The city of Boston’s development arm has adopted a strategic plan for the Hyde Park neighborhood that makes a commitment to preserving the neighborhood’s industrial parcels by maintaining key districts for continued industrial use and identifying emerging industries to attract to the area.
The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) adopted the Hyde Park Neighborhood Strategic Plan, which sets forth a comprehensive vision for the neighborhood and is the culmination of a two-year planning process by community members and BRA staff.
During the process, residents voiced a strong interest in encouraging job creation in emerging industries like medical and life sciences manufacturing and green technology. The BRA’s Economic Development Department operates programs to attract those industries to various parts of the city and has been actively directing potential tenants to suitable space in Hyde Park, according to the plan.
The neighborhood’s industrial history has left a unique and interesting collection of buildings, many of which have already been rehabilitated or are planned for rehabilitation and reuse. Ongoing redevelopment of Westinghouse Plaza, including the newly rehabbed Artists Lofts Building, and the recent rehabilitation of the American Tool and Machine Company Building for reuse as the Renaissance Charter School, are two examples.
Additionally, Hyde Park’s existing industrial space supports a wide variety of businesses ranging from traditional automotive, contractor and warehouse or distribution space, to newer uses including commercial bakeries like Sweet Cupcakes and Grandma’s Coffee Cakes. The city is encouraging a mixture of uses housed under the same roof, which several properties already have. Several of the commercial buildings, like the Boston/Dedham Commerce Park on Sprague Street and Westinghouse Plaza, include artist space. Those spaces provide a home for Hyde Park’s growing arts community, especially for metal sculptors who need larger spaces that can accommodate electrical and fire safety requirements and help to provide a viable reuse for some of the existing industrial buildings.
The plan advocates for redeveloping several large vacant or underutilized buildings and parcels in Cleary and Logan Squares, as well as adjacent to the Fairmount Commuter Rail Station. Conceptual redevelopment alternatives for these sites include residential, retail and mixed residential/retail uses.
The area north of Fairmount Avenue immediately adjacent to the commuter rail station is currently in industrial use. Because of that area’s proximity to the station, Logan Square, the Neponset River and adjacent residential uses, it is a good site for transit oriented development, according to the report. The concept plans illustrate potential build-out of the sites, but any actual development of the sites will be determined by the property owners in accordance with zoning developed as part of the Hyde Park Strategic Neighborhood Plan and Rezoning Process.
Implementation of the recommendations from the strategic plan will be an ongoing process that could extend over the next 15 to 20 years, which the BRA will coordinate. Implementation of many of the recommendations will be dependent upon funding as well as coordination and cooperation with other entities including the city of Boston, state agencies such as the MBTA and the Department of Conservation and Recreation and private property owners.
