500 will be provided within 90 days of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy for building c the building currently underway And the second half, $67,500, will be provided within 90 days of the issuance of the certificate of occupancy for Building A or B, whichever happens first. So hopefully, the way I see things going, Building C, which is currently under construction, hopefully get the COO for that, I believe, first quarter next year. Within 90 days, I will take receipt of that first tranche and then be looking for the second tranche after COO of the next building.

i'm happy to entertain any of your questions okay uh questions or comments from the board um i think it's just an excellent uh an excellent catch right or just an excellent illustration of how our processes our internal processes work to identify right to stay on those milestones and stick to the what we contractually agreed agreed upon um and then you know if not then we yeah i mean me and to talk about it and do one of these so that you can figure it out. But again, I'm, I guess I'm really like process and control focused today, but just want to highlight that that's that working and, and it's not at the end way end of the project, right? That we're, Oh, did anybody check on that? Right. Kind of combats that like common misunderstanding or that perception, right? Like, and so you put the processes in place and, put the money trunches in place for that reason. And I think it's just a, you know, it tells a great story of our processes.

Well, I think with this work, it's just between what I do working with project managers, with our legal department in particular, is just making sure we're in constant communication with the proponent and their legal counsel as well.

Yeah, good stuff. Um, all right any other questions or comments hearing and seeing none emotion is an order. So move 2nd, all those in favor. Opposed the eyes habit motion passes. Thanks, Aaron item. Number 9, request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to article 80 E, small project review of the zoning code for the proposed construction of 42 residential rental units, including 7 units, 24 car parking spaces and 44 bicycle spaces located at 697 Cambridge street. and to execute a community benefits agreement and to take all related actions. Dan.

Thank you. Good evening, Madam Chair, members of the board, Secretary Pahimas, Director Shen. My name is Daniel Polanco, project manager for the Small Project Review for you this evening at 697 Cambridge Street, located in the Brighton neighborhood. On October 23rd, 2025, the proponent an application for small project review plan department for the proposed project pursuant to article 80 of this Boston zoning code in addition to that the plan department also sponsored and held a virtual public meeting on November 18th 2025 via zoom next slide please. The project seeks to erect a three-story addition atop existing two-story commercial structure resulting in a five-story residential building with total gross floor area approximately 29,741 square feet. Project will introduce 42 new residential rental units, including seven IZ units, and provide 24 off-street parking spaces. The residential units will include approximately 16 studio units, 21 bedroom units, four two-bedroom units, and three-bedroom units. In addition to this, prior to a certificate of occupancy, the proponent will provide a $5,000 contribution to the Austin Main Streets for the purpose of landscaping and cleanup. In addition to that, another $5,000 contributing to soccer and youth hockey leagues. The applicant also agreed to work with the Brazilian Women's Group, who are currently tenants of the building, to identify the alternative location for its office. I'll now turn it over to Ford DelVecchio to speak on the planning context.

