The Boston Redevelopment Authority said Friday that Director John Palmieri has submitted his resignation. He will continue to lead the organization until May 1.
The BRA did not detail a reason for Palmieri’s departure. Susan Elsbree, a BRA spokeswoman, said Palmieri formally informed Mayor Thomas Menino and the BRA board of his intention to step down Friday. She said the mayor and board already have commenced a search for Palmieri’s successor.
In a phone interview Friday, Palmieri, 60, said he had been mulling the move for several months and that Menino was aware of his intentions leading up to Friday’s announcement. He said he has no immediate plans, from a professional standpoint.
“I’ve really just begun to think about taking a break, to think about what I’m going to do next,” he said. He said his tenure was marked by plenty of accomplishments and challenges, adding that the real estate market and economy turned south shortly after his arrival at the BRA. “That created enormous pressures.”
Palmieri was tapped to lead the BRA in 2007. During his tenure the city experienced one of its more dramatic real estate and development downturns, a situation that was highlighted by numerous projects that either stalled or were scuttled before completion. Palmieri has been particularly outspoken in his criticism of the development at the former Filene’s building in Downtown Crossing.
In November, Palmieri issued a letter to the project’s developers, Steven Roth of Vornado Realty Trust and John B. Hynes of Boston Global Investors, notifying them that their stalled status “significantly increased the impacts” of the project and that development cannot resume until the agency approves a new project application.
Palmieri is the agency’s 15th director.
Before joining the BRA, Palmieri was the director of the Department of Development Services in Hartford, Conn.
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