Make A Child Smile

Make a child smile this holiday season. Donate an unwrapped new toy to the Marines Toys for Tots program. The local Toy for Tots program is requesting toys for newborns through ten year olds.

If you don't have a Toys For Tots box in your building, the closest drop off sites are: City Tap House at 10 Boston Wharf Rd, 451 D St. and LearnLaunch at 281 Summer St on the 2nd floor. Toy donations are being accepted now through December 10, 2017.

For the last 70 years, the United States Marine Corps Reserve has distributed over 542 million toys to more than 250 million children.

It's Time To Put On Your Holiday Walking Shoes

Start by walking over to the South Boston Christmas Stroll Thursday, November 30, 2017. Festivities start at 4 pm at the South Boston Library and carolers will be strolling around East & West Broadway entertaining all in anticipation of Santa's arrival at 5 pm. Bringing Up Baby is hosting puppet shows beginning at 5:30 pm. Don't forget to check out the Shop, Sip and Dine deals. In addition, the South Boston Arts Association gallery, Arts Around the Corner, will be open from 4 pm  - 7 pm at 317 E Street. 


Friday, December 1st marks the second annual tree lighting at Seaport Common (85 Northern Ave). Join your neighbors from 6 pm - 8 pm for holiday tunes by Rich Dimare, sips and treats from Seaport restaurants and giveaways. Light Up Seaport benefits Massachusetts Fallen Heroes and The Galvin Foundation. Register for this free event. 

Mayor Walsh invites you to the annual South Boston Tree Lighting on Sunday, December 3rd at Medal of Honor (M) Park. There will be ponies (yes, ponies), ballon animals, music, refreshments and more. The free event starts at noon and is part of the 22nd Enchanted Trolley Tour bringing holiday spirit to children across Boston.

Shop Local: Unique Handmade Gifts by Local Artisans
Holiday Pop Ups kick off this weekend and run through December 17th. These special gift buying events are hosted by the Fort Point Arts Community (FPAC) at the fpac space at the Envoy on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 pm - 6 pm, and by Row 34 at their restaurant on Sundays from 4 pm -  6 pm. 

fpac space Holiday Pop Ups: Dec 2 - 3, Dec 8-10 and Dec. 16 - 17 from 12 pm - 6 pm with the exception of Friday, December 8th special  hours 4 pm - 8 pm in conjunction with the Fort Point Holiday Stroll
. 

Row 34 Sunday Holiday Pop Ups: December 3, 10, and 17 from 4 pm - 6 pm. 

The Artist Cooperative at 249 A Street is hosting a Holiday Studio Sale: Friday, December 8th from 4 pm - 8 pm in conjunction with the Fort Point Holiday Stroll and on Saturday, December 9 from noon to 5 pm.

Don't take off those walking shoes yet, you will want to stroll through historic Fort Point sampling treats, shopping and being entertained by live music during the Fort Point Holiday Stroll hosted by the Friends of Fort Point Channel Friday, December 8th from 4 pm - 7 pm. Click here for more information and to register, and watch the Fort Point Boston Blog for your guide to holiday strolling Fort Point style. 

GE Innovation Point: December 2017 Update

The December construction update for GE Innovation Point is now available at www.gereports.com/boston and below for your reference. These updates will occur about monthly in frequency, or when there are major transitions in the construction process. As always, if you need to get in touch with the project team or would like to receive updates directly in your inbox, please contact GE at innovation.point@ge.com.

Innovation Point Construction Update – December 2017

·         Temporary fire protection inside the buildings to support the construction has been completed.

·         Stormwater system installation across the site is complete, connecting the existing system in the Gillette parking lot to the brick buildings to allow connection of both area drains and roof drains.

·         The site trailers are being relocated and a portion of the Gillette parking lot will be returned to parking operations.

·         Abatement of windows containing asbestos material followed by temporary window installation will be completed in early December.

·         Abatement of roofing materials is underway and will continue as openings in the roof are required.

·         Temporary shoring, necessary to support the structure as it is opened up to receive the new construction is underway inside the buildings.

·         Ground floor existing slab on grade is being removed to prepare for the new first floor slab.

·         Pile installation inside the buildings and in between the buildings will begin in December in preparation for placement of the foundations for the new elevator and stair towers inside the building.

·         Selective demolition of the center of the building to make way for the new elevators and stairs will begin in December.

·         Utility installation from A Street to Necco St,, across Necco St., and in Necco Ct., will be performed over the next several months.

