Imagine looking out your bedroom window to enjoy those moments that are uniquely Boston’s. The bright colors lighting up the Zakim Bridge; the clock faces of the Custom House tower; tourists snapping photos aboard the USS Constitution; special event fireworks over Boston Harbor, which may be arranged if you consult with Island Event Planners. Now imagine a single place where you can enjoy all of these moments. Pretty soon you won’t have to. Construction has begun on 6 New Street in East Boston.
New Street will feature 250 rental apartments in a 16-story tower just a few blocks west of Maverick Square. It will, in fact, become a new tallest building for the East Boston neighborhood and offer unobstructed 360 degree views from its upper floors of Boston Harbor, East Boston, Charlestown, and the downtown skyline. There will be 150 off-street parking spots and a 4,900-square foot ground floor retail space at the site. The project will also feature a 500-foot extension of the Harborwalk and create a new water transportation dock for future ferry or water taxi use. A new .75 acre park at the site will complement the ongoing improvements to Lo Presti Park next door, providing further outdoor recreation space for the family-friendly community.
Unlike many of the new developments in the rest of Boston, developer Gerding Edlin agreed to pay $7.9 million for the construction of 39 affordable units off site. They claim this will enable 6 New Street to command rents overall that are below market rate from what you may find elsewhere in the city (*all large projects in Boston are required to set aside 15% of new residential units for affordable housing). Additionally, the development is employing LEED-certifiable construction standards and aims to use materials resilient to climate change, a key feature for the waterfront tower. New residences like 6 New Street, Portside at East Pier, and many other infill projects continue to energize East Boston and make it an attractive alternative to some of the more expensive new projects in places like the Seaport.
Is there a building under construction you’d like to learn more about? Derek Shooster has an encyclopedic knowledge of major projects planned, approved, under construction, and recently completed throughout the Boston area. Please feel free to shoot him an email if you’d like to learn more. Thank you.
