BPDA Board Approves Northeastern University's 10-Year Master Plan, Arena Replacement

BOSTON — November 13, 2025 — Boston's BPDA board unanimously cleared Northeastern University's 10-year institutional master plan and authorized more than $660 million in new development projects at its November 13 meeting. The board, sitting as both the Economic Development and Industrial Corporation and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, approved Northeastern's 2025-2035 plan — covering approximately 2.3 million square feet across five neighborhoods — with a 3-0 vote after board members Theodore Landsmark and Raheem O'Malley recused themselves; the plan includes a new requirement for the university to appear before the BPDA Board in a public hearing if off-campus student numbers exceed 2024 levels and a $10 million housing stabilization fund contribution over 10 years, part of a total $62 million community benefits package. The board also voted unanimously to petition the Boston Zoning Commission to freeze the city's linkage rates for 2026, overriding an automatic four-percent increase, after research staff showed that linkage-eligible development filings have fallen to zero in 2025 and only nine percent of eligible projects filed since 2020 have started construction. Eight new development projects totaling approximately 670,000 square feet were approved, including a new Boston Public Library branch and 33 affordable home ownership units in Upham's Corner, a 92-unit downtown office-to-residential conversion at 95 Berkeley Street, and a 44-unit artist live-work building at 52 Plimpton Street in the South End.