Everett Waterfront Redevelopment | 52 Beacham Street | Everett

[dshoost88]

Mayor Carlo DeMaria announced via Facebook yesterday that an assemblage of 3 large parcels (95.5 acres) currently owned by Exxon-Mobil are being sold for redevelopment. Details on the listing for sale available at this link. This coupled with Everett's recently approved zoning changes for Lower Broadway neighborhood + adjacent acreage owned by Encore Boston Harbor make for compelling transformation on Everett Waterfront. Definitely merits its own thread to track.

 

[Charlie_mta]

Everett certainly looks like a city on the move. The upcoming BRT/Silverline and the adjoining Sullivan Square redevelopment will really set this area up for the future.

 

[RandomWalk]

Short of another casino, who has the money to remediate that property?

 

[Charlie_mta]

Short of another casino, who has the money to remediate that property?

The EPA does have some funding and loan opportunities to clean up brownfields. But you're right; this area has to be the ultimate in contaminated soil.

 

[JumboBuc]

Does Exxon-Mobil's listing of this land for sale imply that those fuel tanks are no longer necessary, or is this just a situation where another party will take ownership and continue operating them as they are?

Also, note that the portion of this land S of Beacham Street is in a Designated Port Area, but this does not include the bulk of the "tank farm" area for sale.

 

[Bananarama]

Why isn't Exxon Mobile responsible for cleaning up the mess they made?

 

[GW2500]

Also, I imagine facilities like these are needed for large metro regions. And I imagine having them close to waterways is a preferred location.

 

[dshoost88]

Also, I imagine facilities like these are needed for large metro regions. And I imagine having them close to waterways is a preferred location.

Facilities like what—a tank farm to support a fossil fuel power plant set to retire in 3 years? Preserving facilities like these are a setback to our carbon neutrality goals and improving public health. They are an excuse to put off investment in green energy and implementation of smarter energy sourcing.

The 21st century region does not need facilities like these. The 21st century region needs wetlands to absorb rising sea levels; it needs a thoughtfully designed built environment that improves economic productivity and public health outcomes; it needs equitable housing options and to reform antiquated zoning codes that inhibit progress; it needs a permeable transportation network that expands options and access to more places regardless of mode.

 

[Cortes]

Short of another casino, who has the money to remediate that property?

Perhaps Robert Kraft?

 

[GW2500]

Facilities like what—a tank farm to support a fossil fuel power plant set to retire in 3 years? Preserving facilities like these are a setback to our carbon neutrality goals and improving public health. They are an excuse to put off investment in green energy and implementation of smarter energy sourcing.

The 21st century region does not need facilities like these. The 21st century region needs wetlands to absorb rising sea levels; it needs a thoughtfully designed built environment that improves economic productivity and public health outcomes; it needs equitable housing options and to reform antiquated zoning codes that inhibit progress; it needs a permeable transportation network that expands options and access to more places regardless of mode.

I'm not really disagreeing with any of that. Are those tanks just used for fueling the power plant? I thought they were more a storage for various uses/distribution including gas stations. And even if/when we do make meaningful change to heavily reduce carbon emissions to acceptable levels, fossil fuel storage will still be a necessity for quite some time. It's not going to completely go away in our lifetimes even with a green revolution that I'm for.

 

[JumboBuc]

Facilities like what—a tank farm to support a fossil fuel power plant set to retire in 3 years? Preserving facilities like these are a setback to our carbon neutrality goals and improving public health. They are an excuse to put off investment in green energy and implementation of smarter energy sourcing.

The 21st century region does not need facilities like these. The 21st century region needs wetlands to absorb rising sea levels; it needs a thoughtfully designed built environment that improves economic productivity and public health outcomes; it needs equitable housing options and to reform antiquated zoning codes that inhibit progress; it needs a permeable transportation network that expands options and access to more places regardless of mode.

"A tank farm to support a fossil fuel power plant set to retire in 3 years" is a vast oversimplification of the fuel storage infrastructure in Everett. The Exelon station runs on LNG (which is a very unique fuel!) and has its own on-site refueling and storage infrastructure. When Exelon closes down the LNG facilities over there will also probably shut down. This is a good thing. Everett is pretty much the only LNG import location left in the country, because everyone else has already given up on the (mostly Russian) stuff. It'll be great to see Everett catch up with the rest of North America on this front.

