''We need to use everything at our disposal to get things done on the waterfront," Flaherty tells GlobeSt.com. "Now, with this Supreme Court decision, maybe we should do something." Flaherty, who made a similar suggestion in January, says he hopes to talk soon with the mayor and the Boston Redevelopment Authority about the eminent domain issue. A spokesman for Mayor Thomas Menino declined to say whether he would reconsider Flaherty's proposal.
Flaherty's stand is the second salvo fired against the Pritzker family, which owns the parcel on the South Boston waterfront. Late last week, Menino threatened to challenge city permits issued for the property that will allow the land to be developed into three million sf of mixed uses.
In a letter sent on Menino's behalf to Spaulding & Sly Colliers, the Boston development managers for the Chicago-based Pritzker family, Boston Redevelopment Authority director Mark Maloney said the city has been "frustrated that the project not only remains unrealized but with no firm development start."
"It's been a very real frustration especially with other projects along the waterfront moving forward," a BRA spokeswoman tells GlobeSt.com. "This lapse of time could pose problems for their project in terms of lapsed permits."
The spokeswoman, noting that the BRA has not taken a position on the eminent domain issue, says the BRA is, however, considering whether to allow permits for the Fan Pier site to lapse and is consulting with other city agencies about the status of parking approvals granted for the site. Under city zoning regulations, approvals can be reviewed if a project is not started within three years. That three-year period expires on the Fan Pier land in November. Without those approvals, the Pritzkers would have to spend millions more dollars and several years to get new permits to build on the land. The family has already spent four years getting the site permitted.
BRA officials say the authority also is deciding whether to renew the Pritzkers' parking permit for the land, which allows for the parking of 1,530 vehicles. That parking permit expires in December. Also in jeopardy is the parking permit for the development project, which approved an increase in parking to 2,400 spaces. Neither a spokesman for the Pritzker family nor Spaulding and Slye Colliers would comment on the situation when contacted by GlobeSt.com.
The stalemate between the city and the landowners would mean a further delay in the development of the 21-acre Fan Pier site, which has been stalled for years. The existing permits allow for the development of residences, office, retail and hotel space along with the creation of a new Institute of Contemporary Art as well as other cultural and civic space along the waterfront. Two preliminary deals for the waterfront property recently by national homebuilder Lennar Corp. and Boston developer Stephen R. Karp fell through earlier this year.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.