Menino in turn wrote a stern letter to the lead developer of the currently stagnant Downtown Crossing development, also known as the Filene's project. The mayor said in the letter, "The notion that you would purposefully cause this to occur--not due to financing difficulties or other problems beyond your control, but as an intentional cynical ploy to extract concessions from the public sector--is inexcusable."
As the Herald reports, Hynes the CEO of Gale International--partner in the project with Vornado--explained in a statement: "We have asked the city for help, but there's a big difference between asking for help and trying to blackmail them. We have done nothing but try to find a financing solution. It's never been our strategy to deliberately put the real estate in bad condition."
The Filene's project, once much ballyhooed, found itself in tough financial straights as the economy turned in 2008. The original project was scaled down and eventually put on hold in November of 2008 as the developers struggled to obtain financing to commence construction.
In the meantime Filene's, which once held its flagship store on that site, filed for bankruptcy and was acquired jointly by Syms and Vornado. There had been questions of Filene's viability in the unbuilt project, however Vornado's inclusion in its purchase all-but assures its inclusion in the final project, should it ever reach fruition.
Menino has proposed an offer to take the property through imminent domain, however there is no official offer on the table. To read the full Boston Herald story, click here.
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