Thank you, Dan. My name is Ford DelVecchio, and I'm the planning reviewer assigned for this project. Next slide, please. Perfect. The proposed project is located at the corner of Cambridge and Dustin Streets in a single-family residential subdistrict of Alston-Brighton neighborhood zoning district. Tenants of the commercial building at this location include medical offices and the offices of a nonprofit organization. The proposed project is located in the study area of the Alston Bright and Needs Assessment, adopted by the BPDA Board in 2024. Staff note that the provision of new multifamily housing is consistent with the plan's findings related to the need for additional housing in this neighborhood. To date, zoning has not been updated in this location to effectuate the goals of the Needs Assessment, nor the draft findings of the ongoing Alston Bright Community Plan. Planned Department staff note that while this area is zoned for single-family use, the immediate area is predominantly characterized by institutional and multifamily residential uses. Likewise, dimensional requirements and zoning suited to single-family dwellings do not comport with a larger scale of these uses that include educational and medical facilities, such as Franciscans Children's Hospital, Boston Medical Center Brighton, and the Boston Green Academy. Given this diverse commercial educational medical context, the proposed multifamily residential use development complements the surrounding neighborhood fabric and aligns with the corridor's ongoing urban evolution. Thank you. I will now turn it over to my colleague, Andrew Zimmerman, to present the project from the urban design perspective. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name's Andrew Zimmerman. I am the urban designer assigned to this project. I'm going to walk you through the design of the project. As you can see here, the project proposes to maintain the existing building envelope and address and the. Maintain the envelope and the accessible entry at the along Cambridge street. The proposed site plan includes Dustin street. Edge updates to provide complete street compliant sidewalks hosting for new street trees and visitor bike parking. Proposed street trees and sidewalk adjacent front yard trees will also introduce canopy along Cambridge Street frontage and provide more pedestrian scale for the street and building. Finally, the proposed transformer has been reoriented closer to the street to allow for easier access and make room for more on-site landscaping near the building. Next slide. The project preserves the existing brick masonry building while adding three vertical stories to create much-needed housing. To minimize height impacts on the neighboring properties, the top floor steps back in alignment with the scale of existing buildings across Cambridge Street. The addition's updated material palette contrasts with the existing masonry base while respecting its original craftsmanship. At the basement level, full height window wells provide ample natural light to enhance livability. Following feedback from the planning department, the proponent revised the massing and site plan to deliver more sensitive contextual design that enriches the public realm. And we expect to continue to refine the building and site elements with the proponent during the post-board design review process. With that, I'll pass it back to Dan.

Thank you, Andrew. This concludes our presentation. We do have the development team here to answer any questions for you.

Thank you. Thank you. Questions or comments from the board? Can you go back to, I think at the beginning you said something about the Brazilian Women's Group and like the, so can you, I just didn't hear the sentence and I couldn't find anything.

Yes, absolutely. There's a Brazilian women's group there. They work with, obviously, providing services of translation, other immigration work, and they're the current tenants there. And the proponent has agreed to work with them They actually extended their lease for a year, and so they were committed to finding them a different location once it's getting close to that point. And the proponent also spoke to the councillor. The councillor's concerns, those were the major concerns, and they agreed that they would work with them.

Yeah, yeah. Just want to highlight that it's a major concern of mine as well. This organization provides some really vital services to you. large and targeted populations, not only here in the Boston area, but across Massachusetts. So, you know, I don't know if that gets codified in anything in any way. But I just kind of want to make sure that there is like a follow up and that happens. And if not, like that, that would be something I'd want to know about.

Yes, it's written in our board memo as well. Okay. They will have agreed to work with them. And actually, with the extension of the lease and working closely to that, the proponent also agreed to make sure that they have a place to go within the area.

Yeah, yeah.

And the councillor is on board as well, so we're keeping her in the loop. Okay.

Yeah, perfect. And thank you for doing that. And we just came off of the displacement, you know, anti-displacement, and that's for our organizations and for people. And so this is that working in that. But yes, please.

Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the board, Director Shen, Secretary Palemas, Attorney Jeff Drago, with Drago and Toscano on behalf of the applicant. Just on your point, one, the developer, Mr. Weiss, who's here, immediately extended the lease to work with them. The building has been losing tenants over the years, so they're smaller spaces. But he also has actively used his contacts within the real estate community to start working with them one-on-one to find an alternate location. So they've already been working together on that. So he's committed to finding them something. I just wanted to make sure you knew that.

Yeah, no, thank you. And I'm glad again, we're just having the conversation on the record and all of that stuff that these are the kind of things that we intentionally look out for. So that's, I think, the end of my questions. Any further questions or comments? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thank you so much and good luck with the project. I appreciate it. Item number 10. Request authorization to enter into an affordable rental housing agreement and restriction and affordable housing contribution agreement by and between the BPDA and Berkeley 176 Lincoln Holdings LLC, care of Berkeley Investments Incorporated, if necessary, or require the same be executed by and between the proponent and the mayor's office of housing in connection with the proposed development located at 176 Lincoln Street, and to take all related actions. Andy.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, Director Shen, Secretary Pohimas, and members of the board. I'm Andy Feldman, Housing Policy Manager with the Mayor's Office of Housing. Tonight, I'm here to request your vote on an affordable rental housing agreement and restriction, as well as an affordable housing contribution agreement for the proposed development at 176 Lincoln Street in Brighton. This previously approved development proposes to build about 253 rental units. The proponent now proposes to revise its IDP program to include 50% of IDP units, or 23 units, onsite in the residential building A, including the 10 artist units. In lieu of the other half of IDP units, the proponent will make a contribution to the IDP special revenue fund of approximately $4.3 million as required by the policy. Therefore, the vote in front of you tonight will allow the agency to enter into this affordable rental housing agreement and restriction and the affordable housing contribution agreement. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you.

