Available Downtown Site Could Yield 2M SF in Development

Gov. Charlie Baker is looking to repurpose nearly six acres on Kneeland Street in Downtown Boston.

BOSTON—Following up on his announcement last year to leverage underutilized state-owned assets, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker announced on Tuesday that the state and City of Boston will look to redevelop a nearly six-acre Downtown parcel here. State officials say the 5.5-acre development site on Kneeland Street could potentially harvest as much as 2 million square feet of commercial development. The properties at 165 and 185 Kneeland St. currently are home to the MassDOT Region 6 headquarters and a steam plant facility owned by environmental resource management firm Veolia North America . The possible future uses could foster economic growth and development, job creation, affordable, workforce and transit-oriented housing, as well as additional open space, state officials say. Gov. Baker was joined at the press conference held at the MassDOT Region 6 headquarters by Boston Mayor Martin Walsh and MassDOT Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack in discussing the project availability and its potential as a significant transit-oriented development. The property, bordered by Chinatown, the Leather District and South Station, offers the potential for up to 1.5 million to 2 million square feet of redevelopment. MassDOT’s District 6 headquarters will be relocated or replaced and a scaled-down version of Veolia North America’s steam plant will be included as part of the redevelopment. “Identifying prospects to redevelop and repurpose underutilized state property to advance economic growth and affordable housing is a valuable avenue to building stronger communities and opportunities for the people of Massachusetts,” said Gov. Baker. “We look forward to working together with Mayor Walsh, Veolia, the City of Boston and its residents to optimize this land’s impact and contribution to the neighborhood and city at large.” Mayor Walsh said that development of the Kneeland Street site could help the city achieve his lofty housing goals. The mayor is pushing a plan to create 53,000 new housing units in the city by the year 2030. “This announcement today is yet another example of how a strong partnership between the city and state can bring tremendous economic development benefits to the people of Boston. I look forward to continuing this work with the Baker Administration and members of the community in creating a vision for the development of this site,” the mayor said. The state and the city are also looking to collaborate on the possible redevelopment of a jointly-owned property in Lower Roxbury, MBTA-owned parcels in Jamaica Plain and an under-utilized MBTA parking lot near the Mattapan T stop. Last October, Gov. Baker launched his “Open for Business Real Estate Asset Leveraging Strategy” aimed at either selling or leasing state-owned properties in order to develop affordable or market-rate housing or other possible commercial uses. At that time, the governor identified 42 near-term opportunities for public-private partnerships. At the launch of the REAL strategy, state officials reported that of the Commonwealth’s more than 20,000 properties, approximately 15,000 are held by the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, 4,000 by the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and 1,700 by MassDOT. “This location is ideal for transit-oriented redevelopment and we look forward to the community process which will help determine how the property will be used in the future,” MassDOT’s Pollack said. “We know the site can be put to better uses which will enhance the vitality of the surrounding neighborhood and spur economic growth in the adjacent business district while generating own-source revenue that MassDOT can reinvest in our transportation system.” The state is planning to stage public meetings in connection with the Kneeland Street availability. The first public input session will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 2nd in the first floor conference room at 185 Kneeland St.