Navy Yard Pier 5 Committee FAQ
1. What is the Navy Yard Pier 5 Committee’s position regarding the future of historic Pier 5?
The Navy Yard Pier 5 Committee is an independent group of folks who live, work, or play in the Charlestown Navy Yard. For the last five years, we have been dedicated to ideas promoting the public’s use and enjoyment of Pier 5, a pivotal location that makes it “The Jewel of the Harbor.” Please see our mission statement.
The Committee [NYP5] has met many local NGOs and stakeholders, as well as the three proponents. We have carefully reviewed all three proposals and their answers to questions. We advise the BPDA to reject the 6M Development and Navy Blue, LLC proposals. See our letter to the BPDA on our website here. We explain our conclusions in the appendix portion of that letter.
Although Urbanica’s proposal substantially satisfies the requirements of the RFP, the NYP5 Committee cannot approve Urbanica’s proposal as-is because it brings potential adverse effects to the neighborhood due to its height and operational and programming issues, as detailed below. We further believe that a mixed-income ownership model, coupled with live/work artist housing, should be prioritized for this site, rather than the current rental proposal. The Committee believes these issues could possibly be remedied and would be open to evaluating any revised Urbanica option that fixes these issues, while the Committee also explores the viability of a non-commercial option.
The Committee requests the BPDA grant a six-month period so the Committee can engage with Urbanica, the BPDA, NGOs and community stakeholders to explore a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model, as well as a non-commercial option to resolve these issues, thereby achieving a win-win outcome for the City of Boston, the Charlestown Navy Yard, and the Charlestown community. During this six-month period, the Committee will explore undertaking a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign to support the best option. Our goal will be to elevate the Pier 5 project beyond the RFP to encompass it being part of a holistic Charlestown Community Waterfront, which wraps in the currently neglected Harborwalk, Drydock 2, and underutilized Piers 3 and 4. In this vision, Pier 5 would become the first major step of a larger effort toward building an inclusive and sustainable public waterfront for Charlestown.
Charlestown has tremendous talent in our community willing to commit their time, energy,
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and skills to achieve our positive vision: a community-built Pier 5. Even if you have previously voted against the project, we hope you will reconsider after reading this.
And we ask you to join our effort by becoming a co-creator in this project to help us realize Pier 5 as “The Jewel of the Harbor.”
2. What is the reasoning behind the NYP5 Committee’s position?
There are multiple reasons for this conclusion. For those wanting to see all the detail, we suggest you read (a) the appendix to our letter to the BPDA letter (here) as well as (b) the questions and answers in this document. These reasons include things like:
- Restore the Pier: We believe it is essential to restore the historic pier, which is germane to the Navy Yard’s past and its status as a national historic landmark. - Restore Public Use: We believe it is of paramount importance to preserve public access to this Head of the Harbor site. - Full Pier as a Park: The Urbanica proposal is the only proposal that returns virtually the entire footprint of the pier to the public realm. In our initial meetings with local non-profits, that was also an a priori condition for their potential involvement. - Harborwalk Expansion: The Urbanica proposal creates an additional 1,400 feet of Harborwalk. - Other Sources of Funds: Our research has not been able to uncover other sources of funds to tear down Pier 5 and build a ground-level park. The estimated cost of removing the pier is $9 million; the estimated cost of rebuilding the pier is more than $16 million, not including the cost for a landscaped park and its long-term maintenance and management. Note: If funding for such a project were to materialize during our proposed six month working period, we are very much open to the possibility of embracing a park. - Legality: The Urbanica proposal appears to be legal, so “just saying no” is not an option.
3. What’s the difference between the Navy Yard Pier 5 Committee (NavyYardPier5.org) and “Save Pier 5: Boston Navy-Yard” (Pier5.org)?
It’s likely confusing that there are two different advocacy groups working hard on the Pier 5 project. Our group, NavyYardPier5.org, believes it is important to restore the historic pier, which is germane to the Navy Yard’s history and its landmark status. Secondly, we believe it is
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of paramount importance to preserve the public realm on this Head of the Harbor site. On these two points, we are substantially in agreement with Pier5.org.