Thank you. Questions or comments from the board? All right. Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved.

Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thanks, Andy. Item number 11 is Tufts. Mr. O'Malley?

Madam Chair, I will recuse myself.

Okay. Well, we will see you later. Item number 11. Request authorization to waive further review of the Tufts Medical Center Institutional Master Plan Notification Form dated August 10, 2026 for the renewal and extension of its 2012 Institutional Master Plan for a period of five years until 2031 and to approve the renewal and extension of the Tufts Medical Center Institutional Master Plan pursuant to Section 80D-5.2E, Section 80D-6, and Section 80D-8 of the Zoning Code, and to take all related actions. Tyler.

Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Board, and Secretary Polimus. I am Tyler Ross, Senior Project Manager in the Development Review Division. Proposable for you is the Tufts Medical Center Institutional Master Plan for renewal and extension with no changes for the term of five years. This is a renewal of the existing Institutional Master Plan that was Board approved in July of 2012, which was subsequently renewed and extended without changes in 2022 and 2024. At this time, Tufts Medical Center does not anticipate any new institutional projects for the term of the renewed institutional master plan. The requested five-year renewal is intended to provide a bridge while Tufts Medical Center, under President John Herman, advances strategic facilities and real estate planning that will inform a new comprehensive institutional master plan in the future. The review process for this institutional master plan renewal began on August 10th and concluded on September 10th. Since that time, no comments were received. This concludes the presentation.

Thank you.

Thank you. Questions or comments for the board? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved.

Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thank you, Tyler. Item number 13, request authorization. Oh, can someone get, yeah. I'll still read it. Or did I move it wrong? Oh, item number 12. I turned my page too fast. Request authorization to issue a certification of approval pursuant to Article 80E Small Project Review of the Zoning Code for the proposed construction of 20 residential home ownership units, including four IZ units, five car parking spaces, and 26 bicycle parking spaces located at 2062 Dorchester Avenue. and to execute a community benefits agreement and to take all related actions. Tyler.

Thank you, and good evening, Madam Chair, Secretary Pohimas, and Director Shin, and members of the board. My name is Tyler Ross. I am a senior project manager in the Development Review Division. Filling in for my colleague Zoe Duvall here to present to you the proposed Article 80E small project located at 2062 Dorchester Avenue in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. Next slide, please. The project site is located on a 7,124 square foot parcel currently occupied with a vacant two family home. This project proposes to demolish the existing structure and construct a new four story plus mezzanine residential building with approximately 21,507 gross square feet comprising of 20 residential home ownership units, four income-restricted units, and the residential units will include approximately two studio units, 13 one-bedroom units, and five two-bedroom units. The project will also contain five off-street subgrade parking spaces and 34 interior long-term bike parking spaces on the ground floor. The project review application was filed on April 24, 2025. The public comment period in connection with the proponent's submission of the small project review application was open for 30 days and closed on May 26, 2025. The Planning Department sponsored the first public meeting on May 19, 2025 and another on August 31, 2026. both of which were noticed through the planning department's neighborhood distribution list and events calendar for the Dorchester neighborhood. I'll now hand it over to my colleague Ford to take over to go through the planning context, thanks.

