Community weighs in on potential new park site in the North End
Would you be interested in having a park at Sargent’s Wharf in the North End? That was the question recently posed to the North End community by One Waterfront Managing Director Nick Black.
North End/Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) meeting, Thursday, January 9. [NorthEndWaterfront.com video]
“For the last few years we’ve been looking around the harbor to see where we could create world-class open space that is open to the public, inviting, and engaging, while offering some protection for climate resilience,” said Black. “We were fortunate to work with the Mayor’s Office in helping them to develop their Resilient Boston Harbor Vision, and we were surprised by some of the things included. One of those things was the idea of converting the parking lot at Sargent’s Wharf into a resilient, green open space. It’s an idea that was interesting to us, and seemed to fit in with the criteria that we were applying to some of our other sites.”
Imagery (c) 2020 MassGIS, Commonwealth of Massachusetts EOEA, Maxar Technologies, Sanborn, Google Map data
The current 2.2-acre parcel is a revenue-generating 252-space parking lot owned by the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA). To begin initial discussions around the idea for a potential park, Black met with the North End Waterfront Residents’ Association (NEWRA) on Thursday, January 9 and with the North End Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC) on Monday, January 13. One Waterfront will also host its own community meeting in the coming weeks.
Feedback from community members during the NEWRA and NEWNC meetings included concerns around parking, questions about the parcel having been zoned for affordable housing in the past, and suggestions for amenities and designs—including programming, access to the harbor, surge protection measures, and natural plantings to increase the tree canopy.
Noting that talks with BPDA around the lot’s possibilities—especially in light of the flooding that regularly occurs in the location—have taken place, Black stressed, “We’re really at the beginning of this process with this particular location; we don't have any designs. But we think it’s a great opportunity to create additional open space in the North End.”
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The Trustees Boston Waterfront Initiative, One Waterfront, is considering several locations around Boston’s harbor including sites in East Boston and South Boston. To learn more about the vision, visit: onewaterfront.thetrustees.org/about.
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email onewaterfront@thetrustees.org