Shen's Return As Boston Planning Chief Hailed As 'Beacon Of Hope' For Developers

After the sudden departure of Boston's chief planner in August, developers feared that they would be losing a sympathetic ear in an era of city government that has largely been seen as unfriendly to the real estate industry.

But Mayor Michelle Wu's decision last week to appoint Kairos Shen as Boston's chief of planning eased those concerns, industry insiders told Bisnow. They see Shen as a familiar face who served as chief planner during a far more pro-development era.

"[Developers] feel a level of comfort with the familiarity of someone they worked with before," Nixon Peabody partner Jennifer Schultz, a land use attorney who represents several Boston developers, said. "Many on the private side of the industry see [Shen] as a beacon of hope."

Shen began his career at the planning department, then known as the Boston Redevelopment Authority, as an urban designer in 1993. He gradually climbed the ladder, eventually becoming the chief planner and director of planning for the BRA and its successor, the Boston Planning & Development Agency, under mayors Thomas Menino and Marty Walsh before his exit from city government in 2015.

“Kairos led the BPDA during a period of unprecedented growth," Levi Reilly, head of development at Marcus Partners, said in a statement. "He understands what it takes to get projects on the ground. His thoughtful and creative approach will help our community navigate these challenging times.”

He rejoins the city under Wu, who has made streamlining the city's planning and development processes a priority of her administration.

She consolidated the BPDA's operations under the mayor's control, pushed new planning initiatives in Mattapan, Charlestown, East Boston, Nubian Square and Chinatown, and made way for her Squares + Streets initiative which focuses on updating zoning, prioritizing affordable housing, and identifying new capital and program investments for projects in those communities.

Shen and Wu worked together in the Menino administration, and Wu has considered Shen an important adviser since she was elected as mayor three years ago, the Boston Globe reported. He's been teaching real estate as a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but hasn't cut all ties to City Hall — most recently, he served on Wu's Article 80 steering committee.

Wu told the Globe that she had been thinking about putting Shen in the position since former chief planner Arthur Jemison announced his departure on Aug. 1.

Joseph Hanley, a partner at McDermott, Quilty, Miller & Hanley, said that Shen is returning to lead Boston's planning agency amid a time of new challenges. The city is reckoning with an acute affordable housing crisis and a glut of office and life sciences space. 

Hanley said one of the biggest changes felt in the shift from the BPDA to BPD has been its prioritization of planning rather than just bringing on new development throughout the city.

Nowhere has the difference in the city's approach to planning and development been more stark than in the Seaport District, which was championed by Shen in his time leading planning for the BRA. The neighborhood has since been criticized for its focus on development and lack of planning for affordable housing and climate change.

"The city is clearly changing," Hanley said. "[Kairos] comes from the background of a planner in architectural and urban design but also has knowledge and experience of when it was more driven by development. There has to be a balance, and I actually think that experience is a good thing."

However, Hanley said that there could be unique challenges for Shen that he didn't have to deal with in his stint with the department, including the rapidly shifting policies from Wu.

"Between now and when he was there, there are these rapid policy changes that are coming out of the city, like zoning amendments and the new [inclusionary development policy]," Hanley said.

Since taking office, Wu has pushed several new policies targeting the development community, including an update to Boston's Inclusionary Development Policy, which took effect on Oct. 1. The policy requires an increase to 20% of new development to be set aside for income-restricted housing, up from 13%.

Last month, industry advocate group NAIOP Massachusetts asked Boston officials to delay the requirement, arguing that it would lead to less new housing development throughout the city. Other Wu policies that industry leaders have opposed include home rule petitions on rent control and commercial tax hikes that many developers fear could further harm the industry, although they have not been taken up by the state.

Wu has also supported climate-related policies like the city's Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, which mandates that commercial buildings 20K SF and larger or residential buildings with 15 units or more keep reducing their greenhouse gas emissions until 2050.

"It really feels like a bit of a never-ending deluge against the commercial development sector right now," Schultz said of Wu's policies.

Jemison had been a reliable ear for developers to turn to when the city was making what developers deemed to be unfair policies and Wu wouldn't answer their calls, the Globe reported. Shen had a similar reputation during his previous stint in city government.

"I've heard a lot of my clients well before Kairos was appointed harking back to the golden era of Kairos' leadership, but in particular, it was the way that he engaged with the development community," Schultz said.

"[If] you wanted a meeting with Kairos and his staff, you got an in-person meeting," she added. "You would sit down, and it truly felt like a collaborative working session."

Justin MacEachern, leader of Gilbane Building Co.'s Massachusetts and Northern New England offices, said the appointment could mark an exciting opportunity for developers, and he's confident Shen will build off the progress Jemison made.

"Shen’s industry relationships and experience supporting previous City of Boston administrations during periods of substantial development and construction will benefit both the planning department and city as a whole during a pivotal moment of growth," MacEachern said in a statement to Bisnow.

Though many industry veterans are excited to see the familiar face back in the department, newer developers aren't sure how to feel about the change in power. For those not familiar with Shen's work with the city, it's daunting to see a new face representing the department to which they must go for permission to build.

"It's very challenging to do development in Boston right now, and losing Arthur Jemison and any change adds more uncertainty to the overall process timeline," Sullivan & Worcester partner Greg Sampson said. "I think there's been a lot of change since [Kairos] was here before, and how he's going to work with them, and how things will change imposes a lot of uncertainty."