Thank you. Once again, my name is Ford Delvecchio, and I'm the planning reviewer assigned for this project. That is the right side slide. Thank you. Located in the Dorchester Neighborhood Zoning District's three-family residential subdistrict and governed by Article 65 of the Boston Zoning Code, the proposed project is located on Dorchester Avenue near Gallivan Boulevard, approximately one-half mile from the Ashmont MBTA station. The proposed project is not located in an area that has been the subject of recent planning or zoning initiatives. The requirements of current zoning do not comport with the current context. While the surrounding area is zoned for two and three family dwellings, the existing built environment includes a mix of two, three, and multi-family dwellings. The proposed multi-family use aligns with the established local fabric. Next slide, please. Thank you. Through the staff review process, the proposed project underwent refinement to enhance its compatibility with neighboring properties. In response to staff feedback regarding its relation to the adjacent lot and building, the proponent revised the proposed building envelope and setbacks. By pulling its massing back along the shared property line, the revised proposal provides greater physical relief, reduces visual bulk, and ensures a more sensitive contextual transition to the neighboring property. Thank you. I will now turn over to my UD colleague, Scott Slarsky, to go over the urban design context in more detail. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Scott Slarsky, architect and planner, urban design. So while this project is much larger than the existing building that was there in the context, it satisfies the zoning. And we worked very hard to take the transformer and put it in an underground vault and create a garden at the rear. Next slide, please. Though you can see from the plan diagram that's here that it satisfies the modal setback along the street and creates porches, exterior spaces at the front and the top volume steps back. Next slide, please. That's the conclusion, I guess.

Okay.

Yeah, just to close out, I just want to note that this project has been responsive to both neighborhood and planning staff feedback throughout the review process, resulting in revisions to the ground floor design, the open space configuration, and the massing and facade. This concludes our presentation for this item, and myself and the development team are available for any questions. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Any questions or comments from the board?

First, a comment, which is brevity is always rewarded, so appreciate that. A couple questions. One, what's the breakdown of the four IZ units?

It's 42 needs.

It's 42 needs.

don't have the four four four no no but are they are they one bedroom there's studios one bedroom studio two one studio two one bedrooms two compact one bedrooms and two and one compact two bedrooms Those are the four.

Okay, that sounds good. What's the difference between a compact one bedroom and a regular one bedroom?

I don't know.

Are they all compact?

They're all compact, right? You don't order those.

Sorry, it just says compact, so I don't know if that's like...

Some of the units here, George Moran, I'm sorry, I'm the zoning attorney for the developers. And I'll actually comment a little bit on the number of dwelling units in relationship to the size of the site. Because that has been something that was noticed by the community, 20 units on a site like this. Tyler did touch upon that. Scott touched upon that. A lot of the units here are, many of the units here are smaller units. This is a condominium project for sale. So it's not a rental project. So the notion behind or the motivation behind the development concept here is to provide some natural affordability by doing smaller units. So there are larger, more traditionally sized units. There are small units in the range of like 470 square feet. I will admit that I sometimes get confused when architects put a plus sign after a unit designation, what that actually means. But the units are all basically metro-sized units for studio ones, twos. sometimes there's a little extra space and that results in a plus being put after it. I don't necessarily subscribe to the theory of doing that, but the fact is here there are smaller units, but we are meeting the 17% affordability requirement under IZ, and as I said earlier and alluded to in a public meeting, even aside from the IZ units which are Um, formally speaking affordable, there's some natural affordability here in terms of providing smaller units for sale and those are available to people who actually want to move into this great neighborhood or people who live there now and rent and can probably get a competitive mortgage for not much more than they're paying for rent. They can actually build equity and eventually move on to some other, you know, some of the unit or or single family home.

And George, let me be clear. I am a full proponent of a good mix and smaller units make sense for the very reason you said, particularly for first-time homeowners that are looking to build that sort of generational wealth. And it sounds pretty good if at least the... The matrix of the four IZ units seems to be one of each. So I applaud that. Sometimes it can all be studios or one bedrooms. The second question is, I didn't see the column on sustainability that we typically see with these presentations. So did you want to talk a little bit about, because I'd imagine there still has to, you know, it's a smaller project that still has to adhere to the- On Article 37? Yep.

