his plans, in April 2007, the Boston Landmarks Commission reviewed a petition to make the building a city landmark, supported by a group of architects and preservationists. On July 10, 2008, a Landmarks Commission official said that the petition to designate the building as a landmark had been accepted for study, giving the building pending landmark status. Members of the group Citizens for City Hall also opposed Mayor Menino's plan to build a new City Hall on the South Boston waterfront because it would be a major inconvenience for tens of thousands of city residents. In December 2008, Menino suspended his plan to move City Hall as the Great Recession set in, stating, "I can't consciously move ahead on a major project like this at this time." An advocacy group, Friends of Boston City Hall, was established to help develop support for preserving and enhancing City Hall and improving the Plaza. In 2010, the Boston Society of Architects held a competition for ideas for modifying City Hall. In March 2011, plans were announced to rethink the building and its surrounding plaza. While a candidate for Mayor of Boston, Martin J. Walsh called for the sale of City Hall for mixed-use redevelopment. But after his election, Walsh did not pursue such a sale. In 2015, the City of Boston launched a "Rethink City Hall" program to gather ideas for changes to the building and to City Hall Plaza. The Getty Foundation awarded Boston a grant of $120,000 in 2017 to study ways to preserve and enhance City Hall and its plaza. The Foundation noted "a shift in public sentiment" in recent years, "with many residents now embracing the site as a key feature of the city fabric." Suffolk University professor Harry Bartnick proposed that the building should be enclosed in a variegated glass sheath to make it more welcoming, less intimidating, and improve its energy efficiency. In August 2015, a developer's donations for a kitchen renovation was criticized by a fiscal watchdog. In January 2016, Mayor Walsh announced plans to install new LED lighting on the exterior of the building. "We are committed to creating a welcoming, lively City Hall Plaza," Walsh said. The lights were turned on in October 2016. A more extensive set of renovations, designed by the Boston firm Utile, was completed in 2018. The renovations included new security and seating areas in the lobby, a coffee kiosk,