(View Boston Revelopment Parking Parcels in a larger map)
On Thursday, Mayor Marty Walsh’s office released findings of an extensive audit commissioned back in March of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Given the stigma that’s been attached to the BRA as a domineering development organization over the years, the idea behind the audit was to identify any shortcomings and follies , as well as solutions, to make it run more efficiently and transparently.
The BRA makes money mostly through its property holdings throughout the city. But, as the report indicates, the BRA has failed to collect money on leases as well as generate possible revenue from parking lots and land parcels that comprise the Boston Marine Industrial Park.
The above map shows where exactly the potentially profitable parking lots are located throughout the city. Combined, the FY 2014 land value assessment of the properties is valued at an astounding $3,250,369. The two lots located in Charlestown that service Bunker Hill Community College are each worth over $1 million and, as noted on the BRA’s website, “Zero revenue is derived from one of our largest parcels in the City.”
The largest lot, located at Austin Street in Charlestown, is 131,480-square feet in size and valued at $1,326,600.
The second largest lot is located just next to the Austin Street lot on Rutherford Ave. It’s 129,692-square feet and worth $1,014,200. A third Charlestown lot near Sullivan Station along the Orange Line, used primarily for EMS parking, is 5,245-square feet and worth $226,969.
The last two lots are located in the South End along Shawmut Ave and Herald Street. They’re 8,543-square feet and 2,294-square feet, and valued at $533,900 and $148,700, respectively.
The report goes on to suggest the creation of a standardized protocol for the management and monetization of these properties “to ensure optimal value is generated.”
While the BRA currently employees able-minded personnel with the necessary skills and experience to manage a real estate portfolio, the lack of any centralized leadership – a striking theme within the BRA from top to bottom – has let revenue streams fall by the wayside.
