Touring Boston's Neighborhoods With Development Czar John Barros

Boston is experiencing a development boom — with new luxury high-rises and modern corporate buildings scraping the sky. But is a boom for Boston a bust for the middle class as evidenced by growing income inequality? John Barros — the city’s new economic policy czar tasked with reorganizing the Boston Redevelopment Authority — says the administration of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is committed to balancing the priorities of ambitious developers with the needs of struggling communities.

Barros took me on a tour of some of the city’s development projects to explain how.

Dudley Square in Roxbury is John Barros' neighborhood. He once led development efforts in this struggling community as head of the Dudley Neighborhood Initiative.

Now, Barros has a much wider portfolio as head of the BRA, and it will be his job to push economic projects like the Ferdinand Building in the heart of Dudley Square.

"This building behind us, which is an amazing architectural feat, is also the signal, the physical signal that cannot be overstated abut the city’s commitment to this area," he said. "Five hundred employees coming to the Ferdinand Building is going to be important for any kind of commercial development in this area."

As head of the city’s most powerful development agency, Barros — a 40-year-old with a Dartmouth degree, and a former Walsh rival turned ally — knows that all eyes are on him:

"When it comes to the neighborhoods, I feel the pressure to make sure that I’m trying to be the best partner that I can be to bring all I can bring to it to help move this forward," he said.

Barros takes me on a tour to show just how fast Roxbury is changing.

"You have the Blair Lots and the Blair lots are a real opportunity of mixed-use development," he said. "You have some private development happening on the left because of all of this. You have the Haley House and the potential for real development on this site."

Barros steers his vehicle past the old Boston Police District Headquarters in Dudley Square, which is slated to be torn down and developed for commercial use. And as we turn onto Melnea Cass Boulevard, Barros is animated.

"People are excited," he said. "They know what this means for this neighborhood and the way this neighborhood is going. The hotel draws from different neighborhoods. It draws from Northeastern and the Longwood Medical Area. It draws from Dudley and it benefits from being right in line with the cars that entering and exiting 93."

And a supermarket is being built on this lot.

"It will be the new space for Tropical Foods," he said. "Tropical Foods is a local grocery store that’s been serving this community for a couple of decades now, and now we have the opportunity to support a new development that will house a brand new location and a grocery store with greater footage."

Does that mean that Whole Foods — the telltale sign of a wholly gentrified neighborhood — might not be far behind?

"We want to make sure that if we do attract new businesses that it makes sense for existing businesses and it makes sense for the people who live here," he said. And there might be some space for a Whole Foods."

But a lot of folks in the Dudley neighborhood are concerned that the influx of new development will push up rents and drive out local businesses. And what seems like a good idea to transform this community’s blighted areas could usher in greater income inequality — Barros then points to the Whittier housing projects scheduled for demolition.

But affordability and access could be the greatest challenge for Barros and Walsh citywide as new, modern high-rise development transforms Boston’s skyline. And in the much-desired Seaport District this issue takes on special resonance. A few short miles by highway and a tunnel connect Roxbury and the Seaport District. But the lifestyle of residents here, which affords a daily view of the harbor, seems to suggest a much greater distance.

"That view? We need to make sure that all neighborhoods in the city are accessible for low-income families, different income ranges should be able to afford that view," he said.

In the Seaport?

"In the Seaport," he said. "One of the things that’s important for us is to make sure that our inclusionary development ordinances request for affordable units to be built that they’re done locally, that more and more sites like this are sites from affordable units like this in Boston. The mayor is asking that those units be built here."

The Seaport is touted as the Innovation District, and Barros says he wants innovators of little means to live here.

"These are the 50 innovation units where you’re going to have affordability here on site," he said. "And that’s exactly what we want to see more of."

So if you’re working in the Innovation District, you might live right there, in other words?

"Yes," Barros said. "Too bad I can’t get one. This is a beautiful site."

Barros says Walsh’s intention is to open this area, as well as all other parts of the city, to a wider range of incomes by strengthening affordable housing policies even as they fast-track more development citywide.

"So imagine you, Phillip, owning a new apartment here," Barros said.

I can imagine it.

"You come down from your apartment," he said. "You have a fabulous restaurant opportunities in this area and you cross the street and go to work. That’s the kind of quality living that we’re looking to emulate, frankly. But the Seaport is a model for that."

And Barros says 10 years from now, he sees the Seaport District and the Dudley Area having more commonalities than differences, with innovation as the key factor.

"I see this as the premier innovation district in the country, and I see Dudley as the next innovation district right on its heel."

Barros points to District Hall in the Seaport, billed as Boston’s new home for innovation. Its free workspaces are being duplicated in the new Ferdinand Building in Dudley to encourage communities to gather and exchange ideas, and ultimately, says Barros, to narrow the economic gap between residents living in the Roxbury area and those living in view of the Harbor. Both the Dudley and the Seaport projects are part of Mayor Walsh and John Barros’ larger vision of development in Boston. But will the middle class — with shrinking or stagnant incomes outpaced by inflation — be in a position to take advantage of all the new commercial and residential towers that are scraping Boston’s skyline?