Dorchester Bay City (nee Bayside Expo Ctr.) | Columbia Point

Found some renders of the most recent iteration.
CV_Properties_Dorchester_Bay_City_v13_A03-min+%281%29.jpg

CV_Properties_Dorchester_Bay_City_v08_A03.jpg

CV_Properties_Dorchester_Bay_City_v05_A03.jpg

CV_Properties_Dorchester_Bay_City_v14_A01.jpg
DBC+SITE+PLAN.png

https://www.baysideupdate.com/
 
Who owns the two lots between DBC and Mt Vernon St? It'll look real weird adjoining parking lots and small buildings that need redev (ha!). I do hate how they shrunk it a bit and are adding a "pavilion"
 
^^ That's hilarious.

This one is a "guilty pleasure" for me.

On the one hand, it's fugly. It's of-the-moment schlock - the Brawndo of architecture.

On the other hand, it's kinda exciting. It's like a mini city where today there's not much. I assume it'll have modish restaurants/retail/etc. Even if ugly, it will be new and sleek - which will bring energy.

So I think I like the fact this is getting built, but kinda hate myself for doing so.

I assume a bunch of people felt similarly about Government Center in the '60s (although at least here we're not razing Scollay Square for it).
 
Its also so far out that theres a few more redesigns on the way. Seaport sq looked like this early on in the planning stages. What ended up being built is much better looking and functioning than the early proposals.

seaport11.jpg
 
I see 4 buildings between 306'-325'. If they all get built it will be a nice visual anchor for this area. I tend to think of 300' as the "Mendoza Line" for whether or not it's a skyline building in this city, and 4 over that would be a big win. The height variation will bring some visual interest that is lacking in other areas, such as the Seaport and North Point.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with "Mendoza Line" it's originally a baseball term but basically is a general line between acceptability and mediocrity.
 
LOL. Looks like some unhappy citizens of the Seaport decided to leave and start a new settlement elsewhere, so they set sail for Columbia Point and upon landing there founded the colony of New Seaport.

Rather than “New Seaport”, I propose the name “Treeport” considering the amount of foliage rendered.
 
I see 4 buildings between 306'-325'. If they all get built it will be a nice visual anchor for this area. I tend to think of 300' as the "Mendoza Line" for whether or not it's a skyline building in this city, and 4 over that would be a big win. The height variation will bring some visual interest that is lacking in other areas, such as the Seaport and North Point.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with "Mendoza Line" it's originally a baseball term but basically is a general line between acceptability and mediocrity.
The Mendoza Line is not the line between acceptability and mediocrity, it’s the line between acceptability and unacceptability. Imagine it as a baseline professional standard. Someone who hits below the Mendoza line isn’t a mediocre player, he’s someone who will get sent to AA ball.
 
Who owns the two lots between DBC and Mt Vernon St? It'll look real weird adjoining parking lots and small buildings that need redev (ha!). I do hate how they shrunk it a bit and are adding a "pavilion"

They shrunk it barely and added a wider waterfront park to flow into the one next door. It's a trade I'm willing to make.

The hotel owns its lot, and the other is owned by someone named "Karen Meyer".
 
They shrunk it barely and added a wider waterfront park to flow into the one next door. It's a trade I'm willing to make.

The hotel owns its lot, and the other is owned by someone named "Karen Meyer".
C'mon Karen, sell!

Also that Hotel should massively grow pls thx. Very funny to have those two lots close to the T be the not included ones.
 
..the developers are proposing to reduce overall square footage by 350,000 square feet, swap a taller residential building for a low-lying retail pavilion and a waterfront park, and place residential units into what had originally been proposed as an office/research building. Two buildings closest to the water’s edge have been moved inland to accommodate for flood protection. Other sustainability efforts include a “flood ridge protection system” and elevating the overall site. The waterfront green space — called Dorchester Green and Dorchester Bay Esplanade — will include flexible space and a children’s playground, and Accordia is also pitching a learning and innovation center for job training.

Accordia has also boosted the number of affordable residential units within the project. Some 391 of the residential units — or 20 percent — would be affordable at 70 percent of the area median income, which is currently $98,150 for a family of four.

Accordia has committed to providing nearly $37 million in off-site transportation improvements — a majority of which would be provided in the first phase — as part of Dorchester Bay City’s transportation mitigation plan. Proposed upgrades include safety improvements along Columbia Road, Kosciuszko Circle, and Sydney Street, a new traffic signal on Day Boulevard, and reconstructing Mount Vernon Street between the JFK Red Line and University Drive.

And while the project has been years in planning, it likely has at least a year to go. Sykes said his team hopes to have city and state approvals completed by 2024.

 
The Mendoza Line is not the line between acceptability and mediocrity, it’s the line between acceptability and unacceptability. Imagine it as a baseline professional standard. Someone who hits below the Mendoza line isn’t a mediocre player, he’s someone who will get sent to AA ball.
I think this might qualify as Herzog adjacent in that we're talking about baseball
 
150 Mt. Vernon, lot about four acres, is owned by Bayside Merchandise Mart, 150 Mt. Vernon assessed for $24.7 million
Karen Meyer works for CMJ Builders, or more specifically, CMJ Corcoran Jennison Management Co. (Joseph E. Corcoran) @ 150 Mt. Vernon.

Two adjacent parcels are owned by Bayside Holding LLC, with an address of 150 Mt Vernon. About 1.3 acres in size. Parcel addresses are Morrissey Boulevard, and Mt Vernon St., with no street number.

236 Mt. Vernon, 2+ acres lot, owned by Bayside Club Hotel, assessed for $35 million.

So perhaps eight acres in total for this group of parcels owned by others.
 
For anyone who has to drive, walk or bike near JFK/UMass...


View attachment 34412

Well yeah... I mean... it's simple. I'm not sure it counts as an "idea".
 
Lest we forget this hellscape was landmarked to National Register of Historic Places, in 2008!? I love me some Olmstead, but, landmark, no, not this.

Also, no mention of how potential Day Boulevard removal for flood resiliency would factor into this plan idea.

But good, have ideas, make something happen. This area cannot remain in its current overlapping and dysfunctional form. The traffic lights for I-93 to Columbia Road were not added until just before the DNC in 2004. That alone is laughable.
 
"... The mammoth $5 billion, 21-building Dorchester Bay City project on Columbia Point cleared a key hurdle Tuesday, winning approval from Boston’s architectural review board ahead of an expected vote from the Boston Planning and Development Agency later this summer. ...."

The city’s architectural review board approved the master plan for a 21-building complex to rise on the site of the old Bayside Expo Center
By Catherine Carlock Globe Staff,Updated July 12, 2023, 10 minutes ago


1689174688074.png


1689174624850.png
 
Last edited:
These renders have me applauding, as long as they don't get cheapened by second rate skins along the way. I hope there will be a more graceful juxtaposition of the housing with this district. The housing still appears isolated as Columbia Point has been.
 

Back
Top