A newly formed board of directors will oversee $1.5 million in annual contributions to the new Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Business Improvement District (BID).
The nine-member panel was elected to represent the interests of land owners abutting the Greenway. The BID was formed as a compromise settling a long-running dispute over who pays for upkeep and programming of the mile-long downtown park.
Members – who will serve staggered terms ranging from one to three years – include some of Boston’s most prominent developers and corporate real estate executives. Stephen Faber, an executive vice president at developer Related Beal, is the interim chair.
The BID will contribute $1 million toward operations and maintenance and $500,000 toward enhancements of the linear park network created after the removal of the elevated Central Artery, including landscaping, programming and public art. Directors will oversee collection and spending of the BID funds, maintaining contractual relationships with the Greenway Conservancy and ensuring quality operations and maintenance of the park network, said Rick Dimino, CEO of A Better City Inc., which organized the BID.
“We want to make sure those dollars are well spent and the quality of the Greenway is being kept at a high standard,” he said.
Top priorities include enhancing public programming and upgrades to some of the Greenway’s underutilized sections, including parcels six, 12 and 18, Dimino said.
There’s also the potential to coordinate Greenway upgrades with a proposed “Blue Way” public park connecting Chiofaro Co.’s billion-dollar redevelopment at the Harbor Garage property with the waterfront, Dimino said.
The BID was formed last spring when 82 percent of the 61 abutting property owners voted to support its creation. A new property tax assessment will generate $1.5 million a year toward Greenway maintenance. Assessments took effect in July and the BID made its first payment in September toward the Greenway budget, which is approximately $5.5 million.
As part of the compromise, the city of Boston agreed to make its first financial contribution of $500,000 to the Greenway beginning Jan. 1, using proceeds from sale of the Winthrop Square garage property to Millennium Partners.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation will continue to make an annual contribution which varies from year to year based upon needed capital improvements such as repairs to the Rings Fountain on Milk Street, Dimino said.
“The Greenway’s starting to get older, so commitments to support those kinds of things are going to be important,” Dimino said.
The Greenway Conservancy, a nonprofit organization that oversees the park’s maintenance, will contribute $640,000 from donations and earned income from its endowment. The group has been looking for ways to supplement its income, such as seasonal beer gardens this year sponsored by groups including Downeast Cider and Trillium Brewing Co.
Other members of the BID board of directors are Marques Benton of The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Don Chiofaro Jr. of The Chiofaro Cos., Jack Clark of Pembroke Real Estate, Ronald Druker of The Druker Co., Holly Masek of Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp., Andrea Terio of The Davis Cos., James Tierney of JLL and David Wilkinson of Tishman Speyer.
