Vivien Li
On a walking tour of the Seaport District last month, residential brokers marveled at the concentration of new office buildings dotting the waterfront. Until recently, residential construction lagged behind commercial development, and only now is picking up at a pace to meet the city’s minimum goal of one-third residential mix in the Seaport. Not surprisingly, in a district known more for its mix of restaurants than residences, the Seaport lacks basic residential infrastructure.
Residential neighborhoods today offer more options than those of the past. Where parking has long been considered a necessity for many residents, developments today also incorporate spaces for shared car programs like Zipcar, bike parking and shared bicycle programs like HubWay, and proximity to transit and ferries. For young families, good schools and flexible day care facilities continue to be of primary concern.
Imagine Boston 2030, the city’s master planning process, can and should reflect the shifting priorities of our city, with greater emphasis on sustainable, transit-oriented development, commuting alternatives to private automobiles and more climate-resilient projects. The two-year city-wide planning process, slated to begin this fall, will build upon and integrate planning efforts already underway. For current and future residents, such a planning process is long over-due. Hopefully, as new waterfront neighborhoods expand, priority will be given to the following:
Clustering residential infrastructure: Until now, Seaport District developers seeking retail tenants such as supermarkets and pharmacies have found little interest, resulting in residents having to drive distances to pick up groceries or prescriptions. The recent opening of a Roche Brothers supermarket in Downtown Crossing, as well as a CVS store in South Station, are encouraging signs that such tenants are now looking beyond traditionally established areas in the siting of new stores. Imagine Boston 2030 should identify incentives that can be incorporated into the city’s Article 80 Major Project Review and Planned Development Area review which will result in more timely implementation of residential infrastructure.
Likewise, Imagine Boston 2030 can help to identify and prioritize new and/or expanded public facilities for our waterfront neighborhoods. Boston’s new school superintendent, Dr. Tommy Chang, has embarked on a “Listen and Learn Tour” to identify short- and longer-term needs for Boston public school students. No doubt attention will be given to future educational needs of children in the Seaport District and other waterfront neighborhoods, including whether full-day pre-kindergarten programs should be sited in these new neighborhoods as part of the city’s implementation of a universal pre-K program by 2018, and whether any school facilities sited in the Seaport should be included in the city’s capital budget.
Rethinking our open spaces: With the dense concentration of new development along Boston’s waterfront, residents are seeking out open spaces in large numbers, and enlightened property owners are responding enthusiastically. The Massachusetts Convention Center Authority’s much-touted Lawn on D is an experimental event open space that has attracted tens of thousands of users to creative programs since opening last year.
On the water’s edge, Fan Pier Park, as well as Atlantic Wharf, have attracted strong patronage to free exercise, yoga and fit boxing outdoor classes. These open spaces, together with Q Park at Seaport Square and A Street Park, are viewed as much-desired amenities by both residential and commercial tenants. Complimenting these spaces are other well-maintained open spaces at the Moakley Courthouse and at South Boston Maritime Park, settings that can potentially support more active park usage.
Hopefully, Imagine Boston 2030 will identify Children’s Wharf Park along the Fort Point Channel and Piers Park 2 in East Boston as priority expansion projects for completion by 2020.
Continuing an environmentally sustainable waterfront: Boston has consistently been ranked as one of the “greenest” cities in the nation, with its energy efficiency programs and policies and its many LEED-certified buildings. While greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change have declined, Boston’s 2014 Climate Action Plan notes that clean, local energy generation and energy efficiency will need to be a larger part of emission reductions if Boston is to meet its 2020 greenhouse gas reduction goals.
This may mean further incentives to promote high-occupancy vehicles and mass transit usage, including water transportation; more pedestrians and more bicycle usage; newer, more energy-efficient vehicles; expanded district energy systems which provided efficient, centralized heating and cooling; more residents who will forego on-site parking; and maintaining and expanding Boston’s open spaces to reduce the urban heat island effect and absorb flood waters.
Consistent with the city’s Climate Action Plan, waterfront property owners are taking the lessons from Boston’s 2015 Living With Water International Competition and coming up with site-specific approaches to dealing with rising sea levels. Imagine Boston 2030 will no doubt spur additional, creative approaches to ensuring climate resilient projects.
During the coming decade, Boston’s waterfront neighborhoods are expected to become home for thousands of new residents. With thoughtful planning, these waterfront neighborhoods will have amenities and public access for all residents, workers and visitors to enjoy.
Vivien Li is president of The Boston Harbor Association.
