That a "tax increment financing district" be created as part of the Fort Point Channel plan to help pay for the costs of transit investments and public realm amenities through trusts and a revolving fund.

From the panel's report:

Undertaking the many aspects of the Fort Point Channel plan will require new infrastructure investments. These funds will not be easy to come by from the public sector, which has already pumped some $20 billion in and around Boston Harbor over the past two decades. Where will this money come from? The national panel believes that the answer lies in the private sector, which must be motivated to deliver an economically feasible development program that is consistent with the public interest.

An MIT economic analysis conducted in conjunction with The Boston Harbor Conference indicated that Fort Point development could spin off sufficient monies to help underwrite the necessary investments in public infrastructure. The study found that new economic activity resulting from the development of the Seaport District could generate as much as $2.2 billion per year in new wages and business income.

The national panel proposes creation of a "Fort Point Channel Tax Increment Financing District," including an in-lieu-of-taxes payment by Massport, which would use the incremental increase in tax revenues to capitalize the following:

A $1 billion-plus "Public Realm and Transit Trust" to help pay for the Seaport Transit System and public realm amenities.

A $75 million "Housing Trust," matched by state and local subsidies, to support construction of new homes in Boston neighborhoods.

A $25 million revolving fund to promote special events on the waterfront esplanade and the Boston Harbor Islands National Park.