MCCA backtracks on South Boston land sale

The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s controversial unloading of 6-plus acres of prime land in South Boston is getting a do-over. The MCCA caught flak late last year after putting the land, spread across three parcels on D and E streets, up for development through an unusually quick auction of long-term lease rights. The MCCA announced the contest around Thanksgiving and gave only one month for development teams to assemble and make their bids. By the late December deadline, only two proposals were submitted. Now the MCCA is saying it’s time to restart. On Tuesday, the convention center authority said it was canceling the original request-for-proposals process and rejecting both responses. It plans to instead issue an amended request for proposals on June 12, with bids due three months later. The convention center authority declined to comment beyond the notice of cancellation. The decision didn’t come as a surprise, given the concerns raised about the quick turnaround for the bids. South Boston politicians accused MCCA management of rushing through a land disposition before a new governor, Maura Healey, took office in January, particularly without seeking more public input in crafting the bid parameters. They also expressed concern that the land, across D Street from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, had been originally obtained by eminent domain for the public purpose of supporting the city’s convention industry, and questioned why it was now being used for private development.