Where we differ is that Pier5.org believes that any private development on the pier represents a “privatization of a public amenity,” while we believe there are multiple ways to achieve that paramount goal, including working with a developer, the BPDA, NGOs, and other community groups in a community-building Public Private Partnership to achieve our goal. We concur that the two floating housing proposals do represent a “privatization of a public amenity,” but we disagree that the same label applies to Urbanica’s proposal, which virtually returns the entire pier area to the public realm with its rooftop park. On the contrary, we believe that this innovative approach can be molded to make Pier 5 a one-of-a-kind destination park for Boston and Charlestown residents alike. Significantly, we differ from the Pier5.org group in that we are willing to fundraise to achieve our positive vision.
4. Will the Urbanica project obstruct the view of the harbor from the Harbor Walk?
There is no denying Urbanica’s current design creates a view impact, both from the current Harbor Walk and for south-facing units at Flagship Wharf, particularly units on Levels 2 through 4 in the East Wing. Visual impact is one of the major design issues we intend to address with Urbanica. On the positive side, we commend the fact that, in addition to the rooftop park, Urbanica has created 1,400 feet of new Harbor Walk with unobstructed views of the harbor, along with a major public open space at the south (harbor) end of the pier.
5. Does Chapter 91 prohibit housing on Pier 5?
Chapter 91, as modified by the 1991 Approval of the Boston Municipal Harbor Plan, does not prohibit housing on Pier 5. Page 36 of the 1990 Boston MHP specifically states that "residential uses shall be allowed only on Battery Wharf in the North End and on Pier 5 in the Charlestown Navy Yard," subject to certain restrictions and requirements to provide commensurate public benefits, all of which have been incorporated into the BPDA’s RFP. In essence, NYP5 accepts the premise that the RFP is legal, and that the BPDA is within its rights to issue the RFP and award the development rights to one of the developers. We prefer to take the approach of positively influencing the direction of development, not only to mitigate its potential negative impacts, but also to elevate it towards a bolder and better
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outcome for the City of Boston, the Charlestown community, and the Charlestown Navy Yard.
6. Did the developer of Flagship Wharf agree to “swap” development rights on Pier 5 in exchange for the right to build the east and west wings?
To our knowledge, no such agreement was made, and no such agreement exists. It is our understanding that the developer of Flagship Wharf did not build on Pier 5 due to the poor condition of Pier 5.
7. Is the Boston Municipal Harbor Plan valid?
We are not in a position to judge the validity of the Boston Municipal Harbor Plan (MHP). According to public records, the 1990 Boston MHP was approved by the Secretary of Environmental Affairs on May 22, 1991. (Link) The 1990 Boston MHP covers a vast "Harborpark District" of harborfront communities stretching from the Mystic River to the north to Neponset River down south. Each community within the Harborpark has submitted its own MHP, and an online search reveals that all of these MHPs, including the one governing Charlestown, reference Chapter 91 and the 1990 Boston MHP. Indeed, Flagship Wharf itself received a Chapter 91 license consistent with the 1990 Boston MHP for the construction of its east and west wings and underground garage. To claim that the 1990 Boston MHP is invalid would also invalidate the legal premise for all of these developments in the last 30 years.
8. If Michelle Wu is elected Mayor of Boston, won’t she eliminate the BPDA and then the city will build a park on Pier 5?
We’ve gone down this path of reasoning. We think there is a good chance that Michelle Wu is elected Mayor. However, she may not be. But then there is the fact that even if she is elected, it’s not a “done deal” that the BPDA will be eliminated. But the biggest problem with relying on this hypothetical chain of events to lead to a park on Pier 5 is clear: even if Wu is elected, and the BPDA is replaced with a City of Boston Planning Department, there will be many demands on that department in the wake of pandemic-related fiscal challenges. Consider the dire fiscal state of the MBTA, for example. We believe it is unlikely the city will allocate the more than $30 million required to fund a new park less than 100 yards from existing Shipyard Park and create a long-term budget to fund its maintenance and programming.