A Public Art Celebration Ceremony At Noon

Encounter Seaport's newest street art installation, 'Quarks', by Fort Point’s beloved artists Claudia Ravaschiere and Michael Moss. Hear more about the project directly from the artists, take a short walking tour of art around the Seaport and enjoy some sweet treats.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017
12 pm - 1 pm
District Hall
75 Northern Ave
Register for this free event

Discover Newly Changed Plans For Seaport Square

updated 11/16/17: Seaport Square at BPDA Board for approval 11/16/17 at 6:10pm (per agenda) at City Hall, 9th floor, room 900. View Seaport Square Board Memo and revised PDA.

updated 10/20/17: Seaport Square returns to BCDC on Tuesday, October 24 at 5pm, room 937A, City Hall. Public invited to attend. 

updated 10/18/17: Remember to submit public comments by end of day, October 27, 2017 (details below).

Last week (9/12/17) WS Development, who in 2015 purchased the remaining 12.5 acres of Seaport Square, filed a Supplemental Information Report (SIR) to their Notice of Project Change submitted seven months prior. The filing responds to the many public comments submitted from Boston residents, performing art organizations and others including the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) and Boston Parks & Recreation Department. WS Development also filed an amendment to Seaport Square Planned Development Area 78  three days later.

Two of the largest calls came in response to the jettisoning of a 200,000 sf arts center and the elimination of Seaport Hill Park. 

Discover the new plans for performing art spaces, open green spaces and other changes at: 

• Seaport Square IAG Meeting: November 8, 2017 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm at District Hall, 75 Northern Ave. The Impact Advisory Group (IAG)will be discussing the changes made to the PDA and cooperation agreement. The public is welcome to listen. View revised PDA
• Boston Civic & Design Commission (BCDC): October 24, 2017 at 5 pm in room 937A, City Hall.  View Presentation.
• Seaport Square Community Meeting: October 4th from 6pm - 8pm at District Hall, 75 Northern Ave. 
• Seaport Square Community Meeting: September 27th from 6pm - 8pm at the Seaport Hotel, in Seaport Ballroom #1, 1 Seaport Lane. View Presentation.
• Seaport Square IAG Meeting: September 20 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm at District Hall, 75 Northern Ave. The Impact Advisory Group (IAG)will be discussing the changes made to the proposal. The public is welcome to listen.
• Boston Civic & Design Commission (BCDC): September 19, 2017 at 4 pm in room 937A, City Hall. View Presentation. 

View the Seaport Square Supplemental Information Report and amendment to Seaport Square Planned Development Area 78.

Public Comment Deadline: October 27, 2017
Submit comments to BPDA Project Manager Michael Rooney. 

Related Posts

originally published 9.18.17

City Council Hearing For Seaport/Fort Point Public Facilities (Civic Spaces) & Services

Updated  11/14/17: City Council Hearing is postponed pending a new date.

City Council President Michele Wu is sponsoring a hearing (docket #1320) to review plans for public facilities (including civic spaces) and services in the Seaport on:

Thursday, November 16, 2017

11 am

City Hall

5th Floor, Christopher Iannella Chamber

Public is welcome to attend and offer testimony (details below:)
Watch Live

• Whereas, The South Boston Waterfront or Seaport neighborhood has undergone an unprecedented residential transformation, with the population more than doubling between 2000 and 2015; and

• Whereas, The residential population of the Seaport neighborhood is set to continue to grow at a high rate, given that more than 4,100 new units of housing were approved between 2010 and 2016 with some estimates that the population will exceed 20,000 people by 2030; and

• Whereas, Residents in the Seaport and Fort Point do not have immediate access to civic spaces or public facilities, as there is no school, library, community center, fire station or police station in the neighborhood, and

• Whereas, The ongoing and projected developments in the neighborhood represent important opportunities to address the lack of public facilities and services; Now Therefore Be It

• Ordered, That the appropriate committee of the Boston City Council hold a public hearing to review the unprecedented residential transformation of the South Boston Waterfront and to discuss plans to expand access to public facilities and services in the neighborhood. Representatives from various City of Boston Departments and other interested parties shall be invited to attend. 

Members of the public are cordially invited to attend and testify.  If you have not testified at a Council hearing before, please arrive (5) minutes before the call of the hearing to sign up and become familiar with the hearing format, testimony locations, and sound system. Please bring fifteen (15) copies of any written documentation you wish to present at the hearing. Written comments may be made part of the record and available to all Councilors by sending them by email. If you know of others who may be interested in this hearing, kindly notify them.

