NorthEndWaterfront.com
News & Views for Boston's North End & Waterfront Community
New plans have been filed by Thomas O’Brien’s HYM Investment Group LLC to redevelop the Government Center Garage with a mixed use project featuring several commercial, residential and hotel towers, up to 600 feet. HYM and the Boston Redevelopment Authority released the Project Notification Form (PNF) on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. Project Details, as filed: [...]
Coming off the post of a Miami towers concept at Lewis Wharf, here is another drawing board plan for Sargent’s Wharf on Commercial Street. Developed in the 1990′s, this greenspace concept with a small residential housing component never happened. The waterfront space remains mostly a parking lot with a surrounding Harborwalk and small public area [...]
We last left the Doc’s Long Wharf case in Superior Court where a case review hearing was held in early May to consider issues previously remanded by the higher Supreme Judicial Court. At hand is (1) whether the North End citizens group (aka, North End Ten) have “standing” as plaintiffs, (2) an amended complaint by [...]
The Mayor’s Urban Agriculture Working Group and the Boston Redevelopment Authority has drafted a new section of the Zoning Code, Article 89, to address the growing interest in Urban Agriculture. Eleven meetings around the City will be held to present Article 89 and receive feedback from residents. The first meeting will be held on June [...]
Downtown Waterfront Planning Initiative Workshop ONEin3 – Open to all of Boston’s young creatives, entrepreneurs and community leaders Friday, May 17, 2013 2:00 – 6:00 pm 2:00 pm – Walking Tour, Meet at Marriott Long Wharf, 296 State Street (north entrance off Christopher Columbus Park) 3:30 pm – Visioning Workshop, Atlantic Wharf, 280 Congress Street [...]
The Long Wharf legal case comes back to Superior Court this week. The action follows a March 2013 Supreme Judicial Court ruling against a North End citizens group arguing for open space protection, under Article 97. The ruling supported a 2007 Boston Redevelopment Authority lease for “Doc’s Long Wharf,” a proposed 4,655 square-foot waterfront restaurant [...]
A legal fight that started in 2007 over Long Wharf neared its conclusion on Friday as the Supreme Judicial Court rejected the open space and park protection arguments of a North End citizens group, paving the way for a restaurant or development at the site. The SJC supported the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and Mass. [...]
Video: Downtown Waterfront & Greenway District Zoning Planning Initiative – Project Overview, held at the New England Aquarium IMAX Theater on March 13, 2013 A large crowd attended the Wednesday night kickoff for the Downtown Waterfront and Greenway District Zoning Planning Initiative. Led the the Boston Redevelopment Authority with its consultant, Utile Inc., the Downtown [...]
Join the Boston Redevelopment Authority and their consultant Utile Inc., for the following series of events to learn about the Downtown Waterfront and Greenway District Zoning Planning Initiative and opportunities for participating in the planning process. Please reference the attached flyer for more details. Project Overview Wednesday, March 13th 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. New [...]
The Boston Harbor Association’s groundbreaking report, Preparing for the Rising Tide, was championed today by Mayor Menino as he announced several new initiatives related to preparing for sea level rise and future storms like Sandy. “The government and private sector need to be proactive in planning for a future with rising sea levels and future [...]
Residents and local business owners probably already figured out the recession ended just by looking at the number of people in the restaurants and shops, record tourists, surging real estate prices, more traffic, no parking, crowded T trains or the cranes in the air. City Hall released its official numbers today, mostly all showing a [...]
There are some new developments in the Long Wharf legal case as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) considers its decision over the next few months (See Case Docket). Oral arguments were heard last month in the environmental-protection and constitutional case of Sanjoy Mahajan et al. (i.e., aka “North End Ten“) vs. the Boston Redevelopment [...]
Video: Lovejoy Wharf presentation and discussion at November 28, 2012 public meeting at Boston City Hall. (Q&A starts at 21:20) A new proposal for the long-delayed redevelopment of Lovejoy Wharf was presented on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 by The Beal Cos. and Related Cos. at a public meeting hosted by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). [...]
The West End Civic Association is pleased to sponsor an evening with Shirley Kressel and David Kubiak titled “Neighborhood Development: Civic Discourse – BRA’s Role and Citizens Options for Action” on Tuesday, November 13, 7PM, at the West End Museum,150 Staniford St. WECA is extending an invitation to all Boston Neighborhood Associations to learn about [...]
This coming Monday, you are warmly invited to hear the fate of Long Wharf Park argued in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts — in the enviromental-protection and constitutional case of Sanjoy Mahajan et al. v. DEP and BRA, now over four years in the making. When: Monday, November 5, for a half hour sometime [...]
The drum of amicus briefs to the Supreme Judicial Court continues to beat in favor of the case put forth by ten North End residents to preserve the end of Long Wharf as an open park, under the protection of Article 97 in the Massachusetts Constitution. The case revolves around efforts since 2008 by the [...]
The Conservation Law Foundation has intervened in the Long Wharf legal battle to keep the open space as a park instead of a private restaurant under State law. On behalf of four environmental groups, CLF filed an amicus brief in support of the “North End Ten” versus the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Department of Environmental [...]
As part of its Article 80, Large Project Review, process for the North Bennet Street School development at 150 North Street & 130-140 Richmond streets, the Boston Redevelopment Authority hosted a community meeting on Monday night at the Nazzaro Center. BRA’s Casey Hines started the meeting followed by comments from Miquel Gomez-Ibanez, NBSS President, and [...]
