Seaport District

Last updated
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center BostonConventionAndExhibitionCenter.jpg
Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse on Fan Pier MoakleyFederalCourthouseRear.JPG
John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse on Fan Pier
Institute of Contemporary Art Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.jpg
Institute of Contemporary Art

The Seaport District, or simply Seaport, is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. It is part of the larger neighborhood of South Boston, and is also sometimes called the Innovation District. [1] The Seaport is a formerly industrial area that has undergone an extensive redevelopment effort in recent years. It is bordered by the Fort Point Channel to the west, Boston Harbor to the north and east, and the historic residential neighborhood of South Boston to the south. It is officially referred to by the City of Boston as The South Boston Waterfront. [1] The Seaport District is at risk of climate-related flooding over the next 30 years. [2] [3]

Contents

Name

The section of South Boston north of First Street was targeted for massive redevelopment by the administration of Mayor Thomas Menino and the Boston Planning and Development Agency. [4] Initially referred to as the Seaport District by the BRA, the area was officially restyled the "South Boston Waterfront" after virulent protest from natives and local politicians, including City Council President James M. Kelly. [5] Despite this, it is commonly known as the Seaport District. [6] [7] The name Innovation District was also proposed. [8]

Development

Development in the Seaport has boomed during the early 21st century. It was considered "the hottest, fastest-growing real estate market in the country" in 2014. [9] As of 2017, it was the fastest growing part of Boston and has stimulated significant economic growth in the city. [10]

The restoration of the Seaport began with the completion of the Big Dig. [11] This $14.6 billion project buried the formerly elevated Central Artery I-93 Interstate which previously cut off the waterfront from the rest of the city. Additionally, Interstate 90 was extended eastward from I-93 through the Seaport and across the Boston Harbor to Logan International Airport and East Boston to connect the SPID with downtown Boston, revitalizing the area and prompting a surge of growth.

The end of the Big Dig also created a completely new transportation network for the area. [12] The Silver Line of the MBTA provides public transportation to the area (and runs along the new expressway connecting to the airport), while the Boston Harborwalk runs along the north side of the district. The Evelyn Moakley Bridge connects the Seaport to Downtown Boston.

In May 2010, Menino announced plans for the city to develop 1,000 acres on the South Boston Waterfront as an Innovation District. [8] Inspired by the success of the 22@ model, the mayor's vision was to redevelop the then-mostly abandoned Seaport District into a hub for Information Age jobs and a new frontier for cutting-edge industries such as clean tech, health care information technology and mobile media. [13] It is now home to tens of new office towers, residential buildings, and "innovation labs" either proposed or under construction. [14] The buildings are designed with critical systems above the first floor to avoid flooding from the tides. [15]

Between Menino's announcement of an innovation district in 2010 and 2017, 5,000 new jobs were created and over 200 new companies have formed. [10] Forty percent of the companies located in the Innovation District share space in co-working spaces and incubators. [10] Over 1,100 housing units were constructed, including 300 innovation micro-units. [10]

Commercial

As of 2017, the Seaport has 78 restaurants, 8 hotels, and continues to grow. [16] The South Boston Waterfront area is part of the Port of Boston on Boston Harbor.

In September 2010, the Seaport Square project was under planning. It was expected to cost $3 billion and replace parking lots between the federal courthouse and convention center with a 6,300,000-square-foot (590,000 m2) mixed-use development. Construction was expected to begin in 2011. [17]

In 2007, the Fallon Company was developing Boston's Fan Pier, one of the most sought-after waterfront sites in the United States, and a catalyst for the revitalization of South Boston's waterfront. [18] Fan Pier is a nine-acre, 21 city block site which consisted largely of underutilized parking lots when the Fallon Company purchased it for $115 million in 2005. [19] As of 2015, it was a neighborhood consisting of four commercial towers-–One Marina Park Drive, 11 Fan Pier Boulevard, 50 Northern Avenue, and 100 Northern Avenue—and a luxury condominium tower Twenty Two Liberty. [20] [21] A second residential building, Fifty Liberty, was under construction at that time and to more high-rise towers were planned. When complete in 2020, the $4 billion Fan Pier project will encompass three million square feet of commercial and residential real estate, public, civic and cultural space, including two parks and a 6-acre marina.

