By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Recently, a new investment plan worth a minimum of $12,000,000 was released, outlining a project that would renovate the Boston Harbor Shipyard & Marina (BHSM), an area that has not seen major investment since the 1940s.
The plan for this project dates back to 2018, according to Marshall Greenland, BHSM’s General Manager, when the property was sold to Ocean Havens, of which Chuck and Ann Lagasse are Principals.
Notably, the Lagasse’s were an integral part of transforming Charlestown’s Marina — which Sal LaMattina, former Boston City Councilor who is working on the BHSM investment plan as its Community Liaison — called the “worst marina” to one that received national recognition and was named Large Marina of the Year by Marina Dock Age Magazine.
As part of this investment plan, BHSM has four distinct goals. Two of the goals include growing East Boston’s economy through job creation and building a diverse and skilled workforce that is representative of the community, and upgrading dated infrastructure to improve things like safety and accessibility.
The remaining two goals are to promote and protect water-dependent industrial uses like vessel hauling, among others, and to further establish the shipyard as a place for the community by increasing public access.
BHSM’s plan has several different aspects, including infrastructure improvements, marina investment, the construction of a container village, pedestrian and bike access improvements, and even a new harborwalk.
In terms of infrastructure improvements, there are plans to fill an old graving dock, demolish building 17 in the shipyard, and replace an existing boat lift while adding another, among several other infrastructure upgrades to improve ground conditions, utilities, piers, bulkheads, existing buildings and more.
Additionally, there are plans to build four new buildings to accommodate expanded marine industrial uses. These buildings include a travelift and shipyard maintenance shop, another with shop space and offices, the third with shop space, offices, and a community room, and finally, a vessel maintenance and repair shed.
“A lot of our infrastructure dates to the 1850s that’s seawalls, bulkheads, and then over the years there were some expansions and repairs, so our most modern infrastructure dates to the 1940s,” said Greenland.
“A lot of people don’t realize the condition the site is in and has been in for many years,” he added.
As for other plans for the site, the project would construct a new marina with 150 more boat slips, and other features like a wave attenuation system, in-slip electric vessel charging stations, and a water transportation dock would also be included.
The site’s projected container village is being described as a community amenity with additional space for vendors and retail spots residents could visit.
“We would hope to get some local businesses over there, and we also have over 400 employees that are looking for a place to have lunch,” said LaMattina.
“Small, easy, you know, pop-in, like Sal said, our employees, people walking the harborwalk now — there’s no vision of bars and music and late night — none of that,” said Greenland.
Furthermore, there are plans to add 650 feet of new harborwalk with light fixtures, furniture, and greenery.
Moreover, other public access enhancements include a new pedestrian entrance to the shipyard, container village, and harborwalk, the installation of a sidewalk between Piers Park and the shipyard entrance, a proposed bike lane, and the addition of trees on the new sidewalk and other shipyard areas.
It should also be noted that Greenland stressed the importance of preserving and telling the history of the shipyard and its tenants. The plan will do this through things like signage, historic photos and documents in the offices, using the planned community center as a historic exhibit, and more.
Throughout this process, BHSM has been making an effort in community engagement. As part of its community engagement, BHSM has made changes to previous iterations of its plan, such as updating one of its new buildings not once but twice.
Building four — the vessel maintenance and repair shed was initially 95 feet tall to the building’s eave and set back 10 feet from Marginal Street. In February of last year, BHSM moved the building to 120 feet back from Marginal and added a community space, then, with the latest plan, dropped the height of the building to 65 feet to its eave.
Moreover, regarding community engagement, some of the team recently presented the latest plan at the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association’s (JPNA) Planning and Zoning meeting in July.
During this meeting, not only was the investment plan presented, but Greenland took questions on aspects of the project such as the container village, building dimensions, mitigation plans, plans to preserve history at the site, and more.
If you are interested in learning more about the project and the response to questions, you can view the JPNA meeting at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKSFVzV9V3A&ab_channel=JeffriesPointNeighborhoodAssociation.
As this process moves forward, LaMattina indicated that BHSM is going to continue to work with the neighborhood.
“We still have work, and we’re going to work closely with the neighborhood, and we want them to be involved,” he said.
Greenland echoed this point saying, “We’ll continue to engage — try and engage all community — not just Jeffries Point but all of East Boston and let people know what we’re doing and hopefully get a lot of support for you know jobs and economic impact and all that.”
In terms of the next steps, over the next 12 months, there are plans to finalize aspects of the project, such as engineering, permitting, and architecture, with the goal of being ready to start phase one of construction at the end of 2024. Complete project construction is slated to take between five to 10 years.
“I’m hoping that at the end of the day, that we will get an award for the best shipyard in the United States,” said LaMattina.
“I’m excited about just bringing people down here and to be able to enjoy this area of the East Boston Waterfront,” he added.
If you have questions about the project or any other inquiries, you can send an email to [email protected].