BOSTON-Mayor Thomas Menino is expected to ask the state to fund the construction of roads, sidewalks, parks and utilities in the Fort Point Channel area in a bid to jump start development along that waterfront site. According to a city official familiar with Menino's plan, the mayor will ask for legislation that will allow the state to sell bonds to fund the site's infrastructure and use income taxes generated from jobs created by developers to pay off those bond issues. Representatives of the Boston Redevelopment Authority say that it's too early to put costs to the initiative.
The city estimates that development of the Fort Point Channel area will create 12,000 new jobs and generate $40 million annually in income taxes. Menino sees that capital going to the state to pay for infrastructure construction costs.
The mayor also plans to propose an increase in the city's linkage fee that developers are required to pay as a means to boost new housing programs in the city. Under that plan, linkage fees would be raised about 10% from $5 per sf to $7.87 per sf for housing programs. An added $1.57 per sf in linkage fees would be assessed for the creation of jobs in the city. Both fees combined currently total $8.62 per sf.
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