Mayor Menino pushes to jump start waterfront projects in East Boston
By Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino took aim at stalled development in East Boston today in a major policy address focused on the waterfront, announcing that the city will build a new marine terminal there to enhance ferry service and will finance roads and other infrastructure to kick-start some construction projects.
In a speech before the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Menino spoke about the city’s intrinsic connection to its shoreline, from Boston Harbor to Jamaica Pond. He called for a new municipal harbor plan and described using the waterfront as an engine of job creation and economic growth.
The mayor pushed for a new “retail and cultural entry point” into Boston for the 300,000 cruise ship passengers who visit the city each year at Massport’s Black Falcon Cruise Terminal in South Boston. He proposed utilizing the nearby Bronstein Center, a massive 825,000-square-foot concrete building near the water.
Menino also pledged $1 million a year to improve ferry or water taxi service in the city. But his main focus was East Boston, where the mayor described nine long-planned residential and retail development projects that have languished in the down economy. Five other large swaths of waterfront land sit dormant with untapped potential.
“Economic uncertainty has stalled progress” in East Boston, Menino said this morning, speaking at a Back Bay hotel ballroom. “But I believe focus, collective action, and investment by the city can jump-start it.”
The administration proposed creating an East Boston Waterfront Development District, a designation that will allow the city to make upfront investments in roads and other infrastructure to lessen the cost of private construction and encourage development. The city would finance the work, in anticipation of an increase in property tax revenue when the residential buildings and commercial storefronts have been completed.
To pay for the $1 million pledge for water transit, Menino suggested a $1 to $2 surcharge in fees paid by cruise ship passengers, a hike that would require state legislation or cooperation from the Massachusetts Port Authority. The increase in ferry or water taxi service would be aided by the construction of a new marine terminal, which would be located near the new T stop in Maverick Square.
“I will be pulling together the developers, the unions, and community stakeholders over the next 90 days to put this plan in action,” Menino said.
The annual speech this morning before the chamber of commerce was typical of Menino’s fifth term. He put forward what appeared to be practical, concrete proposals. Over his 18 years as mayor, Menino has in the past used major speeches to push far-fetched ideas – a new skyscraper, the wind turbine on City Hall Plaza – that never came to fruition.
The grounded, more realistic approach may be the product of a five-term mayor thinking about his legacy. But it could also be the work of an almost 69-year-old elected official seriously considering a run for a sixth, four-year term in 2013. As Menino waxed this morning about the waterfront, he noted that the city has 163 miles of shoreline, which is the equivalent of running the Boston Marathon six times.
“There are some things I could imagine running six times,” Menino said. “But the marathon isn’t one of them.”
He also took a swipe at New England Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft, whose has been in talked with casino mogul Steve Wynn to build a gambling resort in Foxborough. That puts Kraft in direct competition with Menino, who is trying to lure a casino developer to Suffolk Downs racetrack in East Boston. Under the state’s new gaming law, only one of the locations could host a casino.
That would explain Menino’s quip this morning when he began his speech at The Fairmont Copley Plaza.
“Before we start, I have to ask: Are we in the right place?” Menino said. “I heard some reports that Steve Wynn had moved this speech to Foxborough, too.”
Andrew Ryan can be reached at
acryan@globe.com Follow him on Twitter @globeandrewryan.
