BPDA Board Tables 500 Huntington Life Science Tower After MFA Raises Construction Concerns

BOSTON -- August 15, 2024, Boston's BPDA board tabled a 640,000-square-foot life science tower at 500 Huntington Avenue after the Museum of Fine Arts asked for 30 days to resolve concerns about construction impacts on its collection. Chair Priscilla Rojas moved to delay the item to the September 12 board meeting, saying the MFA trustees' fiduciary responsibility warranted the reprieve; the motion passed with board member Theodore Landsmark abstaining. Clayton Turnbull, CEO of Walden Development and a principal in the Huntington Development Group, called the outstanding concerns "very solvable" and said strong opposition surfaced only "in the last two or three days." In other action, the board authorized a construction contract with Coastal Marine Construction LLC for South Jetty bulkhead rehabilitation at a total authorization of $11,575,828.80, including a 20 percent contingency, and released a long-pending request for proposals for Pier 5 in the Charlestown Navy Yard, with up to $8 million in potential BPDA support and residential use explicitly excluded. Director Arthur Jemison announced his last day with the agency will be September 13, with Devon Quirk named acting director.