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Public commenter criticizes Harvard Square deal, cites $1 million architectural payment
Summary
During public comment, Edwin Boone alleged the city paid $1,000,000 to change courthouse architectural plans tied to the Harvard Square deal and questioned the subsequent handling of the property.
Edwin Boone told the council he is concerned about the Harvard Square transaction and how the city handled the property. "Also, concern me is Harvard Square. How you went about it, how we had an outside developer wanted to purchase a land, give the city the area for the courthouse...the city gave up 1000000 dollars for the, for the architect to change it from just where the, courthouse is to across the street," he said.
Boone said the property later returned to a bank and alleged the bank "bought it back for $50,000,000 after $2.50 was invested," a sequence he cited to question whether the city obtained fair value and whether decisions were transparent. Those dollar figures were presented by the commenter and not verified during the meeting; no council response was recorded before the session adjourned.