But in my understanding, the majority (if not all?) of the Exxon Mobil fuel tanks in Everett are not LNG. The Mystic River and Chelsea Creek are where much of Greater Boston's gasoline and diesel and home heating oil and jet fuel come in. Exelon can go offline and that will have zero impact on any of those other fuel types. And while transitioning away from gasoline / diesel / home heating oil is a great thing and it is happening, it's going to take decades. And we won't transition away from jet fuel in this century. Perhaps incrementally some of the tanks in that area can go out of service over the years, but it ain't gonna happen overnight in one fell swoop.

I'm 100% on board with a more thoughtfully designed built environment and more housing and updated zoning and more public transit and all that jazz. But we can't eliminate the need for fossil fuel infrastructure by just simply willing it out of existence because we don't like it.

 

[RandomWalk]

I thought Everett LNG came from Trinidad.

 

[JumboBuc]

I thought Everett LNG came from Trinidad.

Correct, and my mistake on that parenthetical detail. Trinidad is the primary source of Everett LNG but the facility still has received shipments recently from sanctioned companies in Russia.

 

[Equilibria]

‘We don’t want to be people’s dumping grounds.’ Big change could be coming to Everett’s industrial riverfront - The Boston Globe

Two huge swaths of land along the Mystic River in Everett are being primed for redevelopment.

www.bostonglobe.com

Housing. We need housing. We do not need hotels, restaurants, or venues.

 

[erom]

Are the tank farms owned by the same entity? (Chelsea Creek and Mystic River) I'd assume the operating company would be best positioned to know if it's time to consolidate those facilities down to 1 and cash out on the land. It does seem farfetched to me that both facilities could close. Seems like closing Mystic would guarantee Chelsea Creek sticks around for a long time to come.

Exxon is responsible for their own mess. The buyer will take ownership of that responsibility along with the property and will price their offer accordingly. Presumably, Exxon will get a lot less money than they would have for the same land without the contamination.

 

[Charlie_mta]

‘We don’t want to be people’s dumping grounds.’ Big change could be coming to Everett’s industrial riverfront - The Boston Globe

Two huge swaths of land along the Mystic River in Everett are being primed for redevelopment.

www.bostonglobe.com

Housing. We need housing. We do not need hotels, restaurants, or venues.

The article does include housing as part of the proposed mix, although it's all very preliminary at this point.

Also, I like Mayor DeMaria's stance on improving transit access to this site:: "...he is pushing state leaders to install one or two commuter rail stations in his city; the trains run through Everett, and pass by the Encore and ExxonMobil properties, but do not stop within the city limits."

 

[Charlie_mta]

I'm 100% on board with a more thoughtfully designed built environment and more housing and updated zoning and more public transit and all that jazz. But we can't eliminate the need for fossil fuel infrastructure by just simply willing it out of existence because we don't like it.

Everett is an up and coming progressive city, and it is tired of vast sections serving as a dumping ground and industrial slum. I'm all for energy infrastructure and industry, but this prime location close to the metro core isn't the place for it. Redevelopment of the entire industrial area encompassing south Everett as well as west Chelsea would create jobs, housing, and be a quantum leap in the quality of life for these communities and the entire metro area.

 

[stick n move]

It would be expensive to build new fuel storage sites from scratch but I agree theyd be better served being away from the immediate core and closer to a highway.

Theres 3 different fuel storage sites accessable by the sea between Quincy and Braintree, maybe those could be expanded a bit to pick up the slack until the more sustainable options come online.

 

[shmessy]

The Mystic Riviera - it’s all happening - both sides!!!!

 

[Charlie_mta]

The Mystic Riviera - it’s all happening - both sides!!!!

Everett looks at developments like Cambridge Crossing and Assembly Square, and is probably thinking, why not us? The Mystic River and shoreline are tremendous community assets that are largely wasted with the current land use. The Silverline to Chelsea is about to be extended to Everett, and as the Mayor of Everett pointed out, the commuter rail line could have one or two infill stations added. So many factors point to the logic of developing this area into something great. Unlike the many self-satisfied wealthier hamlets inside the Boston metro area, Everett is hungry and is open to redevelopment. I say good on them. I'm proud of a forward looking city like that.