Planning Initiatives

The Boston 2000 Plan was adopted by the City in 1991 as the master plan for the Central Artery air rights from Causeway Street to Kneeland Street. The Plan established broad principles for the development of the air rights—the 27 acres of land that emerged once the elevated highway was dismantled, now known as the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway. It devotes seventy-five percent of the land to open space and public facilities, with the remaining twenty-five percent designated for commercial and residential uses.

The Plan called for new neighborhood parks in the North End and Chinatown, a major new open space in the waterfront area, and a horticultural facility in the Financial District/Dewey Square area, as well as three housing sites in the North End and one in Chinatown, and commercial development in the Bulfinch Triangle and Chinatown.

In 2004, the non-profit Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy was founded to maintain and operate the Greenway. Visit their website http://www.rosekennedygreenway.org to learn more about their mission, events, and programs.

Since the completion of the Central Artery tunnels, the Chinatown Park opened in September of 2007. It features a plaza that serves the dual purpose of a gateway to Chinatown and a community gathering space, and a path from the plaza that meanders through Asian plantings, past a fountain to a new gate. The North End Parks were opened in November of 2007 and include lawns and planting beds, as well as shallow pools of moving water, and pergolas with moveable chairs and tables underneath for the use of park visitors.

The Wharf District Parks are currently nearing completion and will feature a series of outdoor spaces, including a promenade connecting each of the four parcels together, along with fountains, green space, and light elements.

While the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) officially de-designated the Massachusetts Horticultural Society of the park parcels in the Financial District/Dewey Square area in 2007, the Greenway Conservancy (which was in turn granted a license for management of the three parcels) has granted formal responsibility for the creation and maintenance of the park parcels to the Horticultural Society. Following the MTA’s formal de-designation of the Horticultural Society, the BRA will undertake a new planning process for the three Dewey Square parcels. In the interim, the Greenway Conservancy and the Horticultural Society are collaborating on proposals for written improvements that will beautify and activate them.

Presently, the BRA is working with the MTA and the Armenian Heritage Foundation on the design of a public park to be created on Parcel 13.

The BRA created use and design guidelines that were incorporated into MTA Requests for Proposals that have led to the selection of developers for the Bulfinch Triangle parcels, the New Center for Arts and Culture on Parcel 18, and Parcel 24 in Chinatown. We are currently pursuing the development of Parcel 6 for a recreational facility and Parcel 9 for a development that will enhance the Blackstone Street market functions.

Public participation in ongoing planning activity within the Greenway is provided through the Mayor’s Central Artery Completion Task Force, as well as interlocking neighborhood advisory committees.