The city of Boston’s ambitious and controversial plan to overhaul White Stadium in Franklin Park hit an unexpected delay Monday after the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission voted to approve the preliminary design for the project, but not the demolition plan.
Both the conceptual design and the demolition were included in a single agenda item for the commission to review, and was largely expected to be approved during Monday’s meeting. The commission’s vote is the final hurdle the project needs to clear before developers can acquire the necessary permits to begin work on the site. The proposal had already received approval from the BPDA board earlier this month, a critical benchmark for the project that aims to renovate the stadium in partnership with Boston Unity Soccer Partners for use by Boston Public Schools students and to house a new, professional women’s soccer team. The project still faces opposition and an ongoing lawsuit by some residents and a local environmental nonprofit.
The project encountered the largely unanticipated holdup when some of the commissioners asked for more information on parts of the plan, and then failed to approve the demolition and design together, with three voting in favor, three abstaining, and one voting against, according to the mayor’s office.
The commission then opted to vote on the portions separately. Ultimately, they unanimously approved the design, but then declined to take a second vote on the demolition plan, a city spokesperson said.
The city is working to get answers to the commissioners’ questions, and expects to bring the demolition plan back up for a vote before the commission next month, a representative for the mayor’s office said Monday.
Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.