Committee Liaison: Juan Lopez. Contact via email or call 617-635-3041
Committee on Planning & Development Chair: City Councilor Michael Flaherty

Special Meeting For Bastille Kitchen

The Fort Point Neighborhood Association (FPNA) invites neighbors and abutters of Bastille Kitchen to attend a meeting regarding Bastille Kitchen's request for a live entertainment license on:

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

6 pm

Chalet @ Bastille Kitchen 

49 Melcher Street

Bastillle Kitchen and Chalet are requesting a live entertainment license for private functions and as live background music at brunch and dinner. 

Attend to learn more.

Tuesday Is Election Day

On Tuesday, November 7, 2017, Boston residents go to the polls to elect a Mayor, four City Councilors-At-Large and a District City Councillor.  The polls are open 7 am - 8 pm. 

For residents of Fort Point and the Seaport, the place to vote is the Condon School located at 200 D. Street (off of W. Broadway and behind the Laboure Center).

View District 2 Sample Ballot to see who is running 

and how the candidates will appear on the ballot. 

Exercise your civic right and vote. 

If you live and/or work in Fort Point and the Seaport, then you know the neighborhood is rapidly growing and evolving. Infrastructure improvements can't keep pace with development. We need the City's help to get more city services (fire & police), transportation improvements (buses, bridges & bike lanes), civic/cultural spaces (libraries, schools & community centers), and open green spaces (parks) to support and enhance our community and neighborhood. The Mayor and City Council play an instrumental part, and they look at voter turnout. Please make time in your busy day to vote for our next Boston Mayor, District 2 City Councilor and four Councilors-At-Large. Let the City know we live here and are in engaged in our neighborhood.

Related posts

Fort Point Landmarks November 2017 Meeting

The FORT POINT CHANNEL LANDMARK DISTRICT COMMISSION will hold a public hearing on:

Thursday, November 9, 2017

6:00 PM

Boston City Hall - Piemonte Room (5th Floor)

After 5:30 pm, enter and exit City Hall at the Dock Square entrance on Congress Street 

(across from Faneuil Hall).

Subject of the hearing will be applications for Certificates of Design Approval on the agenda below, review of architectural violations and such business as may come before the commission, in accordance with Ch. 772 of the Acts of 1975, as amended.from Faneuil Hall).

Design Review

18.391 FPC 343 Congress Street: Replace an existing metal cut-out blade sign with a neon lit painted aluminum sign.

18.454 FPC 55 Thomson Place: At front facade install wall signage.

Review and Ratification of October 12, 2017 Public Hearing Minutes

Discussion Item

Amending Section 8.0 Recommendations of the Fort Point Channel Landmark District Study Report, specifically regarding commissioner nominations.

Staff Updates

Projected Adjournment - 7:00 pm

FORT POINT CHANNEL LANDMARK DISTRICT COMMISSION

David Berarducci, Susan Goganian, John Karofl Lynn Smiledge, Vacancy

Altemates: Thomas Rodde, Vacancy

New Hotel Planned For Summer Street

updated 11/1/17: Public comment deadline extended to November 8, 2017

updated 10/27/17: Summer Street Hotel at Boston Civic Design Commission October 31 at 5 pm at City Hall, room 937A,

You may have read in the news earlier this Fall of a proposed 1,000 plus room hotel to be located at 440 Summer Street (Summer & D Streets) from the Davis Companies and the Omni Hotels Management Corporation.  The Boston Plans and Development Agency (BPDA) will be hosting a public community meeting on:

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

6 pm - 8 pm

Westin Boston Waterfront, The Otis Room

425 Summer Street

The Summer Street Hotel project will contain approximately 788,500 sf to be comprised of approximately 1,054 hotel rooms, ballrooms, function rooms, meeting spaces, restaurant/retail space, and together with public realm improvements. This project is part of parcel D2 of the Waterside Place Project.

View Summer Street Hotel Project documents

Comment deadline: November 8, 2017
BPDA Project Manager, Casey Hines

originally published 10.19.17

Climate Ready Boston To Focus On Fort Point Channel & Harbor

South Boston is expected to experience more coastal and stormwater flooding due to climate change. Remember the flooding and ground water rise from King Tides over the past two years?

The City of Boston is exploring solutions to decrease these risks as part of the Climate Ready South Boston initiative.

Add your on-the-ground perspective to the neighborhood’s resiliency

by completing this community survey.

In 2016, Climate Ready Boston released a comprehensive report of risks and protection strategies for a climate-impacted city like Boston. Last weekend, the City released study results and recommendations for East Boston and Charlestown. The City kicked off Climate Ready South Boston on October 4, 2017.

