This artist’s rendering depicts Waterside Place, a $500 million mixed-use project in South Boston proposed by The Drew Co. and Vornado Realty Trust.
A plan to replace a parking lot with a 1.3 million-square-foot development in South Boston has turned into a clash over broken promises.
“The Boston Redevelopment Authority told us that if we supported construction of the Boston Convention Center, they would build a park at Pappas Way and First Street,” said Brian Mahoney, a member of the Waterside Place Impact Advisory Group, a nine-person panel created to advise the BRA on the project. “We got all kinds of assurances, but once it got built, the promise was forgotten.”
More than four dozen residents gathered at St. Vincent’s Church last week to hear a presentation for Waterside Place. The $500 million project is proposed for an 8.3-acre site at Summer, Congress and D streets across from the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. If approved, the mixed-use complex will include 640,000 square feet of retail space, a 200-unit condominium tower, a 300-room hotel and parking for 2,350 vehicles.
Several residents raised questions about whether the backside of the project would create a wall similar to the rear of The Westin Boston Waterfront and the nearby convention center. Neighbors fear that Waterside Place could create another “prison-like barrier” facing the South Boston neighborhood.
John Drew, president of The Drew Co, a Boston-based developer, assured the audience that his development would offer active uses on all sides.
“We worked hard to create stores and activity on all four sides of the project so that no matter where you start, it will be welcoming,” said John Drew, president of The Drew Co., the Boston-based developer of the project. “We’ll have active uses and it should be comfortable to walk by with many entrances.”
But the meeting quickly deteriorated into an attack on the BRA by several residents who said the city has failed to deliver on the promises made in the South Boston Waterfront Public Realm Plan. The document, issued in 1999, was developed to ensure that the emerging district would not be just a place for commercial development but also would include an accessible waterfront, open space, active civic uses and new homes near MBTA stations.
Thomas Cooney, a longtime South Boston resident, praised Drew for creating buildings that will blend into South Boston and connect the neighborhood to the Seaport District. But he blamed the BRA and other developers for the failure to deliver on promises.
“The people of South Boston haven’t gotten anything and someone will have to step up to do it,” he said. “There have been five projects so far and no one has contributed open space or other amenities that were promised.”
Mark McGowan, the BRA’s project manager for Waterside, moderated the meeting in the church basement. He suggested that Cooney and others put their opinions in writing, adding that the comment period ends on May 14.
“Come on, Mark,” shouted Cooney. “We put it in writing, give it to you and the comments disappear. We want the BRA to address the issue of how the developers are going to accomplish this instead of getting five years’ worth of excuses.”
The section of South Boston that includes the Waterside Place proposal is targeted for a major redevelopment by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the Boston Redevelopment Authority. The Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project, also known as the Big Dig, has created a new transportation network for the area and several hotel and office projects have been built in the past few years.
A ‘Critical’ Project
Kairos Shen, the BRA’s planning director, denied the BRA ever promised a park with the convention center. “Some promises were made concerning street reconstruction, but not a park at Pappas and First streets,” he said.
An agreement incorporated into the devolvement plan for the convention center included a promise to rebuild roads including D Street from Summer Street to West Broadway and West Second Street. Those projects have been completed, Shen said.
Shen acknowledged that as plans for the convention center evolved, there was an agreement to build green space along D Street. But he said that proposal in on hold because construction of another hotel has been delayed.
“If there was an agreement, don’t you think [local elected officials] would be all over this?” Shen asked.
A call to Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty, a lifelong resident of South Boston, was not returned by press time.
Former City Council candidate Edward Flynn, son of former Boston Mayor Ray Flynn, asked about affordable units for the Waterside project. He expressed disappointment after learning from Drew that only five affordable units will be provided at the site of the new development while the rest will be built offsite. The city requires that developers provide affordable housing as part of the permitting process.
“This project will not benefit the working-class people of South Boston,” said Flynn.
Mahoney, the Impact Advisory Group member, also objected to the construction of affordable units offsite. He said residents should have affordable access to the same luxury condos as other buyers.
“We are getting the impression that [we] dirty-neck Southie people are not allowed to live in these nice new condos,” he said.
The BRA’s Shen said the city often can negotiate an increased number of affordable units offsite because the financing structure of the deal is more favorable.
In his two-hour presentation, Drew noted that the project is central to development of the South Boston waterfront. It will fill the gap between the convention center, the waterfront, L Street and Summer Street, he noted.
“It is a challenging piece of property,” he said. “But this project is critical for the success of the Seaport District. It will bring retail and restaurants to conventioneers and to residents of the South Boston neighborhood.”
Following the meeting, Drew said he was not surprised that residents brought up issues that did not directly relate to his project.
“I understand there are issues with other projects,” he said. “The neighborhood used my meeting about my project to address those issues because they feel they were not attended to. But no one is opposed to our project. We spent years doing what we’ve done and earning their confidence and we have lived up to every obligation or commitment we’ve made.”
