Aerial view of Dorchester Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts.

Reimagine Boston's Great Boulevards

The Dorchester Ave Planning Initiative is dedicated to “Preserve, Enhance, and Grow” Dorchester Ave, a 21st century industrial use corridor

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

THE PLAN

Boston is a growing city. Reversing decades of declining population during the last half of the 20th century, Boston’s population is projected to increase by 91,000 to 709,000 by 2030. Growth at this scale needs to be planned and managed in order to ensure a healthy city and quality of life throughout its neighborhoods. Shifts in household size and composition come with population growth. Finally, Bostonians have changed how they live, work, play, and get around.

The PLAN: South Boston Dorchester Avenue Planning Initiative represents an opportunity to build a 21st-century district by strategically planning for a broader type of uses and a scale of development best suited for the future of the Dorchester Avenue Corridor. The outcome of the planning initiative is a Strategic Plan (the “Plan”).

The goals of the plan are to create a framework for:

  • A new, urban, mixed-use 21st-century district in Boston.
  • New streets, blocks and open spaces form the framework of a new district.
  • New housing at a variety of prices and rental rates relieves pressures on housing stock.
  • Planning and zoning tools to implement a coordinated, integrated new district consistent with the vision established by the public process documented by this plan.
  • Zoning that allows for new models of commercial/industrial development.
  • Requirements for the provision of public benefits in exchange for bonus height.
  • Inclusive development that improves awareness and access to funding resources.
  • Best practices to encourage job creation and small business growth.

PLANNING CONTEXT

HISTORY

Since its origins in the early seventeenth century, when it was known as Dorchester Neck or Great Neck, the Study Area has witnessed significant transformations. Native Americans called the South Boston peninsula Mattaponnock. When English settlers arrived, the area was primarily used for grazing cattle. One of the earliest paths on the peninsula, now known as Dorchester Street, served as the main route leading cows to the higher feeding grounds along today’s Broadway.

Great Neck was annexed to Boston in 1804 to accommodate Boston proper’s need for additional land for its growing population and manufacturing needs. South Boston began as a neighborhood based on a planned urban design. A street plan established in 1805 is reflected in today’s enumerated and alphabetical street pattern. More than two hundred years later, a new street network is contemplated to connect to this established pattern.

HISTORY OF THE STUDY AREA

1

17TH, 18TH, & 19TH CENTURIES

 Since its origins in the early seventeenth century, when it was known as Dorchester Neck or Great Neck, the Study Area has witnessed significant transformations.

One of the earliest paths on the peninsula, now known as Dorchester Street, served as the main route leading cows to the higher feeding grounds along today’s Broadway.

 

Great Neck was annexed to Boston in 1804. South Boston began as a neighborhood based on a planned urban design. A street plan established in 1805 is reflected in today’s street pattern.

The opening of the Old Colony Railroad in 1844 surpassed the ability of the toll road to move goods through Boston and to points beyond. Within ten years the toll road became a public street. Eventually, a tunnel was built below Dorchester Avenue and that became the Red Line branch of the MBTA subway system.

Portions of the Study Area were still underwater in the late 19th century. The filling of land along the South Bay created new acreage west of present-day Dorchester Avenue (see Timeline).

2

20th & 21st CENTURIES

The first building boom, post annexation, occurred from 1868 to 1914. Filling of land along the waterfront for railroad tracks and warehouses was key for the port.

Not until the 1970s and later did subsequent major building and economic changes occur in South Boston. Transformations in the shipping and container industry and the surplussing of Army and Navy facilities were major factors opening up new areas for redevelopment.

Today, major development is occurring on South Boston’s waterfront and is anticipated to accelerate within the Study Area. This Plan envisions a new 21st-century district along the neighborhood’s western edge to accommodate physical and economic changes underway.

The Dorchester Avenue Project is dedicated to the improvement of Dorchester Avenue, one of Boston’s greatest boulevards. The project focuses on four miles of Dorchester Avenue, addressing transportation, neighborhood businesses, neighborhood housing, and streetscape issues between Lower Mills and the intersection of Columbia Road and Dorchester Avenue.

Dorchester Avenue Plan Area Boundary

WORKSHOPS AND OUTCOMES

FINALIZE WITH US

After working with the community through a series of workshops and Study Area tours over the past year, the planning team held its second Open House.

This Open House asked participants to comment on the work conducted over the past year. Elements of the draft Plan framework were on display. More than 70 residents, business and property owners, stakeholders, advocates and visitors had a chance to review and comment on the draft Plan as well as continue conversations with the planning team and other city officials.

An example of one way to continue gathering feedback from the community is to use online surveys. Below is an example of using Survey 123 to gather public opinion about the South Boston Dorchester Avenue Planning Initiative.

FRAMEWORK

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Plan is intended to help guide the market-driven transition of predominantly heavy commercial and industrial land uses to a transit-oriented mixed-use district.

The vision for the district includes significant new residential opportunities, 21st-century Industrial, and neighborhood retail that provide accessible economic opportunity for Boston residents. The new zoning that will result from the plan will:

  • Improve awareness of and access to funding resources within workforce training.
  • Promote beneficial residential and commercial development within the community.
  • Encourage the use of best practices for job creation and small business growth.

Using ArcGIS Urban, we can propose new zoning changes and explore built-out scenarios based on that underlying zoning code. We can also compare the scenarios with development based on existing zoning.

COMPARISON OF EXISTING AND PROPOSED ZONING

Existing Zoning vs Proposed Zoning

The proposed zoning illustrates a shift from primarily industrial (I-1) and manufacturing (M-1 & M-2) land use zones to a mix of residential and retail (DOT-Zone 2 and DOT-Zone 3) and open space (O-S). This zoning change is responsive to the context and encourages uses that are reflective of the community vision for a walkable district with a robust network of open space and a diverse mix of uses.

DISCLAIMER

This is not an official Boston Planning & Development Agency document and should be used for demo purposes only.