Reserved Channel Development | 300 West First Street | South Boston

Equilibria

Equilibria

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LOI: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/k791htojhi8zgz16cda5xekrejuy3nmq

I can't find documentation for any of the charettes that would presumably have some models/sketches (and even when LOIs include a map the BPDA never includes it for download), but the 1.7 million square feet in 7 buildings would be placed somewhere along 1st, Pappas, Cypher, and E. Obviously 1.7MSF is a lot, and they're going to run up against two major potential obstacles: Massport may be looking to include some of this land in the swap with USPS that would allow MassDOT to build SSX, and MassDOT and Massport are currently collaborating to connect Cypher to E to improve the truck route from the South Boston Haul Road to Conley Terminal. They're building that to insulate truck traffic from development, so I can't imagine MassDOT would be exicted that a developer wants to drop a ton of jobs and housing right on it from the moment it opens.

Also, given the experience of the 776 Summer development down the street, I assume this would see a big size reduction through negotiations with the neighborhood, but let's see what they propose in the PNF.
 
Equilibria said:
LOI: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/k791htojhi8zgz16cda5xekrejuy3nmq

I can't find documentation for any of the charettes that would presumably have some models/sketches (and even when LOIs include a map the BPDA never includes it for download), but the 1.7 million square feet in 7 buildings would be placed somewhere along 1st, Pappas, Cypher, and E. Obviously 1.7MSF is a lot, and they're going to run up against two major potential obstacles: Massport may be looking to include some of this land in the swap with USPS that would allow MassDOT to build SSX, and MassDOT and Massport are currently collaborating to connect Cypher to E to improve the truck route from the South Boston Haul Road to Conley Terminal. They're building that to insulate truck traffic from development, so I can't imagine MassDOT would be exicted that a developer wants to drop a ton of jobs and housing right on it from the moment it opens.

Also, given the experience of the 776 Summer development down the street, I assume this would see a big size reduction through negotiations with the neighborhood, but let's see what they propose in the PNF.
Click to expand...
B&T article from August 2022 had this:
'Massport' said it will combine the four-acre parcel at 525 E St. with 12 adjacent acres that it already owns on Summer Street, providing enough land to relocate the 1.2 million-square-foot postal facility.'

From Google maps, the referenced Pappas/Oxford eight acre site includes a bus storage lot for Yankee Bus, a large surface parking lot, and a general contractor storage yard. The site runs along the north side of W. First St from Pappas Way (Yankee Bus) to F Street. Roughly from 300 W First St. to 390 W. First St.

The site is south of where the USPS building would be.
 
stellarfun said:
B&T article from August 2022 had this:
'Massport' said it will combine the four-acre parcel at 525 E St. with 12 adjacent acres that it already owns on Summer Street, providing enough land to relocate the 1.2 million-square-foot postal facility.'

From Google maps, the referenced Pappas/Oxford eight acre site includes a bus storage lot for Yankee Bus, a large surface parking lot, and a general contractor storage yard. The site runs along the north side of W. First St from Pappas Way (Yankee Bus) to F Street. Roughly from 300 W First St. to 390 W. First St.

The site is south of where the USPS building would be.
Click to expand...
Probably, but they mention using mostly land owned by Massport, not by themselves. I'm not sure how a long-term lease shows up on the parcel map (I looked).

The block defined by 1st, Cypher, E, and Pappas is definitely in here, but they mention 9 buildings on the whole site and it doesn't look like that block would account for them.
 
Throwing this here so ppl can get a quick visual reference point.

IMG_8438.jpeg
 
Equilibria said:
Probably, but they mention using mostly land owned by Massport, not by themselves. I'm not sure how a long-term lease shows up on the parcel map (I looked).

The block defined by 1st, Cypher, E, and Pappas is definitely in here, but they mention 9 buildings on the whole site and it doesn't look like that block would account for them.
Click to expand...

I think the 9 buildings refer to the total 42 acres controlled by OxP. The parcels bounded by E Street, West First, Pappas Way, and the access road for W.B. Mason is approximately 7 acres. The 8 acre project site might also include the Verizon garage? We will know soon enough. Exciting stuff.
 
Globe aerial, image from the developers.

EVPGAUWS3YVIGEGB2VE3SDM4SU.JPG


www.bostonglobe.com

Another big project planned for South Boston warehouse district - The Boston Globe

Developers are proposing a seven-building, 1.7 million-square-foot project on a swath of industrial property along the Reserved Channel between the Seaport and South Boston.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

Little that is new in the Globe article, which fails to mention that most of the 42 acres is leased from Massport. I suspect that the lease does not give them an unfettered right to build anything they want, without adjustment in the lease terms (e.g., additional monies). Also, there has been no mention as to when the lease expires.

From the LOI, 38.2 of the 42 acres are a ground lease from Massport, and the ;lease originated in 1965.
 
