SHADOW OF DOUBT FOR HUB TOWER
Vote tomorrow for project
A divided City Council grilled backers of the billion-dollar redevelopment of the Winthrop Square garage in a City Hall chamber overflowing with hundreds of advocates and opponents, setting the stage for a potentially contentious vote tomorrow.
Millennium Partners is proposing to turn the decrepit garage into a 775-foot tower of office and luxury residential units, a plan backed by Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Selling off the property would give the city $102 million up front and $50 million as units are sold — contingent on state officials allowing an exception to a decades-old law limiting building shadows on the Boston Common, and councilors appeared dug into conflicting views.
“I think folks kind of know where they are, both proponents and opponents have been making the rounds for months,” said At-Large Councilor Michael Flaherty, who chaired the hearing and said he expects the full council to debate the matter before a vote tomorrow. Both the council and Walsh have to sign off on the plan before it goes to the State House, where legislators and Gov. Charlie Baker also have to approve of the exception to the shadow rule, which prevents buildings in certain downtown areas from casting shadows for extended periods of time on the Common.
Environmental groups waving “Keep Our Parks Green” placards and union members sporting “Let Boston Rise” buttons — a slogan created by Millennium — filled the council chambers to the breaking point yesterday, with fire officials ordering overflow into other rooms to watch on TV.
Walsh and BPDA officials argued the money from selling the property would pay for crucial improvements to the city’s affordable housing stock, Franklin Park and the Common itself, with affordable housing especially in danger because of cuts to federal aid. District 2 Councilor Bill Linehan previously sponsored the plan and District 1 Councilor Salvatore LaMattina called the project a “no-brainer.”
But the building’s height would lead to a morning shadow covering five acres of the Common at its largest size and last an average of 35 minutes, which park advocates said would harm grass and trees. And several councilors criticized the BPDA and Millennium for not addressing the shadow issue from the start of their plans to develop the site, saying the city should negotiate a compromise instead of approving Millennium’s plan.
Council President Michelle Wu added, “I don’t believe there’s an urgency right now to justify ramming it through just because we started down this track.”