Officials are sparring over skyscrapers in downtown Boston.
“It’s where height makes some sense,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
“Gambling away the future of downtown Boston is irresponsible,” said Rishi Shukla with the Downtown Boston Neighborhood Association.
A zoning proposal titled “Plan: Downtown” heads for a Planning Department Board of Directors vote this week, aimed at opening the skies of Boston for development with the goal of addressing Boston’s housing crisis.
“This is about having a framework and a set of rules that will finally apply in a way that can unlock the investment, but also the conversion of an area into a more residential neighborhood,” said Wu.
But critics fear opening the door to upward development could dampen the historic charm of Boston.
“Boston is a unique city. It’s a small city, it’s not New York,” said Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn, who represents District 2.
Mayor Michelle Wu’s program is working to transform vacant commercial space into residential units.
“You think about towers, you think about skinny towers, pencil towers, whatever you want to call them, that’s not what Boston is,” said Shukla.
In an open letter to Wu opponents, argue community voices were shut out of the process, warning this could result in “wanton building demolition, unpredictable development timelines and unknown housing productivity.”
“The mayor and chief of planning just choose to go ahead with what we think is a short-term fix and a giveaway to developers,” said downtown resident Tony Ursillo.
Supporters are quick to push back on those words.
“If there can be no height in the downtown, where can there be height?” said District 8 Boston City Councilor Sharon Durkan.
“We’re talking about Downtown Crossing, we’re talking about the place where density makes the most sense in our city,” said Michael Nichols of the Downtown Boston Alliance.
The Planning Department Board of Directors meets Thursday at 3:30 p.m.
About the Author