On January 13, 2016, it was announced that GE would be moving its corporate headquarters from Fairfield, Connecticut, to the South Boston Waterfront. Some of the workers were planned to arrive in the summer of 2016 and the full move to be completed by 2018. GE ranks eighth on the Fortune 500 at the time and was to become the largest publicly traded company based in Massachusetts. [22] [23] Subsequently, the company announced plans to shrink and eventually sold their property on Fort Point Channel for $287 million. [24]

In November 2016, the global athletic footwear and apparel company Reebok announced they would be moving their headquarters from the Boston suburb of Canton to the Innovation and Design Building in the Seaport District of South Boston. The reasons for the move, according to the company, is to be located in an urban environment that is more desirable to millennial workers and to "clarify the roles" of United States offices. [25] The move was completed in the fall of 2018. [26]

Soaring rent prices in the Seaport have raised concerns that the rapid real estate development in the area is pricing out entrepreneurs and startup companies – the organizations and people the Innovation District is designed to attract. In just a few years, rents have increased 43% in the Seaport, with the average rent at $52.92 per square foot, approximately at the same level of Boston's affluent Back Bay neighborhood. [27]

Residential

Due to the increase in nightlife in the neighborhood, on-street parking for residents has become increasingly scarce. In response, city officials launched a 90-day pilot program that will expand resident only parking to seven days a week, from four. The aim, according to City Council President Bill Linehan was to address the scarcity of parking for residents on weekends. [28]

According to The Boston Globe , a two-bedroom apartment in the Seaport area can rent for more than $5,000 per month and the purchase cost would be more than $2 million in 2018. [29]

Institutions

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center straddles D Street. The convention center was built in 2004. The Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center is located on Commonwealth Pier. A new home for the Institute of Contemporary Art hangs over Boston Harbor just north of Northern Avenue.

The Society of Arts and Crafts, New England's oldest craft-focused nonprofit is situated closeby on Pier 4. The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse is on Fan Pier. [6]

The Seaport Shrine is right over the Moakley Bridge on Seaport Boulevard. [30]

A 2021 report by the First Street Foundation found that all critical infrastructure, nearly all commercial buildings, and 90% of roads in the Seaport District are at risk of becoming inoperable by mid-century due to climate-related flooding. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Street Seaport</span> United States historic place

The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, within the Financial District of Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district. It is part of Manhattan Community Board 1 in Lower Manhattan, and is next to the East River to the southeast and the Two Bridges neighborhood to the northeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Boston</span> Neighborhood of Boston in Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. It has undergone several demographic transformations since being annexed to the city of Boston in 1804. The neighborhood, once primarily farmland, is popularly known by its twentieth century identity as a working class Irish Catholic community. Throughout the twenty-first century, the neighborhood has become increasingly popular with millennial professionals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Convention and Exhibition Center</span> Largest exhibition center in the Northeast US

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) is an exhibition center in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is among the largest exhibition centers in the Northeastern United States, with approximately 516,000 square feet (47,900 m2) of contiguous exhibition space. The main exhibition floor comprises three bays which can be isolated for separate shows or linked into one large space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Boston</span> Seaport district in Boston, Massachusetts

The Port of Boston is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of the principal ports on the East Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MBTA boat</span> Ferry service in Massachusetts, US

The MBTA ferry system is a public boat service providing water transportation in Boston Harbor. It is operated by Hornblower Cruises under contract to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). In 2023, the system had a ridership of 1,260,000, or about 300 per weekday as of the first quarter of 2024. The system has six routes that terminate in downtown Boston. Year-round routes run to Hingham directly (F1) and via Hull (F2H), and to the Charlestown Navy Yard (F4). Seasonal routes run to Lynn (F3), Winthrop (F5), and East Boston (F6).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Menino</span> American politician and mayor (1942–2014)

Thomas Michael Menino was an American politician who served as the mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three months in the position of "acting mayor" following the resignation of his predecessor Raymond Flynn. Before serving as mayor, Menino was a member of the Boston City Council and had been elected president of the City Council in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neighborhoods in Boston</span>

Boston's diverse neighborhoods serve as a political and cultural organizing mechanism. The City of Boston's Office of Neighborhood Services has designated 23 Neighborhoods in the city:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael F. Flaherty</span> American politician

Michael F. Flaherty is a politician who served as an at-large member of the Boston City Council for a cumulative ten terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the council in 1999, serving an initial five terms between 2000 until 2010. During this initial tenure, he served as vice president of the council in 2001 and as council president from 2002 to 2006. In 2009 he forwent reelection to a further term in order to run for mayor of Boston in that year's election, which he lost to incumbent mayor Thomas Menino. He ran unsuccessfully in 2011 to return to the council as an at-large member. In 2013, Flaherty again ran in the at-large city council race, and was returned to the council. He served five terms between 2014 and 2024. In 2023, he declined to seek reelection to an additional term.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Courthouse station (MBTA)</span> Bus rapid transit station in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Courthouse station is an underground bus rapid transit station on the MBTA's Silver Line, located under Seaport Boulevard at Thomson Street on the South Boston Waterfront. It is named for the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse which is one block to the north on Fan Pier. The station also serves the Fort Point neighborhood, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, and nearby residential and commercial development. Like all Silver Line stations, Courthouse station is accessible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston City Council</span> Municipal council of Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.

