East Boston Waterfront

Creating a Boston Waterfront for All

How can we ensure that all people can access and benefit from one of Boston’s greatest public resources?

Boston’s waterfront is intricately linked with the city’s identity, economy, and current growth. But how many people in Boston feel connected to that waterfront, or even welcome?

Taxpayers spent $25 billion on the Boston Harbor cleanup and the Big Dig, unlocking massive development potential along the water. More than $8 billion in new waterfront development is in construction, planned, or being built now. But we need to make sure that taxpayers get their due and the public benefits from this building boom, not only private investors.

In fact, Massachusetts state law has already sought for 150 years to preserve and protect the public’s rights to the waterfront. But uncoordinated planning, inconsistent enforcement of regulations, and short-sighted decisions have resulted in a waterfront that varies drastically from block to block and neighborhood to neighborhood.

Too many areas are unfriendly to pedestrians, blocked off for private use and profit, and void of spaces for families and recreation. People are being displaced from what used to be welcoming and affordable neighborhoods. And, as we experience all too often now, homes, businesses, schools, and roads near (and not so near) the water are vulnerable to flooding and damages from major storms and rising sea levels.

We already have proof that the waterfront can be a great place to live, work, and play. Some of Boston’s beloved parks and destinations are along the water, such as Castle Island in South Boston and the Charlestown Navy Yard. A strong working port provides more than seven thousand jobs and generates $4.6 billion in value for our regional economy each year. And waterfront neighborhoods like East Boston and Dorchester still boast people and cultures from around the world.

What needs to change so that these bright spots can be the rule, not the exception, along Boston’s 43 miles of coastline? How can we ensure that the people of Boston, and future generations get the waterfront they want and deserve?

To help address these issues, Barr publicly launched a special initiative in May 2016 to help realize the full potential of the Boston waterfront. Today, a group of partners—with input from Boston residents about the waterfront they want—are working toward a waterfront that is:

  • Welcoming: Inviting and affordable for everyone, particularly for people and communities often excluded.
  • Fun: Offering a range of exciting activities and interesting places designed for people’s enjoyment and comfort.
  • Productive: Providing good jobs, housing, and other economic opportunities and benefits.
  • Resilient: Protecting Boston’s Harbor-adjacent and inland neighborhoods from impacts of climate change like storm surges and flooding.

As of March 22, 2018, Barr has awarded 24 grants totaling $11,415,000 through this special initiative. Learn more in the grant information below about our partners’ work in service to a waterfront that the people of Boston want and deserve, and get involved on social media using the hashtag #OurWaterfront.

Meet Our Waterfront Partners

Grants Awarded Under This Special Initiative

Conservation Law Foundation, Inc.

To support advocacy and communications efforts to achieve an accessible, equitable, and climate-resilient Boston waterfront.

  • Award Date: 3/22/2018
  • Amount: $1,200,000
  • Term: 24 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Boston Harbor Now, Inc.

To provide core support.

  • Award Date: 3/22/2018
  • Amount: $900,000
  • Term: 24 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Mystic River Watershed Association, Inc.

To build the capacity of The Friends of the East Boston Greenway and to better connect the Greenway to East Boston people and places.

  • Award Date: 12/5/2017
  • Amount: $100,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Boston Harbor Now, Inc.

To support the Fort Point Neighborhood Association's efforts to create an alliance of waterfront residents to collectively address environmental, economic, and social issues related to living at the water's edge.

  • Award Date: 12/5/2017
  • Amount: $75,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

The Harborkeepers

To support coast community resiliency and environmental advocacy in East Boston.

  • Award Date: 12/5/2017
  • Amount: $95,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Trustees of Reservations

To develop signature open space on the Boston waterfront.

  • Award Date: 12/5/2017
  • Amount: $2,000,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Mystic River Watershed Association, Inc.

To create a North Charlestown waterfront inventory and vision plan.

  • Award Date: 12/5/2017
  • Amount: $85,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

The American City Coalition, Inc.

To engage Roxbury and North Dorchester residents in the social, recreational, educational, and economic opportunities throughout the Boston waterfront.

  • Award Date: 12/5/2017
  • Amount: $100,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Artists for Humanity, Inc.

To produce a multi-site "Our Waterfront" collaborative painting project and exhibit.

  • Award Date: 12/5/2017
  • Amount: $75,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Trustees of Reservations

To support strategic outreach and communications counsel for Trustees' work on the Boston waterfront.

  • Award Date: 9/25/2017
  • Amount: $150,000
  • Term: 4 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

GreenRoots, Inc.

To support community engagement in East Boston for waterfront and public realm improvements.

  • Award Date: 9/17/2017
  • Amount: $45,000
  • Term: 14 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Conservation Law Foundation, Inc.

To advance waterfront advocacy efforts and to plan for a multi-year waterfront campaign.

  • Award Date: 6/17/2017
  • Amount: $300,000
  • Term: 9 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

GreenRoots, Inc.

To support community organizing in East Boston for waterfront and public realm improvements.

  • Award Date: 5/20/2017
  • Amount: $300,000
  • Term: 18 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Boston Harbor Now, Inc.

To provide core support.

  • Award Date: 3/8/2017
  • Amount: $400,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Conservation Law Foundation, Inc.

To advance waterfront advocacy efforts and to plan for a multi-year waterfront campaign.

  • Award Date: 12/7/2016
  • Amount: $330,000
  • Term: 6 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Trustees of Reservations

To conduct site analyses and outreach for Trustees' work on the Boston waterfront.

  • Award Date: 12/7/2016
  • Amount: $1,200,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

The Boston Foundation, Inc.

To support the Martin's Park Maintenance Fund.

  • Award Date: 10/19/2016
  • Amount: $2,000,000
  • Term: 18 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

The Fund for Parks and Recreation in Boston

To design and build Martin's Park.

  • Award Date: 10/19/2016
  • Amount: $1,000,000
  • Term: 18 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Trustees of Reservations

To explore the feasibility of and conduct planning for a prospective Boston waterfront initiative.

  • Award Date: 2/2/2016
  • Amount: $250,000
  • Term: 6 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Trustees of Reservations

To extend the planning period for a Boston waterfront initiative.

  • Award Date: 8/31/2016
  • Amount: $250,000
  • Term: 4 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Boston Redevelopment Authority

To conduct the visioning and feasibility phase of a waterfront planning process as part of Imagine Boston 2030.

  • Award Date: 4/27/2016
  • Amount: $210,000
  • Term: 6 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

Boston Harbor Island Alliance, Inc.

To support first-year activities of a new entity, Boston Harbor Now, created by the merger of the Boston Harbor Island Alliance and The Boston Harbor Association.

  • Award Date: 2/2/2016
  • Amount: $300,000
  • Term: 12 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives
  • Award Date: 9/25/2015
  • Amount: $50,000
  • Term: 3 months
  • Program: Special Initiatives

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