South Boston faces increased climate risks going forward. From now to 2050, nearly a quarter of South Boston’s land area will be exposed to a 1 percent annual chance of coastal flooding event, with some areas along the Fort Point Channel exposed to even higher probability events. Some streets and highways are also expected to be exposed to low-probability coastal flooding in the near-term, with those likelihoods going up as time goes on. Protecting South Boston also protects the connected neighborhoods of South End, Roxbury, and Dorchester from future flooding risks.

The City is committed to finding both short- and long-term solutions to coastal flooding and other impacts from sea level rise, and currently studying the issue to explore potential ways to minimize or eliminate flooding challenges, with a focus on key floodwater entry points into the neighborhood.

For the South Boston Waterfront the flood entry points are: along the edge of the district, including flooding from Fort Point Channel, Boston Harbor, and the Reserve Channel. The low-lying nature of the South Boston Waterfront likely requires flood protection connections to high ground across Fort Point Channel. Potential flood protection solutions include a floodgate aimed at preventing storm surge from flowing into the South Boston Waterfront from Fort Point Channel. The gate could be placed at a number of locations, including the Northern Avenue Bridge, Seaport Boulevard Bridge, Congress Street Bridge, or Summer Street Bridge. In addition to a gate across Fort Point Channel, flood protection solutions would require either a barrier system to connect to high ground south of West Broadway, perimeter protection near the Reserve Channel, or a gate across the Reserve Channel. (source: Climate Ready Boston report)

You can read more about neighborhood climate risk and resilience in the South Boston section of the Climate Ready Boston report here.

Take the survey and add your voice to this critical discussion about how to prepare Fort Point and the whole city for a more resilient future. Sign up for our Greenovate email list to stay up-to-date on details for the December community open house. Greenovate will also be a featured speaker speaker January 30, 2018 Fort Point Neighborhood Gathering hosted by the Fort Point Neighborhood Association.

originally published 11.1.17

Art From Fort Point To The Distillery

The Artists at 249 A Street invite you to their annual group show tonight Thursday, November 2, 2017 from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm in the Gallery At 249 A Street. The show covers a variety of mediums from painting, drawing, photography and prints to ceramics, mixed media and sculpture. Take a sneak peek. The exhibition closes November 10th.

On Friday November 3, 2017, Canvas Fine Arts is celebrating their 10th Anniversary and the kick-off of South Boston Open Studios with a reception and ArtBeat issue party at 6 pm. R.S.V.P.   

The artists and craftspeople of South Boston invite the public into their studios to see their work, hear about their process, and provide an opportunity to purchase original pieces directly from the artist this Saturday, November 4th and Sunday, November 5th from 12 pm to 6 pm. Children and families are welcome. South Boston Open Art Studios takes place at The Distillery, a former beer and ale brewery and producer of other social spirits, located at 516 E 2nd Street (H & 2nd Streets). View participating artists.

Factory 63 Change of Use Public Meeting

updated 10/20/17: Public comment deadline is November 6th (details below)

The Boston Planning & Development Agency is hosting a community meeting regarding the change of use of Factory 63 on:

Thursday, October 19, 2017
6 pm

Factory 63

63 Melcher Street

View Notice of Project Change & Amendment

Currently Factory 63 is an apartment building with a basement level shared residential and community space where the Fort Point Neighborhood Association holds monthly neighborhood meetings, and art events and local art by Fort Point Arts Community and Artists for Humanity is displayed. Come learn about the proposed changes and how the building will support the neighborhood and the arts. 

Project Description: On September 21, 2017, the Proponent filed a fourth Notice of Project Change (the “Fourth NPC”) and this Amendment to allow a single change to the Third Revised Project (the “Fourth Revised Project” or the “Project”). The sole change from the Third Revised Project is to acknowledge approximately 2,695 square feet of existing residential GFA in the basement of the existing building of 63 Melcher Street, which is owned and is being renovated by the Proponent, for Office and/or Cultural and/or Community use. Separate from the sole change under this Amendment – to acknowledge 2,695 square feet of the 63 Melcher Street Basement Space as GFA for Office and/or Cultural and/or Community use – the form of ownership of 63 Melcher Street will be altered to a condominium under M.G.L. c. 183A. For more details click here.

Public comment deadline: November 6, 2017
Send comment to BPDA Project Manager Aisling Kerr or online (scroll to bottom)

originally published 9.29.17