BPDA to Initiate Capital Improvement Fund, Identified $200M in Work

The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) has identified some $200 million in maintenance work that needs to be done to its properties citywide, and now for the first time, the Authority’s Board has approved a new Capital Reserve Fund to help foot the costs.

The new Capital Reserve Fund will be used to deposit monies that will then be steered to outstanding capital projects on BPDA-owned land across the City, including many needs in Charlestown and the Navy Yard.

“We have identified citywide about $200 million in capital projects to work on in the next 10 to 15 years,” said Teresa Polhemus, executive director/secretary at the BPDA. “This new fund is the vehicle for us to put the money to fund the work that needs to be done. We’re still identifying where the money for the fund is coming from, but we wanted a fund set up so when funds do come in, we have a place designated to put them.”

A lot of the work includes heavy infrastructure items such as seawalls and bulkheads.

In the Navy Yard, some examples of improvements that were identified include:

  • Shipyard Park/Pier 3 – Phase 2 Structural Improvements.
  • Shipyard Park/Pier 3 – Phase 3 Structural Improvements.
  • Shipyard Park/Pier 4 – Structural Piles and Surface Treatments
  • Shipyard Park – Splashpad Replacement
  • Shipyard Park – replace trash recepticals with solar-powered barrels.
  • Pier 5 Re-use Study, demolition and reconstruction.
  • Building 108 Power Plant Environmental Remediation and Parking Garage.
  • Chelsea Street Fence
  • Second Avenue Improvements

“We’re really excited about this item because it’s the first time the BPDA has done that,” she said.

Maintenance of Shipyard Park and the BPDA property in the Navy Yard has been an issue in recent years, but an effort over the last two years has improved conditions substantially. With the fund, though, it is believed that major repairs will be able to be taken care of in an orderly manner from an identified funding source.

In other BPDA news:

  • At its Oct. 11 meeting, the BPDA approved the 22-unit residential condo building at 610 Rutherford Ave. on Sullivan Square.

The 610 Rutherford Ave. project site currently has a four unit two-story residential building, which has been approved for demolition by the Landmarks Commission. The redevelopment of this site will feature the construction of a new five-story building with 22 condominium units. Three of the units will be designated as affordable housing. The first floor of the building will consist of a residents lobby, bike storage and parking for 19 vehicles. There will also be a loading/drop-off area to service the building.

Upon the issuance of the building permit for this project, a $20,000 contribution toward the City of Boston’s Transportation Department (BTD) will be made for the Rutherford Avenue/Sullivan Square Design Project in Charlestown.

The developer on the project is Charlestown’s Gray MacLetchie.

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