BOSTON
The state Legislature has paved the way for the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority to begin the first phase of a $2 billion expansion plan by authorizing construction of up to seven hotels around the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center in the Seaport District.
The new hotels can have a maximum of 2,700 rooms, including a 1,200-room headquarters hotel that convention center authorities have acknowledged may need to be subsidized by up to $200 million in public funds. The Legislature did not include any funding for the hotel developments, but is allowing the convention authority to spend some of the tax money it receives for prep work, such as clearing land and building parking lots, that is necessary for the new hotels.
The authority is planning to spend $33 million to buy a 5.5-acre vacant lot on D Street, across the street from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, where it will seek development of hundreds of new hotel rooms, likely in the mid-price range. The current headquarters hotel for the exhibition hall, the 800-room Westin Boston Waterfront, already has city approval for a 320-room expansion.
