By Anum Hussain -- July 14, 2010
Downtown Crossing won't be seeing a 39-story tower anytime soon.
The Filene's project on One Franklin Street was approved in August 2007 by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). This giant tower, in addition to bringing a new home for the Filene's Basement, would include new office, hotel, residential and retail space.
The project was set to finish by January 2011; however, construction has been stalled for two years and now fears termination.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has been critical of the co-owner of the $750 million development, Vornado Realty Trust, and their handling of the project. Now the New York real estate firm is hoping to sell its share.
Director of BRA John Pelmieri sent a letter to Steven Roth, the Chairman of Vornado, pushing the company to take action. The letter was sent two weeks ago and threatened to abate the projects city permits if construction does not resume by September 26.
"Please be aware that if the One Franklin Street project does not have a building permit file by the third anniversary of the issuance of the Preliminary Adequacy Determination for the project, I intend to undertake promptly the steps set forth in the Zoning Code to make a formal determination concerning this project," the end of the letter said. "We also continue to review every possible avenue that may lead to the development of this important site."
Developers of the project include John B. Hynes III, a managing partner for JP Morgan and Mack-Cali realty Corp.
