City to weigh plans 
to redesign plaza

City to weigh plans 
to redesign plaza

Monday, August 10, 2015 PrintEmail0 Comments
By:
Erin Smith
Boston officials are holding interviews tomorrow with firms interested in launching a planning study of City Hall and City Hall Plaza — part of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s vision to re-imagine a more inviting space on the bleak concrete landscape.

A selection committee of city and Boston Redevelopment Authority employees plans to spend tomorrow interviewing four firms — Stantec Architecture & Engineering, Utile Inc., Sasaki Associates and Machado & Silvetti Architecture — pitching to lead the study and master plan, said Walsh spokeswoman Laura Oggeri.

The master plan, due within a year, is expected to cost $500,000, Oggeri said.

The interviews are open to the public and begin at 9 a.m. in a first-floor conference room at 26 Court St. The committee will discuss the teams after the interviews, before making a recommendation to the city’s director of public facilities, according to Oggeri.

Boston City Hall, which was built in 1968, is surrounded by a concrete and brick plaza spanning more than 200,000 square feet. The chosen firm is responsible for creating a plaza that is a “welcoming, loved front yard and front door for constituents,” according to city documents.

City officials want the master plan to consider public-private, retail and cultural opportunities and zoning rules, as well as estimate the cost to realign the property and identify examples of best practices in other cities.

“This project is driven by the belief that Boston City Hall and the Plaza are not meeting the needs of the public, nor the staff who occupy the facility,” states the city’s solicitation seeking firms to direct the master plan. “This comprehensive planning study will identify how the facility and site can be improved.”

Walsh first announced plans to “re-envision” the plaza as a more attractive civic gathering space during his State of the City address in January. He also launched a Twitter campaign in March to solicit ideas for plaza redesign from the public.

http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/08/city_to_...