Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

I have a pet theory that New Englanders just hate new things, and only when something turns 20 or so are they appreciated (e.g., Big Dig). No one was going to build grand brick buildings in Seaport, and other than height the neighborhood isn't architecturally homogeneous as often claimed. Meanwhile, the homogeneity of Back Bay, Beacon Hill, South End, are part of the charm of the places. Plus, the Fort Point/Seaport duality works pretty well the same way northern Back Bay contrasts against Boylston Street and its 20th century construction.

Most of this just comes down to aesthetics, I think. Seaport needs more housing, the Silver Line should have been rail, and the few parks from Fort Point down to the water need to be finished. There's a decent museum, the waterfront is open to the public without restriction, and it seems really crowded when I'm there during nice days. So much better than parking lots!
 
I thought this common area was supposed to become a park with giant boulders along with a meandering wooden path within a micro forest? Well, I like it--a lot. One of the best F&D outdoor experiences I've had in a while and I've seen many. Five star ***** (and they got Maine Beer Co's Lunch IPA, my fave).

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That lot is permitted for a residential tower (as is the one diagonal to it) but developers have been understandably dragging their feet. So it was a Christmas tree lot over the holidays and became the island creek oyster pop up this summer. Agree it’s a great use of space but hopefully in the next 5 or so years it’ll be a finished tower.

The outdoor grid around the buildings will be some boulders and grass like the existing section that connects to Congress but a “park” is giving a bit more credit than what it will be. Still, it’s a super active area that’s very crowded whenever I go through. Great activation for the neighborhood.
 
TC_zoid said:
I thought this common area was supposed to become a park with giant boulders along with a meandering wooden path within a micro forest? Well, I like it--a lot. One of the best F&D outdoor experiences I've had in a while and I've seen many. Five star ***** (and they got Maine Beer Co's Lunch IPA, my fave).

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The boulders are here.
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This spot you were at is a temporary area on one of the unbuilt lots thats being used in the meantime until the next tower goes up.
 
Yea the seaport definitely is a pretty big success at this point hes right. For it to be even better though it definitely needs more housing, more affordable housing, and better transit connections. The buildings on congress st by the wtc also desperately need their ground floors renovated for ground floor retail now that theyre no longer on an island.
 
stick n move said:
Yea the seaport definitely is a pretty big success at this point hes right. For it to be even better though it definitely needs more housing, more affordable housing, and better transit connections. The buildings on congress st by the wtc also desperately need their ground floors renovated for ground floor retail now that theyre no longer on an island.
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For a 21st Century new urban neighborhood, the single biggest fail has to be the transit access choice of faux-BRT.
 
JeffDowntown said:
For a 21st Century new urban neighborhood, the single biggest fail has to be the transit access choice of faux-BRT.
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That was a decision made 40 years ago when the Seaport was parking lots. Fixing that is... probably not possible.
 
jklo said:
That was a decision made 40 years ago when the Seaport was parking lots. Fixing that is... probably not possible.
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You can add light rail pretty much anywhere (not that it's great. I'm a Green Line rider...), so... why isn't it possible? Not being a dick -- I likely am missing some fundamental knowledge here.
 
chrisbrat said:
You can add light rail pretty much anywhere (not that it's great. I'm a Green Line rider...), so... why isn't it possible? Not being a dick -- I likely am missing some fundamental knowledge here.
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The Silver Line could and should be light rail, we just need to pay for it.
 
jklo said:
That was a decision made 40 years ago when the Seaport was parking lots. Fixing that is... probably not possible.
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It wouldn't be hard to lay some tracks down in the Seaport tunnel, reactivate the catenary, and extend some street running tracks to cover the SLW. The Airport and Chelsea service don't really have a rail option for getting across the harbor, but they could still run in the tunnel as is, mixed in with LRT vehicles.
 
JeffDowntown said:
For a 21st Century new urban neighborhood, the single biggest fail has to be the transit access choice of faux-BRT.
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This. This. This.

Overall, I think Seaport is a pretty massive success. The number and caliber of high quality employers and jobs is extremely impressive and many cities would kill for it. Seaport has a very solid (and growing) restaurant and retail scene. I realize the buildings are larger and more contemporary than what some people like, but we have to accept that's part of what the market demands. There is not a market demand for North End or Back Bay, Part 2.

The transit piece is just embarrassingly bad. I think it was partly related to the difficulty in obtaining federal funds to build transit infrastructure for a neighborhood that largely wasn't built yet, so theoretically it would be easier now, but the T hasn't shown interest in it and I couldn't see this Administration supporting light rail extensions.

There is definitely space for more housing and maybe some civic/cultural facilities, but I think that will grow over time.

Oh and lastly, for the love of God, do something about the Northern Avenue Bridge.
 
Smuttynose said:
The transit piece is just embarrassingly bad. I think it was partly related to the difficulty in obtaining federal funds to build transit infrastructure for a neighborhood that largely wasn't built yet, so theoretically it would be easier now, but the T hasn't shown interest in it and I couldn't see this Administration supporting light rail extensions.
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The time to do it was when the TWT was built.

Guess as long as it remains a Tourist Trap/DILDO enclave it's still workable since they can just Uber around.
 
Joe Moakley got the Federal funds to build transit. At the time, the DOT was pushing BRT, so we got BRT. If the had been push monorails, we would be complaining about monorails today.
 
RandomWalk said:
Joe Moakley got the Federal funds to build transit. At the time, the DOT was pushing BRT, so we got BRT. If the had been push monorails, we would be complaining about monorails today.
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I know why it happened. That does not make it a good thing that it happened. And we did not get BRT. We got half-assed BRT.
 
just need to run the amount of buses that were planned for 30 years ago. it would then have more capacity between SS and SLW than the main trunk of the green line. also better bus connections to the south on the red line at broadway or andrew would also make it so not everybody had to be on the sliver line in the first place.
 
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