Fan Pier Project Closes in on Final Approval

BOSTON-After nearly three years, one of the city’s largest development projects could finally get the final nod it needs from the city. The Fan Pier project, being developed in south Boston on the waterfront by Chicago-based hotel magnate Nicholas Pritzker, is going before the Boston Redevelopment Authority for its final round of city approvals, and according to a spokesperson for the BRA, it looks like the approval will be forthcoming.

“This is the last stage of the large project review process,” Meredith Bauman, spokesperson for the BRA, tells GlobeSt.com. Pritzker is looking for the BRA board to issue an adequacy determination relating to the final project impact report. Bauman says that the developer will then still have to go through design review and get a permit from building services, but essentially once the final project impact report is approved “the applicant can breathe easy. This means they’re there.”

It might be difficult for Pritzker to breathe easily, Bauman notes, as financing for the project has not yet been nailed down, which is a growing concern during the recent economic slowdown. Still, according to Bauman, it appears that the BRA will finally accept Pritzker’s proposal to develop Fan Pier. “We are expecting it to proceed,” she says. “It looks like they will get approval.” Carolyn Low, a local representative for the Pritzkers, tells GlobeSt.com that, “the Fan Pier team is looking forward to a possible approval today.” This is no small feat for a project that has been the subject of endless debates over the height of its buildings, the density of the project and the amount of open space.