Boston Redevelopment Authority in partnership with The Fort Point Channel Abutters Group and The Fort Point Channel Working Group CITY OF BOSTON Thomas M. Menino Mayor Boston Redevelopment Authority Mark Maloney Director May 2002 Dear Friend of the Fort Point Channel: It brings me great pleasure to present this Watersheet Activation Plan for the Fort Point Channel – the next great place in the City. This community-based plan, developed in partnership with the property owners along the Channel, provides a catalogue of public benefits that will significantly improve the public's use and enjoyment of the waters of the Channel. The vision for the Channel is comparable to that of the Harbor Islands and the waterfronts of East Boston, Charlestown, North End, South Boston and Dorchester – to provide truly public and enjoyable destinations for families and residents in the Boston area. The Fort Point Channel's many attributes combine to provide unlimited potential for the City: proximity to diverse neighborhoods including Chinatown, South Boston, the South End, and the workforce of the Financial District; proximity to public transportation; a waterway that is protect- ed from the elements; unique historic and industrial character; and cultural and educational anchors including the Children's Museum and the Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum. I wish to thank the Fort Point Channel Abutters Group for partnering with the City on this plan- ning effort. Their support of this process remains essential to transforming the vision into reality. I also extend my thanks to the Fort Point Channel Working Group. This group, chaired by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and comprised of residents, artists, business and civic organizations, elected officials, and harbor advocates, has provided invaluable advice and guidance in this planning effort. Finally, I wish to thank the Fort Point Channel Management Committee comprised of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, the Children's Museum and The Boston Harbor Association for their long hours and enthusiastic encouragement. Connecting neighborhoods to the waterfront, creating an interface between land and sea, and providing year-round activity are core themes of this plan. I look forward to continuing our work together. Our next step to implementation is to establish a more formal organization to advance the plan and to coordinate Channel programming and promotion. Please remain involved in this important process. Your participation will insure the development of this public resource that will be enjoyed by all, now and in the years to come. Sincerely Thomas M. Menino Mayor of Boston Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan Management Committee Dear Friend of the Fort Point Channel: It's an exciting time for our city and our waterfront. After decades of neglect, Boston Harbor is on the rebound, and with it comes new opportunity - on the watersheet and at the water's edge. This Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan is the result of a unique planning partnership between residents, abutters, civic, community and corporate partners, advocates, activists and the Boston Redevelopment Authority. Working together we have created a powerful plan, with tremen- dous potential to reconnect our city with the sea while creating new recreational and economic opportunities for our citizens. But the plan isn't the goal. It is a critical first step on the path towards the goal. Over the next months and years our success will be measured by how well we do what we set out to do, to activate the Fort Point Channel, and enhance its value to abutters, for all Bostonians, and for visitors as well. As the Management Committee of the Fort Point Channel Working Group, we want to thank Mayor Menino and the BRA Director Mark Maloney for their confidence in our ability to lead the effort. We would also like to thank the Fort Point Channel Working Group and the Fort Point Channel Abutters Group for their willingness to invest the time and resources necessary to do the job right. We particularly want to thank Linda Haar, Nancy Tentindo, Richard McGuinness and the staff at the BRA, as well as the Waterfront Center and the team from Goody, Clancy and Associates for their fine work on the plan. We also want to thank those individuals - artist, residents and others who participated in this public process and gave their valuable time to help create a shared vision for the Channel. We could never have done it alone and frankly, we won't be able to implement the plan without your help. We urge you to stay involved and help insure that the Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan serves as a blueprint for a better Boston. Sincerely, The Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan Management Committee Patricia Foley Neil Gordon Vivien Li Chair, Management Committee Executive Vice President Executive Director Executive Director The