1970\'s and Early 1980\'s, Boston\'s

¶ … 1970's and early 1980's, Boston's Post Office Square was one of the most sought after properties in the city. The main reason is because the region had experienced tremendous amounts of urban renewal with the construction of numerous high rises. This is vastly different from when the former location of the Federal Reserve and U.S. Post Office were leased to Frank Sawyer in 1953. He built a parking garage at the location (with the city giving him a 40-year lease). Over the course of time, the structure had become an eye sore in areas that were considered to be a part of Boston's urban renewal. This is when the changes in the neighborhood caused the price of real estate to increase (which invited discussions about what the city should do). At first, there was a debate between the different parties that were in support of building another office tower. While others, were more focused on creating an area that can serve as an outdoor oasis (such as a park). ("Post Office Square Park," n.d.)

Once the individuals in favor of building park, began to have an advantage over other groups is when there were tremendous amounts of pressure placed on city officials. What was happening is an alternate bid was introduced to create a smaller officer tower and have vast areas for the park on the same location. The problem for city officials was trying to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of both plans. This is because there was pressure to use the location to help increase tax revenues through the construction of an office tower / plaza (based on appreciating real estate values and rental prices). ("Post Office Square Park," n.d.)

At the same time, a new Mayor (Raymond Flynn) was elected and the two parties were unsure about where the administration stood on the issue. This increased speculation surrounding the future of the project. After looking at a series of different bids, Flynn sided with those in favor of turning the location into a park. The main reason is that the city did not own any other land in the area. Moreover, this section of Boston was becoming one of the more popular communities for corporations to relocate. This increased the pressure on Flynn to do something for the benefit of the people.

What the Mayor's Office discovered is that if the city tried to build a similar park in the area. The costs would be dramatically higher (based on the increases in real estate value). Evidence of this can be seen with comments from John Connolly (an aide to Flynn) who said, "The fundamental opportunity to create a public open space in what has to be considered ground zero of the city's financial district is an opportunity that comes less than one's lifetime. There was a unique set of circumstances that allowed people to even consider it both on the private and public side. The city did not have to pursue a strategy of selling that particular parcel for the highest short-term financial goal. Instead, we looked at the parcel from a long-term context." This is significant, in showing how the city sided with park developers based on the benefits that it will provide to everyone in the community. Once the project was completed, is when the revitalization of this part of Downtown Boston was finished. ("Post Office Square Park," n.d.)

These different elements are illustrating the challenges that the City of Boston was facing. This is because the city had an agreement with Frank Sawyer to lease him the location for 40 years (as a parking garage). The problem was that this area of the city had grown and the structure became an eye sore. At the same time, skyrocketing real estate prices increased pressure on administrators to sell the location to private interests. This caused a delay in the decisions about what to do (with administrators wanting to review all proposals for the greatest long-term benefits). ("Post Office Square Park," n.d.)