Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, seen here sharing a laugh with Sean McGrath and Laura Connolly of The Stonegate Group after last week’s ribbon-cutting for the Penny Savings Bank Residences in the South End, says incoming Boston Redevelopment Authority Director John F. Palmieri already has a full plate.
John F. Palmieri won’t take over as Boston Redevelopment Authority director until next month, but his duties already are piling up.
“His plate is full,” said Mayor Thomas M. Menino following last week’s ribbon-cutting for the Penny Savings Bank Residences in the city’s South End. “I’ve asked him to make the Longwood Medical Area, South Boston’s Waterfront and the Newmarket section of the city at 1010 Massachusetts Ave., top priorities.”
Palmieri, 56, will earn $168,000 annually and manage 300 employees at the city’s planning and development agency. He succeeds Mark Maloney, who left the job in January at a salary of $164,088.
Paul L. McCann, the BRA’s acting director, said Palmieri will be the BRA’s most senior director in the agency’s 50-year history in terms of age and experience. “John will be a wonderful addition to the BRA,” he said.
While Menino declined to provide details, the four-term mayor said he would ask Palmieri to “reorganize” the BRA.
“I want him to examine how the BRA integrates with the Department of Neighborhood Development on small business. That’s key,” said the mayor. “And I’ve asked him to look at how we continue to grow the city to meet the challenges we face and how we can move the process along further.”
In addition, Palmieri will be faced with the planning and approval process for the 1,000-foot tower that Menino wants built in Downtown Crossing at Winthrop Square, a new City Hall for the waterfront, the future of City Hall at Government Center and the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, which is comprised of 27 acres made available by the removal of the elevated Central Artery.
Palmieri brings more than 25 years of experience in planning and economic development from three cities to his new post as BRA chief. Since 2004, he has served as Hartford, Conn.’s, Department of Development Services director, overseeing planning, economic and real estate development. While in Hartford, he partnered with the Chamber of Commerce to create a marketing program for the city and established a tax increment financing district for a mixed-use development at the historic Colt Firearms factory.
From 2002 to 2004, John Palmieri worked as director of economic development for Charlotte, N.C. While there, he developed an economic development strategy for the city, lured a Time Warner headquarters and a Johnson & Wales University campus, implemented a program to provide small businesses with financial assistance and instituted policy guidelines for transit-oriented development.
‘Very Pliable’
Laura Knott-Twine, executive director of the Hartford Preservation Alliance, whose mission is to preserve and revitalize the city’s architectural heritage, said she will miss Palmieri.
“John could always be counted on to be available for information, support and ideas and has always been open to comments on projects,” she said. “As director of a preservation organization, I appreciated his knowledge about preservation. He has been very resourceful in getting developers and builders to understand the importance of preserving our past.”
While Hartford lacks the controversies that often pit developers against neighborhoods, she said, Palmieri is a team builder who has a knack for getting disparate groups to work together, she added.
In 1993, Palmieri was hired by former Providence, R.I., Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci as the city’s development and planning director. The pair worked together to create an arts and cultural district, and managed development of the 1.2 million-square-foot Providence Place Mall and the $1 billion Capital Center corporate district.
“John will do well in Boston,” Cianci said in between breaks from his radio talk show on WPRO in Providence. “He’s a good guy, very pliable and open to suggestions. There are always obstacles to development, but he is very active and very low-key. He should do well working with Tom Menino.
“I give John accolades because he’s competent, skilled and follows through. John had a good support staff and came in with me at at a time when the infrastructure for Capital Center and moving the rivers was completed. John is not reclusive, but don’t expect Demosthenes, the Greek orator of ancient Athens.”
Formed 50 years ago by the City Council and the Legislature, the BRA is Boston’s planning and economic development agency. Its role is to plan the city’s future and realize economic development through programs, planning and job training initiatives. The BRA oversees planning, zoning and design review; implements economic and workforce development initiatives to attract, retain, and grow small businesses and major industries; and partners with a variety of other city departments to spark development of housing in all price ranges.
Since its inception, the BRA has been in the middle of controversies, as developers routinely seek approvals for the tallest buildings they can build while neighbors insist that City Hall enforce zoning limits.
Palmieri’s first task could be to settle the dispute over the $192 million twin towers proposed for the Prudential Center. Avalon Properties is seeking permits for a 30-story residential high-rise on Exeter Street while Boston Properties want to build a 19-story glass office tower in front of the Prudential Building. The neighborhood and their elected representatives on Beacon Hill have made it clear that the buildings do not fit in the historic Back Bay..
