3/25/98
James A. Pappas, owner of property on the future site of the Boston Convention Center, has filed for bankruptcy protection. Pappas owns the 1.4 acre parcel at the corner of D and Summer St., planned by the BRA for development of a Convention Center hotel. The BRA recently considered allowing Pappas to develop the hotel to avoid the potential costs of taking the land by eminent domain as originally planned. The bankruptcy filing by Pappas may cloud the BRA's options regarding this parcel.
By temporarily restraining development in the Seaport District to publish a "Seaport District Master Plan", the BRA is setting an artificial ceiling on property assessments in anticipation of its eminent domain takings on the Convention Center site. Once the parcels within the 60 acre facility are assessed and taken, the existing restrictions will have been lifted, allowing the market to determine development plans and to set property values.
The BRA has not announced its plans for the Pappas parcel.