A public school for Beacon Hill

Many neighboring residents see potential for more than two glass office towers, stores, restaurants, and residences in the $2.2 billion development proposal by Raymond Property Co. They see the first opportunity in almost 35 years to send their children to a nearby school. But there are obstacles.

The developer is taking a cautious look at the request of the Boston Redevelopment Authority to include a K-8 school as part of the community benefits package for the proposed 3.8 million-square-foot development on the garage site on Congress Street between New Chardon and New Sudbury streets. And all three mayoral challengers are criticizing the development, for reasons ranging from the height and density of the proposal to the faltering efforts of the mayor to link school construction with commercial development in Chinatown.

There is a long way to go to determine if the project is suitable to the site, or whether a police station on adjacent city-owned land and an NSTAR substation can coexist with the project. But if any area of the city can handle the proposed 42- and 52-story towers, it is Government Center, with its abundance of public transportation and absence of residential abutters.

A school on the site would be a significant sweetener. According to the Boston School Department, there are more than 1,200 elementary- and middle-school-age children living in the downtown/Back Bay/Beacon Hill zip-codes. Only about a third of them attend public schools. And if the area's crowded tot lots are any indication, there are plenty of students in the wings. A school would be the best conceivable community use connected to the development. It enjoys the support of several of the area's elected officials, including City Council President Michael Ross, who asks, "Why aren't we running to get this project permitted?"

The last public school on Beacon Hill closed in 1975. Mayor Menino blew a chance to bring wealthier, engaged families from the area into the school system in 2001, when he failed to purchase a Brimmer Street building that would have made a terrific public school. Opportunities like this don't come along often, especially when they promise millions in new commercial taxes by replacing a parking garage eyesore with a multifaceted development.