Green for the Greenway

Boston may be forced to dole out more goodies to score a change in the state “shadow law,” clearing the way for a huge redevelopment project in Winthrop Square. Hey, it wouldn’t be the first time — and the public benefits of the project are simply too good to pass up.

The Walsh administration needs the change to allow a new downtown skyscraper that would cast fleeting shadows on Boston Common and the Public Garden. Without relief from the law, the $1 billion project simply isn’t feasible.

Of course there are some people who are legitimately grumpy about even limited, early-morning shadows on the parks, and some who feel the developer shouldn’t get special treatment.

And there are some who see in that conflict an opportunity.

Rep. Aaron Michlewitz (DNorth End) has pushed for some of the city’s revenue from the sale and development of the property to benefit the Rose Kennedy Greenway — which relies on state funding for nearly half its budget. In fact he had conditioned his support for the shadow law change on the Greenway getting a piece of the action.

The Boston Globe reported last week that the Walsh administration has agreed to set aside $5 million in a trust, with expected interest of about $250,000 a year to fund Greenway operations. (More than $100 million had already been earmarked to benefit the Common, Franklin Park and public housing.)

That doesn’t solve the issue of the Conservancy’s sketchy fiscal stewardship — or how much the state might be expected to cough up in future years. But it is a small price for progress.