UPDATE 8/9/07

At a recent meeting of the Boston Landmarks Commission / Fort Point Channel Landmark District Study Committee, BRA Director of Planning Kairos Shen responded to concerns regarding public access provisions of various Fort Point PDA Master Plans.

Kairos advised the FPCLD Study Committee that all signators to the 100 Acres Master Plan (large property owners) are expected to enter into an agreement with the City of Boston, ensuring that public access will be guaranteed to all public realm components of the Plan. The agreement is expected to be signed later this year. SAND will monitor progress on this issue.


6/26/07

The following letter pertains to Iron Street and Medallion Avenue, streets in the Fort Point district that are privately owned, used for public vehicular traffic.

Both of these streets were part of a Channel Center Master Plan, a large-scale project of residential, office space and retail, much of which has already been constructed. Both streets were components of the "public access provisions" of the Channel Center Master Plan and BRA-approved Planned Development Area -- which permitted development of over a dozen warehouse restoration and new construction projects on the site.

And Iron Street and Medallion Avenue were evisioned as publicly accessible streets in the BRA's 100-Acre Plan.

As implied by representatives of the Channel Center Holdings, Iron Street and Medallion Avenue may be subject to closure -- despite having been presented by the project's prior owner as public amenities, used to secure approvals for the entire Channel Center Master Plan. In a recent public meeting, a representative of Channel Center Holdings stated that the company considered Iron Street as a possible site for future development -- not a public way as approved in the Channel Center PDA.

On May 14, 2007, SAND sent an e-mail to the BRA Director of Planning, along with a copy of this letter, asking for comment on the right of property owners to renege on public access provisions of BRA-approved Master Plans and PDA's. No response has been received to date.


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