Sullivan Square Disposition Study December 2013 BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT CITY OF BOSTON AUTHORITY Thomas M. Menino Peter Meade, Director Mayor The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under an award with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and find- ings of the work are dedicated to the public. The Boston Redevelopment Authority is solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publica- tion. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. We also thank the Metro Boston Consortium for Sustainable Communities for making this work possible. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Boston Redevelopment Authority Board of Directors Boston Public Works Department Allentza Michel, Community Liaison Paul D. Foster, Vice-Chairman Joanne Massaro, Commissioner Eric Halvorsen, Assistant Director of Transportation Consuelo Gonzales-Thornell, Treasurer Para Jayasinghe, Chief Engineer The Consultant Team Timothy J. Burke, Member William Egan, Supervising Structural Engineer Crosby | Schlessinger | Smallridge: Urban Design & Michael P. Monahan, Member Planning Office of Councilor Salvatore LaMattina Skip Smallridge Boston Redevelopment Authority Salvatore LaMattina, Boston City Councilor Carole Schlessinger Peter Meade, Director Judy Evers, Liaison Maren Lane James Tierney, Chief of Staff Kristie Norris Office of Representative Michael E. Capuano Kairos Shen, Chief Planner / Director of Planning Ben Winter Michael E. Capuano, Representative in Congress Haipung Zhu Prataap Patrose, Deputy Director for Urban Design Danny Ryan, District Representative Lara Mérida, Deputy Directory for Community Planning Byrne McKinney & Associates, Inc.: Market & Financial Jim Fitzgerald, Senior Manager, Transportation & Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Analysis Infrastructure Projects Mark Boyle, Director of Real Estate Pam McKinney Jeong-Jun Ju, Urban Designer II Carlos Montañez, Senior Planner II Transit Realty Associates Howard/Stein-Hudson: Transportation Planning Cecilia Nardi, Assistant to the Chief Planner Phil Jean, Senior Project Manager Jane Howard Ted Schwartzberg, Planner II, Project Manager Keri Pyke Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services Mike Santos Boston Transportation Department Danielle Fitzgerald, Charlestown Neighborhood Special Thanks To: Thomas J. Tinlin, Commissioner Liaison The Flatley Company for the generous provision of Vineet Gupta, Director of Planning meeting space William Conroy IV, Senior Transportation Planner Metropolitan Area Planning Council Members of the Public for their dedication and active Marc Draisen, Executive Director participation Boston Parks and Recreation Department Joel Barrera, Deputy Director Antonia M. Pollak, Commissioner Eric Bourassa, Director of Transportation Division Aldo Ghirin, Senior Planner Christopher Kuschel, Regional Planner Carrie Marsh, Executive Secretary iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY sentiments remarkably similar to those noted in the Purpose Key Design and Land Use Concepts Transportation Study. The Study asks its readers to The Sullivan Square Disposition Study establishes “Imagine a Sullivan Square with its sense of place – its Building upon the armature of BTD’s roadway design, a framework and community vision for the future of historic role as the central public space of the com- this Study seeks to further the goal of earlier transpor- seven publically-owned parcels at the heart of Sullivan munity – restored. Imagine a Sullivan Square [where] tation plans to create a walkable, mixed-use Sullivan Square, Charlestown. As a companion to the Boston pedestrians, transit riders and vehicles can co-exist Square. To this end, a series of key concepts outlining Transportation Department’s (BTD) Rutherford Avenue safely and comfortably.” appropriate uses and building scale were developed Roadway Plan, the Sullivan Square Disposition Study in the public process. Building on these efforts, in 2008 the BTD began the puts forth key land-use planning principles to guide Rutherford Avenue / Sullivan Square Design Project to These key concepts include: the upcoming revitalization of Sullivan Square. Tran- create preliminary roadway designs for the Rutherford sitioning from an intersection to drive through, back • Creating a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood Avenue Corridor and Sullivan Square. Through an in- to its rightful place in the urban fabric of Charlestown, that dramatically improves access from the exist- tensive four year community-based planning process, Sullivan Square is primed for its reestablishment as ing neighborhood to the Sullivan Square MBTA roadway plans for Sullivan Square were developed, a vital and walkable, transit-anchored mixed-use