Photo by James Sanna | Banker & Tradesman Staff
The MBTA completed its $255 million acquisition of Boston’s Widett Circle industrial site, where Boston officials have asked for air rights development above a planned rail layover yard.
Gov. Maura Healey said the state will work with Boston officials on the future plans for the 24-acre site, where the MBTA plans to build a commuter rail storage yard.
“We look forward to continued collaboration with local leaders and the community to ensure we are making the most of this opportunity,” Healey said in a statement following the eminent domain taking Tuesday.
The 24-acre site includes six parcels on Foodmart Road and Widett Circle previously envisioned by a private developer as the key to a 24 million-square-foot development.
In January, Boston Planning & Development Agency Director Arthur Jemison said the city controls rights-of-way needed to access the site, giving it leverage to influence the MBTA’s plans.
“This land gives us a position to come to the negotiating table with the MBTA and open up a series of other planning opportunities,” Jemison said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has supported a master planned development encompassing both Widett Circle and the neighboring Frontage Road property that contains the city’s tow lot and a public works facility.
Widett Circle acquired by the city of Boston after construction of the Southeast Expressway in the 1950s. The food wholesalers hub was developed in the 1960s to accommodate vendors displaced by the Quincy Market redevelopment.
It was eyed as Boston’s Olympic stadium site during the city’s abandoned bid to host the 2024 games, and subsequently viewed as a prime development site because of its proximity to downtown Boston.
The Able Co., founded in 2018 by former Abbey Group executive Bill Keravuori, acquired the corporation that occupied the distribution center in 2020. The firm drew up preliminary plans for a massive mixed-use development that could have encompassed Frontage Road and other MBTA-owned parcels. In 2021, the city of Boston and Massachusetts Department of Transportation agreed to collaborate on the public-private development.
The MBTA’s decision to acquire the property for a layover facility scuttled that plan, but Boston officials have urged the MBTA to accommodate additional development on the property.
The new layover station would increase the capacity of the MBTA commuter rail network, along with plans for additional train storage in Readville and the Beacon Yards site in Allston. The site would include storage and maintenance for nine of the 14 lines on the MBTA commuter rail system.
The MBTA says the project would enable it to run more frequent service on the Fairmount and Worcester lines, and enable future new regional and urban rail service.
In a statement, the MBTA said the plans would include climate resiliency measures, but did not mention real estate development opportunities.
The purchase price included $155 million from MassDOT and $100 million from the MBTA’s capital investment plan.
