Vivien Li
The continuing transformation of Dorchester’s waterfront was highlighted during the recent dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate, the country’s most innovative center devoted to public service and the role of the U.S. Senate in government. President Barack Obama and others celebrated a vibrant waterfront on Columbia Point, clean enough for swimmers, and featuring an attractive, much used HarborWalk public access system along the harbor.
By contrast, when President Jimmy Carter joined the Kennedy family at the opening of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in October 1979, many still remembered the landfills on Columbia Point. Boston Harbor was polluted, and residents avoided swimming at local Dorchester beaches. Columbia Point Housing Development, opened in 1954 by the Boston Housing Authority, had fallen into disrepair, with hundreds of vacant units. At the time, many hoped that the new Kennedy Library, together with the recently relocated University of Massachusetts Boston to the harbor campus, would initiate a turnaround for Columbia Point Peninsula.
Today, the renaissance of Columbia Point is clear, from the new state-of-the-art science research complex and new academic buildings at UMass Boston to new housing, hotel and office developments moving forward nearby.
Unlike other redeveloped areas, Columbia Point had a “head start” in the planning of a well-serviced residential community. In 1986, the Boston Housing Authority executed a 99-year lease of its Columbia Point housing to two parties: a tenants’ elected board and a partnership of developers led by Corcoran, Mullins, Jennison. As part of the lease, at least 400 of the more than 1,200 units at Harbor Point must be set aside for residents who receive rent subsidies, thereby ensuring a mixed-income residential community for decades to come.
A Well-Planned Neighborhood
From the start, planners made sure that community facilities were provided for the residential neighborhood. The Paul A. Dever Elementary School and the Dever-McCormack Middle School were located on Mount Vernon Street across from the housing development so that children could easily get to school. A block away, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester’s Walter Denny Youth Center provides after school programs and tutoring assistance for youth ages 8 to 18. Founded 50 years ago as the first community health center in the country by two Tufts University medical doctors, the Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center continues to provide medical, dental and behavioral health services to local residents. St. Christopher’s Parish was founded as a satellite parish in 1956 to serve the needs of families living at Columbia Point. Today, it also houses the Notre Dame Montessori School, a preschool program.
Community engagement has been key to the planning for Columbia Point. In response to increased development activities, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) conducted a community process from 2007 to 2011 to develop a Columbia Point Master Plan. Adopted by the BRA board in 2011, the plan incorporates a number of key principles, including: promoting a mix of residential and commercial uses and activities to create a “sense of place;” ensuring a diversity of housing for all income groups and household types; developing a system of active and passive open spaces; maximizing views and connections through Columbia Point to Boston Harbor and Dorchester Bay; and creating a pedestrian and bicycle network, together with maximizing bus, rail and water transit.
Last month, the BRA concluded a year-long planning and community engagement process to complete the first phase of a redesign of Mount Vernon Street. Key features include a more inviting pedestrian environment, including improved sidewalks, street furniture, and landscaping; a well-lit, safe walk from the JFK/UMass MBTA station; a protected bike lane at the sidewalk level from the station to the end of the peninsula; improved signage and wayfinding; strategically designed pick-up and drop-off space at schools and day care to reduce traffic conflicts; openings in fencing to allow more direct access to the street for Harbor Point residents; and more retail activity to better serve residents and visitors.
Looking Ahead
Local residents are acutely aware that during “wicked high tide” cycles and moderate storms, Morrissey Boulevard routinely floods. On the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy last year, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh launched “Boston Living with Water,” an international design competition co-hosted by the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Boston Society of Architects and The Boston Harbor Association. The international competition focuses on climate resilient design strategies for three locations, one of which is Morrissey Boulevard. The continued engagement of the Columbia Point community will be key to implementing the results of the design competition later this year to increasing the city’s sustainability and climate change preparedness.
A number of guests at the dedication of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute looked out onto Boston Harbor and voiced the hope that future visitors to Columbia Point would be able to take advantage of the beautiful harbor and arrive by ferry. Hopefully, the docks operated by UMass Boston and the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation will soon be able to handle these visitors.
At a CEO business breakfast earlier this month, Boston 2024 Chairman John Fish spoke about the many benefits of an Olympic Village for Athletes at Columbia Point if Boston’s bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics is successful. Regardless of whether the Olympic Village is ever built, Columbia Point is well on its way to becoming one of Boston’s most desirable, well-planned neighborhoods.