The battle lines continue to form over the fate of the Long Wharf Pavilion and the open space around it at the end of the historic wharf. On September 20, 2012, the latest reply briefs to the Supreme Judicial Court were filed by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the State’s Department of Environmental Protection. The [...]
The Boston Redevelopment Authority has scheduled a public meeting on Monday, October 1, 2012, 6:30 pm at the Nazzaro Center regarding the North Bennet Street School development project at 150 North Street and 130-140 Richmond Street. NBSS is planning substantial rehabilitation including the addition of a connector to the existing North Street garage structure. The [...]
The Sierra Club has filed an amicus brief in support of the “North End Ten” regarding the Long Wharf legal case versus the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Department of Environmental Protection. The case revolves around efforts by the BRA and DEP to license “Doc’s Long Wharf,” a private restaurant and bar at the end of [...]
The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) case of Sanjoy Mahajan et. al. v. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), about the conversion of the Long Wharf pavilion, has provoked much discussion on the pros and cons of converting a portion of Long Wharf Park into a late-night restaurant and bar. This discussion [...]
Plaintiff and defendant legal briefs were recently filed with the Supreme Judicial Court in preparation for an epic and precedent setting battle set to erupt this Autumn over Long Wharf “park,” the open space area at the eastern end of Boston’s famous Long Wharf pavilion on Boston Harbor. The SJC is scheduled to hear oral [...]
A supermarket is in … no, it’s out … it’s Target, it’s Stop & Shop, … no, it isn’t. After more than a decade, the long-anticipated affordable supermarket for downtown Boston is on-track to break ground in the Spring of 2013 as part of the One Canal project in the Bulfinch Triangle. On Tuesday night, [...]
News release from the Boston Redevelopment Authority: Request for Proposals to be issued for Downtown Waterfront Municipal Harbor Plan The BRA Board unanimously approved the advertising of a Request for Proposals for a planning and design consultant for the Downtown Municipal Harbor Plan to codify the Use and Development Guidelines for the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy [...]
by Thomas F. Schiavoni Since 1989 an inscribed bronze plaque, embedded in granite beneath a towering flagpole, has clearly established the identity of a magnificent public space on Boston’s waterfront. Long Wharf Park offers panoramic views and serenity at the edge of the sea – a stone toss away from a bustling hotel, commuter boats [...]
Saturday, April 28th was the annual Boston Shines citywide neighborhood cleanup. In the North End, residents joined together at the Prado with staff from City Hall and the Boston Redevelopment Authority, including BRA Chief Peter Meade. Representatives from City Councilor Sal LaMattina’s office also took part, along with State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz and a large [...]
The My Neighborhood Census Viewer was recently released by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, allowing the public to research data to the 2010 census block area. Using the viewer to create a rough area of the North End / Waterfront reveals the following: There are 11,753 residents in the North End / Waterfront. See the map [...]
Sarah Barnat of Trinity Financial Inc. presented the developer’s plan for “One Canal,” an apartment rental complex to the North End / Waterfront Residents’ Association, NEWRA, on December 8, 2011. In addition to 320 luxury apartments, the building will include approximately 21,300 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The parcel runs along N. Washington Street, [...]
Two developers have filed project change notices, moving the process forward on building complexes planned for the West End’s Bulfinch Triangle area. First, the Merano building is proposed for the intersection of Beverly and Causeway Streets, adjacent to the North End at the end of the Greenway. Second, the Forecaster Building renovation is proposed on [...]
Wrapping up a successful 2-day forum on the future of Boston Harbor, Kairos Shen, reflects on the city planning aspects of the waterfront. Shen is Boston’s Chief Planner at the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Vivien Li, President of The Boston Harbor Association, provides the introduction as part of a forum titled “A Clean Boston Harbor, What [...]
A consultant hired to research the implementation of a Public Market for the ground floor of the Parcel 7 garage next to the Greenway and Haymarket has concluded that, “Strong supply, demand, a great location and massive public and government support puts this project at a great starting point.” The Massachusetts Department of Agriculture recently [...]
Video: Government Center Garage Redevelopment Project Meeting of the Impact Advisory Group for the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Presentation by Thomas O’Brien, HYM Investment Group – July 18, 2011, City Hall. Despite many unanswered questions, HYM’s Investment Group’s Thomas O’Brien received a hopeful response last night to his new proposal for a large, phased-in complex to [...]
The Herald’s Tom Grillo reports that not only has Stop & Shop withdrawn from a Trinity Financial project at One Canal Street, but is seeking space in a nearby spot at a revived tower development project on the site of the old Garden on Causeway Street. Stop & Shop has expressed interest in opening a [...]
A group of neighborhood residents, locally known as the “North End Ten,” scored a major win in Superior Court against the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA). The action stops the development of a proposed 220-seat waterfront restaurant, Doc’s Long Wharf, on the end of Boston’s Long Wharf, subject to a possible appeal. In a June 10, [...]
Raise a glass to the 10th anniversary of a proposed supermarket for the North and West Ends. Here, below, from my old files, is a letter describing the need for an “affordable ” and “easily-accessible” supermarket. It was sent May 17, 2001, by Boston City Councillor At-Large Francis “Mickey” Roache to the BRA — with a copy [...]