Children's Museum The Boston Harbor Association Save the Harbor/Save the Bay ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The development of the Fort Point Channel Watersheet Activation Plan has been a collaborative effort between the Boston Redevelopment Authority, The Fort Point Channel Abutters Group and The Fort Point Channel Working Group. We would like to thank the following individuals and organ- izations who have contributed to the process and many other residents, advocacy groups and business representatives who have contributed their time toward this Plan. Many of your ideas and guidance are incorporated into this Plan and it is a better Plan because of your efforts. THE FORT POINT CHANNEL Don Knuuttila THE FORT POINT CHANNEL EX OFFICIO WORKING GROUP Historic Tours of America ABUTTERS GROUP Todd Lee Representative John A. Hart, Jr. Sam Altreuter Boston Society of Architects Barking Crab/Neptune Marine Massachusetts State House CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners Boston Edison Company Doug Lemle Councillor James M. Kelly Dan Anderson 500 Atlantic Avenue The Barking Crab Boston City Council Four Architecture Stuart Leonard Boston Parks & Recreation Deparment Bissera Antikarov The Gillette Company Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum Congressman Stephen F. Lynch Artery Business Committee Vivien Li The Children's Museum United States Congress Kathy Bachman CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners The Boston Harbor Association Councillor Paul Scapicchio Hale and Dorr United States Postal Service Tina Lindinger Boston City Council Bruce Berman Pembroke Realty Equity Office Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Rod Macdonald Russia Wharf Representative Martin Walsh Greg Bialecki Meyer, Connolly, Sloman & Federal Reserve Bank Massachusetts State House Hill & Barlow Macdonald Fidelity/Pembroke Real Estate Alice Boelter Beth Nicholson 245 Summer Street CONSULTANT TEAM Boelter and Associates Save the Harbor/Save the Bay The Gillette Company Jharry Breed Diom O'Connell Hunneman Commercial Management Goody, Clancy & Associates The Gillette Company The McCourt Companies 303 Congress Street David Spillane, Project Manager Jamy Buchanan Ed O'Donnell Modern Continental David Block Buchanan and Associates Modern Continental 470 Atlantic Avenue Ben Carlson Valerie Burns Carl Perry The McCourt Company David Curran Boston Natural Areas Fund The Gillette Company Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Amy Hight Greg Carrafiello George Price Herb Nolan Fort Point Associates National Park Service BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT Steve Wolf Lou Casagrande Brian Peugh AUTHORITY Byrne McKinney Associates The Children's Museum Courageous Sailing Pamela McKinney Ann Chiacchieri Jeff Pierce Linda Mongelli Haar and Formerly BRA CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners Richard McGuinness, Project Managers FXM Associates Kendra Corvino David Porter Rebecca Barnes Frank Mahady The Children's Museum Childs Engineering Lynn Berkley Jan Brodie David Carlson Timothy Culver Myrna Putziger The Waterfront Center Isabel Kriegel Peabody & Arnold Rubin and Rudman Ann Breen Kairos Shen Richard F. Delaney Albert Rex Dick Rigby Urban Harbors Institute at the Boston Preservation Alliance Nancy Tentindo University of Massachusetts/Boston Colby Rottler Transportation Alternatives CITY AND STATE AGENCIES Eric Dietrich Federal Reserve Bank Bill Walker Adaptive Environment Joe Savage Boston Environment Department Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Richard Dimino Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Michael Cannizzo Bethany Eisenberg Artery Business Committee Jon Seward Tim Famulare Bill Noll Jamie Fay Community Design Partnership Ellen Lipsey Susan Sloan-Rossiter Fort Point Associates Jim Sheehan Antonia Pollak Brian Fallon Equity Office Vine Associates Brad Swing Meredith and Grew Jed Speare David Vine Ken Fields Mobius Karl Hammond Executive Office of Transportation BSC Group Stephen Spinetto and Construction CREDITS Patricia Foley City of Boston Office of Civil Rights Astrid Glynn Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Susan St. Pierre Todd Fontanella All photographs/graphics by Goody, Shawn Ford Fort Point Associates Clancy & Associates except the following: Historic Tours of America Maryann Suydam Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Neil Gordon Equity Office Executive of Office of Environmental Affairs Landslides Aerial Photography, Aerials The Children's Museum Anthony Termine Maureen Gaffney Boston Public Library, p. 2 Beth Gottfried The Gillette Company Steve Mague Watershed Institute Jim Travers Tom Skinner Boston Transportation Dept., p. 10, 11 Melissa Grills CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners Fort Point Cultural Coalition, p. 18, 34 Brown Rudnick Michael Tyrell Massachusetts Department of Elizabeth Grob South Bay Harbor Trail Environmental