Pier 5 Redevelopment | Navy Yard | Charlestown

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Water-oriented concerns on either side of rotting Navy Yard pier submit radically different proposals​

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“A marina on one side of the unused, decaying Pier 5 at the Charlestown Navy Yard and a non-profit sailing program on the other side last week submitted the only two proposals to the city for redeveloping the site.

The owners of the Charlestown Marina, on Pier 6, say they would simply tear down the entire pier and replace it with a new floating extension of their existing marina. Officials at Courageous Sailing, which offers sailing classes on Pier 4, though, would team with two real-estate investment firms to rebuild the pier as a public series of indoor and outdoor facilities aimed at water-related education and public events - including an exhibit hall and a six-lane floating harbor swimming pool and a stepped sitting area for gazing across the harbor.

This is the second time that what is now the Boston Planning Department has solicited proposals for the pier. At first, the city looked to put housing on the site, but in 2021, the then BPDA rejected the three proposals it got - two of which called for what would have been the city's first floating housing complexes, one of which called for a more traditional building on pilings. The city said it wasn't ready for floating apartments and that the more traditional building might not be able to resist rising seas.

Charles and Ann Lagasse, who own the Charlestown Marina, submitted a plan to tear down the existing pier and replace it with "a new series of publicly available floating docks and wave attenuators that extend off the existing dockage at Pier 6," with roughly 45 slips……..”

https://www.universalhub.com/2025/water-oriented-concerns-either-side-rotting-navy-yard-pier-submit


Courageous Sailing’s RFP:



























https://bpda.app.box.com/s/4kydopxi7tuetfboy3nmoz8ixm5cw9hf/file/1801456480194



Charlestown Marina LLC RFP:
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https://bpda.app.box.com/s/4kydopxi7tuetfboy3nmoz8ixm5cw9hf/file/1801453017318
 
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Where are they getting the money for that? Btw do people really swim in the harbor? Gross
 
I like the Courageous Sailing plan - but also would have preferred housing. Moving forward with that would have been some Courageous Acting on the part of the city.
 
itchy said:
I like the Courageous Sailing plan - but also would have preferred housing. Moving forward with that would have been some Courageous Acting on the part of the city.
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We should probably not encourage housing right on the harbor to be honest. The harbor should be accessible for all, with amenities for all. This proposal does that very well. Housing would permanently remove that section of the Charlestown piers from public use, reserving it instead for a select few wealthy elite. Courageous Sailing is also proposing something far more resilient to sea rise and storm surge issues than would likely be the case with housing. Build housing further inland, the coast belongs to all of us.
 
617 said:
Where are they getting the money for that? Btw do people really swim in the harbor? Gross
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See page 94. Key Banc wrote a letter of support confirming their interest in at least partially underwriting the project, but also pointing to public-private partnerships as a mechanism. This group appears to do a lot of infrastructure/municipal work:

We firmly believe that the Courageous Sailing Team is a highly experienced partner and confirm our strong interest in potentially providing financing solutions in the form of commercial bank debt, capital markets products, as well as any required derivative hedging instruments. Given our experience with Courageous Sailing Team and their respective track record, we believe them to be well qualified to successfully deliver the Project. Furthermore, in our opinion, Courageous Sailing Team is extremely capable of competitively securing, managing and bringing to financial close the capital needed for a project of this size and nature involving a public-private partnership. KBCM stands ready to support Courageous Sailing Team to facilitate the financing of the Project.
 
HenryAlan said:
We should probably not encourage housing right on the harbor to be honest. The harbor should be accessible for all, with amenities for all. This proposal does that very well. Housing would permanently remove that section of the Charlestown piers from public use, reserving it instead for a select few wealthy elite. Courageous Sailing is also proposing something far more resilient to sea rise and storm surge issues than would likely be the case with housing. Build housing further inland, the coast belongs to all of us.
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Disagree - the coast should be interesting and lively for people first and foremost. You can build housing and have amenities, restaurants/bars, retail and public access around it. The vibrant Amalfi Coast towns are highly privatized and built up with housing. More locally, so is Rockport (not housing because it's not how we've 'done it' here historically, but still private). Either of those are also much more interesting to the entire public than - say - the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion on the Greenway, a very publicly owned resource.
 
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itchy said:
Disagree - the coast should be interesting and lively for people first and foremost. You can build housing and have amenities, restaurants/bars, retail and public access around it. The vibrant Amalfi Coast towns are highly privatized and built up with housing. More locally, so is Rockport (not housing because it's not how we've 'done it' here historically, but still private). Either of those are also much more interesting to the entire public than - say - the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion on the Greenway, a very publicly owned resource.
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Even a place like Rockport has a ton of housing right on the water. You may think of Bearskin Neck as commercial, but the upper floors above almost every business is housing. And Middle and N Streets on the Neck are totally residential.
 
