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Some powerful South Boston photos
By adamg on Mon, 01/30/2017 - 12:16am
David Parsons went on a BPDA tour of the old Boston Edison power plant at L and Summer streets on Saturday, part of the agency's attempt to figure out what to do with the massive property.
Photos copyright David Parsons. Posted in the Universal Hub pool on Flickr.
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Comments
BPDA = BRA ?
What happens with this property could be a good test.
BPDA is how the BRA has
BPDA is how the BRA has rebranded themselves.
The rep from the BPDA mentioned that the developer was looking at a retail space for the turbine hall in the pictures. They say they want to make the courtyard area between the buildings and water a public space.
They have 15 acres to work with, so it'll be interesting what is saved and restored, and what is torn down.
old power plant
The million dollar condos that will be built here in this building and the surrounding area should come with a disclaimer that states the following: Live here at your own risk. The amounts of oil, chemicals and carcinogens that were used in fueling and maintaining this area as an industrial power plant have been cleaned to the best of our ability.
They have the plant but we
They have the plant but we have the power!
Solid Simpsons reference
4/5 Would read again
relax
Massachusetts intelligence and regulation will make sure things are safe.
sorry to rain on your negativity parade.
- The South Boston Community Member
condo shoppers
Being informed about any potential problems that might be associated with a property before plunking down a million bucks is a positive thing. Most young condo shoppers have a limited checklist of what's important to them. Stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, Jacuzzi and a water view. That's all!
Stainless Steel Appliances
I don't see the appeal of this stainless steel appliance trend. It makes everything look like an industrial restaurant kitchen. Granite counter tops aren't the coziest looking things either.
Well ...
I won't be stopping by your place for dinner, then. You obviously think of kitchen appliances and fixtures as ambiance rather than tools for doing a job.
If you can't see the advantages of granite, we can't help you.
I can't.
It dulls your knives, so you have to use cutting boards, which you keep... on the counter. They also chip, and they chip glassware.
Wooden counters for life!
I'd be less concerned about the pollution,
and more concerned about the fact that I'd be living alongside a major freight corridor. Then again, it's not necessarily going to be a residential building, is it?
This is my favorite of the photos.
Of all things, I'd be most
Of all things, I'd be most concerned about sea level rise; this place is barely above water. We have this weird dissonance in this city where most educated people (rightfully) acknowledge the risk of water rising at a fast pace in the coming decades, and yet this element is largely ignored when it come to planning for development.
To paraphrase Richard Branson; if you want to become and millionaire, invest a billion on the Boston waterfront, and then wait for a couple of decades.
Bond holders will be paid
20-30 years isn't long enough to worry about it for developers. Now the REIT Co that's holding it then, that's a different story.
Look At Lincoln Wharf
Lincoln Wharf is a former MBTA power plant in the North End that was converted to housing in the late 1980's.
The developers filled in the windows facing Commercial Street with units denying the interior atrium of full light with light there coming in from skylights. This gave the interior an echo chamber feeling. Ther south facing window on East First Street should be used to its full potential.
Caveat Emptor - The poster above is correct on the clean up. That being said, in the 80's Boston Edison used to have a no questions asked repair policy on paint damages to cars in the neighborhood whenever the stacks were extra spewy here.
That being said, many developers have done great jobs on the remediation of sites. High Street had the old Chadwick Lead Works and the Navy Yard in Charlestown and the Ship Yard in Hingham have been great examples of adaptive reuse of heavy industrial sites.
wow
looks like a place that a DC comic book villain would make his last stand
very cool thanks for the link and nice photography david parsons
Power Plant
I'm glad to see this place isn't going to be pumping out any more poison. This facility and the adjacent former MBTA power plant (demolished years ago) made more people sick around here than anything else.
I think the developer will be diligent in removing or neutralizing any potential elements that are on the property.
It's a definite improvement.
It seems they took photos of
It seems they took photos of particularly architecturally and historically interesting parts of the building (i.e., the antique detailed iron grating, the beautiful window, the decrepit (but nevertheless cool) green glazed tile, etc., etc. Does this mean they intend on preserving some of it? Or selling these pieces? Seems to me it would be sad to get rid of some of this lost architecture. Please somehow integrate it into your new design!
Back in the 90s
I'm not sure what that building was used for in the 90s/early 200s, but I worked in an adjacent building and occasionally through the windows we could see women in a state of undress being photographed. Something was going on in there.
It was
The womens locker room most likely.
I worked there for 25 years. Over 300 employees are gone because of ild Edison company greed.
Men and women who worked 24_7 365 days a year.
Enjoy the condos people. I'll remember the great people that I worked with.
It was a 'secret' photo spot.
For some of the ManRay crowd.
That and the rooftops around Melcher and Necco.
Oh, the stories... ;-)
That explains it...
Not only did we see women being photographed through the windows of this supposedly unused place, once I saw a woman in some sort of slinky black dress getup making provocative faces being photographed or filmed standing on one of the ledges of the second story or so. I thought maybe it was for a music video or something.
This is a no-brainer; more
This is a no-brainer; more high-end condos that only rich foreigners can afford....
alternatives?
Would you rather keep it as a giant abandoned eyesore?
How about more reasonably
How about more reasonably-priced condos that working people can afford? See previous post on UH about 'who are they making these condos for?'. It was entertaining, but sad and true at the same time.
Where were the prices of these future condos listed?
I didn't see anything about what was proposed at that site.
Working people
Uh, dude, I work for a living and so do most UHubbers.
Want to try a different phrasing?
Publicly Available Information
If you're curious about what contaminants have been found at the property to date, I'm happy to inform you that this is publicly available information: http://public.dep.state.ma.us/SearchableSites2/Search.aspx
Happy digging! (I recommend wearing gloves. That soil is going to be gross.)
You say Superfund.
I say super values!
Seriously though, the brick buildings in the center of that complex are really cool. Hope they're able to reuse them with new structures around it.
It reminds me a bit of the Roslindale trolley substation
Only on a way bigger scale, of course.
Also, part of the reuse just has to include a giant inflatable pig floating overhead. Maybe on the anniversary of its redevelopment.
Battersea Power Station
The Pink Floyd album cover to which you allude, Adam, uses the iconic Battersea generating plant as its subject. As you likely know, it is already undergoing redevelopment after decades of neglect. Apple will be establishing a headquarters there.
Demo
Sadly Redgate/Hilco intends to demolish almost all the old structures. All they plan on saving is a thin slice of the EEICo Power Station-specifically the three turbine rooms which have blank windowless long side walls. The 1898 Boston Electric Light Co. and the EEICo Boiler Rooms are scheduled to be razed. Their preservation talk is just that-talk.
The remaining north facing wall of the first boiler room has four handsome segmental arch windows and the side wall (along Summer St.) of the second and third boiler rooms has three unique recessed segmental arch windows coupled with lunettes. I have never seen windows like this in an industrial structure or any other for that matter. It would be a crime to demolish that wall. Once the hulking New Boston Generating Station-the big pink metal block squatting over the older brink buildings much could be done with them with a little creativity-something sorely lacking in the current plans.