Increasing Construction in South Boston

by Rick Winterson

The southwestern quarter of South Boston is experiencing a rapidly increasing share of local construction, reconstruction, and projects designed for the future. Couple this with South Boston being a “walking neighborhood” and it is just about time for you to catch up. But be sure to walk – something that South Boston Online has always recommended. If you’re on foot, you’ll really get to know these new projects.

Perhaps the biggest single project planned for this part of South Boston, as well as the most recent one to be proposed, is the project first called “On the DOT”, the name once posted on their gates fronting Dorchester Avenue. On the DOT sits on a long plot of land along the west side of Dorchester Avenue that extends essentially from the Southampton Bridge across Alger Street and half a mile down to the mega- intersection of Dorchester Avenue, Old Colony Avenue, Seventh Street, and B Street. It ends only about a quarter of a mile from Broadway Station. The entire plot of land, although quite narrow, amounts to nearly a million square feet.

Some work has already begun. New signage includes the name “Algerworks”, no doubt named for Alger Street, not Horatio. Initial work involves upgrading existing buildings for immediate use in life sciences, as well as a 300-unit apartment building on Alger Street. Eventually, the final project will involve over 1,000 new residences, 4 million (4,000,000) square feet, and extensive laboratory and office spaces devoted to life science technologies. Just walk along the project’s Dorchester Avenue fence line to get a feel for the project’s size, and then stop at the fetching Cannonball Café for coffee.

Then, amble along Old Colony Avenue, especially along its east side.

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“Coffee with a Cop”

The rainstorm last Tuesday morning didn’t keep South Boston guests away from the August edition of Station C-6’s “Coffee with a Cop”, which was held at Deja Brew, 704 East Broadway. Between showers, the many guests overflowed onto the sidewalk in front. A constant stream of coffee, along with many tasteful goodies, were provided by Marissa Walsh, the current Manager of Deja Brew, and Cathe Walsh, the Founder of the original Cranberry Café. Their gracious hostessing was perfect. Boston’s Police Commissioner Michael Cox was on hand for the whole event, as was Station C-6 Captain Joseph Boyle and the Community Services Unit supervised by Sgt. Jeremy Fitton. In addition, many ranking Police Officers from BPD Headquarters showed up, as did many of our elected officials and candidates. The Station C-6 summer interns attended also.

More Photos on Page 4

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Construction

Pass by the Castle Island Brewing Co., Shy Bird and Tatte. Cole Hersee has long since departed that area, although its name is still legible on one of the buildings. When you walk up Old Colony, you’ll soon pass the Ironworkers Local 7 Hall across the way, and then you’ll arrive at the first building in the Washington Village project on the corner of Dorchester Street. This sevenstory structure is almost complete. And across the street, another building has assembled ground floor ironwork. Before you move on, look back down

Damrell Street. A few years from now, the Washington Village project will stretch 1,000 feet along Damrell, from Old Colony down to Dorchester Avenue. If you have time to walk further, proceed along Old Colony to Preble Circle, where Old Colony joins with Columbia Road. At Devine Way, the 30-acre Old Colony/Mary Ellen McCormack housing development begins. Over the past three years, plans have been made to demolish this development and build mixedincome units instead. That would mean constructing up to eight “towers” with as many as 19 stories in some of them. Only two or three acres would be retained as open space; most of the existing trees would be felled and removed. The Old Colony/Anne Lynch housing project across Preble Circle is almost finished with its rebuilding. Did that work? Think about this as you walk. Further on, at the point where Old Colony and Columbia split apart for good, sits Kosciuszko Circle, a South Boston landmark. We mention this because a massive, $5 billion ($5,000,000,000) project called “Dorchester Bay City” was approved by Boston’s Civic Design Commission recently, and it will now go before the

Boston Planning & Development Agency. Even though this project is entirely located in Dorchester on the Columbia Point side of the Circle, its effects on nearby South Boston roads, especially those going into the Circle, will be major. Keep that in mind as you complete your walk. There’s a motive in asking that you walk around or near the many huge projects slated for the southwestern corner of South Boston: Will they benefit the residents who are already there? Will they eliminate existing problems in this part of South Boston? Think about that as you walk. Thanks.

by Rick Winterson

Recently, South Boston Online took part in an “Andrew Station Walkthrough”, an inspection tour that had been arranged by Lydia Polaski of ASCA (Andrew Square Civic Association). This walk-through, which numbered 50 participants, included police officers, elected officials, MBTA personnel, and other ASCA members. Andrew Station was found to be in an absolutely terrible condition, nearly to the point of being hazardous to enter.

Two weeks after the walkthrough, South Boston online was pleased to report that Andrew Station had been extensively cleaned up (see first photo), although much major repair work remained. Janitorial care was being done on a regular basis. And the station’s wire-mesh ceiling had been patched so that the hundreds of annoying pigeons could no longer roost there.

Pigeons Return to Andrew Station

However, we have noticed that a gaping hole had been made in the recently patched wire-mesh ceiling cover (see second photo) . The hole is still there, it measures three feet by five feet, and it lets pigeons return to roost in the Station –leaving their feathers (and other kinds of droppings) behind and below them. As it happens, this hole is right over the end of the two escalators from Andrew Station’s lower platform. One of these escalators has been out of service for months.

“T” passengers who use the other escalator will end up exactly underneath the hole where pigeons (and their droppings) are now back in Andrew Station once again. We have no idea why the hole was made in the overhead wire-mesh to begin with. Perhaps maintenance was necessary, such as changing light bulbs. But not putting the mesh back over the hole where it belongs after the work is finished is inexcusable. When you go to Andrew Station, watch out for the pigeons.

by Rick Winterson

South Boston’s beaches aren’t only for sailors, swimmers, and sunbathers. All summer long, games played on the local beaches have ranged from a simple session of “Catch!” (with a football or baseball) up to the cluster of volleyball games now being played on Southie’s spacious Carson Beach – perhaps as many as eight games at once, extending from the McCormack Bathhouse southward towards Mother’s Rest.

Earlier this week, we took a long look at volleyball on Carson Beach. The games were well-equipped, with real volleyballs, properly marked-off playing areas, and regulation nets seven-and-a-half feet high. All the teams had a full six members, who wore brightly colored T-shirts embossed with the word “VOLO”. Beneath VOLO is a line that reads “Kids Foundation”; above VOLO is a slogan saying “We Play so Kids Play Free”.