An Overview of development in Southie

South Boston Times
Boomin' Times on the Waterfront

The rapidly developing South Boston Waterfront has had a busy twelve months. Projects, both planned and actually underway, will require billions of dollars to complete, will generate tens of thousands of new jobs, and will see a decade-long buildout.


by Rick Winterson


It is no news that developments along the South Boston Waterfront are proceeding rapidly. From the Conley Terminal to Fort Point, the underlying value of a location on the peninsula that makes up South Boston has become obvious. The nation’s hometown has morphed into the nation’s boomtown.

Twelve months ago, developer John Drew presented his revised plans for a project called Waterside Place”. Located on an eight-acre plot near the intersection of D and Summer Streets, it will comprise a 300-room hotel, 200 hundred residences, 2,300 parking spaces, and 640,000 square feet of retail space.

In September, ground was finally broken on the long-awaited Fan Pier project, which is being developed by Joseph Fallon. The $3 billion buildout will take up to ten years. In addition to its being a huge mixed-use development, Fan Pier’s unique marina has attracted the Volvo Regatta. Fan Pier sits between the Moakley Courthouse and the Institute of Contemporary Art, for which Fallon donated the land.

The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has surpassed even its boosters’ best expectations, and was named the “Convention Center of the Year” in 2007. This is partly due to its communications capabilities and partly due to its sheer size. Recently, the Massachusetts Convention Authority announced a feasibility study to expand the Convention Center, which is already New England’s largest single building.

Exelon’s L Street Power Plant, which borders the Reserve Channel, retired the second of its two generating units in November. Cleanup and dismantling of the entire plant is expected to begin this year, after a series of community hearings. Long-term plans for the site have not been announced.

In January, MassPort announced that it wished to acquire the Coastal site, a 30-acre site on East First Street owned by the Coastal subsidiary of El Paso Corporation. Because of oil seepage over the years, there has been a significant controversy over the site’s cleanup. If the deal goes through, MassPort intends to expand the Conley Terminal along the Reserve Channel using the Coastal property.

Late in January, Mayor Menino released plans for the Jimmy’s Harborside property that were assembled by the B.R.A. The property will hold an office building and up to four restaurants; the Harbor Walk and access roads will be extended along the Waterfront. The $30 million project is slated for completion in 2009.

The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel became the Waterfront’s newest hospitality location, when it completed its “soft opening” in January. It has 450 elegantly appointed rooms, all with state-of-the-art electronics technology.

Late last year, Gale International completed its plans for what it calls “Seaport Square”. This will be built on the McCourt Properties. These plans are being presented to South Boston at this time, via a series of open community meetings. Seaport Square is a true mega-project – a city-within-a-city amounting to 6.5 million square feet. The project will mean an expenditure of many billions of dollars; it is reputed to be the largest mixed-use development ever undertaken in the Northeast.

The job impact from all of these developments will be enormous: as many as 15,000 construction jobs, followed by 30,000 (or more) permanent positions. All of these projects, when they are completed, will essentially use up the areas available for mixed developments along the South Boston Waterfront..

Another article would be needed to cover industrial and commercial developments on the eastern reaches of the South Boston peninsula, within the Marine Industrial Complex. The Fort Point area is also under development, especially since the sale of the Boston Wharf building complex. South Boston’s Barbara Lynch is perhaps the most well-known person to move there, where she is creating a versatile foodservice establishment.

As a final note, the U.S. Post Office Annex plans to move to South Boston from its current site on the South Station side of Fort Point Channel. That will have significant neighborhood ripples, also.

Stay tuned! All in all, that’s a big bunch of bricks and mortar.