Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office Environmental Notification Form For Office Use Only EEA#: MEPA Analyst: The information requested on this form must be completed in order to submit a document electronically for review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act, 301 CMR 11.00. Project Name: 88 Black Falcon Avenue Street Address: 88 Black Falcon Avenue Municipality: Boston Watershed: Boston Harbor Universal Transverse Mercator Coordinates: Latitude: 42°20'37.76"N (Zone 19) E: 333298; N: 4689936 Longitude: 71° 1'25.97"W Estimated commencement date: 4th qtr 2022 Estimated completion date: 1st qtr 2025 Project Type: Lab/Office Addition Status of project design: 10% Proponent: DIV Black Falcon, LLC Street Address: c/o The Davis Companies, 125 High Street, Suite 2111 Municipality: Boston State: MA Zip Code: 02110 Name of Contact Person: Geoff Starsiak Firm/Agency: Epsilon Associates, Inc. Street Address: 3 Mill & Main Place, Suite 250 Municipality: Maynard State: MA Zip Code: 01754 Phone: (978) 897‐7100 Fax: (978) 897‐0099 E-mail: [email protected] Does this project meet or exceed a mandatory EIR threshold (see 301 CMR 11.03)? Yes No If this is an Expanded Environmental Notification Form (ENF) (see 301 CMR 11.05(7)) or a Notice of Project Change (NPC), are you requesting: a Single EIR? (see 301 CMR 11.06(8)) Yes No a Special Review Procedure? (see 301CMR 11.09) Yes No a Waiver of mandatory EIR? (see 301 CMR 11.11) Yes No a Phase I Waiver? (see 301 CMR 11.11) Yes No (Note: Greenhouse Gas Emissions analysis must be included in the Expanded ENF.) Which MEPA review threshold(s) does the project meet or exceed (see 301 CMR 11.03)? [CMR 11.03(3)(a)(5)] – Because a Chapter 91 License is required, New non‐water dependent use or Expansion of an existing non‐water dependent structure, provided the use or structure occupies one or more acres of waterways or tidelands. [301 CMR 11.03(6)(a)(6)] ‐‐ Generation of 3,000 or more New adt on roadways providing access to a single location. Which State Agency Permits will the project require? Department of Environmental Protection: Chapter 91 Waterways License(s); Massachusetts Historical Commission: State Register Review, State Historic Preservation Officer review for Army Corps of Engineers General Permit approval; Massachusetts Water Resources Authority: Sewer Use Discharge Permit (as may be required by tenants); Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority: Silver Line Drydock Avenue bus stop Effective January 2011 improvements approval; Office of Public Safety and Inspections: Building Permit; Flammable Storage License, Certificate of Occupancy. Separately, the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) will seek Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) approval of a First Amendment to the Massport/MassDEP South Boston Memorandum of Understanding dated March 15, 2001 with respect to certain South Boston properties owned by Massport, as well as MassDEP approval of a Final Waterfront Development Plan for the Project Site. Identify any financial assistance or land transfer from an Agency of the Commonwealth, including the Agency name and the amount of funding or land area in acres: The approximately 10.5‐acre Project Site is leased by the Proponent from Massport under a long‐term ground lease. Summary of Project Size Existing Change Total & Environmental Impacts LAND Total site acreage 10.52 New acres of land altered 0 Acres of impervious area 10.52 0 10.52 Square feet of new bordering vegetated wetlands alteration 0 Square feet of new other wetland alteration 0 Acres of new non-water dependent use of tidelands or waterways 10.52 STRUCTURES Gross square footage 353,950 +330,500 684,450 Number of housing units 0 0 0 Maximum height (feet) 75 +62 137 TRANSPORTATION Vehicle trips per day Unadjusted 3,448 +3,440 6,888 Adjusted 2,100 +2,098 4,198 Parking spaces 555 +174 729 WASTEWATER Water Use (Gallons per day) 30,300 +27,027 57,327 Water withdrawal (GPD) 0 0 0 Wastewater generation/treatment (GPD) 27,546 +24,570 52,116 Length of water mains (miles) 0 0 0 Length of sewer mains (miles) 0 0 0 Has this project been filed with MEPA before? Yes (EEA #______) No Has any project on this site been filed with MEPA before? Yes (EEA #11604) No - 2 - GENERAL PROJECT INFORMATION – all proponents must fill out this section PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Describe the existing conditions and land uses on the project site: The Project Site comprises an approximately 10.52‐acre parcel of land located within the South Boston Designated Port Area (DPA) and is bounded by the Reserved Channel to the south, Boston Harbor to the east, land of the City of Boston Economic and Industrial Corporation (EDIC) and the Boston Harbor to the north, and Drydock Avenue, a roadway owned by EDIC, to the west. The Project Site is