East Boston Master
Plan
Feasibility and analysis
of preferred alternative - Workshop 3
Feasibility
and Analysis Key: (+) Positive factor (-) Negative factor
(*) Issue requiring further study
Reviving the
Waterfront
This action area
includes a broad array of recommendations for a diversity
of land use options, pedestrian and vehicular access, and
open space opportunities along East Boston’s
waterfront, from the Massport Piers to Chelsea Creek.
Recommendations include regulatory and urban design
guidelines intended to protect the public interest in and
access to these valuable waterfront resources.
1. Diversity of Uses
Boston East -
Recommendations include:
Extend Harborwalk
through the site.
Enhance view
corridor of Decatur Street by forming a waterfront
plaza at the end of the axis.
Option 1 -
Develop medium density
residential with a minor cultural use.
Buffer residential
development from adjacent marine industrial uses by
developing a cultural
use such as a small
museum or open space/waterfront access.
Reserve dock space for
some layover berthing.
Extend residential
focus across the street to include redevelopment of
adjacent blocks.
Possibly market
the larger area as the "Northpoint"
artists’ housing area, the new Fort Point.
Option 2 -
Develop major
cultural use with open space and marine industrial
use.
Museum would be
conglomeration of all heritage efforts, to maximize
potential attendance.
Marine industrial
would be port service related, requiring minor indoor
space, mostly dock space.
Feasibility
(*)
DPA designation would need to be removed to
accommodate Option 1, while Option 2 could exist
within the regulations.
(+)
View corridor of Decatur Street would be established
as part of any development.
(+)
Harborwalk and public access conform to both City of
Boston zoning and State waterways regulations.
(+)
Redevelopment of adjacent sites would enhance
development potential of Boston East site itself.
(+)
Cultural uses on the site are appropriate due to its
historic significance on the waterfront.
(-)
Museums would need a major subsidy for construction
and operation.
(-)
Active industrial businesses would have to be
relocated; (Hess Oil site might be a possible
relocation site).
(-)
Residential development would need to accommodate
densities higher than those of the adjacent
residential areas to make development feasible for
any developer.
Liberty Plaza -
Recommendations include:
Create a ferry
terminal and landscaped pedestrian and vehicular
approach along the waterfront.
Expand waterfront
plaza
Provide
right-of-way for expanded harborwalk.
Maintain waterside
activities with port services, such as layover
berthing.
Option 1 -
Maintain marine
industrial activity conforming with DPA.
Buffer the service
activity of the plaza with increased landscape
screening, perhaps a mural dedicated to maritime
history.
Develop minor
retail space for restaurant/cafe on the waterfront
adjoining ferry terminal area.
Option 2 -
Redesign the plaza
to allow visual connection and public access to the
waterfront through center of site and to strengthen
connection of retail to the street and Central
Square.
Pursue DPA
designation removal.
Develop retail
opportunities on the waterfront side of the plaza.
Feasibility
(*)
DPA designation
(+) A
ferry terminal and landscaped pedestrian and
vehicular approach are required as part of the
Chapter 91 license for the renovation of the retail
complex already completed.
(+)
Harborwalk has plenty of square footage to exist
behind the plaza and connect to the current
harborwalk.
(+)
Reconfiguration of vacant Woolworth’s building
as a market repositioning and physical opportunity.
(+)
Waterside access for port services is encouraged to
make active use of the water sheet.
(*)
Retail opportunities along the waterfront would not
directly compete with Central Square retail.
(+)
Traffic impacts from waterfront development would be
minimal due to the amount of parking in the plaza,
and considering improved pedestrian access.
Clippership Wharf
–
Recommendations
include:
Preserve view
corridors to the water.
Encourage use of
peripheral streets around Maverick Square, such as
Bremen Street and Havre Street.
Create new
parks/plazas at water’s edge, where setback is
required.
Design attractive
landscaping for surface parking lots
Provide vehicular
access to connect Marginal Street to Sumner Street
via Clippership Lane.
Analysis
(*)
View corridors of Marginal Street, Clippership Lane,
and Lewis Mall should be preserved to the water.
(*)
Traffic impacts would be minimal due to the proximity
to public transportation and potential water transit
service, as well as guidance to peripheral streets
such as Bremen and Havre Street.
(*) In
the event that surface parking lots occur, trees and
shrubs should be used to screen the parking lots.
(*)
Setbacks at the edge of the water should be designed
as plazas or parks with street furniture and
landscaping (consistent with Harborwalk standards),
taking advantage of the waterfront views.
(*)
City service requirements (fire, schools, police,
etc.) should be identified.
Massport Piers Plan
–
Recommendations include:
Preserve view
corridors to the water, both north-south and east-west
directions.
Encourage use of
Bremen Street as main access in and out of the Pier
One development.