On that, I will yield either to our project architect, who I think is connected via Zoom, or if the planning department team has more information on that. I know that it complies with Article 37, but I don't have the details. Okay.

Is his name Eric?

Yes.

Anyone want to take a stab? Thank you. This is Eric Zacherson, architect for the project. They were just raising me to be a panelist. Yes, we fully comply with Article 37. is part of the reason this project has taken a little bit longer than it might otherwise be have taken. I was trying to get actually get my attention earlier. The reason that these were referred to as compact living is this project actually started right at the tail end of the compact living pilot. Yeah, all of the units in the building would have been considered compact. All of the units are compact. All the other units would be compact. Although that definition kind of phased out in 2023. Got it.

Okay, and do you want to speak a little bit about some of the, the, is it electric? Is there any PV on the roof?

Is there so it would be an all electric? It will be an electric building. We are gonna struggle to meet the requirements of Article 37, but we've done all the modeling and we've proven that it's possible. There's not a system beyond that that is being planned beyond meeting the kind of stringent requirements for Article 37.

And, Member Maui, if I can clarify, this project was also submitted before the change to Article 37 took place earlier this year, so this project is exempt from the new Article 37. It does have to comply with the previous version of Article 37.

Is it also exempt from the Stretch Energy Code? No. This needs to comply with that. This needs to comply with that. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Okay.

Thank you. Additional questions or comments? Or do you want to say something?

I'm sorry for the interruption, Chair Rojas. Ted Schwartzberg, Assistant Deputy Director for Planning Review. I just wanted to clarify an earlier staff comment about zoning dimensions. I wanted to clarify for the record that this will require zoning relief for dimension and use. That was on one of the earlier slides, and I'd be happy to elaborate on why staff thinks that zoning relief is appropriate, but just wanted to clarify that.

Do you want to just give us the, like... Sure. Three sentence.

Sure, if you don't mind hopping back to the third slide. Pretend I asked the question. The zoning envelope would give us this one. So in pink, that's what zoning allows. Coming out of the community process there was a real desire to remove the building from the side of the neighboring building and it's an unusually deep parcel so they worked with staff to create the yellow massing that will require a lot of zoning relief but takes advantage of the depth of this parcel without encroaching as much on the neighbors.

Yeah, no, that's really helpful. This was a good slide to kind of just put it all into perspective of what it's replacing. But I think the design is being, you know, is well informed by the rest of the, you know, houses on that street and kind of, yeah, no, I think it's a good use of that space. So anyway, if there are no other further questions or comments, the motion is in order.

So moved.

Second.

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes.

Thanks, Tyler.

Item number 13, request authorization to wait for the review of the Boston University Charles River Campus Institutional Master Plan Notification Form for the renewal and extension of the Institutional Master Plan for a period of five years until 2031 and to approve the renewal of the Boston University Charles River Campus Institutional Master Plan pursuant to Section 80D-5.2 , Section 80D-6 and Section 80D-8 of the Zoning Code and to take all related actions. Tyler.

Thank you. Madam chair members of the board director and secretary. I'm Tyler Ross senior project manager in the development review division. This proposal before you is the Boston University institutional master plan for renewal and extension with no changes for the term of 5 years. This is a renewal of the existing institutional master plan that was board approved in September of 2024, which was amended in 2025 for the addition of the 13 buswell property. At this time, Boston University does not anticipate any new institutional projects for the term of the renewed institutional master plan. The requested five-year renewal is intended to allow for sufficient time to finalize the next Boston University campus framework that will inform a new comprehensive institutional master plan in the future. The review process on this institutional master plan renewal began on July 21st and concluded on August 21st. One task force and public meeting was held on August 5th, 2026. The meeting was well attended and received support. This concludes the presentation. Thank you.

Okay, thank you. Any questions or comments from the board? Hearing and seeing none, a motion is in order.

So moved.

Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Item number 14, contractual payments. I need a motion to pay our bills.

I'd like to make a motion to pay the bills. I second that motion.

Right? All those in favor. Opposed the eyes have it motion passes. Please pay the bills. And finally, item number 15 director. Chief, the floor is yours.