The Boston City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is made up of 13 members: 9 district representatives and 4 at-large members. Councillors are elected to two-year terms and there is no limit on the number of terms an individual can serve. Boston uses a strong-mayor form of government in which the city council acts as a check against the power of the executive branch, the mayor. The council is responsible for approving the city budget; monitoring, creating, and abolishing city agencies; making land use decisions; and approving, amending, or rejecting other legislative proposals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Point, Boston</span>

Fort Point is a neighborhood or district of Boston, Massachusetts, and where a fort stood which guarded the city in colonial times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston Harborwalk</span> Public walkway that follows the edge Boston Harbor

Boston Harborwalk is a public walkway that follows the edge of piers, wharves, beaches, and shoreline around Boston Harbor. When fully completed it will extend a distance of 47 miles (76 km) from East Boston to the Neponset River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader Bank Pavilion</span> Amphitheater in Boston, Massachusetts, US

The Leader Bank Pavilion is an outdoor amphitheater located in Boston, Massachusetts, used for concerts. It seats 5,000. Its season runs from May until October. The venue originally opened in August 1994 near Fan Pier. Due to land rights, it closed at the end of its season in 1998 and the tensile structure was relocated to its current location in South Boston, where it reopened in July 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaport Hotel and Seaport World Trade Center</span>

The Seaport Boston Hotel and World Trade Center is a hotel and conference center complex located on the South Boston Waterfront in Boston, Massachusetts. The South Boston Waterfront is also known as the Boston Seaport District and the Innovation District. The World Trade Center part of the complex is located on Commonwealth Pier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park</span> Industrial park in Boston, Massachusetts

Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, formerly known as the Boston Marine Industrial Park, is an industrial park which has been created on the Commonwealth Flats in South Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Before its creation, the site was used as the location for the South Boston Naval Annex, the South Boston Army Base, and was used as a general seaport district for many years. Currently, the park is in the process of being redeveloped, and utilizes many of the former military buildings. The Black Falcon Cruise Terminal is located on the site of the former Army base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Track 61 (Boston)</span> Industrial rail terminal track in South Boston, Massachusetts

Track 61 is an industrial rail terminal track in South Boston, Massachusetts, also known as the Boston Terminal Running Track. Track 61 is the last remnant of the vast rail yards that once covered much of the South Boston waterfront. Track 61 legally begins at Summer Street, while the line from Bay Junction to Summer Street is the Boston Terminal Running Track and Terminal Yard. However, the names are frequently used interchangeably.

Seaport Square, or Boston Seaport is a master planned project in the Seaport District of Boston, Massachusetts. It spans 8.5 million square feet and 23 acres (9.3 ha) of land.

The Fallon Company is a privately held commercial real estate owner and developer headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded by Joseph F. Fallon in 1993, The Fallon Company has developed over $6 billion in real estate, representing more than six million square feet of property. The company is recognized as a leader in mixed-use urban development and one of the most active private developers on the East Coast. The company focuses on large-scale urban design geared toward transforming neighborhoods into cohesive, community-driven environments. With offices in Boston, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Nashville, The Fallon Company has the capacity and resources to undertake projects throughout the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Good Voyage (Boston)</span> Church in Massachusetts, United States

Our Lady of Good Voyage, also known as the Seaport Shrine, is a Roman Catholic church located at 51 Seaport Boulevard in the Seaport District of Boston and in the Archdiocese of Boston. The shrine has 250 seats and holds Mass twice daily and three times on Sundays. The original chapel was located a short distance away and was built to serve the fisherman and dockworkers in what was then an industrial neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayoralty of Thomas Menino</span> Tenure of Thomas Menino as the mayor of Boston

Thomas Menino served as mayor of Boston, Massachusetts from 1993 through 2014. He is the longest serving mayor in the city's history. Menino first became acting mayor in July 1993, after Raymond Flynn resigned as mayor to assume the post of United States ambassador to the Holy See. Menino was elected mayor in the subsequent 1993 Boston mayoral election, and was reelected to additional terms in the four subsequent elections, making for an unprecedented and unsurpassed twenty year tenure. On March 28, 2013, Menino announced that he would not seek a sixth term.

