The Registry of Motor Vehicles is moving adjacent to the North End into the 2nd and 3rd floors of Parcel 7, the tunnel vent building / parking garage adjacent to the Greenway parks. The ground floor of Parcel 7 remains slated for the Boston Public Food Market. The RMV is currently located on Washington Street in Chinatown.
MassDOT owns the Parcel 7 building and the move will save the $1.3 million in rent currently paid to lease the Chinatown location. Parcel 7 offices have been empty for about 10 years. The entrance will be on Blackstone Street. Construction of the interior starts in January 2013.
The North End visitor discount parking program at Parcel 7 will not change. The RMV will not have a validation stamp so their customers will not get the discount (unless they go across the Greenway and patronize a North End business).
In the video, John Romano presents MassDOT’s plan and answers questions at the November 15, 2012 meeting of the North End / Waterfront Neighborhood Council, NEWNC.
Shown below is the Parcel 7 building.
As a North end resident, I can’t say I’m thrilled about this. I walk by the chinatown branch every morning on the way to my office. There’s always a special breed of 30-40 scumbags waiting in line for it to open. Welcome to the neighborhood, guys!
Cant say I’m thrilled about it either…that garage is already packed most days with lines 30+ minutes just trying to pay/exit. I can’t imagine this will help much.
as a north end resident, you should be more concerned about the methadone clinic on canal street. you see the people that hang around the dunkin’ donuts by haymarket station all day?
I am a regular at the Registry’s Chinatown Branch, as I represent a lot of clients who are looking for hardship licenses. I won’t miss the old digs and I’m going forward to the move. It makes sense to move into a state-owed building instead of paying a fortune in rent year after year.