Attorney Katharine Klein received a recent commendation of excellence from James E. Gillooly, Deputy Commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department (“BTA”), as part of a team of experts retained by BTA to acquire property interests needed for the $18 million Commonwealth Avenue bicycle, pedestrian and streetscape improvement project. Attorney Klein served as the real estate expert in this unusual and complex undertaking, assisting BTA together with AECOM, a worldwide provider of services to the public and private sectors. Attorney Klein provided the high level of legal and practical expertise required for the team to meet the greatly compressed deadline for this demanding project. Deputy Commissioner Gillooly commended the “top-notch ROW acquisition team [for] enabling the City of Boston to acquire 82 temporary easements/Rights of Entry on 26 private and 3 public properties in 4 months from the issuance of Notice to Proceed to obtaining the final Order of Taking, a record setting pace.” Attorney Klein advised the City relative to acquisition of the necessary interests in property located in Brookline, drafted the legal documentation for the Boston Public Facilities Commission to acquire the property interests, and negotiated and implemented agreements with owners of property affected by the project. This was Attorney Klein’s second project for the City of Boston, in 2014 having served in a similar role for the Boston Department of Public Works on the Connect Historic Boston project, a pedestrian and bicycle transportation path connecting historic sites located throughout the City.
