A BPDA presentation specifies properties that could receive approval for taller building heights, shown in purple, under the preliminary PLAN: Downtown rezoning proposal. Image courtesy of the BPDA
Pending changes to downtown Boston development could include a new way of calculating building density, officials said as the Wu administration prepares a widespread zoning update.
The PLAN: Downtown study includes Downtown Crossing, the Financial District, Chinatown and Theater District. A key recommendation is an increase in base building heights from 155 to 400 feet. Even taller buildings could be approved if projects meet goals for public benefits, such as open space preservation and coastal resiliency.
“Our sensitivity is to the bonus density maximums,” said Tony Ursillo of Downtown Boston Residents Association. “We presume that developers will be interested in moving toward those maximums.”
Rather than imposing a traditional floor area ratio, BPDA officials are considering a switch to regulating maximum building floor plates, said Kennan Rhyne, the Boston Planning & Development Agency’s deputy director of downtown and neighborhood planning, as a way to minimize shadow effects on the neighborhood.
The zoning proposal increases base building heights from 155 to 400 feet, excluding three “character preservation” areas in Chinatown, the Wharf District and Ladder District.
But a recent update would allow 400-foot base building heights on the west side of Washington Street north to Court Street. The area includes Midwood Investment & Development’s proposed office tower on Bromfield Street.
At a meeting Thursday, some members of the PLAN: Downtown advisory group also pressed BPDA officials for more details on how the community benefits agreements will transition from project-by-project negotiations with developers to creation of a neighborhood-wide fund.
An advisory committee could potentially oversee the allocation of the community benefits fund, Rhyne said. The goal is to add transparency to the process of doling out developer-paid public benefits, which currently are negotiated prior to BPDA board approval.
Details are expected to be finalized and presented at a future meeting.
“We want to list priorities to share with the public, so when we receive funding we’ve already established what are the top five pieces where this should go, and how they’re distributed,” Rhyne said.
