| 
Rick Dimino
The future for Boston’s Greenway corridor is bright and perhaps stronger than ever, thanks in part to the creation of the Greenway Business Improvement District. For the first time, there is a viable funding plan, stability and opportunities to enhance the Greenway parks to benefit residents, businesses and visitors to the area. This new partnership begins an exciting next chapter for the Greenway, but also can be a guide for understanding the potential and the limits to business improvement districts (BIDs) in Massachusetts.
The Greenway BID is the result of a focused effort, driven at each step by the property owners along the Greenway. In this newly formed district, 82 percent of the property owners ultimately endorsed creating this BID, and these supporters represent over 89 percent of the total asset value of the district. This level of support far exceeds the minimum threshold for establishing a BID under Massachusetts state law. These property owners are voluntarily agreeing to a small increase to property taxes inside the district, because they see the value in a high quality, vibrant park and public space and preventing any decline in all the progress we have all experienced along the Greenway in the past few years.
BIDs Can Be a Great Partner
Through the leadership of Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, A Better City’s Abutter Committee and the Greenway Conservancy, the property owners’ initial support led to a framework agreement in early 2017 that defines a shared responsibility model for the Greenway. This collaborative working group all agreed to a funding plan through 2023. Each party is putting money on the table annually for Greenway costs and each will stand to benefit from a successful and welcoming park.
The additional revenue generated by the BID is limited, focused and controlled by the BID; these qualities are essential to any potential BID that is worthy of support.
For the Greenway, it means $1.5 million of BID funds will be spent each year directly on Greenway maintenance, horticulture and enhancement project costs. These BID funds are in addition to financial support from the state, city and own-source revenue from the Conservancy, which will continue to manage the programming and care of the parks. The Greenway is an extraordinary destination, so it is fitting that this area be funded in a manner befitting a world-class public park.
Limits of a BID
BIDs can be effective in taking services to a higher level or enhancing an area with a dedicated, well-defined purpose. The relationship between funds generated through a BID, property taxes and the role of the public sector is a delicate challenge.
BID funds must always be the complement and not the replacement to the public sector’s role in delivering the traditional public services. The Greenway BID was able to strike this balance, but for other areas that may be interested in a future BID, this is a difficult hurdle to overcome.
Finally, scale is important when considering a BID. $1.5 million each year is a significant amount of money, but when this burden is shared by the major properties located directly along the Greenway, it is more manageable as an additional cost to the business community. This additional assessment will not put this real estate at a competitive disadvantage to the properties just outside the BID boundary lines, or in other areas of the metropolitan region.
Also, BID funds will never be a replacement for a comprehensive finance plan that supports major infrastructure projects or expensive broad-based services, such as transit systems or coastal seawalls. Broad-based taxes or other value-capture options that are not an additional increment to the property taxes – such as dedicating a portion of future property tax growth, or involving the income and sales taxes – or new mechanisms are more realistic for those bigger-ticket ideas. The Greenway BID is an important next step and designed to work in this exact situation, location and time.
This is a proud moment for A Better City and our members. The very founding of A Better City, from our days as the Artery Business Committee, was rooted in the need to preserve, protect and care for this important asset.
Our members were motivated to get this right with the district boundary lines, outreach to neighbors, assessment formula scenarios and development of the BID management plan. We relied on the expertise of Downtown Boston BID President and CEO Rosemarie Sansone and John Rattigan of DLA Piper LP, who led the creation of Boston’s first BID which has helped to positively transform the Downtown Crossing area. With their help, along with support from our elected officials, neighborhood organizations and community groups the Greenway BID is prepared to be a success, and we are excited for what this means for the future.
Rick Dimino is president and CEO of A Better City.
