City plan would allow 700-foot towers across downtown. But some say ‘it was a sham.'
Allowing skyscrapers to be built as-of-right, and without zoning variances, would let the city of Boston take advantage of its densest areas and
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'There's general recognition that the downtown has not fully recovered its full vibrancy,' Shen said. 'We have to have the zoning to allow for people to actually think about more creative ways of investing in their property.'
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The zoning plan has been a years-long process to dictate what can be built and where in Boston's downtown core, and aims to balance the need to alleviate the city's housing crisis and and downtown's deep historic fabric, while also promoting the vitality of Boston's — indeed, New England's — economic hub.
A new zoning plan would allow for more tall skyscrapers with minimal permitting in downtown Boston.
Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
Implementing clear zoning rules will ease the path toward making real estate developments more viable, said Dave Greaney, whose Synergy Investments owns nine properties within the Plan Downtown area. As-of-right zoning cuts down on the risk of a project getting caught in a protracted city permitting and entitlement processes —
'Anything that promotes investment and development in the downtown is great and badly needed,' Synergy CEO Dave Greaney said. 'We've seen the
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Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
City plan would allow 700-foot towers across downtown. But some say ‘it was a sham.'
Allowing skyscrapers to be built as-of-right, and without zoning variances, would let the city of Boston take advantage of its densest areas and Related : Advertisement 'There's general recognition that the downtown has not fully recovered its full vibrancy,' Shen said. 'We have to have the zoning to allow for people to actually think about more creative ways of investing in their property.' Advertisement The zoning plan has been a years-long process to dictate what can be built and where in Boston's downtown core, and aims to balance the need to alleviate the city's housing crisis and and downtown's deep historic fabric, while also promoting the vitality of Boston's — indeed, New England's — economic hub. A new zoning plan would allow for more tall skyscrapers with minimal permitting in downtown Boston. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff Implementing clear zoning rules will ease the path toward making real estate developments more viable, said Dave Greaney, whose Synergy Investments owns nine properties within the Plan Downtown area. As-of-right zoning cuts down on the risk of a project getting caught in a protracted city permitting and entitlement processes — 'Anything that promotes investment and development in the downtown is great and badly needed,' Synergy CEO Dave Greaney said. 'We've seen the
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
A refresher on the longstanding Market Basket family feud
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up A sign outside of a Lowell Market Basket in July 2014. Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff Advertisement To explain, we have to go back a while. Market Basket has its roots in a Lowell food store opened in 1917 by Greek immigrants Athanasios and Efrosini Demoulas. Eventually, the couple sold the store to two of their kids, George and Telemachus. George died in 1971, giving Telemachus — father of Arthur T. Demoulas — control of the company. Fast forward to 1990: George's side of the family — including son Arthur S. Demoulas, cousin of Arthur T. — launched a bitter legal battle against the other side of the family, claiming that Telemachus was swindling George's side of the family out of their shares of the business. The court eventually found in favor of George's side of the family, giving them a narrow controlling stake in the company. Advertisement And yet, in 2008, Arthur T. Demoulas was tapped to lead the company — the result of a wayward board member on George's side of the family that tended to side with Arthur T. The animosity between the two Arthurs, both alike in indignity, only grew from there — particularly over financial matters. Broadly speaking, Arthur S. and his side wanted bigger dividends for the company's shareholders — i.e., members of the Demoulas family. Arthur T. was in favor of spending on store expansion and generous worker compensation, including regular bonuses and a profit-sharing plan. This fissure led to some combative moments between Arthur T. and the board. For example: At a 2009 board meeting, Arthur S. Demoulas was scrutinizing his cousin's plan to spend millions on employee bonuses. 'I want to tell you, Arthur, you hired me to run the company, OK; and when you hired me, you hired my management style,' said Arthur T. Demoulas. 'And my management style is not to come back to this board to request and ask for permission.' At another board meeting, this one in 2012, directors raised the possibility of a limit on how much the CEO could spend without board approval — a proposal to which Arthur T. did not take kindly. 'I'm running this company with the philosophy, very strong philosophy, there's only one boss on this company. There's not two. There's not three. There's not five. There's only one boss in this company,' Arthur T. said. Advertisement Finally, in June 2014, matters reached a fever pitch, with the board removing Arthur T. from his post. The backlash, to put it mildly, Employees and customers hold a rally in support of Arthur T. Demoulas in Tewksbury in July 2014. Suzanne Kreiter Stuffed giraffes became a symbol of support for Arthur T. Demoulas, representing his tendency to "stick his neck out" for employees. Suzanne Kreiter Boycotting customers taped up receipts from competing supermarkets at Market Basket stores. Joanne Rathe/Globe Staff Rank-and-file workers, many of whom revered Arthur T., staged massive walkouts. Customers boycotted, taping receipts from Hannaford and Shaw's on store windows. Shelves grew barren. As the company lost millions of dollars each day, the governors of Massachusetts and New Hampshire tried desperately to broker a deal. Finally, in August 2014, the madness came to an end. Arthur T., along with his three sisters, reached a deal to buy out Arthur S. and other relatives from the supermarket chain for $1.6 billion, and he retook his place as the helm of the company. Employees went back to work, and customers returned in droves. 'You taught everybody that ... Market Basket is a place where respect, honor, and dignity is a way of life,' Arthur T. told workers outside the brand's Tewksbury headquarters after the deal was reached. 'This was not about a family conflict or a Greek tragedy, but more about fairness, justice, and a solid moral compass that united the human soul.' Arthur T. Demoulas addresses workers outside of Market Basket headquarters in Tewksbury on Aug. 28, 2014. Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff Since then, Arthur T.'s tenure has continued with relatively little fanfare. The company has flourished, adding stores and growing revenue, and the Great Market Basket Uprising of 2014 became the stuff of New England lore. Will history repeat itself? Only time will tell. Dana Gerber can be reached at
Boston Globe
3 days ago
- Boston Globe
Market Basket board puts CEO Arthur T. Demoulas on paid leave in dispute over management approach
If a work stoppage were to happen, it would be reminiscent of the to support Demoulas in a battle with his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, over control of the company. In the end, Arthur T. Demoulas, who had accused his cousin of trying to take money out of the business at the expense of maintaining the chain's employee benefits and low prices, and his three sisters succeeded that year in buying out Arthur S. Demoulas and his siblings in a Advertisement Market Basket workers protested at the company's wholesale distribution center in Andover in August 2014. Jim Davis/Globe Staff Demoulas, who is now 70 years old, and his sisters recently paid off the debt they took on to win complete control of the Tewksbury-based company. Market Basket continued to grow and flourish under their ownership. In recent years, it has risen up the supermarket rankings of marketing research firm Dunnhumby, placing second in the nation in the latest such list announced in January behind Texas chain H-E-B, in large part because of its reputation as the place to go for grocery deals. Advertisement The executive committee put several other employees on leave alongside Demoulas, though it says they'll all continue to be fully paid while on leave. In the memo to employees, the committee says it believes that the potential walkout was being considered as a retaliatory measure against the board 'for requiring that the CEO work collaboratively with the Board regarding basic company operations and plans.' The executive committee is hoping for business to continue as usual for the 90-store chain and its 30,000-plus workers. No employee jobs or benefits are in jeopardy, the memo says. While Demoulas and the others are on leave, it says, 'the Board will rely on the existing dedicated management team to ensure that the operations of Market Basket will maintain the quality and superb service that customers expect and enjoy.' This is a developing story and will be updated. Jon Chesto can be reached at
