Dorchester Bay City

Project Benefits

The Project features an intentionally designed open space network developed to achieve multiple goals:  inclusivity, accessibility, resiliency and safety (in terms of pedestrian and bike transit).  Green spaces and plazas were planned to assure that each space will have an identity unique to its location to facilitate a broad range of uses and activities to serve the nearby community members, residents, and visitors of Dorchester Bay City. The primarily impervious asphalt parking lots that dominate the site today will be converted into roughly 9 acres of publicly accessible green and permeable open spaces. 

In response to comments received from the initial filing from the city, state, and the community, adjustments have been made to the Project’s open space plan to distinguish the fully accessible public realm with an expansion of green space along the waterfront that will serve to create a contiguous relationship between the Dorchester Shores Reservation, Carson Beach, Moakley Park, and DBC. To achieve that goal, building A (located at the northeast corner of the project) has been significantly reduced in size and footprint to become a public pavilion within a brand-new open space (Dorchester Green) that serves the community and visitors coming from Moakley Park, Carson Beach, and the Dorchester Shores Reservation.   This focal gathering point, adjacent to the raised ridge and Dorchester Bay Esplanade, is meant to serve as a beacon along the water’s edge and enhance green living for the residents of Columbia Point and all of Boston.

Dorchester Green is an expanded broad lawn and series of planted areas with trees at the edge of the project that connects to the future Dorchester Bay  Esplanade along the raised ridge, a contiguous new flood protection system connected to DCR open space and waterfront to the east.  A new social gathering space designed for outdoor programming, recreation, and casual use, the amenities of Dorchester  Green provided here are meant to serve all seasons with active and passive uses, day and night activities, and enliven the urban edge while respecting the dynamic ecology of the waterfront.  Dorchester Green will feature an iconic play structure and serve as a space for families and visitors of all ages to enjoy.  

The Esplanade along Dorchester Bay is an inclusive and dynamic waterfront promenade with active areas adjacent to the new buildings and lawns that will serve as a buffer to the quiet natural areas closest to the Dorchester Shores Reservation.  In event the current Harborwalk along Dorchester Shores Reservation inundates, the Esplanade can serve as a secondary walk path connection to Carson Beach and Moakley Park. At the request of state agencies, the flood protection system has been reconfigured, and a portion has been moved to be entirely within the Bayside site.  The Esplanade and The Green, located at the waterfront edge of the project, connects a series of green and open spaces and pedestrian paths leading to the water. These new spaces foster pedestrian, and bicycle connectivity while expanding and adding community recreation spaces.