This image depicts a proposed 80-story skyscraper that would be built on the site of the Winthrop Square parking garage in the city’s Financial District.

Less than a week after Mayor Thomas M. Menino chose a developer to transform a parking garage into the Hub’s tallest skyscraper, a city watchdog agency is raising questions about the deal.

Boston-based Trans National Properties was the sole developer to respond to a Request for Proposals to build a 1,000-foot tower at the site of the Winthrop Square parking garage in the city’s Financial District. At 80 stories, it would rise far above the John Hancock Tower’s 62 stories.

But Jeffrey Conley, executive director of the Boston Finance Commission, an independent agency that monitors the city’s finances, said the terms of the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s RFP shortchange taxpayers and leave many questions unanswered.

The city, which owns the Winthrop Square Garage, plans to transfer ownership of the parcel to the BRA, a city planning and development agency. But it’s unclear who will benefit financially from the sale or lease of the single-acre garage parcel. If the city receives the revenues, the cash could be used for city services such as police, fire protection and schools. If the BRA is the recipient of the monies, the funds would go into the agency’s budget.

A BRA spokeswoman would say only the “city” will get the proceeds of any sale or lease, minus the costs associated with the disposition of the property. But Conley said the BRA’s response does not clear up the matter of who will get the money.

“I suspect they are being intentionally vague because it’s clear to us that the money should go into the city of Boston’s treasury and not the BRA’s coffers,” Conley said. “If the BRA gets the money it goes into their budget and will not be used to provide city services.”

Whether the Winthrop Square parcel is sold or leased, Conley said, it must comply with Chapter 30B, the Universal Procurement Procedures Law. The statute requires an open and fair competition when municipal property is disposed and that it must be sold or leased at market rate as determined by an independent appraisal.

Another matter that remains ambiguous is the lease deal that the parking garage has with the city’s Off-Street Parking Facilities Board. Under the terms of the lease agreement for the garage, which dates back to the 1960s, the city collects $56,000 annually from the garage operators.

However, that figure is expected to multiply tenfold in June when the lease expires and is renegotiated. The RFP issued last spring only requires that the designated developer pay 70 percent of the proceeds for operation of the garage under “current rates” to the Facilities Board until a building permit is issued for the new tower.

“That’s clearly a bad deal for taxpayers,” said Conley. “When the lease expires next June, it should be re-bid and could bring as much as $550,000 annually to the city. Obviously 75 percent of $550,000 over 10 years – which is how long it could take before construction gets under way– is a lot more than 75 percent of $56,000. We’re talking about more than $4 million of lost revenues. If the parcel is given to the BRA, taxpayers will not benefit and homeowners will have to make up for the lost revenue.”

Negotiations Planned
Kairos Shen, the BRA’s planning director, said despite the explicit description in the RFP, it’s possible that the lease could be renegotiated. The RFP only sets the minimum requirements, he said.

“There will be a committee that will review the proposal and deal with all aspects of the disposition,” Shen said. “I don’t want to comment beyond what is in the RFP. The decision will be made later by committee internally. When we designate the parcel we will then negotiate a number of things with the developer and it could be the lease.”

Still, Conley fears a repeat of Hayward Place, a city-owned surface parking lot on Washington Street that the BRA took by eminent domain in 2001. The BRA sold the lot to Millennium Partners-Boston for $23 million, which plans to construct a 155-foot-high building with 225 loft-style condominiums and ground-floor retail.

Millennium made a down payment to the BRA of $13 million that was intended to be used for construction of a new school in Chinatown. The other $10 million has not been paid and the school has not been built, Conley said. For the first two years of the lease Millennium made annual payments of $532,000 to the city. Now, Conley said, Millennium operates the parking lot but the city receives none of the proceeds.

“Millennium pays no taxes and the commitment for lease payments ended last year,” Conley said. “I’d hate to see that happen with Winthrop Square where the parcel just lingers and the city loses money.”

Shirley Kressel, head of the Alliance of Boston Neighborhoods, said the best way to benefit taxpayers is for the city to have the parcel appraised and sell or lease it to the highest bidder. Estimates of the parcel’s worth range from $100 million to $300 million, she said.

“Why does the mayor want to give away a property that could be worth as much as $300 million at a time when we don’t have enough police and teachers?” Kressel asked.

Conley said he doubts that the city would get anywhere close to $300 million, given the fact that the parcel is oddly configured and that Steven B. Belkin, chairman of Trans National, already owns the adjoining building at 133 Federal St.

When the RFP was released in May, the city outlined a vision to create a “premier civic destination,” drawing upon the vitality of the nearby Rose Kennedy Greenway, Downtown Crossing and South Station to bring renewed energy to Boston’s financial center. Menino called for a significant civic component to the project, as well as a mix of uses. At a time when the city’s commercial occupancy rates are rising, a strong office space component was anticipated.

The project site, bounded by 75 Franklin St. and 101 Federal St. to the north, 100 Summer St. to the south, Devonshire Street to the west and Federal Street to the east, totals approximately 47,000 square feet.

The team led by Belkin has retained celebrated Italian architect Renzo Piano to design what Menino has called “a bold symbol of contemporary Boston.” The group plans a mix of uses, including 1.3 million square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant use, and 55,000 square feet of public space including a one-acre town green complete with public art and a rooftop garden, providing visitors with a landscaped, accessible observatory.

Belkin, a Weston resident and generous donor to Democratic candidates including Menino, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, founded Trans National Group in 1974. The Boston-based company is also the principal owner of two professional sports teams, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and the NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers.