A privately-led project to renovate and modernize the MBTA’s Back Bay station is being redrawn because officials have been unable to find a certificate of occupancy for the regional transit hub and an inspection revealed that expansion joints in the station’s busway and concourse pose a hazard to pedestrians.
In December, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation selected developer Boston Properties to take over maintenance and management of the 28-year-old station that serves the Orange Line, commuter rail and Amtrak. The Boston-based REIT also was put in charge of a $32-million project designed to revitalize the station with a new glass facade on Dartmouth Street, more retailers, and capital improvements including upgrades to the ventilation system.
Before renovations could begin, however, the Boston-based REIT notified state transportation officials on June 9 of problems with the expansion joints and missing certificate of occupancy. The company has the right to terminate its lease to operate the station in six months if the MBTA is unable to obtain an occupancy certificate by then, according to an amended lease that the two sides signed Aug. 1.
Robert Anderson, chief of building inspections for the Massachusetts department of public safety, said he was unaware of the specific issue at Back Bay station. In general, existing buildings are presumed to have met the building code at the time of construction, Anderson said.
“The fact that someone may not be able to locate a certificate does not mean the building cannot be occupied, unless it were deemed unsafe and dangerous,” he said.
The MBTA will be responsible for repairing the expansion joints within the concourse and busway, while Boston Properties agreed to cover gaps along the expansion joints in the station that pose a hazard to pedestrians. A copy of Boston Properties’ letter describing the pedestrian hazards was requested but not made available this week by MassDOT.
Boston Properties will act as construction manager for the ventilation system upgrades, which are needed to reduce pollution from diesel commuter rail locomotives. The ventilation system was originally supposed to be fixed as part of the Columbus Center development, an $800-million mixed-use project involving air rights that has been repeatedly delayed due to lack of financing.
MassDOT and Boston Properties have agreed on $1.4 million “triage budget” of immediate improvements, according to MassDOT spokesman Jason Johnson. The agreement says up to $1 million will be paid from a $32-million fund for concourse improvements.
The amended lease also addresses a $464,528 shortfall in the station’s $896,624 operation and maintenance budget for 2015. Boston Properties began collecting rent from the station’s retail tenants and food vendors beginning with the month of August.
The MBTA has agreed to pay $100,000 to Boston Properties by Aug. 10 to cover the budget shortfall from August through the end of October, when the budget will be revisited.
The MBTA has privatized major transit hubs in recent years, with private companies also put in charge of management at South Station and North Station.
Boston Properties announced last year that it has larger development ambitions for the Back Bay property, which adjoins its 200 Clarendon St. tower and parking garage. Last year, executives presented a plan to state officials to build a large mixed-use development including offices, residences and retail above the station. The project would require negotiation of an air rights agreement with MassDOT for portions of the site that are located above the Massachusetts Turnpike.
Boston Properties did not return messages seeking comment.
