Pedestrians walk past Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall in downtown Boston on Monday, March 23, 2026. Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
Calling a reinvention of Faneuil Hall Marketplace a critical piece of Boston’s downtown revitalization efforts, Mayor Michelle Wu sought advice from urban planning experts on the property’s future.
Real estate executives, architects and urban planners filled the Faneuil Hall Great Room today to begin a two-day series of workshops and tours organized by the city to chart a path forward for the now-faded retail landmark that’s largely avoided by locals thanks to a longstanding reputation as a tourist trap.
The events take place a half-century after the wholesale food warehouses were converted into a festival style marketplace that became a national tourist magnet, and two years since New York-based J. Safra Real Estate took over ownership and management of the property from Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp.
Wu acknowledged the challenges facing downtown amid rising office vacancies and a declining daytime population.
“In one sense, the skeptics are right. Everything is different,” Wu said. “And we need to rethink our mix of work, play and live.”
In 2024, city officials proposed extending the marketplace’s ground lease from 2075 through 2123, in exchange for J. Safra Real Estate submitting a tenanting strategy every five years subject to approval by the city, Banker & Tradesman reported at the time.
Following the presentations, Wu said the administration “is not on the cusp” of changes in the agreement.
“I really wanted, before we got into any detailed legal next steps, to make sure that we were clear about the big vision and to think beyond what might be in peoples’ heads in City Hall, to engage the public and engage other experts,” Wu said.
Safra Execs in Attendance
A pair of J. Safra Real Estate executives attended the conference and spoke with Wu following the first presentation by Harvard University economics professor Ed Glaeser, but did not take part in public presentations and panel discussions.
While the conference kicked off with an academic perspective on Boston’s historical economic advantages and limitations, questions remain about how a hoped-for reinvention of the marketplace would play out under the long-term lease agreement.
While tourists continue to gravitate toward the property, Faneuil Hall Marketplace “has lost its relevance and appeal for Bostonians,” Boston Chief of Planning Kairos Shen said during opening remarks. J. Safra Real Estate is “prepared to invest” in capital projects to reinvigorate the marketplace, he said.
As the city provides tax incentives for office to residential conversions, this week’s workshop is designed to set the table for reinvigorating the retail sector following the pandemic, Shen said.
City Has Limited Options to Force Change
J. Safra Real Estate controls leasing decisions and has announced just a handful of new arrivals at the marketplace since taking ownership in January 2024.
Critics have taken issue with the decline of local tenancy at the marketplace, something J. Safra contends it has started to address with leases to locally-owned tenants such as a souvenir shop, brewpub and home decor store.
One prominent real estate attorney, R.J. Lyman of Dain Torpy, has suggested that the city exercise its option to recapture the property ownership and buy out the ground lease from J. Safra Real Estate.
Lyman, who represented previous leaseholder Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., estimates the purchase price could be as low as $10 million.
The city then could partner with an experienced local retail developer acting as a property manager, sharing financial incentives to upgrade the property. A 2021 report by the then-Boston Planning & Development Agency estimated the property needs at least $40 million in capital improvements.
The 99-year ground lease requires annual rent of $10 plus a payment in lieu of taxes that is tied to gross sales. The property’s annual tax payment is $2.8 million, according to Boston assessors’ department records.