Massport's May slides are up and they do have a diagram:

1689697512545.png
 
The Massport slide states that the existing ground lease must be amended. No mention of the period of time to be covered by an amended lease, nor how much additional money the lessee will pay Massport.
 
stellarfun said:
Globe aerial, image from the developers.

EVPGAUWS3YVIGEGB2VE3SDM4SU.JPG


www.bostonglobe.com

Another big project planned for South Boston warehouse district - The Boston Globe

Developers are proposing a seven-building, 1.7 million-square-foot project on a swath of industrial property along the Reserved Channel between the Seaport and South Boston.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

Little that is new in the Globe article, which fails to mention that most of the 42 acres is leased from Massport. I suspect that the lease does not give them an unfettered right to build anything they want, without adjustment in the lease terms (e.g., additional monies). Also, there has been no mention as to when the lease expires.

From the LOI, 38.2 of the 42 acres are a ground lease from Massport, and the ;lease originated in 1965.
Click to expand...

Crazy that there is still much land available to develop in this part of Boston. Hopefully the developers and the city don't squander these opportunities to make a sizeable dent in the housing issue.
 
beck4537 said:
Crazy that there is still much land available to develop in this part of Boston. Hopefully the developers and the city don't squander these opportunities to make a sizeable dent in the housing issue.
Click to expand...
Looks like it's predominantly 'life sciences'. So Boston gets the tax revenues from jobs and leaves it to the under-stress suburbs to house new workers. Once again.
 
beck4537 said:
Crazy that there is still much land available to develop in this part of Boston. Hopefully the developers and the city don't squander these opportunities to make a sizeable dent in the housing issue.
Click to expand...

Don't worry -- they will!
 
I'm surprised this area hasn't been made into a private golf course with residences and club for Massport retirees. You can easily fit a nice 9 hole coarse into this waterfront property.
 
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Life-sciences labs, residential buildings planned for area at the end of the Reserved Channel​

reservedrendering.jpg

1700582632307.jpeg


“The owner of numerous industrial facilities and warehouses in South Boston and a Toronto developer have filed plans for an eight-building development on parcels along Pappas Way and West 1st Street in South Boston that would include 205 residential units, life-sciences lab space, a supermarket and a one-acre park along the Reserved Channel.

In their filing with the BPDA, Pappas Enterprises and Oxford Properties Group say their 1.74-million-square-foot project - nearly as large as the Edison-plant replacement project - will include two 11-story life-sciences buildings, a 10-story building, shorter lab and office buildings and two six-story residential buildings.

Pappas owns part of the roughly 13 acres of the proposed development but leases most of the land from Massport.

The proposal lists the need for 1,161 parking spaces at the complex, currently a desolate stretch of parking lots and low-slung warehouses and garages that does not have any MBTA bus stops. However, the companies add that "the proposed parking space count will continue to be refined through discussions with the community, City, and Massport" on ways to comply with both the area's ban on new parking spaces for commercial buildings and the city's goal of "reducing vehicle miles travelled by 50% by 2030." The filing does not specify how many parking spaces the site currently has.

The plans call for construction of four new short roads from Pappas Way and West 1st Street and an extension of F Street into the development. The companies say these roads will be designed as "robust slow-speed infrastructure" aimed at prioritizing the movement of pedestrians, bicyclists and scooter riders over drivers, through traffic-calming approaches such as sidewalk bump-outs at crosswalks.

The plans call for 970 spaces for parking bicycles. Spots on each block will be reserved for ride-share drivers to pick up and drop off riders.

Also to be resolved through ongoing meetings with officials and the community: The exact nature of the units in the residential buildings - which would sit along West 1st Street.

In addition to a public park along the Reserved Channel, the plans also call for a publicly accessible "civic pavilion."…”

https://www.universalhub.com/2023/life-sciences-labs-residential-buildings-planned
 
Link to PNF:

Reserved Channel | Bostonplans.org

Development Projects and Planned Development Areas (PDAs) that the Development Review division is coordinating.
www.bostonplans.org www.bostonplans.org

They're proposing 4 highrise buildings here. Nice to see the potential for the Seaport skyline to extend further south.
 
Little disappointed that only 14,000sf is allocated for the grocery (Table 4-19), which puts it smaller than the Trader Joe's in Fort Point and much smaller than Ink Block Whole Foods (~50,000sf). I was hoping for a full service grocery store as an alternative to the stale Stop and Shop on E Broadway, but maybe that will have to wait until a future project in Seaport (or the D street development?).
 
stick n move said:
The proposal lists the need for 1,161 parking spaces at the complex, currently a desolate stretch of parking lots and low-slung warehouses and garages that does not have any MBTA bus stops.
Click to expand...
I mean, sure, there isn't a bus stop right out front, but parcels A and B are less than a fifth of a mile from buses on Broadway. Parcel C is slightly less than a third of a mile from buses on Summer St. Most people who commute by 'T have at least as long a walk as that.
 
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