Piers Park III: The design process, community feedback, and next steps | Boston Design Week

How did a 130-year-old land conservation organization start designing a park on Boston’s Harbor?

This question kicked off a recent Design Week presentation, given by The Trustees Boston Waterfront Initiative team. Beginning the talk with some background and insights into The Trustees history in Boston, dating all the way back to its founding in 1891, it culminated with updates on the design work underway for Piers Park III.

“This process and project reflect an exciting new opportunity for our organization, to create open space where it doesn’t already exist as opposed to our traditional model of protecting existing spaces and places,” noted Boston Waterfront Initiative Program Manager Amy Eynatian. “This project has had an effect on our organization’s work in many ways—it reflects our larger mission and has let us think about the future of our organization on a larger scale. Doing this work here in Boston is a homecoming and an exciting opportunity to return to our Boston roots.”

Though The Trustees may be best known for its conserved beaches, historic homesteads, and outdoor recreational sites in rural and suburban areas of the state, its roots lie in Boston where, at the end of the 19th century Trustees Founder Charles Eliot was deeply disturbed by what he was seeing in the urban landscape.

With the explosion of industry, there also came a lower quality of life for many and Eliot was concerned about the lack of open and natural spaces. In 1890, he published a letter arguing passionately that the conservation of Boston’s scenic beauty was as important as the conservation of paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts or of books in the Boston Public Library, and The Trustees was founded the following year, in 1891.

Eliot, who worked alongside Frederick Law Olmsted and contributed to the designs of Franklin Park, the Arnold Arboretum, and the Fens, also played a role in shaping Boston’s Metropolitan Park system shortly after he founded The Trustees.

Today, supported by members, friends and donors, The Trustees continues this mission, and remains a vital part of the Boston community as the largest owner of community gardens in the City. The seasonal Trustees Mobile Farmers Market also provides a way to get farm-fresh food to communities that want and need it in Boston neighborhoods.

The first park site for the Boston Waterfront Initiative, Piers Park III in East Boston, was announced in late 2020 with site developer designation from Massport, and continues in the community design phase. Four public meetings have been hosted, and the team has visited many neighborhood organizations to provide updates, answer questions, and gather feedback. An online survey has so far gathered more than 600 responses, valuable community input on what is important to consider for the future park space.

During the Design Week presentation the team shared how Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., have incorporated this feedback into their initial design, and shared some of the ideas that have come through public outreach. As feedback continues to come in the design will continue to evolve, including input from upcoming public meetings being announced soon for late June.

To weigh in on this initial draft design visit onewaterfront.thetrustees.org/feedback

Outreach will continue through 2021, with the next round of public meetings focused on the programming elements that residents would like to see in the future park. The Waterfront Ambassadors, a seasonal youth employment program, will return in July and will work on youth outreach, helping to incorporate this voice into the design process.

To learn more about the Piers Park III timeline, community feedback, and Trustees history, watch the design week presentation video embedded above, or click here.