Justbuildit said:
See page 94. Key Banc wrote a letter of support confirming their interest in at least partially underwriting the project, but also pointing to public-private partnerships as a mechanism. This group appears to do a lot of infrastructure/municipal work:

We firmly believe that the Courageous Sailing Team is a highly experienced partner and confirm our strong interest in potentially providing financing solutions in the form of commercial bank debt, capital markets products, as well as any required derivative hedging instruments. Given our experience with Courageous Sailing Team and their respective track record, we believe them to be well qualified to successfully deliver the Project. Furthermore, in our opinion, Courageous Sailing Team is extremely capable of competitively securing, managing and bringing to financial close the capital needed for a project of this size and nature involving a public-private partnership. KBCM stands ready to support Courageous Sailing Team to facilitate the financing of the Project.
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Aside from that they have a lot of extremely deep pocketed donors plus corporate sponsors. For something that would be one of the best facilities of its kind in the world I’m sure there are a lot of people in the regional sailing community who could fairly easily be coaxed into writing some good sized checks.
 
Bearskin Neck is a land feature, extending into the harbor.

Both proposals for this dilapidated Navy Yard pier rely on pilings, and there is no filling of the harbor. Before any filling of the harbor could take place, one would need to obtain a Section 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers. Which in this instance would be almost impossible to secure. Building housing on pilings would be prohibitively expensive.
 
stellarfun said:
Bearskin Neck is a land feature, extending into the harbor.

Both proposals for this dilapidated Navy Yard pier rely on pilings, and there is no filling of the harbor. Before any filling of the harbor could take place, one would need to obtain a Section 404 permit from the Corps of Engineers. Which in this instance would be almost impossible to secure. Building housing on pilings would be prohibitively expensive.
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1) I am certain Bearskin Neck includes made land, so some of the buildings are on pilings.
2) There are waterfront residential buildings all around Boston harbor that are definitely built on pilings, and multiple more have been proposed for former wharf locations.
 
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^^^Motif #1, on Bearskin Neck, Rockport. There are/were numerous granite quarries on Cape Ann, and granite blocks were used to create a solid footing for piers and docks..

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^^^ Bearskin Neck. The building on the right is mixed use; residential on upper floors. Built on granite blocks

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^^^ Front St. Marblehead. This new house is sited in an area that is prone to flooding during major Nor'easters. Tempting to think that the owners might have expanded the house's footprint by placing some of it on pilings sunk into the harbor. But geologic features would have made that impractical.

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^^^ Boston Yacht Club, Marblehead. The porch / veranda (with the two blue parasols) is on pilings, the yacht club itself is on solid ground. Image illustrates how one can use Google maps to quickly survey shorelines in search of residential properties built on pilings into a harbor..
 
itchy said:
Disagree - the coast should be interesting and lively for people first and foremost. You can build housing and have amenities, restaurants/bars, retail and public access around it. The vibrant Amalfi Coast towns are highly privatized and built up with housing. More locally, so is Rockport (not housing because it's not how we've 'done it' here historically, but still private). Either of those are also much more interesting to the entire public than - say - the Boston Harbor Islands Pavilion on the Greenway, a very publicly owned resource.
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Closer to home, Clippership Wharf did a great job of building housing on an old pier while also improving public access to the waterfront. They added public docking, a kayak launch, multiple restaurant spaces, seating, grassy areas for lounging, etc. Something similar in Charlestown would be a win for everyone.
 
DZH22 said:
You don't need to leave Charlestown to find a residential building built on pilings. Constellation Wharf Condos have you covered!

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Constellation Wharf Condos · 1 Constellation Wharf, Boston, MA 02129

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Thank you for referencing the example of Constellation Wharf.

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^^^ Image is of the concrete pilings and concrete deck that supports the condos on Constellation Wharf. The image was included in a LOI submitted in 2022 that sought approval for an extensive repair of spalling of the concrete beams and concrete pile caps. Approximately a 10-year project, phased and prioritized because of condo association budget constraints.

See LOI pdf here:
https://www.boston.gov/sites/defaul...Intent - Constellation Wharf - 01-14-2022.pdf

From the LOI, Constellation Pier was built by the US Navy in the 1950s as an ammunition loading pier., The Navy built a pier with a concrete deck, supported by concrete piles.. T

From the LOI,
The concrete pier deck is supported by concrete pile caps and beams which are all supported by concrete filled steel pipe piles." ..... and "a project which took place in 2014 and 2015 to provide repairs and preventative maintenance to the pile support structure. This previous project was permitted under DEP File No. 006-1353 and included installation of support pile encasements and sacrificial anode cathodic protection.
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The LOI briefly discusses resiliency against sea level rise. As built by the Navy, the pier is 16' 0" above mean low water. The first floor level of the condominiums is roughly about 18' 0" above mean low water. The LOI states "Raising the elevation of the pier and condominium complex above it is not a reasonable undertaking."
 
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