Boston Redevelopment Authority
Encyclopedia
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is the municipal planning and development agency for Boston, working on both housing and commercial developments.
The BRA was established by the Boston city council and the Massachusetts
legislature in 1957. Its primary goal is to work with Bostonians, business and developers in order to provide direction for development in the city of Boston.
The BRA does not consider requests for zoning
variances. These are heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals, a seven-person body appointed by the mayor.
Some consider the BRA's roles as both real estate owner/developer and approval authority to be a conflict of interest.
, in an infamous urban renewal
project that generated a considerable negative reaction locally and across the country. At the same time, nineteenth-century buildings around Scollay Square
were demolished to make way for the new Government Center
. Many consider the finished project (which includes Boston City Hall
) an eyesore, and the surrounding large brick plaza as an uncomfortable place to be. Another urban renewal project was the Prudential Tower
development over the Boston and Albany Railroad
right-of-way in Back Bay. In the course of this development was the 1959 demolition of Mechanics Hall (Boston, Massachusetts)
on Huntington Avenue.
The BRA is currently collaborating with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy on various development projects such as the Rose Kennedy Greenway
, which is being developed atop the Big Dig and is opening up the waterfront to pedestrians. The BRA owns real estate throughout the city and together with community participation through planning initiatives, issues Requests for Proposals as part of the land disposition process in order to achieve neighborhood-based community development goals. Another example of the BRA's work involves collaboration with the State Coastal Zone Management Department for waterfront planning and redevelopment of privately-owned and MassPort-owned properties. An example of municipal harbor planning involves the "East Boston Municipal Harbor Plan" where properties of varied ownership along the waterfront are currently being developed and Fort Point Channel
development.
The BRA has also undertaken improvements on Columbia Road in Dorchester
, a narrow stretch of green space
that Frederick Law Olmstead once envisioned as The Dorchesterway
, the final link in the Emerald Necklace
park system.
The BRA was established by the Boston city council and the Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
legislature in 1957. Its primary goal is to work with Bostonians, business and developers in order to provide direction for development in the city of Boston.
The BRA's statutory authority was set forth in the Massachusetts General Laws, chapter 121B, section 4 in 1957 and Chapter 652, section 12 in 1960. Its broad development authorities include the power to buy and sell property, the power to acquire property through eminent domainEminent domainEminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
, and the power to grant tax concession (under MGL chapter 121A) to encourage commercial and residential development.
The BRA does not consider requests for zoning
Zoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
variances. These are heard by the Zoning Board of Appeals, a seven-person body appointed by the mayor.
Some consider the BRA's roles as both real estate owner/developer and approval authority to be a conflict of interest.
Projects
One of the first projects the BRA took on was the demolition of the West End of BostonWest End, Boston, Massachusetts
The West End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bounded generally by Cambridge Street to the south, the Charles River to the west and northwest, North Washington Street on the north and northeast, and New Sudbury Street on the east. Beacon Hill is to the south, and the North End is to the...
, in an infamous urban renewal
Urban renewal
Urban renewal is a program of land redevelopment in areas of moderate to high density urban land use. Renewal has had both successes and failures. Its modern incarnation began in the late 19th century in developed nations and experienced an intense phase in the late 1940s – under the rubric of...
project that generated a considerable negative reaction locally and across the country. At the same time, nineteenth-century buildings around Scollay Square
Scollay Square
Scollay Square was a vibrant city square in downtown Boston, Massachusetts. It was named for William Scollay, a prominent local developer and militia officer who bought a landmark four-story merchant building at the intersection of Cambridge and Court Streets in 1795...
were demolished to make way for the new Government Center
Government Center, Boston, Massachusetts
Government Center is an area in downtown Boston, bounded by Cambridge, Court, Congress, and Sudbury Streets. Formerly the site of Scollay Square, it is now the location of Boston City Hall, two Suffolk County courthouses, two state office buildings, and two federal office buildings, a major MBTA...
. Many consider the finished project (which includes Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall
Boston City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of Boston, Massachusetts. Architecturally, it is an example of the brutalist style. It was designed by Kallmann McKinnell & Knowles...
) an eyesore, and the surrounding large brick plaza as an uncomfortable place to be. Another urban renewal project was the Prudential Tower
Prudential Tower
The Prudential Tower, also known as the Prudential Building or, colloquially, The Pru, is a skyscraper in Boston, Massachusetts. The building, a part of the Prudential Center complex, currently stands as the 2nd-tallest building in Boston, behind the John Hancock Tower. The Prudential Tower was...
development over the Boston and Albany Railroad
Boston and Albany Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail and CSX. The line is used by CSX for freight...
right-of-way in Back Bay. In the course of this development was the 1959 demolition of Mechanics Hall (Boston, Massachusetts)
Mechanics Hall (Boston, Massachusetts)
Mechanics Hall was a building and community institution on Huntington Avenue at West Newton Street, from 1881 to 1959. Commissioned by the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, it was built by the noted architect William Gibbons Preston. The building was located between the Boston and...
on Huntington Avenue.
The BRA is currently collaborating with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy on various development projects such as the Rose Kennedy Greenway
Rose Kennedy Greenway
The Rose Kennedy Greenway is a roughly 1.5-mile-long long series of parks and public spaces being created in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It is the final part of the Big Dig that put Interstate 93 underground and removed the elevated freeway that served as the main highway through downtown...
, which is being developed atop the Big Dig and is opening up the waterfront to pedestrians. The BRA owns real estate throughout the city and together with community participation through planning initiatives, issues Requests for Proposals as part of the land disposition process in order to achieve neighborhood-based community development goals. Another example of the BRA's work involves collaboration with the State Coastal Zone Management Department for waterfront planning and redevelopment of privately-owned and MassPort-owned properties. An example of municipal harbor planning involves the "East Boston Municipal Harbor Plan" where properties of varied ownership along the waterfront are currently being developed and Fort Point Channel
Fort Point Channel
Fort Point Channel is a maritime channel separating South Boston from downtown Boston, Massachusetts, feeding into Boston Harbor. The south part of it has been gradually filled in for use by the South Bay rail yard and several highways...
development.
The BRA has also undertaken improvements on Columbia Road in Dorchester
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
, a narrow stretch of green space
Open space reserve
Open space reserve, open space preserve, and open space reservation, are planning and conservation ethics terms used to describe areas of protected or conserved land or water on which development is indefinitely set aside...
that Frederick Law Olmstead once envisioned as The Dorchesterway
The Dorchesterway
The Dorchesterway was a parkway planned by 19th century landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted to be a continuation of the Emerald Necklace park network in Boston, Massachusetts. This plan, however, was never implemented.-Olmsted's vision:...
, the final link in the Emerald Necklace
Emerald Necklace
The Emerald Necklace consists of an chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It gets its name from the way the planned chain appears to hang from the "neck" of the Boston peninsula, although it was never fully constructed.-Overview:The Necklace...
park system.
External links
- Boston Redevelopment Authority website
- Google news archive. Articles related to the BRA
- Flickr. Photo of Muhammad Ali-Salaam, Deputy Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2008
- Flickr. Photo of Kairos Shen, Director of Planning, Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2010
- Flickr. Photo of Clarence Jones, Chairman of Boston Redevelopment Authority, 2010