The Boston Redevelopment Authority requested an extension Wednesday for a decade-old urban renewal plan, according to BRA representative Gina Physic. The original deadline of April 30 is approaching fast, but so far the request remains unresolved.
The BRA has pushed for a year to continue its renewal program all over Boston, conducting a 12-month public community engagement process that has included two briefings and a committee hearing, according to a letter addressed to fellow City Councilors from Councilor Bill Linehan, chair of the Committee on Planning and Development.
In the letter, Linehan detailed the BRA’s efforts to come to an agreement with the City Council in order to create acceptable terms to yet again extend the deadline for urban renewal.
The City Council is slated to meet Wednesday to discuss the renewal plan. According to Linehan’s letter, BRA Director Brian Golden explained that he is working to modernize the agency through the digitalization of documents so that it can utilize a more comprehensive list of resources for its land holdings.
Physic said she is confident that things will work out in the BRA’s favor.
“After 15 months of public engagement and fruitful discussion with the City Council, we are optimistic that the City Council will support our request to extend our urban renewal authority,” Physic said.
She said the BRA is important, and expressed how crucial its functions are to further positive urban growth.
“We are committed to using them in a way that fosters increased transparency and accountability [and] … we will take a close look at revising the boundaries of certain urban renewal areas in addition to strengthening public oversight and continuing to keep the public informed about urban renewal and its news,” Physic said.
However, Boston residents said they are either confused about the purpose of the BRA as a whole or are not pleased with the work the organization has done.
Annie Andrews, 23, of Back Bay, said the BRA has not helped create affordable housing within the City of Boston.
“I’m still living with my parents, but they complain all the time that rent in Boston has skyrocketed,” she said. “That’s mainly the reason I’m living with them still. Because of where my job is downtown, it’s so much more convenient to live here instead of out in Somerville or Brighton.”
Morris Mitchell, 45, of South Boston, had a similar mindset and said the BRA does not complete its purpose of creating possible housing for all.
“I lived here my whole life until I chose to go abroad for seven years in my 20s, and when I came back with my wife, we immediately bought a place that we’ve lived in since, now, for 10 years,” he said. “Thank god we have, because the price they’re asking now for our townhouse is twice as much as what we bought it for. The only thing the BRA seems to be doing is making things more expensive.”
Francis Rogers, 64, of Brighton, said he is completely against the BRA as whole.
“I absolutely despise the BRA,” he said. “They’ve done nothing for us except for put skyscrapers in our way and screw up the MBTA. I can’t go anywhere anymore without having to pay a fortune. Boston has become a college town full of rich kids whose parents can afford to pay expensive rent prices, therefore making it harder for the working class to afford a place to live. And what has the BRA done about it? I don’t see anything.”
Kennedy Davis contributed to the reporting of this article.
