BOSTON-The Boston Redevelopment Authority chooses five finalists for the Hayward Place parcel. Redevelopment of the 37,380-sf space is part of city Mayor Thomas M. Menino's effort to revitalize this part of the city.

BOSTON-In a potentially controversial move, city Mayor Thomas M. Menino proposes a property tax on businesses here to fund the Central Artery--the 30 acres of green space that will be created when the Big Dig puts the highway underground.

BOSTON-Steve Samuels files a notice of project change to develop a 651,000-sf retail residential development near Fenway Park. The project would be one of the largest residential developments in this area in the past 20 years.

DEDHAM, MA-The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority will clean up its 37-acre Readville rail yard here and then consider selling part of the site either to a private developer or transfer it to the city.

BOSTON-Hotel occupancy rates here continue their downward trend but the Ritz Carlton Boston says it will reopen its doors next October, a year after closing for a $45-million renovation. The hotel closed three months earlier than planned, due to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

SOMERVILLE, MA-After a protracted legal battle, Assembly Square Limited Partnership and the Mystic View Task Force have agreed to mediation to settle their case over development of the 26-acre Assembly Square mall site here.

AYER, MA-Veryfine Products, Inc. sells its 216,000-sf distribution center to an undisclosed buyer for $9.4 million and then leases it back. This style of transaction is becoming more and more popular in the current economy.

BEDFORD, MA-MediSense, a division of Abbott Laboratories, leases an additional 50,000 sf here in Bedford Business Park. The company now occupies a total of 250,000 sf at the three building, 333,700 sf, 22-acre campus, owned by Boston Properties.