With Gov. Charlie Baker putting the John B. Hynes Convention Center up for sale as part of a plan to expand the Boston and Exhibition Center in the Seaport, the State Administration Committee has scheduled a hearing regarding the Hynes’ future for Monday, Jan. 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room A-1 in the Statehouse.
“I am very concerned about the impact of the loss of the Hynes on the business community of the Back Bay, and I am even more concerned about the impact of a possible unknown replacement of the Hynes on the quality of life in the Back Bay neighborhood,” Sen. William Brownsberger wrote. “We are working to assess both of these impacts and we are still waiting for a lot of information from the Baker administration. Uncertainty is not a good thing for the community, so I hope that we can start to get our options in better focus very soon.”
State Rep. Jay Livingstone added, “I look forward to a public discussion of the positives and negatives of Governor Baker’s proposal and working with residents and businesses of Back Bay to find the best result for the neighborhood.”
In September, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority voted in favor of Gov. Baker’s plan, and Colliers International is now handling the sale of the Hynes.
“We appreciated, and were impressed by, the talent and diversity of the team Colliers’ assembled for this project,” MCCA Executive Director David Gibbons said in a statement. “The MCCA was purposeful in its goal to be diverse and inclusive and Colliers proved their commitment to exceeding the high bar that was set.”