I had the privilege of attending a luncheon this week with Boston Mayor Marty Walsh discussing his plan for the city of Boston during his term. With multiple hot projects happening around the city, such as the Ink Block in the South End, Millenium Towers in Downtown Crossing, the revitalization of the Fenway and the booming Seaport/Innovation district, Walsh also wants to focus his attention on other neighborhoods as well. Neighborhoods like Dorchester, Hyde Park and Roxbury are seeing a spike in development due to his efforts and he is also hoping to turn his sights to the tourist favorite, Quincy Market, in hopes of updating some of Boston’s traditional hot spots. The Boston Redevelopment Authority, or the BRA, under Walsh’s leadership has turned a corner with new cabinet appointments and requested audits to determine the program’s strengths and weaknesses. The Mayor hopes to stop the developer favoritism that has been rumored for years and create a fair, more equitable approval process for projects of all sizes in the city. Housing is still a hot topic and the need for affordable housing is on the Mayor’s agenda. He is hoping to create over 17,000 jobs with the plans to develop over 650,000 new affordable housing units in the next few years. Due to the saturation of the luxury market, Boston is behind in the number of available affordable units.

We even had the opportunity to discuss the potential Olympic Bid for the City of Boston. Walsh is very excited at the thought of bringing the games to Boston but is very cautious in the amount of building and infrastructure that needs to happen now in order to accommodate an event of that magnitude. He is requesting the help of private entities versus “mortgaging Boston’s future” on something that may not pan out. However, Walsh did point out that the boost to the economy to even be considered as a potential city is welcome, referencing Chicago’s success in the last round of Olympic bids. In addition, Walsh’s top priority is to nurture the growth of Boston’s economy through recruiting new business while cultivating the more established businesses as well. He is also planning on expanding the number of pre-kindergarten seats available in Boston public schools. The Mayor’s agenda is long but he is determined to bring positive change to the City of Boston.