Fill In Fort Point Channel?

February 22nd, 2014
boston, ideas
In the middle of downtown Boston there's a million square feet no one's using: Fort Point Channel. As Boston has wharfed out, claiming land from the sea, we've left this channel behind. There's probably a historical reason for this, but does it still apply? It's right next to south station, but it's bordered by parking lots and a post-office sorting facility so it's not like people would miss the view. Take parcel A on the map, the land south of Summer st, that's 21 acres. Build twenty stories of offices, housing, whatever. You probably get 10M usable square feet, which in this part of Boston would be about $5B. If it costs $2B for building it all the city gets $3B in addition to the benefits of just having more space.

If you want you could also fill in B, C, and D at 3.5, 8.4, and 3.3 acres for another 15 acres. These are currently used, albeit lightly, and they border buildings that are more likely to miss the channel, but they might be possible too.

Referenced in: Make more land

Comment via: google plus, facebook, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Ozy at LessOnline!

I will once again be a guest at LessOnline, alongside many other writers whom you no doubt like less than you like me: Scott Alexander, dynomight, Georgia Ray, David Friedman, Nicholas Decker, Jacob Falkovich, Kelsey Piper, Alicorn, Aella, etc.

via Thing of Things March 23, 2026

Daycares and the Brown School

As someone in Somerville I notice that there are quite high prices regarding childcare. The average family in Somerville pays $1,100 to $3,500 for daycare per month, and I want to make the costs more affordable. I have also noticed that housing is quite …

via Lily Wise's Blog Posts March 22, 2026

2025-26 New Year review

This is an annual post reviewing the last year and setting intentions for next year. I look over different life areas (work, health, parenting, effectiveness, etc) and analyze my life tracking data. Highlights include a minimal group house, the usefulness…

via Victoria Krakovna January 19, 2026

more     (via openring)