Create new parks/plaza
at water’s edge, where setback is required.
Limit industrial
activity at the Shipyard to maritime industrial
activities, maintaining the DPA designation.
Program active
recreation on proposed parks - Pier Three and Pier Five
Remove parking on
the south side of Marginal Street, allowing for safer
two-way travel.
Provide connection to
the Greenway.
Analysis
(*)
Public access to the water’s edge should be
encouraged across Pier One as well as along the
harborwalk.
(+)
Use of Bremen Street as a main access street would
alleviate potential traffic on Maverick Square, a
commercial and transit center.
(+)
Limiting industrial uses at the Shipyard to marine
industrial activity, as opposed to heavy construction
activity, would reduce the amount of heavy truck
traffic within adjacent residential areas.
Maritime industrial
Recommendations include:
Promote East
Boston maritime industrial as a Harborwide Port
Service Center with active port support industry and
passive support functions.
Encourage use of
DPA sites as port service related activities.
Discourage noxious
uses immediately adjacent to residences within Boston
Marine Shipyard.
Encourage reuse of
Hess Oil site for industrial/maritime industrial use
with public access to the water, consistent with DPA
regulations.
Analysis
(+)
Port services are a vital sector within the harbor
economy and could be concentrated in East Boston.
(+) It
is likely that all Designated Port Areas will not be
needed for the foreseeable maritime growth, but some
portions of the consolidation areas- if DPA areas are
consolidated, with appropriate infrastructure and
waterside characteristics, should be reserved for
reasonable levels of expansion.
(+)
Waterside maritime industrial activities such as port
services minimize the need for larger trucks, thus
minimizing negative impacts on the adjacent
neighborhoods.
(+) As
part of the Massport Piers Plan, the northern portion
of the Shipyard is being proposed for office space
instead of active industrial space, suggesting that
other sites could accommodate industrial relocation
or growth.
(+)
Public access at Hess Oil can be obtained, under
current DPA regulations, along the waterside of the
site, offering observation points.
2. Access
Harborwalk
Recommendations
include:
Extend harborwalk
route from the existing walk to the Condor Street
Park, wherever physically and functionally possible.
Program the route
as a part of new developments or renovations at the
Navy Fuel Pier, Pier Five, Pier Three, Pier One, and
Clippership Wharf, Boston East and Liberty Plaza,
Shore Plaza East, Hess Oil, and Condor Urban Wild.
Allowable
pedestrian access would be defined through the Boston
Marine Shipyard.
Discourage
interference within existing marine industrial uses,
whenever public safety and industrial functions would
have to be compromised.
Identify access
routes back to the community and important
neighborhood resources such as the Greenway,
commercial centers, historic buildings, churches, and
parks.
Incorporate
heritage elements (discussed in Celebrating Our
Heritage) along the Harborwalk illustrating the
history of East Boston and its waterfront.
Analysis
(+)
The Harborwalk already exists within four places:
Jeffries Cove, Piers Park, LoPresti Park, and Liberty
Plaza. A coordinated effort would connect these
existing segments with new development and existing
rights-of-way.
(+)
Proposed open space developments at the Navy Fuel
Pier, Pier Five, Pier Three, and Condor Street Urban
Wild could augment the walkway.
(*)
Renovation would need to occur at the Harborside
Community Center site and the Shore Plaza East
apartments. The Community Center should be provided
with a better physical connection from the waterfront
to Border Street. Shore Plaza East is an expiring
Section 8 use development; possible renovation plans
could include site improvements and better street to
waterfront access.
Urban Design
Guidelines
Recommendations include:
Provide clearly
defined public walkways on both waterside and
landside.
Identify
functional zones of harborwalk including: waterside
walkway, promenade zone, landside walkway and
vehicular street consistent with citywide Harborwalk
standards.
Utilize materials
and finishes which have a maritime theme to form the
base palette for all designs within urban furniture
such as benches, trash barrels, and drinking
fountains.
Develop unified
and unique lighting and signage which celebrate East
Boston’s waterfront heritage consistent with
existing Harborwalk elements.
Maximize views by
designating the walkway to be barrier-free, limiting
fences only for safety reasons, and creating
structures and shelters which are transparent and
screen-like.
Preserve view
corridors and pedestrian access along existing
rights-of-way.
Analysis
(*)
Design of standard Harborwalk elements could be
adapted to contain special and distinct East Boston
character.
Water
Transportation
Recommendations
include:
Disperse water
transportation facilities (such as public ferry
terminals for scheduled services, water taxi/cultural
loop, and charter use) at key sites along the
waterfront.
Key sites include
the expanded Logan South, existing Lewis Mall, and a
new terminal at Liberty Plaza/Central Square
waterfront.
Provide space for
public landings for small vessels at ferry terminals.
Develop docks and
landings for smaller water taxis and small boats at
several existing and new locations.