Good evening, members of the Board. I want to start my report with just a quick summary of the projects approved at this Board meeting. There were two new projects that were approved, delivering 82 units of housing, of which 11 will be income restricted. These two projects will total 49,000 square foot of new development that will represent approximately $19 million of new investment. This investment will create 46 direct construction jobs and 23 indirect jobs. There was also one certificate of completion that is for the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology in Nubian Square. This new technical educational building houses seven academic departments including programs like construction management, HVAC, automotive technology, and mechanical engineering. The building contains 20 indoor technical education labs, eight shared general classrooms, 13 conference rooms, a central student lounge, student study spaces, administration and other offices, and support spaces. Beyond the exceptional programming and opportunity for students this building provides through its facility, this certificate of completion also means that real tangible benefits have also been delivered. There are two, tranches of monetary contributions. There was $600,000 worth of improvements in the sidewalks, crosswalks, and streetscape enhancements to make the area around the building as well as the square more pedestrian friendly. There was also another $650,000 of improvements investment into the environmental cleanup of the site. The building also houses many or has been delivering many community events including open houses for prospective students, technical fairs, and community exploration workshops in partnership with the Roxbury Boston Public Library branch. All of these events and programming, of course, contribute to the activation of Nubian Square. The board also heard two other members programs this evening. The first was the Anti-Displacement Progress Report. That was a very comprehensive presentation that you got tonight that shows the progress we've made in one year since the launch of this A Place to Thrive Anti-Displacement Action Plan. This board originally adopted the two-year framework last July and included more than 40 targeted policies, programs, and resources that the city departments would commit to addressing residential and small business as well as cultural displacement. This framework, I think as you saw tonight, includes 53 initiatives that are organized under the four P tenants, protect, preserve, produce, and prosper. And you saw that more than 70% or 63 of these, or 36 of the 53 initiatives, in fact, are advancing. Of these initiatives that are advancing, 15 of them are actually directly under the oversight of this department, the planning department. I want to thank Catherine Luss and her team for her dedication to this plan. And as many of you already noted, that the Planning Advisory Council often takes on the difficult task of doing some of these projects that actually require a great deal of interdepartmental coordination. And I'm sure this team will look forward to reporting to you again the progress that we will make in this coming year. The other exciting item that you heard about was the funding or the department and the EDIC serving as the funding agent for the link bus service in the five neighborhoods across the city. Your vote to accept the contract for administering this money through EDIC will allow the city and its partners to move forward with contracting with community engagement service partners, planning and launching these routes in the near future. This free service will expand neighborhood transportation options and strengthen connections to the MBTA lines, as well as connecting residents to jobs and schools, as well as healthcare, local businesses, and other essential destinations that are not easy to get to for some of these residents that aren't well served by transit. This new and expanded service will operate in the five neighborhoods that you heard about, in Mattapan, Roxbury, Alston-Brighton, Charlestown, and Lower Mystic, as well as the South Boston waterfront. We are, of course, happy that Matt and his team from Streets have been collaborating so well with our team. I want to end tonight just by referring to something that you've heard in the press recently. Of course, the Globe reported this week, as well as you heard yesterday, the mayor at the Chamber of Commerce speech, highlight the fact that the city and this department has already started working with four departments previously approved projects for some tax relief in order to get them into construction in this next year. We officially advertised and opened the 30-day comment period for these four projects. And it's our intention to bring these projects to the board next month for your consideration and approval to enter into 121B agreements that would formalize the ability for these projects to negotiate, for us to negotiate these tax agreements with these proponents. The mayor has made it very clear that she's intent on using every tool that is available to us as a city to get these previously approved projects moving again. And we will look forward to presenting the details to you next month and hopefully get more people back to work. So with that, this concludes my report to you. Thank you.

Thank you. Awesome. With that, I need a motion to adjourn this meeting.

Motion to adjourn.

Second. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Motion passes. Thanks, everyone. Great work, and have a good month. We'll see you next month. Same time, same place.

Same bat channel. Happy early birthday.