station. with a focus on enhancing the pedestrian environ- neighborhood. While currently dominated by ve- • Facilitating mixed-use transit-oriented develop- ment with safe crossings and better access to parks hicular transportation infrastructure, Sullivan Square ment throughout the study area, emphasizing and transit. is primed to rejoin the Charlestown urban fabric as a pedestrian-oriented uses on the ground floor vital, mixed-use neighborhood center. Dovetailing the completion of BTD’s roadway design along the walking route to the train station. process, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) • Varying building heights across the area, with partnered with the Metropolitan Area Planning Coun- lower buildings located closer to the Schrafft’s Process cil (MAPC) and a consultant team led by the firm of Building and increasing heights toward the train Crosby | Schlessinger | Smallridge to undertake the In 1997 BTD sought to leverage Central Artery/Tunnel station, using buildings located near the I-93 via- Sullivan Square Disposition Study. Supported, in part, Project improvements to the regional road network duct to block the noise and air quality impacts of through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban De- by adapting local roads to better serve their adja- the highway. velopment Sustainable Communities Regional Plan- cent neighborhoods. A community planning process • Maintaining sightlines to the Schrafft’s Build- ning Grant, members of the community collaborated was undertaken, leading to the publication of the ing while allowing for construction of an iconic with the authors in eight public meetings to develop Rutherford Avenue Corridor Transportation Study in building on the MBTA station property that the guidelines of this Study. 1999. Nearly fifteen years later, we see community provides for an improved and well-defined pe- destrian entrance into the station. iv • Accommodating current and future bus opera- tions in development schemes for the Sullivan Square MBTA station area. • Creating a series of smaller, linked open spaces that are complemented by a larger central open space on Parcel 4, to be activated by the L-shaped building also located on that block. Implementation and Economic Analysis Final design, funding and reconstruction of the Sul- livan Square roadway system is expected to be a multi-year process. The economic analysis conducted in this Study is intended to provide an initial overview of market conditions for disposal and development of the parcels in the study area. Initial findings indicate that if it were built today, the Clockwise from top left: Existing aerial view of Sullivan Square from the south (photo by Don Kindsvatter); plan neighborhood model shown would face significant of new roadway system identifying Parcels 1 through 7 studied in this report; aerial overview of the conceptual vision for the District. economic obstacles. However, in light of evolving conditions between now and the time of land dispos- al, it will be the task of future public review processes to refine both the economic model and the neighbor- hood physical model, taking into account conditions in place at that time. v TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 1 4. Implementation 35 Study Purpose 2 Financial Analysis 35 Process 4 Constructability 40 2. Background & Existing Conditions 7 Phasing 41 History 7 Next Steps 43 Land Use 8 Urban Design Characteristics 9 3. The Future 11 Public Realm 12 Land Use 16 Building Scale 17 Illustrative Plan 17 Parking 28 Other Design Guidelines 30 Public Health 34 Sustainability 34 vi 1. INTRODUCTION The City of Boston Transportation Department (BTD) recently completed a two-year transporta- tion planning process to develop a conceptual plan for reconfiguring Rutherford Avenue and Sullivan Square in Charlestown. This conceptual plan seeks to transform the roadway into an urban boulevard and create walkable, gridded city blocks adjacent to the Sullivan Square MBTA Station. As a follow-up to Sulllivan Station the BTD planning process, the Boston Redevelop- ment Authority and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council conducted this public process to develop a land use vision for the newly created parcels and help prepare for their eventual disposition. The Study Area is comprised of the blocks and parcels adjacent to Sullivan Square Station that will be created by the new roadway configuration. Aerial view of Sullivan Square today, facing northeast to the Mystic River (photo by Don Kindsvatter). The Study Area for the parcel level development plan that have strong connections to the rest of the neigh- The Project Area is not only a portal for the Orange focuses primarily on the publicly-owned parcels clus- borhood and neighboring Somerville. Line rideshed to