Happenings This Week Starting Tonight

FY2025 CITY COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE BUDGET REVIEW HEARINGS are ongoing through May 31st. View schedule for particular areas of interest.

4/22: Reserved Channel Development Community Advisory Committee (CAC) Meeting at 6pm. The project is an 8 acres development with eight new buildings of proposed uses including a variety of commercial, research and development, civic, and residential housing. This CAC is a joint BPDA and MEPA review group. This meeting will lay out the role of the CAC and the process. 

4/23: Reserved Channel Development Kick-off Meeting at 6pm at the Condon School, 200 D St. Oxford Properties Group and Pappas Enterprises, is hosting this in-person meeting to discuss the proposed project. This event is the first in a series of four meetings to review the entirety of the proposed project. Later meetings will have more specific topics, including transportation infrastructure, resiliency, public realm and open space, and built form.  

4/24:Morrison Mahoney Boston Strong Neighborhood Blood Drive in front of 268 Summer Street. Please sign up for an appointment from 8:30am to 2pm if you are able to give blood. 

4/27: RESILIENT MOAKLEY PARK CONNECTORS SITE WALK from 10am to 12pm at 165 WILLIAM J DAY BLVD. Join the City of Boston Environment Department, City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority onsite to hear about the project and how it connects to ongoing and future work in the area. Learn about the goals of the coastal flood protection work and tell us what you think about the location, including safety (heat, traffic, etc.), accessibility (ease of crossing) and programming (either informal or formal). Rain date 5/4.

Comment Deadlines

4/26: 232 A Street Planned Development Area #69 draft amendment and PDA Master Plan draft amendment comment deadline. 

4/30: Reminder- MassDEP Climate Resilience Draft Regulations for Waterways (Chapter 91) and Wetlands comment deadline.

• Send Waterways Resilience comments to dep.waterways@mass.gov with Waterways Resilience Comments in the subject line.
• Send Wetlands Resilience comments to dep.wetlands@mass.gov with Wetlands-401 Resilience Comments in the subject 

4/30: Waterfront Civic/Cultural Space Planning Study Draft Recommendations deadline. 

244 - 284 A Street Channelside Development Comment Deadline Tuesday

What do you think about the 244-284 A Street (former Gillette parking lot site) 6.5 acre development? The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) and Related Beal want to hear from you. A quick reminder that the comment deadline is Tuesday, November 10, 2020. Here are a few elements of the proposed development. View Project Notification Form and meeting presentations and videos for greater detail. 

Building Height
Two of the three buildings are taller than approved zoning. The property is zoned under PDA 69 aka 100 Acres Master Plan, for one 180 foot building and one 100 foot building at the Channel, and one 100 foot building closer to A Street. The proposed development calls for two 180 feet tall buildings along the Fort Point Channel; thereby, creating a wall of 180 feet buildings along the Harborwalk and a Life Sciences building along A Street of 123 feet plus 50 feet mechanicals (mechanicals are not included in zoning calculations). 

Transportation Improvements
The new development will bring more than 3,500 new residents and workers to our sidewalks and streets. This is in addition to the 1,000 or more workers and visitors to 5 and 15 Necco. Are the transportation improvements being proposed enough?

Appropriate Ground Floor Uses
State law requires the ground floor be for the public good and use. The types of uses currently proposed does not provide sufficient detail to ensure this is accomplished. What civic/community, cultural and retail spaces would you like to see?  How could they complement activation of the parks and watersheet? 

Affordable On-site Housing and Artist Live/Work
The City requires a mix of affordable residential units and zoning references the expansion of artist live/work spaces, all of which should be on-site.

Fort Point Park & Climate Resiliency
As identified in the 100 Acres Master Plan, the Fort Point Park and open green spaces are currently under design via the 100 Acres Open Space Planning Initiative. The final park design including ground floor uses (draft to be provided to the public mid-to-late November) must be incorporated in the next filing, the Draft Project Impact report, for subsequent community review. Do the proposed climate resiliency solutions protect the site, the inner neighborhood and Harborwalk? Is there adequate storm water containment for projected sea level rise and storm events? 