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9. If New York City can afford to put parks on the Brooklyn Piers, why can’t Boston put a park on Pier 5?
The economics of the Brooklyn Bridge Park project are entirely irrelevant to the economic reality at Pier 5. In Brooklyn, the developers of the land behind the piers were required to put up funding for the parks. In Charlestown, the land behind Pier 5 has already been developed; the only developer who can contribute to the funding of a new public park is Urbanica.
10. With significant amounts of money being spent on parks in East Boston by organizations like the Trustees of Reservations, couldn’t Charlestown get funding from them?
NYP5 has had direct meetings with such major organizations, including the Trustees, all of whom have made it clear they are unable to take on such a large-scale project like rebuilding Pier 5. As a result, NYP5 believes it is extremely unlikely that an organization will swoop in to buy the pier, spend upwards of $30 million to build a park, and then fund another long-term endowment to cover the park’s maintenance and programming.
11. What if we just let Pier 5 fall into the sea, or demolish it and put in a marina instead?
NYP5 firmly believes that it is important to preserve and restore the historic pier, which is germane to the Navy Yard’s history and its landmark status, and to provide an iconic public realm on this Head of the Harbor site.
12. Will the Pier 5 project “hurt property values”?
Absolutely not. Quite the contrary, we are fully committed to deliver on our vision: “Success means that in ten years, Pier 5 will stand next to the U.S.S. Constitution, Zakim Bridge, the Public Garden swan boats, Faneuil Hall Marketplace, Acorn Street in Beacon Hill, and the nearby Bunker Hill Monument in any ‘Top 10’ list of Boston sites to experience.” This would undoubtedly enhance property values in the Navy Yard.
13. Is the Urbanica project “massive”?
This is a relative term; let’s break the idea of “massive” down. In terms of density, the Urbanica proposal—at 89 units of housing and 110,300 square feet (sf)—is less “massive” than 6M Development’s 138 units/135,000 sf, and Navy Blue, LLC’s 122 units/118,248 sf, respectively. In
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terms of building height, the Boston MHP allows 55 feet, although the RFP reduced it to 35 feet. Among the three proposals, Urbanica’s is the tallest, starting at a height of 35 feet above the Boston City Base (BCB) landside and reaching 45 feet at the end of the pier. (The BCB is about 4 feet above the existing Harbor Walk to account for anticipated sea level rise.) For reference, Pier 5’s residential neighbors, Constellation Wharf and Flagship Wharf, are around 30-50 feet and 127 feet high, respectively (see picture below.) Mitigating Urbanica’s height impact will be one of the major goals of engagement with Urbanica.
14. Why Is this the right course of action?
The Navy Yard Pier 5 Committee believes that bold, collaborative solutions are necessary for this historic pier. The Charlestown community deserves more than a crumbling pier at the heart of our beautiful waterfront.
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After countless meetings, NYP5 knows that we cannot simply rely on the city, the state, or major non-profits to swoop in and save the day. The survival of Pier 5 depends on us—the community of Charlestown. The NYP5 Committee aims to bring together the key stakeholders to form a dynamic and transparent Public-Private-Partnership, with the goal of revitalizing historic Pier 5.
Only one developer, Urbanica, has put forth a workable, albeit imperfect proposal, one that returns virtually the entire footprint of the pier to the public realm. Crucially, moreover, Urbanica has proven responsive to our concerns, while also pledging millions of dollars to rebuild blighted Pier 5. This is a collaborative offer, at a crucial moment, and worthy of our investment.
Charlestown has tremendous talent within our community willing to commit their time, energy, and skills to achieve our positive vision: a community-built Pier 5. We ask you to join our effort by becoming a co-creator in this project and help us realize Pier 5 as “The Jewel of the Harbor.”
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