owned in fee by Massport and leased to the Proponent under a long‐term ground lease. The EDIC land located directly to the north of the Project Site is currently ground leased by EDIC to the Coastal Cement Corporation, Inc. (Coastal Cement), a water‐dependent industrial use. The Project Site also includes certain appurtenant easement rights held by Massport over adjacent EDIC land to facilitate pedestrian and vehicular access to Drydock Avenue. The Project Site contains a three‐story building which comprises approximately 353,950 sf of Gross Floor Area (GFA), as such term is defined in the Boston Zoning Code (Zoning Code), as well as 243 surface parking spaces and 312 open deck parking spaces which accommodate a total of 555 vehicles. The open deck parking area is accessed by a two‐ way vehicular ramp on the western edge of the building. On the north side of the building there exist approximately 83 loading bays. The existing building currently houses a roster of tenants that includes water‐dependent industrial uses and supporting DPA uses, such as office and accessory uses thereto. The Project Site also includes a public viewing area on its eastern end, as well as a fish cleaning station and public pathway which is part of the Harborwalk. These public amenities along the Reserved Channel, including a public restroom that is provided inside the building, are provided pursuant to an existing Chapter 91 license for the Project Site. The north apron is in continuous use by the building’s water‐dependent‐industrial and other tenants, primarily for truck access to the 83 loading bays on the north side of the building. The north apron is also used for materials lay‐down and staging. Because of such loading, staging and vehicular access activities, the rail tracks on the north apron have not been used for decades. During the cruise season, primarily during the months of April to November, passenger cruise ships berth within the Reserved Channel at the Flynn Cruiseport Boston Terminal adjacent to the Project Site. On cruise passenger boarding and disembarkation days, the south apron area of the Project Site adjacent to the Reserved Channel, an area that contains 136 tenant parking spaces, is utilized by, and is under the control of, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through its Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as is the surface parking area located to the west of the existing building (known as Ground Transportation Area No. 2 [GTA2]). A total of 204 parking spaces are taken out of service on passenger boarding and disembarkation days and on those days, the tenants assigned to those parking spaces must park in other Massport locations nearby and use a shuttle service to travel to the Project Site. Consequently, and as discussed below, the Project will not only facilitate improved cruise port operations, passenger services and pedestrian circulation, but also operations of the existing building. Although the watersheet seaward of the pier aprons is not part of the Project Site, the watersheet accommodates five ship berths, two along the north apron and three along the south apron. The three berths on the south apron are most commonly utilized by cruise ships. The two berths along the north apron are frequently used by Coastal Cement for the docking of cement barges making deliveries to that facility. Those barges typically dock once per week, most often at the western‐most berth immediately adjacent to the Coastal Cement facility. When there is high demand for dockage in the port, the north apron berths may accommodate cruise ships and other vessels. (See Attachment A, Figure 5 for a Berth Utilization Plan.) Massport’s South Boston properties located within Chapter 91 jurisdiction to contain non‐water dependent or mixed uses are governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated March 15, 2001 entered into by Massport with MassDEP. Consistent with Massport’s goals for the Project Site, and as discussed in further detail below, Massport is proposing that the MOU be amended by means of a Massport separate filing with MassDEP to include the Project Site as part of the Special Planning Area delineated in the MOU. That MOU will be subject to a public review period and MassDEP approval. Subsequent to the execution of that First Amendment by Massport and MassDEP, and in accordance with the process outlined in that MOU, Massport will propound a Preliminary Waterfront Development Plan for the Project Site, for public review and MassDEP comment, and then a Final Waterfront Development Plan for public review and MassDEP approval. - 3 - Describe the proposed project and its programmatic and physical elements: The Proponent proposes the construction of a vertical addition containing four new floors and approximately 327,600 sf of GFA directly atop the existing three‐story building.