We would ask that you consider providing email feedback to the City to ensure neighborhood voices are heard. As in the past these types of communications are best done to both the BPDA and our City of Boston District Councilor:

Aisling Kerr, BPDA Project Manager - aisling.kerr@boston.gov

Ed Flynn, Boston City Councilor District 2 - ed.flynn@boston.gov

South Station Expansion Project For Public Comment

The South Station Expansion (SSX) project Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Section 4(f) Determination  is now available for public review and comment. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) are circulating the draft document for public review. The draft document can be found on the project website and can be reviewed at the following locations:

• The State Library of Massachusetts
• Boston Public Library – Central Library
• Honan-Allston Branch of the Boston Public Library
• Hyde Park Branch of the Boston Public Library
• South Boston Branch of the Boston Public Library

The purpose of the South Station Expansion project is to expand South Station terminal capacity to meet current and anticipated future commuter rail and intercity rail service needs. The project would also promote city-building in a key area of Boston, and allow Dorchester Avenue to be reopened for public use and enjoyment for the first time in decades. The expansion of South Station would enable growth in passenger rail transportation within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and along the Northeast Corridor (NEC). 

In order to use federal funding, the South Station Expansion project is undergoing the federal environmental review process required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The Draft EA and Draft Section 4(f) Determination summarizes the project’s environmental benefits and impacts, and is similar in content to the Draft and the Final Environmental Impact Report (DEIR and FEIR) prepared in compliance with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, filed in October 2014, and June 2016, respectively.

To request a copy of the document, please contact Steve Woelfel, Deputy Director, MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning, at steve.woelfel@state.ma.us, or at (857) 368-9800.

Read the report and submit written comments by May 27, 2017. Please send your comments to MassDOT. Comments may be submitted by U.S. Mail, fax, or email:
Mr. Stephen Woelfel
South Station Expansion Project Manager
Deputy Director, MassDOT Office of Transportation Planning
10 Park Plaza, Suite 4150
Boston, MA 02116
(857) 368-9800
Email: steve.woelfel@state.ma.us
Fax: 857-368-0639

Comment letters must be received by MassDOT no later than May 27, 2017.

For more information about the South Station Expansion project, please visit www.mass.gov/massdot/southstationexpansion.

45 West Third Community Meeting

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is hosting a community meeting regarding the development at 45 West Third Street in South Boston. The meeting will be held: 

Monday, April 6, 2015

6:30 pm - 8 pm

Artists For Humanity

100 W 2nd St

The proposed development calls for the construction of 164 residential units with 3,000 sf of retail space and 115 parking spaces The building will be situated on the corner of A Street next to KO Pies and on West Third Street. More details.

Comment Deadline is April 13, 2015. Email your comments to Gary Uter, Project Manager, BRA or submit comments online at the bottom of the BRA's project page.

South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan Released

The South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan is now available in final form and as an executive summary. The plan is the result of a year long effort by The City of Boston, the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority (MCCA), Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), and Massport.

The South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan is a blueprint for improving the growth of the Waterfront, proposing real solutions to meet the growing and changing transportation needs of the district, and for improving the public realm of the area, all while preserving the quality of life for the surrounding neighborhoods. The plan included input of area stakeholders through five community meetings and more than 50 outreach meetings. The next stage will continue collaborative efforts to refine and implement plan recommendations.
  
Over the next several months, each of the participating agencies will be working to implement immediate actions and take steps toward realizing the longer-term recommendations.

South Boston Waterfront Transportation Plan Comments Deadline Extended

Update: The comment deadline is extended to January 15, 2015!

The South Boston Waterfront Sustainable Transportation Plan team is looking for community comment on their preliminary recommendations as the planning process comes to an end. The comment deadline is extended from December 31, 2014 to January 15, 2015. 

Over a hundred people attended the two meetings on December 8th and 18th to hear the preliminary recommendations of the Study. At both meetings, there was a very detailed presentation of the draft recommendations, with questions and discussion by the participants. Read or review the December 18th recommendation meeting presentation.

To share your thoughts on the plan and keeping the Northern Ave bridge open*, use the comment form on the bottom of the South Boston Waterfront Mobility homepage, mail them to Rachel Hammerman, Regina Villa Associates, 51 Franklin Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02110-1301, or email Rachel. The final plan will be published in January and there will be another posting to notify you when it is released.

*For more information on the Northern Avenue Bridge closing, read the Boston Globe article, Northern Avenue Bridge Belongs in Boston's Future. 

Originally published 12.19.14

Comments on Municipal Harbor Plan

This is a reminder that comments regarding the South Boston Municipal Harbor Plan Amendment, which was submitted to the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs on May 15, 2009, are due by 4:30pm on June 19, 2009. Comments should be addressed to:

Office of Coastal Zone Management
251 Causeway Street, Suite 800
Boston, MA  02114
Attn: Brad Washburn

Copies of the Plan are available on the BRA website:
http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/pdf/PlanningPublications/Fort%20Point%20District%20MHP%20Amendment_May%202009.pdf