Bayside Expo Center

Bayside Mall was built in 1967 by Family City Development in 1967.[2] Originally featuring Zayre, Almy's, Woolworth, and Stop & Shop as its major tenants. The center suffered greatly from high crime and poor sales among its stores, causing Almy's and many of the other stores to close in 1972,[3] and the rest to close in 1973.[4] A $15 million development plan launched in 1982 began converting the property to Bayside Expo Center.[5] Bayside Expo Center officially opened for business in January 1983.[4] UMass Boston acquired the Bayside Expo Center property in 2010.

In 2015, the center had been proposed as the site for the Olympic Village as part of the Boston bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics,[6][7] which was ultimately cancelled.[8] In March 2015, part of the roof of the building collapsed under the weight of snow during Boston's record-setting snowfall during the 2014–15 North American winter.[9][10][11] In April 2016, demolition of the building began in order to expand the parking area, to build new pedestrian walkways connecting Mount Vernon Street with the Dorchester Shores Reservation and the Boston Harborwalk, and to improve the lighting, landscaping, bike racks, and security.[12][13] Also in 2016, UMass officials and the Kraft Group had discussed constructing a stadium for the New England Revolution at the Bayside site, which was also cancelled.[14][15] In January 2018, the UMass System put the property up for sale,[16] with initial estimates indicating that the university could receive $200 million or more from such a sale.[17]

In May 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department approved a request submitted by Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker that the Columbia Point census tract, which includes the Bayside Expo Center, be designated as an opportunity zone under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[18][19] In October 2018, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced a comprehensive climate change adaptation proposal to protect the Boston Harbor coastline from flooding.[20] In February 2019, the UMass Board of Trustees unanimously approved a 99-year final lease agreement for the Bayside Expo Center with Accordia Partners for approximately $192 million to $235 million.[21][22] In June 2019, Accordia Partners acquired five buildings at 2 Morrissey Boulevard across the street from the Bayside property,[23] and at a Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association meeting in September 2019 with Boston City Councillor Frank Baker in attendance, announced a series of public meetings to formulate plans to redevelop the Bayside property beginning the following month.[22] After filing a 3-page letter of intent with the Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) in March 2020,[24] Accordia Partners filed a 187-page project notification form with the BPDA the following September for a mixed-use development titled "Dorchester Bay City" on 34 acres of land that will total 5.9 million square feet of gross floor area laid out over 17 city blocks, and will feature commercial and public space as well as 1,740 residential housing units.[25]

In October 2020, a 25-person community advisory committee held the first of six meetings scheduled through the following December to review the Bay City development proposal,[26] and in the same month, the Walsh administration released a 174-page climate change adaptation report for the Boston Harbor coastline in Dorchester with a section on Columbia Point and Morrissey Boulevard.[27][28] In March 2021, the Baker and Walsh administrations announced a joint $1 million infrastructure study to improve the Morrissey Boulevard corridor in general and to identify improvements related to the Bay City development in particular (which Accordia Partners has indicated that it plans to make a $26.7 million commitment to with $17.7 million reserved for constructing a new layout of Mount Vernon Street).[29][30] In July 2021, Accordia Partners made a $10 million commitment in matching funds to the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance to assist nearby first-generation homebuyers in making down payments.[31] In December 2021, Accordia Partners filed a draft project impact report that included an agreement with the Boston Teachers Union for 2 acres of land adjacent to the Bayside property where their current headquarters is located that will be included in the Bay City development.[32]

In February 2022, UMass Boston faculty members met with members of the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association at its monthly meeting to discuss mutual concerns about the Bay City development related to its potential traffic increase, its environmental impact, its planning process, and the amount of affordable housing units in the development (despite the ratio of affordable housing units in the official proposal exceeding city government requirements), and mutually agreed to express their concerns explicitly to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and the Boston City Council.[33] In the same month, the BPDA extended a public comment window for the project for another month, Accordia Partners executives stated at a public meeting that the 36-acre development will be LEED Gold, will include about 15 acres of green space and plazas with over 4,000 bicycle storage spaces (after stating at a public meeting the previous month that the development would only include 2,865 parking spaces of 3,600 allowed),[30] will plant 1,000 trees, will dedicate 20 percent of non-research and development roof space to solar power production, and will dedicate 75 percent of its coastal boardwalk development (planned for 4.2 feet of sea level rise) to pedestrian and bike usage only, while community activists at the meeting called for the ratio of affordable housing units in the development to be increased in line with a proposal by the Wu administration to increase affordable housing requirements in city residential projects to 20 percent.[34]

On the 100-days mark of her tenure in office, Mayor Wu cited the Bay City development proposal as highlighting interconnectedness of concerns about climate change, housing affordability, and the design of public spaces.[35] In March 2022, former interim UMass Boston Chancellor Katherine Newman co-wrote an op-ed in support of the Bay City development as an effort to increase representation of racial minorities in the Greater Boston biotechnology industry by creating a science park in proximity to UMass Boston (a research university with a majority-minority enrollment), noting that comparable development around the Georgia Tech main campus in Midtown Atlanta led to a $1 billion increase in sponsored research.[36][37] In April 2022, a UMass Boston faculty member, academic department coordinator, and graduate student co-wrote an op-ed proposing a 6-month extension to the BPDA's Article 80 review process and the creation of a community benefits agreement for the Bay City development, reiterating previous concerns about the amount of affordable housing in the development, the development potentially increasing housing rents in Columbia Point, and furthering gentrification in the neighborhood.[38]