A spokesman at City Hall confirmed that the city of Boston is currently in the process of negotiating for the building, but officials at City Hall and the Boston Redevelopment Authority did not return calls by press time Tuesday night. BankBoston reclaimed ownership of the building in November and since then has been looking for a buyer. He said NU plans to house a variety of offices in the building if it was purchased, including neighborhood outreach programs. He also said NU would rent some of the space to defray the cost of purchasing it. Freeland also said that NU may work with the city to annex the parking lot used by the Registry, if the school does not buy the building.
Parking is a very important part.
We would be working with the city to get the rights to parking, but we haven't had that discussion yet. Northeastern has been among the groups interested in buying the building in the past, looking to acquire the extra office and parking spaces. Several obstacles have stood in the way, however, including fears that the building would cause whoever moved in to become ill. Roseanne Pawelec, special assistant to the director of the division of capital planning and outlay at the RMV, told The News last July that officials feared a spray-on fire retardant may be the cause. The Massachusetts State Department of Public Health found traces of the fibers in the air months afterward.