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Image courtesy Google Maps
What was once floated as the site for an Olympic stadium could, in part, find its future as a rail yard for Greater Boston’s expanding fleet of regional rail trains.
The MBTA will seek to buy Boston’s Widett Circle property for a new commuter rail layover yard from the private development group that acquired the site in 2020. The MBTA board of directors authorized the transit agency to begin negotiations on the 24-acre industrial parcel off Interstate 93, which housed a large food wholesalers distribution center in recent decades.
After Boston backed out of its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, The Able Co. bought the property for $125 million in June 2020. In 2021, the group floated plans for a large Amazon warehouse on the property, according to a Boston Globe report, but no proposals have been filed.
The current ownership group, led by developer William Keravouri, includes a who’s who of prominent Bay State businesspeople. The nation’s third largest pension fund, California State Teachers Retirement System, was the lead investor with a 92 percent ownership share.
The MBTA has been eyeing the site for additional South Station train storage, as identified in a 2016 environmental impact report.
In November, the MBTA kicked off permitting for another commuter rail storage and maintenance facility on a 17-acre site at 41 Wolcott Court in Readville. MBTA spokesman Joseph Pesaturo said at the time that the agency had not ruled out the additional use of Widett Circle.
In a statement today, the MBTA said the layover facility at Widett Circle would lessen congestion and provide opportunities to upgrade the frequency of service on the Fairmount commuter rail line. It also would increase capacity for the future South Coast rail project to Fall River.
A message seeking comment from The Able Co. was not immediately returned.
