The only interesting thing MBTA Commuter Rail will do in the near future is open service to New Bedford and Fall River.
This is continuously delayed, but it may happen by end of 2030.
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Caltrain electrification happened as a result of California high-speed rail, which paid for a large part of it. Even with the Amtrak upgrades there isn’t really an equivalent project on the East Coast, unfortunately.
Coincidentally Boston’s busiest line (Providence) was electrified similarly to Caltrain 25 years ago, but Boston continues to run diesel trains on it because the MBTA hates nice things.
New Haven-New London rail sector, which was electrified in 2000 at the same time as the Boston-Providence sector, received electric regional-rail service (Shore Line East) only in 2022. It would be nice if that equipment continued on to Wickford Junction to allow one to take regional rail trains between Boston and NY.
Seems this will open much sooner than I expected.
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A hotel was proposed for Anchor Street near Menino convention center.
A proposed 438-room hotel near the Boston Exhibition and Convention Center will provide nearly half of the rooms needed to accommodate an expansion of the meeting hall, developers say.
DGH Hotel Partners and Global Hospitality Investment Group are seeking approval for the 15-story, 160,000-square-foot Anchor Street hotel.
The architect is none other than the famous Gene Kaufman. It is rare to see Gene working on a project outside of Manhattan. In any case, it just looks like one of his Midtown Manhattan setback hotels turned on its side.
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What an average looking building.
If it’s in the Seaport it’ll fit right in
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75 Morrissey Boulevard
Big development news for Dorchester—two new apartment towers are officially coming to Morrissey Boulevard. According to the Boston Globe, the Boston Planning Department has approved plans from Copper Mill, a Boston-based real estate firm, to transform the long-vacant Channel 56 building site at 75 Morrissey Blvd. into housing.
Here’s the scoop: the $450 million project will include 754 apartments split between two 18-story towers, plus a three-level underground garage with more than 400 parking spots. Ground-floor retail, community green space, and flood protection are also part of the design. One tower will face Morrissey Boulevard while the other will face I-93, directly next to the former Boston Globe building (now Southline).
This is just the first phase of a nine-acre master plan near JFK/UMass. Originally pitched as lab space, the project pivoted to housing when Copper Mill took over last year. It now ranks as one of the biggest residential developments approved in Boston in recent years—second only to the still-pending Dorchester Bay City project across the street.
Flooding is a big concern for Morrissey, so the site will be raised five feet, and all retail entrances will be designed with flood barriers. Demolition of the old TV studio is expected to begin later this year, with construction on the first tower kicking off in 2026.
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281 Franklin Street
419 Boylston Street