East Boston developers kit: sumner street ndp

3.3 MB·English

by  Boston Redevelopment Authority

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CONTENTS
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1. INTRODUCTION '• ""^^Uferary
1.1 General Description of Project
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
2.
2.1 History
2.2 Planning Background in East Boston
2.3 Proposed Developnrient of NDP II
3. PLANNING AND DESIGN OBJECTIVES
3.1 Overall Objectives
3.2 Building Design Criteria
3.3 Parcel Design Controls
3.4 Zoning
4. ARCHITECTURAL SUBMISSION AND DESIGN REVIEW
4.1 Design Review Proceedure
4.2 Required Drawings and Models
4.3 Formal Design Review Stages
4.4 Art Progrann
DEVELOPMENT SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
5.
6. APPENDICES

INTRODUCTION
1.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
TheBoston RedevelopmentAuthority, inconjunctionwiththeBostonHousingAuthorityandthe
Community,haspreparedaNeighborhood DevelopmentPlanfora9.3acresitealongSumnerStreet
atMaverickSquareand LewisStreet,ontheEast BostonWaterfront(MapA,Section 1).TheNDP
is programmed primarily for housing for the elderly.
Todaythesiteishighlyunderutilized,vacant,withonlyafewminorindustrial andcommercial
activitiesexisting. ItisaprimeareafordevelopmentduetoitslocationadjacenttotheMBTAstation
at Maverick Square and its immediate accessibility to the waterfront.
Thishousingdevelopmentwill bea"turnkey" project,amethodbywhichtheBoston Housing
Authority purchases the completed project. Land acquisition (through the B.R.A.), design, and
constructionareall theresponsibilityoftheturnkeydeveloperwith noexchangeof moneytakingplace
untiltheunitsarecomplete,althoughaContractofSaleforaspecifiedpriceissignedpriortoconstruction.
Hence, the developer bears all expenses until the buildings are completed.
TheBoston HousingAuthorityusesa modifiedsystemcombininganacceleratedprogramandthe
conventional Turnkey I program. (TheHUD Handbook,Manual RHA 7420.1,describesindetail the
Turnkeyprocess.) TheB.H.A.will betheagencythatwill ultimatelyownandmanagethehousingunits.
Also included in the total development are a pedestrian mall and a building designated for
rehabilitation. The latter will be separate from the Turnkey program and will allow residential and
commercial development. It is expected that all parcels shall be included in any submission.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
2.
2.1 HISTORY
Fromthe 1600'sto 1833, East Boston,thenNoddle'sIsland,borelittlerelationshipto
theCityofBostonacrosstheharbor PrivatelyownedbySamuel Maverick, theislandwasusedtosupply
shipswithfresh meatfromthelivestockwhichgrazed freelyovertheland. In 1833,GeneralWilliam
H.SumnerorganizedtheEastBostonCo.asaninstrumentforthedevelopmentoftheisland,andchanged
thenameoftheisland to East Boston. Hischiefconcernformakingtheislandaprofitablebusiness
venturewastoconnectittothecityofBostonbyroad,ferryandwharves. By 1834theEastBoston
Companyhad realized thefirsttwooftheseobjectives,andcommercial and residentialdevelopment
could be expanded in a consistent manner.
In 1834,aSugar RefinerywasbuiltonthecornerofSumnerand LewisStreetsand
the EastBostonTimberCompanywasformed "toaideinthegrandobjectiveofestablishingashipbuilding
interestattheisland." In 1845 Donald McKay'sshipyard moved from NewburyporttoEast Boston,
stimulatingothershipbuilderstoestablishthemselvesontheEastBostonwaterfront. Between 1845and
1860,shipbuilding,fromfishingyachtstooceansteamers,wasgreaterin East Boston thananywhere
else in the United States.
Concurrentwiththegrowthoftheshippingindustrywasthedevelopmentoftransportation
facilitiesand themanufacturingofearthenware,firebrick, linseedoil,castandrolled iron, bakingsoda,
pottery,andengines. Fromtheburstofpopulationbetween 1845and 1860, EastBostonemergedas
an industrialized,urbanarea;wharvesandwarehouseswereerected,steamboatswerelaunched,streets
were laid out and buildings raised.
As a balance to the industrial growth. General Sumner sought to attract influential
businessmentousetheislandasasummerresort.Tofurtherthisend,alargeandeleganthotel,the
Maverick House,waserected in 1833;and.CampHill (Belmont) and EagleHillweredesignatedasa
sectionfortheconstructionofpleasantsummerresidences.TheMaverick Houseburneddownin 1857
andwasreplacedbytheSturtevant Houseonthesamesite. Inaddition,thirteen3 1/2-story brick
dwellinghousesandalargestonebuilding2 1/2storieshigh,called "WinthropBlock',wereerected.
Thestonebuildinghadamarketontheground floorandtheupperstoriesfilledwithoffices.The
ground floorandtheupperstoriesfilledwithoffices.Thegroundfloorremainsintacttodayonthe
west side of Maverick Square between Winthrop Street and Maverick Street.
Alsoonthewestsideofthesquare,atthecornerofSumnerStreet, istheformerMaverick
Church,builtin 1844.AcrossSumnerStreetatthecornerof LewisStreet isthe"Woodbury" building,
built in 1841 fortheEastBostonWharfCompany. Designedasrowhouseswithshopsunderaportion
of them, this building has always combined residential and commercial uses.
Thus, from 1835 through the 1860's, the Maverick Square area became the focus of
communitylife. FromSumnerStreettotheharborwerewharves,warehouses,companyoffices,and
housing for workers. Belmont Square and Eagle Hill were reserved for more affluent residences of
businessmen, leadersintheEast Boston industries,and merchantships'captains. Ingeneral,theportion
oflandsouthofPorterStreetandeastofChelseaStreettookon theappearanceofaprosperoussuburb,
whiletheportionwestofChelseaStreetandsouthofPorterStreetbecameanareafortheworkers
in the waterfront industries.
During the 1860's, the character of East Boston began to change, influenced by the
developmentofthewaterfrontfortransatlanticvessels,thegrowthofrailroadyards,andthedecline
ofshipbuilding.Theshipbuildersandthosewhoworked in related industriesbegantomoveaway,paving
thewayforthegreatmigrationofimmigrants.Theavailabilityofworkattheislandsotherindustries,
coupledwithaNorth FerryservicethatenhancedthemobilityofimmigrantsfromtheNorth Endof
Boston,resulted inthedevelopmentofthelow-lyinglandontheedgeofWebsterStreetHillandthe
area beyond Porter Street.
By 1885thenewindustrialcompositionofEastBoston-factoriesforgarmentandshoe
making,andcottonweaving industries-providedjobsforthelargewaveof ItalianandJewish immigrants
whocametothe UnitedStatesduringthe 1880's. (Inthe 1850'sand 1860'sitwasthe Irish immigrants
thathadgravitatedto East Boston'sindustries.)Jobopportunitiesandadequateconvenienthousing,
highlyvaluedbytheimmigrant,becametrademarksof EastBoston.TheconstructionoftheEastBoston
Subway Tunnel in 1905 expanded, once again, the population of the island.