Former Secretary of Transportation and Local Urban Development Experts Announce New Vision for Future Planning of the Suffolk Downs Site
Community group offers five guiding principles for development(BOSTON, Mass., September 17, 2014) -- Led by former Massachusetts Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi, a largely East Boston-based group of urban planners, architects, public infrastructure experts, and representatives of various community groups propose an alternative vision to a casino at Suffolk Downs.
This group, formed after the November 5, 2013, election in which East Boston voters rejected a casino at Suffolk Downs, has been working toward offering a new vision for the development of the 161 acre site. The group is releasing this document in light of Sterling Suffolk LLC's decision Tuesday to close track operations next year.
The group’s two-page vision statement, titled “Overarching Principles For Development in East Boston,” outlines five principles by which all future significant development proposals in East Boston – and Suffolk Downs in particular – should be measured. The principles, including job creation, community inclusion and a transparent process, environmental impact, transit-oriented development, and economic feasibility, present a framework to ensure that this critical and unique site is developed in a way that enhances quality of life, job creation and return on investment for all residents of Boston and surrounding communities.
“Although Suffolk Downs is privately owned, it is supported by a highway and transit system owned and operated by the state and paid for by the taxpayers of Massachusetts,” said Aloisi, a native of East Boston. “It is only fair and just that any major development on its grounds be thoroughly vetted by local citizenry and surrounding communities. We hope these principles, which express a positive and forward-looking vision for the future of this site and community, will be embraced by a broad spectrum of state and local decision makers.”
As many real estate and other investment experts contend, the Suffolk Downs site offers a wealth of development possibilities beyond a casino. For example, Banker and Tradesman recently noted that "At a time when home and condo prices are soaring out of reach for middle class families in Boston, Suffolk's 110 or so Boston acres are a huge potential asset, ground zero for the Hub's next big mixed-use neighborhood of shops and homes." (1)
Desirable factors such as quick access to downtown Boston, Logan Airport and the emerging Innovation District in South Boston via the Blue Line and soon the Silver Line, as well as a shared economic center for the communities of East Boston, Revere and Winthrop make Suffolk Downs an exceptional candidate for a mix of housing and commercial development opportunities, according to the group. Also, the adjacent Belle Isle Marsh provides abundant green space and offers potential connections to the East Boston Greenway.
A full version of the “Overarching Principles For Development in East Boston” can be found athttps://sites.google.com/site/eastboston2020/. For more information, please contact MailFilterGateway has detected a possible fraud attempt from "mail.google.com" claiming to be east.boston.visioning@gmail.com.
Visioning group members include:
Jim Aloisi
Lyle Bradley
Joel Bryce
Ernani Jose DeAraujo
Antonio Di Mambro
Neenah Estrella-Luna, MPH, PhD
Brian Gregory
Steve Holt
Giordana Mecagni
Sandra Nijjar
Mike Russo
Trent Sheppard
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(1) Banker and Tradesman, "Forget Gambling: Suffolk Downs Has Mixed-Use Development Potential" Sunday, November 17, 2013http://www.bankerandtradesman.com/news157396.html
