BPDA launches new, interactive online map displaying agency-owned property
Oct 13, 2020
The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) today unveiled a new, interactive online map displaying BPDA-owned property and data. The BPDA made data about agency-owned property publicly available in May 2020, and since then, the agency’s Real Estate and MIS Departments have been working together on a more user-friendly way for residents to interact with this information. The map can be found on the agency’s website, here.
“Since 2014, the BPDA has made significant progress to increase transparency and accessibility, including leveraging our technology as a resource for the greater public good,” said BPDA Director Brian Golden. “Thank you to the staff who have worked on this project, which will serve as a new tool for the public to learn more about what our agency does and how to participate in our real estate processes.”
The property inventory consists of land parcels ranging from small, unbuildable parcels best suited for use by abutters, to larger parcels and sites consisting of contiguous land parcels that are suitable for residential, mixed-use or commercial development. Each property includes a status field with information on whether a parcel is appropriate for development, and the BPDA may choose to issue an Request for Proposals (RFP) to develop the parcel in the future.
The BPDA’s Real Estate Department conducts strategic property dispositions through an open, transparent, community-driven process with the goal of using public land for public good, often working alongside other BPDA and City departments. For example, in partnership with the BPDA Planning Division and the City’s Department of Neighborhood Development (DND), the BPDA’s Real Estate Department has helped mobilize community-driven development on agency and city-owned land in Roxbury through the BPDA’s PLAN: Nubian Square that includes income-restricted housing and job opportunities.
In the Charlestown Navy Yard, one of the agency’s largest land holdings, the Real Estate Department is advancing the public activation of the waterfront for residents and visitors from across Boston to enjoy. Additionally, in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park in South Boston, the Real Estate Department is working to preserve, support and grow Boston’s maritime industry and create and protect jobs that pay decent wages for people at a variety of skill levels.
Most recently, the BPDA reissued RFPs for three separate development proposals on BPDA-owned property which had not sufficiently outlined plans to further the agency’s mission regarding diversity and inclusion. The City of Boston and BPDA have also updated the language in RFPs for public land to provide greater clarity on the expectations for submissions, further prioritize diversity and inclusion during the selection process, strengthen the City’s and the BPDA’s commitment to outcomes which enhance equity, as well as committed to weighting diversity and inclusion at 25 percent.
Learn more about the BPDA’s Real Estate Department on our website, here.