The decision came down Friday to deny a challenge by local residents to stop a restaurant at the far end of Long Wharf, known as “Doc’s Long Wharf.” The action was taken by the State’s Department of Environment Protection (DEP) as it considered the residents’ challenge to the license it previously granted to the Boston Redevelopment Authority. (Read the January 15, 2010 decision (pdf).)
A group of residents claimed “errors in law” regarding the DEP’s 2008 decision to grant the license to the BRA, which owns the property. The BRA had requested the license under Chapter 91 since the project will take place within filled tidelands.
The BRA plans to construct an extension and shade structure connecting to the existing facility on the site. It is unclear if the Boston Redevelopment Authority will still lease to the same restaurant group it selected in 2007. A lease was to be granted to Eat Drink and Laugh Restaurant Group (EDL) which also operates The Paramount on Charles Street, 21st Amendment on Bowdoin Street, The Blarney Stone in Dorchester, and West on Centre in West Roxbury. EDL had planned on a restaurant to be called “Doc’s Long Wharf.”
In its January 15, 2010 decision, the DEP considered eight questions as part of the residents’ challenge.
After rejecting the petitioners’ claims, the DEP’s conclusion was to affirm the license issued to the BRA.
This decision clears the way for the BRA to lease out the property for restaurant use. It is unclear whether EDL’s “Doc’s Long Wharf” will still be the operator. There has been speculation that the restaurant owner has lost interest in the site.
Click here to read the full decision (pdf).
Click here to read a 2008 Boston Globe article on the debate regarding this site.
