From 2009 - 2012, the BPDA team, led by Community Planning staff, worked with neighborhood businesses, property owners, institutions and community members to develop a comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Harrison-Albany Corridor. The study area for the “Harrison-Albany Corridor Strategic Plan” is bounded by the Massachusetts Turnpike to the east, Albany Street/Southeast Expressway/Massachusetts Avenue Connector to the south; generally Massachusetts Avenue to the west; and generally Washington Street/Harrison Avenue to the north. A 30-member Advisory Group as part of this Strategic Planning process helped to guide the process. The process included 16 Advisory Group meetings (open to the public) and 2 community-wide meetings. The adoption of the Harrison-Albany Corridor Strategic Plan was in November 2011 at the regular BPDA Board meeting. The creation of amendments to Article 64 "South End Neighborhood District" (the South End's zoning article and map) concluded this BPDA process and went before the Boston Zoning Commission on January 18, 2012, in a public hearing where they were adopted. The BPDA sought guidance from the Advisory Group throughout both the planning and rezoning phases.
Through the planning process, four subareas were created within the Study Area, along with draft vision statements for each subarea. The next steps in the planning process included the creation of a public realm plan (open space and urban design principles), analysis of existing and future land uses, studying transportation and infrastructure, envisioning potential development scenarios, identifying economic development potential, and developing an implementation plan that included recommendations for new zoning text and map amendments. The adoption of the Plan has spurred various mixed-use development proposals around the study area that have responded to the subsequent upzoning incentives in the area in exchange for public benefits and public realm improvements.
Both the Harrison-Albany Neighborhood Strategic Plan and the Text and Map Amendments to Article 64 “South End Neighborhood District” are available below for download.