Boston City Hall and the neighboring John F. Kennedy Federal Building. File photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu named new leadership to a board that reviews the appearance of building projects, and named three new commissioners to replace members who will depart in April.

Wu announced the appointment of Mimi Love, an existing commissioner and principal at Utile Architecture & Planning, replacing Andrea Leers as chair. Along with Leers, members departing the board in April include Eric Höweler and Deneen Crosby.

The three new commissioners will broaden its expertise in areas such as arts and coastal resilience, Wu announced. In a press release, Wu said the changes will “bring diverse new voices and perspectives” to the city’s design review.

The three new members joining the board in April include:

• Laura Solano, a landscape architect and principal at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates;
• Shauna Gillies-Smith, founding principal of GROUND and co-chair of the Urban Design Committee at the Boston Society for Architecture;
• And Catherine T. Morris, director of arts and culture at the Boston Foundation and executive director of the Boston Art & Music Soul Fest.
• Linda Eastley, a commissioner since 2009 and managing partner at Eastley + Partners LLC, will become the new vice chair.

The BPDA did not respond to questions about whether the outgoing commissioners had sought to be reappointed, and Leers and Howeler did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The 13-member Boston Civic Design Commission reviews and suggests changes to building designs and site plans for projects over 100,000 square feet, in a separate but parallel process to the BPDA’s Article 80 review.

In July, Wu also appointed Diana Fernandez Bibeau, a landscape architect at Sasaki, as deputy chief of urban design, a new position created to improve “predictability and quality” in the built environment and public realm.

Fernandez Bibeau has made presentations to the committee about the Wu administration’s proposed reorganization of the BPDA.