HOTELS

MidTown’s days may be numbered

With its white brick exterior, blue canopy, and tall neon sign boasting AAA approval, the MidTown Hotel on Huntington Avenue looks much like it did in 1961, when the 159-room hotel opened its doors. In what has become a neighborhood of swank hotels and sleek skyscrapers, the MidTown remains a retro reminder of a simpler — and more affordable — Boston. But maybe not much longer. The First Church of Christ, Scientist which owns the land on which the MidTown sits, is putting it on the market. Whoever acquires the property is likely to raze the old, if well-maintained, hotel, replacing it with something far grander than a place where you can still get a room for under $200 on a Friday night. It’s the latest, and potentially largest, in a string of real estate moves the church has engineered around its Back Bay campus over the last 15 years, highlighted by upgrades to Christian Science Plaza and ongoing construction of the city’s largest condo tower at One Dalton Street — an $850 million, 742-foot-tall spire where penthouses could go for $40 million. — TIM LOGAN

SHORT-TERM RENTALS

Boston City Council passes tighter rules on industry

After months of debate, the Boston City Council on Wednesday passed rules that are designed to sharply rein in Boston’s fast-growing short-term rental business and help ease the tight housing market. The rules, which passed on an 11-to-2 vote, are among the most stringent efforts in the nation to regulate the burgeoning industry. The rules would bar investors and tenants from renting their homes by the night through popular websites such as Airbnb, while allowing homeowners and owner-occupants of two- and three-family houses to continue to do so. Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who first proposed the bill in January, said he will sign it into law. Supporters say they hope the measure will relieve pressure on a housing market where an estimated 2,000 apartments are being rented by the night to tourists, instead of through a traditional 12-month lease. The new rules take effect Jan. 1, but current short-term rental hosts will have until September 2019 to operate under the old system. That last-minute change was a concession to landlords worried about having a flood of apartments hit the market in the typically slow month of January, and to give the estimated hundreds of people working in the short-term rental industry more time to find new jobs. — TIM LOGAN

DEVELOPMENT

Boston officials want planning for downtown flooding

Memories of the storm last winter that flooded parts of ­downtown Boston are still fresh at City Hall. Now, the Walsh administration is pushing developers to make their buildings better able to withstand another watery apocalypse. The ­Boston Planning & Development Agency on Thursday approved new rules to make big buildings more resilient to the effects of climate change. City officials hope the measures will help minimize flooding, keep the lights on in more buildings during power outages, and make it easier to upgrade street lights and other public works. The rules are initially being tested for a two-year period and differ for projects based on size. For the largest developments — at least 1.5 million square feet — developers will need to assess installing an on-site power plant, and build one if it’s financially feasible. They will also have to consolidate all wiring for cable, ­Internet, and other telecom services into one underground tube, so there is less disruption to streets and sidewalks ­during repairs. Any new development above 100,000 square feet will have to retain more rainfall than currently required, to help prevent runoff during storms from contributing to floods in the surrounding area. In 2017, the planning agency received applications for 39 projects over 100,000 square feet. Meanwhile, developers for projects above 50,000 square feet would need to install extra wiring and technology for “smart’’ traffic signals and street lights if the projects require new or improved signals or lights. — JON CHESTO

DEVELOPMENT

Notable building in marine industrial park to reopen

The giant Art Deco structure at 25 Fid Kennedy Ave. in Boston’s Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park has sat empty for years. Its heyday ended long ago — when the building housed a Navy machine shop during World War II. But John Cannistraro and his Watertown construction company have figured out a way to bring the long-neglected building back to life. On Thursday, J.C. Cannistraro LLC celebrated the opening of its fabrication operations in the 157,000-square-foot building. The company will assemble plumbing and HVAC systems there before installing them in major construction projects across the city. Cannistraro is consolidating operations that had previously been in Stoughton, Wilmington, and Watertown. Cannistraro said the city-owned site is ideal for his business, in part because of its central location. Cannistraro declined to say how much his company spent on the extensive renovations that were needed, but he expects to save hundreds of thousands of dollars a year by having the fabrication work done under one roof. About 100 employees — out of an 800-person workforce — will be at the new site. The two-story structure was last occupied in the early 2000s, when it was used as a storage site for Big Dig materials. A Boston Planning & Development Agency spokeswoman said Cannistraro has a 50-year lease, at a cost of $450,000 ­annually, and with a 12.5 ­percent increase every five years. — JON CHESTO

HEALTH CARE

Leader of Harvard Pilgrim steps down amid issues with his ‘behavior’

The longtime leader of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, the state’s second-largest commercial health insurer, abruptly resigned Tuesday for what the company said was behavior “inconsistent’’ with its values. The company declined to specify what led to the departure of Eric H. Schultz, who had been chief executive and president of the Wellesley-based insurer since 2010, succeeding Charlie Baker. “During the past eight years as your leader, I was committed to fostering a workplace culture that was inclusive, welcoming and rooted in integrity and respect,’’ Schultz wrote in a letter to the board of directors that Harvard Pilgrim released. “I made mistakes, and I’m truly sorry.’’ Harvard Pilgrim did not respond to questions about his behavior, except saying that it occurred within the last few weeks. In an interview with the Globe in May, the 59-year-old Schultz said, “I have no plans to stop working.’’ Schultz did not respond to a phone message Tuesday. His sudden departure marks a stunning fall for a veteran executive who was well regarded in the business community. Colleagues in local health care circles expressed shock at his resignation. In a statement, Harvard Pilgrim said Schultz’s decision to resign follows recent behavior “that he recognizes is inconsistent with his personal core values and the company’s core values and code of conduct.’’ Harvard Pilgrim named ­Michael Carson, the company’s chief business growth officer, as its new president. ­Carson, who joined Harvard Pilgrim in 2017, will not have the title of CEO. The unexpected leadership change comes at a critical time for Harvard Pilgrim. The insurer has been negotiating a deal with Partners HealthCare, the state’s largest hospital network, which owns ­Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, among others. The two companies have discussed a range of options, including an acquisition of Harvard Pilgrim by Partners. — PRIYANKA DAYAL MCCLUSKEY