Boston, MA – Mayor Thomas M. Menino recently announced that the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Board of Directors approved the following projects.
On the East Boston Waterfront, the New Street Development received approval for a mixed-use residential and potential hotel development that will include numerous public waterfront access benefits, including a new restaurant, section of Harborwalk and a small marina with a water taxi landing. In Mattapan, the Mattapan Community Health Center received approval for its brand new, expanded health center that will greatly improve health services.
New Street Development to Bring Up to 224 Residential Units to East Boston Waterfront
The Board granted approval for the $90 million New Street development project, located at 6-26 New Street in East Boston along the waterfront. The 278,000 square foot mixed-use development includes the creation of an addition to an existing nine-story building, the construction of a new six-story building, and the construction of a three-level parking structure. The existing nine-story structure will be renovated to include a seven-story addition that will include approximately 165 residential units. The new six-story building will either contain approximately 59 residential units or approximately 106 hotel/extended stay rooms. The project also includes approximately 8,000 square feet of facilities of public accommodation space, of which approximately 5,000 square feet will be used as a restaurant on the ground-level of the six-story building. Additionally, the project includes the creation of a 36-slip recreational marina and water taxi landing, and approximately 500 linear feet of new Harborwalk and publicly accessible open space along the water, which will improve public access to the waterfront and provide connections to LoPresti Park.
The project site is bound by New Street and Maverick Landing to the east, LoPresti Park to the south, the Boston Inner Harbor to the west, and the Boston Towing and Transportation property to the north. The site includes land under water, filled tidelands and upland that contains four existing concrete buildings, specifically, a one, three, five, and nine-story building, and two wharfs. There are also several piers on the waterside. The site has historically been used for multiple commercial and industrial purposes. From the early 1900s to the 1950s, it was primarily used for cold storage. Following the 1950s, until the 1980s, confectionary companies occupied the buildings. Today, the buildings are intermittently used for commercial purposes.
New Street Realty Trust is the developer. The trustees of New Street Realty Trust are M. Bruce Ohanian, Varney Hintlian, and LuAnn Ohanian. Cresset Development, LLC, is the development consultant; Fort Point Associates serve as the planning consultants; Steffian Bradley Architects is the architectural team; Nitsch Engineering is the infrastructure consultant; Howard/Stein-Hudson Associates, Inc. is the transportation consultant; and McDermott, Quilty & Miller is the legal counsel.
It is anticipated that the project will be phased, beginning with the redevelopment of the nine-story building and the construction of the parking garage. The Harborwalk will be constructed during Phase I. The water taxi landing is also a component of Phase I. Phase II involves the construction of the new six-story building, which includes the restaurant. The approximately 36-slip recreational marina is also a component of Phase II. The final Harborwalk finishes will be part of Phase II.
The developer plans to begin the construction of Phase I in approximately the 1st quarter of 2012 with an estimated completion date in approximately the 3rd quarter of 2013. It is anticipated that construction of Phase II will begin once Phase I is complete. It is estimated that Phase II will be completed in approximately twelve to fourteen months. Total project costs are projected at approximately $90 million.
Mattapan to Receive New, Expanded Community Health Center
The BRA Board also approved plans for a new four-story Mattapan Community Health Center located at 1575 Blue Hill Avenue, only 0.4 miles from its current site at 1425 Blue Hill Avenue. The new four-story health center facility will house clinical space, office space, and two retail tenants on the ground floor with a total square footage of roughly 49,500 square feet. The new health center will substantially increase access to health care. The number of exam rooms will increase from 9 to 19 and dental operatories from 4 to 8. The square footage of the laboratory will increase from 300 to 4,100 square feet. Currently, patients have once-a-month access to an off-site mammography van, however, the new facility includes the installation of a mammography suite. Other new services to be introduced include behavioral health services and expanded public health programs.
The new project will increase clinical capacity substantially, and patient outflow will be significantly enhanced, allowing for an improved experience for patients and added operational efficiencies. The new facility will double the current site’s available space to 35,000 square feet for the health center plus 14,500 square feet for two retail tenants. Rental income from these two tenants will help support the construction of the new facility.
The development team has committed to creating a “healthy” building and environment with its new facility. To that end, the team has worked with “green” engineers and architects to achieve at least LEED Silver certification for the project. The design incorporates many energy efficient, water conservation and air quality features into the building and site.
As the largest employer in Mattapan, and the only provider of comprehensive health services, the Health Center plays an essential role in the economic development of the community. The project will create an anticipated 60 new construction jobs, 45 jobs for the retail tenants, and 20 new permanent jobs in the new Health Center. The new positions within the Health Center will range from low skilled jobs to professional. The development team plans to begin the construction of the project in the first quarter of 2011 with an estimated completion date in the first quarter of 2012.
The development team includes the Mattapan Community Health Center as the owner/developer; Burns & Levinson LLP, as the legal counsel; Steffian Bradley Architects, as the project architect; GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc., as the geotechnical & environmental engineers; VHB Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., as the traffic engineer; Vozella Design Group Inc., as the civil engineer; DiPrete engineering, as the surveyors; AKF Engineers, as the mechanical/electrical/plumbing/fire protection engineers; The Green Engineer, as the energy consultant; DM Berg Consultants, P.C., as the structural engineer; Krapf Associates, as the project manager/ budgeting consultant; The Wayland Group, as the fundraising consultant.
The Mattapan Community Health Center is a federally qualified independent health center affiliated with Boston Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Partners HealthCare. The health center began delivering comprehensive care services in 1972, and currently serves more than 7,000 individuals annually, through over 26,000 visits in its current facility.
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