References

  1. 1 2 "South Boston Climate Change Report" (PDF). Official Website of the City of Boston.
  2. ↑ "The 3rd National Risk Assessment: Infrastructure on the Brink" (PDF). First Street Foundation. October 2021.
  3. 1 2 David, Abel (October 17, 2021). "Flooding could shut down Logan airport, hospitals, and other critical infrastructure in Mass., and the risk is only growing, report says". The Boston Globe.
  4. ↑ "South Boston Waterfront Public Realm Plan". Boston Redevelopment Authority. October 21, 2003. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  5. ↑ Marantz, Steve (June 12, 1999). "Menino ends name battle with S. Boston Waterfront". The Boston Herald. But the major stipulation is the "South Boston Waterfront" name, a priority of City Council President James M. Kelly, who objected to the Seaport District appellation used in printed documents of the Boston Redevelopment Authority.
  6. 1 2 Vogel, Chris; and Patrick Doyle and Matthew Reed Baker (July 2012). "The Rise of the Seaport". Boston Magazine . Retrieved 26 March 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ↑ Chesto, Jon (2012-04-17). "The South Boston waterfront gets a new website – and another new name". Mass. Market. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Welcome innovationdistrict.org - BlueHost.com". www.innovationdistrict.org. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  9. ↑ Acitelli, Tom (11 June 2014). "On Southie Becoming South Boston". Curbed. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "Welcome innovationdistrict.org - BlueHost.com". www.innovationdistrict.org. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  11. ↑ Katz, Bruce; Wagner, Julie. "The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in America" . Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  12. ↑ James M. Kelly, long-time city councilor and South Boston icon, dies. Boston Globe, January 9, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Welcome innovationdistrict.org - BlueHost.com". www.innovationdistrict.org. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  14. ↑ Various. "Seaport Square". Curbed. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Pulver, Dinah Voyles; Fraser, Doug (January 18, 2021). 'The science is real': Coastal experts hope Biden will partner to combat sea level rise . Retrieved 2021-01-20.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  16. ↑ "Map Of Places - Boston's Seaport Neighborhood". Seaport. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  17. ↑ "Seaport makeover to begin next year". Boston Metro, 23 September 2010, p 3.
  18. ↑ Cortese, Amy (October 7, 2007). "From Empty Lots to Bustling Waterfront". The New York Times.
  19. ↑ C. Palmer Jr., Thomas (December 18, 2005). "The Dreamer". The Boston Globe Magazine. No. “Bostonian of the Year”.
  20. ↑ Chesto, Jon (June 9, 2015). "With unusual sales plan, Fan Pier luxury units sell out". The Boston Globe.
  21. ↑ Baskin, Kara (July 2015). "Views Included". Boston Magazine.
  22. ↑ "Boston lands new GE headquarters". Boston Globe. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
  23. ↑ Mann, Ted; Kamp, Jon (2016-01-13). "General Electric to Move Headquarters to Boston". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 2016-01-13.
  24. ↑ Chesto, Jon (May 9, 2019). "GE selling Fort Point property for $252 million". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 15, 2019.
  25. ↑ Chesto, Jon (2016-11-03). "Reebok plans a big move — and some job cuts". Boston Globe . Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  26. ↑ "Inside Reebok's new HQ in Boston's Seaport District". 18 July 2017.
  27. ↑ "Rents soaring in city's Innovation District - The Boston Globe". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 4 July 2017.
  28. ↑ Ryan, Andrew. "South Boston skeptical of parking changes". www.bostonglobe.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  29. ↑ Ryan, Andrew (2017-12-11). "A Brand New Boston Even Whiter Than The Old". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 2017-12-14.
  30. ↑ Our Lady of Good Voyage. Archdiocese of Boston. p. 4. "This booklet has been published through the generous donation of John B. Hynes, III, Managing Partner at Boston Global Investors, in honor and memory of his grandfather, Mayor John B. Hynes, his father, Jack Hynes, and his mother, Marie Kelly Hynes. Mayor Hines was instrumental in founding the original Our Lady of Good Voyage in 1952. His son Jack hoped that this new Shrine would perpetuate the true mission of his Catholic faith to the thousands of new residents of Boston's emerging Seaport.".

42°20′46″N71°02′31″W / 42.346°N 71.042°W / 42.346; -71.042

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.