Fan Pier Building Heights Takes on a Political Slant

BOSTON-City Hall here has gone on the offensive, accusing the Federal Aviation Administration of politicizing the issue of building heights on Fan Pier on the South Boston waterfront here and tying the issue in with the proposed runway the FAA wants built at Logan Airport. The FAA is in the process of considering whether to give the buildings on Fan Pier, one of the largest waterfront projects here, a designation of a hazard to air navigation.

In the proposed plan, two of the buildings are around 300 ft. This designation could have serious repercussions for the $1.2 billion project and its developer, Chicago-based hotel magnate Nichjolas Pritzker.

“The FAA has been very consistent about height,” Jose Juves, spokesperson for Massachusetts Port Authority, tells GlobeSt.com. “The mayor and the Boston Redevelopment Authority started to link this issue with the proposed runway, but the FAA’s position has not changed. This is an attempt by City Hall to politicize this issue. What’s the connection? No one ever asked City Hall for a quid pro quo.”