BOSTON—A review of the operations of the Boston Redevelopment Authority criticized the organization's lack of vision and the dearth of proactive planning in a highly critical report.

The review commissioned last winter by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, was conducted by McKinsey & Co., and found that the BRA, which has been charged with overseeing planning and development in the City of Boston for nearly 60 years, does not have a clear vision.

“While Boston has long-term plans for select important aspects of its future, such as transportation (“Go Boston 2030”), environment (“Greenovate”), and housing (“Housing a Changing City: Boston 2030”), it does not have a longer-term, strategic master plan that ties all of these elements together,” the report stated. “Many stakeholders within and outside the BRA noted that Boston has not conducted citywide planning in many decades, and most expressed a desire for Boston to do more proactive planning and invest in a longer-term, citywide planning effort.”

The McKinsey report followed another critical review of the BRA operations conducted by KPMG in 2014. BRA director Brian Golden, who said the authority's leadership has been working on changes recommended in the KMPG report, released the findings of the latest McKinsey report and said that the authority has formed a new action plan to address the reforms identified in the latest critique of the authority.

“We have embraced the challenge that comes with improving the way we do business, and this latest review provides the information we need to create a robust and positive plan for the future of the BRA,” Golden says. “Change is already underway, and we are intent on delivering upon the rest of the action plan. This work will take time, but in the end I'm confident that it will lead to results for which we can all be proud.”

Director Golden said he would look to hire someone new to take over the BRA's finance operation. However, he has asked the current finance director Robert Luisi to remain with the BRA as a special assistant who will advise on continued finance and human resource reforms.

The BRA's asset management division will also be restructured. The agency relies heavily on the leasing of properties to generate most of its revenue, and the BRA's real estate portfolio is not configured to maximize the value of these assets, the BRA stated. Just two individuals within the facilities and engineering division currently handle real estate management. While estimates suggest that the BRA owns 10 million to 12 million square feet of undeveloped land and buildings, including roughly 100 parcels that are more than 20,000 square feet each, no comprehensive list of real estate assets exists. The review estimates that untapped lease opportunities could generate $6 million to $8 million in new revenue for the BRA.

A new director of real estate will also be hired, according to the BRA. The search for the new real estate director is underway to better manage the utilization, marketing, and leasing of the BRA's real estate portfolio. The BRA adds that the new real estate director will be charged with creating a more professional department that will include the current facilities and engineering division. The new department will be responsible for developing a plan to grow the BRA's real estate revenue by at least 5% per year over the next five years.

The report was also critical of the BRA's design review process, which both developers and community organizations called “unpredictable and long.”

Boston Mayor Walsh said in a statement concerning the release of the McKinsey report recommendations, "Since I took office, and under the direction of Director Golden's leadership, the city has increased transparency, efficiency and predictability within the BRA. But, the results of this independent review show that there are several areas within the BRA that still need to be improved upon, which the BRA leadership have already begun to address with a solid action plan. In order for the City of Boston to continue to grow and prosper, we need the BRA to be in the strongest possible position—getting community input, guiding Imagine Boston 2030, and making the most of this historic building boom.”