Description:
NOTICE OF MEPA IN-PERSON SITE VISIT AND HYBRID CONSULTATION SESSION
EEA 16802 Reserved Channel Master Plan, Boston
Project Description: An Environmental Notification Form (ENF) has been filed with the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs by Pappas Enterprises, Inc (the Proponent) to construct approximately 5,989,000 square feet (sf) of development on 12 blocks on a 41.66-acre site. The Master Plan project will include approximately 4,768,500 sf of commercial office and research laboratory uses, approximately 205,000 sf of hotel space, approximately 788,000 sf of residential space (approximately 847 units), and approximately 227,500 sf of retail and/or amenity space. A Special Review Procedure (SRP) has been established to allow the first phase of the project (Phase 1) to be reviewed in detail prior to completion of MEPA review of the Master Plan project. Phase 1 will be constructed on a 12.86-acre portion of the site and will include eight buildings with a total of 1,739,000 sf of residential, commercial, research laboratory, and retail uses, and 1,175 parking spaces. In addition, Phase 1 will include a 0.75-acre public open space along West First Street and a revitalized one-acre waterfront park along Pappas Way and Reserved Channel. The Phase 1 project will generate 25,210 average daily trips (adt), use 189,102 gallons per day (gpd) of water, and generate 171,911 gpd of wastewater.
The Master Plan project (and the Phase 1 project individually) meets the threshold for filing a mandatory Environmental Impact Report (EIR) at 301 CMR 11.06(a)(6), generation of 3,000 or more New adt on roadways providing access to a single site. The project also requires preparation of an EIR pursuant to 301 CMR 11.06(7)(b) because it is located within a Designated Geographic Area (or DGA) (as defined in 301 CMR 11.02) around one or more EJ populations. The project also meets Environmental Notification Form (ENF)-level thresholds related to the nonwater-dependent use of tidelands, transportation, and wastewater generation. The project requires a Chapter 91 License from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), and a Sewer Use Discharge Permit from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Most of the Master Plan project site is located on land owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) that will be leased to the Proponent.
The MEPA Office will conduct both an in-person site visit and a hybrid (in-person and remote) consultation session. The public is welcome to participate in either or both of the meetings. Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese language interpreters will be present at both the site visit and consultation session; Vietnamese interpreters are available upon request by contacting [email protected].