Provide space for
vessel support services and layover berthing along
the waterfront.
Analysis
(-)
Commuter shuttle services may be added from Lewis
Mall and Liberty Plaza at such time as new
residential development, such as Clippership Wharf
and Pier One, combined with existing neighborhood
work trips, increase substantially over current
volumes. At present, demand levels are too low to
make such services viable.
(+)
Existing docks with low freeboards exist at Boston
Marine Shipyard and at the Piers Park sailing center.
Additional sites may be added as part of new
development at the Clippership development, Boston
East site, and at the MBTA Car Barn site in Chelsea
Creek. Such docks would provide touch and go landings
for smaller private and commercial vessels.
(+)
Vessel support servicing and layover berthing at a
variety of East Boston pier sites, particularly
including ship repair and maintenance services, would
add incrementally to the East Boston economy by
providing maritime employment.
Street Improvements
Recommendations
include:
Unify streetscape
elements along the waterfront streets: Marginal,
Sumner, New, Border, and Condor Street.
Identify segments
where truck access should be limited.
Follow urban
design guidelines for waterfront vehicular street.
Widen sidewalks on
New Street and Sumner along the harborwalk path.
Analysis
(+)
Streetscape elements such as signage, lighting,
pavement, sidewalk widths, landscaping, etc. should
be designed to be a unified system.
(+)
Condor Street already limits truck access and
parking, while future uses of the Shipyard should
require less heavy truck traffic.
(*)
Design guidelines for the waterfront vehicular street
should be based on and consistent with the Harborwalk
design guidelines.
(*)
The street widths of Sumner Street from Maverick
Square to New Street are excessive and could be
reduced, scaling down the street by enlarging
sidewalk widths.
(*)
The west side of New Street is poorly designed for
any pedestrian circulation and should be upgraded to
include viable sidewalk widths to continue up to
Border Street.
3. Open Space
Pier Five -
Recommendations
include:
Develop a new park
as allowed under legislation
Incorporate
heritage elements within harborwalk segment.
Analysis
(+)
The park could contain a significant heritage
elements, such as an interpretive kiosk or playground
as described later, since the program for the open
space is not clear at this time.
Condor Street Urban
Wild + American Legion Playground
Option 1 -
Develop new
passive park at Condor Street Urban Wild with
waterfront access and restoration of native
vegetation as proposed by the Parks and Recreation
Department preliminary concept.
Option 2 -
Close Condor
Street around the American Legion Playground to
vehicular traffic.
Combine both open
spaces to form one large park.
Allow waterfront
access and harborwalk connections to the ball fields.
Increase parking
for the park within closed street segments.
Feasibility
(+)
The Urban Wild is currently being transferred to the
City of Boston’s Park and Recreation Department,
allowing for possible alterations to their original
concept of creating a separate park.
(+)
Traffic impacts of closing this segment of Condor
Street would be minimal, due to the current truck
restrictions on Condor Street and the proposed
relocation of automobile parking to inside the park.
Small parks/plazas
along Harborwalk
Recommendations include:
Designate parks
and/or plazas in areas where setbacks are required
such as at the end of piers at Clippership Wharf and
Pier One.
Designate parks
and/or plazas at the end of important view corridors
or key observation points such as the Decatur Street
terminus on Boston East and Liberty Plaza landing
(possible water transit node).
Analysis
(+)
Public spaces along the harborwalk where users could
sit and rest, observe the views, and potentially
learn about East Boston’s history would
reinforce attraction of a Harborwalk.
(+)
Meets Chapter 91 requirements for development on the
waterfront setbacks from the water’s edge.
(+)
Development of attractive open space on-site would
not be a financial burden upon developers, since
waterfront plazas should be viewed as marketable
amenities to residential units.
Hess Oil Site
Option 1 -
Reserve the site
for a State Heritage Park
Option 2 -
Develop the site
as neighborhood waterfront park.
Option 3 -
Maintain the site
as an industrial use with limited pedestrian access
along the waterfront and a landscaped buffer along
Condor Street to enhance development potential and
minimize impact on neighborhood across the street.
Feasibility
(-)
Option 1: The official State Heritage Park program is
no longer in existence, forcing Option 1 to be in
need of unique State funding for the development of a
State Heritage Park. Also requires the elimination of
the DPA designation on the site.
(-)
Options 1 and 2: The DPA designation on the site is a
major constraint due to its size and strategic
location on the Chelsea Creek waterfront, where
significant public investment (such as the Chelsea
Creek dredging initiative and Chelsea Street bridge
renovation) has been directed to upgrade the waterway
shipping capabilities of the Creek.
(+)
Option 3: Public access along the waterfront,
especially the east side of the site, could offer
valuable observation points and a continuation of the
Harborwalk along the Chelsea Creek.
posted 3/19/99
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