Project Profile: The Rose Kennedy Greenway, Freeway Cap Park, Boston, Massachusetts

Rose Kennedy Greenway, Freeway Cap Park

Boston, Massachusetts

Massachusetts Turnpike Authority [now the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)], the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the City of Boston, and the Greenway Conservancy

Asset Recycling, Joint Development/ Air Rights Development, & Special Assessment (Local Improvement Districts/Business Improvement District

Tunnel, Freeway Cap Park (the elevated highway was relocated in underground Boston)

The Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway is a contemporary public park in the heart of Boston. An organically maintained commuting corridor and an outdoor activity and play space, this greenway stretches for 1 1/4miles and contains 11 acres of protected parkland. While owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, which also owns and manages the “Tip” O’Neill Tunnel underneath, these parklands are managed and maintained by the Rose Fitzgerald Greenway Conservancy. The greenway attracts millions of visitors who want to gather, play, unwind, and explore in its landscaped gardens, promenades, plazas, fountains, art, and specialty lighting systems.

After nearly a decade of planning, construction began in 1991 on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project or “Big Dig.” The project aimed to remove the elevated highway and create a tunnel system below the city. It also allowed community leaders to reconnect some of the city’s oldest neighborhoods to the waterfront.

The 17-acre park now stretches between Chinatown through the Financial District, Waterfront, and North End neighborhoods. Within the park, visitors can enjoy various activities, art festivals, food truck competitions, concerts, and shopping at the park’s parcels:

• Auntie Kay & Uncle Frank Chin Park
• Dewey Square Park
• Fort Point Channel Parks
• Wharf District Parks
• Harbor Islands Pavilion
• Armenian Heritage Park
• North End Parks
• Carolyn Lynch Garden

In addition, visitors can enjoy a variety of free events, such as contemporary public art installations, outdoor fitness classes, a one-of-kind Greenway Carousel, organically cared for plants and landscapes, open-air beer and wine gardens, guided horticulture and public art tours, weekly farmers and artisans markets, signature fountains, and splash pads.

The Greenway Conservancy is a non-profit organization that was established in 2004 to guide park development and raise funds for an endowment and park operations. The park opened to the public in 2008, and the Conservancy operates it with a lease from MassDOT. Many parcels of the park have been developed, but some remain in the planning stages.

$40 million from Federal and States

Capex

• Private sources (60 percent of the funds - through donations, endowment income, and earned revenue)
• MassDOT (40 percent of the funds)

Operating Budget: The conservancy has an annual operating budget of $5 million

• $1.5 million annually to the park over the next few years, $5 million, Business Improvement District,
• $2.3 million from the state,
• $1 million from own-source revenues, and
• the rest from private donations and withdrawals from the organization’s endowment.

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The Greenway Conservancy & Business Improvement District (BID)

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Construction began on the park’s Central Artery/Tunnel Project in 1991. Since that time, the Greenway Conservancy has continued to develop the park’s parcels. The Business Improvement District went into effect in June 2017 and is to remain in effect until June 2023.

The Business Improvement District contributes $250,000 each quarter to the Greenway Services Contribution. It contributes $125,000 each quarter to the Greenway Enhancements Quarterly Contribution. This funding is used to make enhancements in accordance with the Greenway Parks Maintenance Standards and Practices.

MassDOT will pay a total of $5,250,000 in quarterly payments for horticultural and maintenance support of the Greenway. MassDOT will also provide $1,742,685 in operating support, including continued use and occupancy of office space, and continued payment of water and electricity bills. The Conservancy is to develop a five-year capital improvement plan for the Greenway.

• Reconnected the neighborhoods were demolished for the interstate that cut off Boston from its waterfront.
• Established a Business Improvement District (BID), a public-private partnership to provide financial support for the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway in Boston.
• The project was recognized as one of the largest, most complex, and technologically challenging in the history of the United States.
• The Greenway is Boston’s only organically maintained public park and one of only a handful of organically maintained parks in the United States. 250 Acres of parks and open spaces
• Access to the river by connecting downtown financial district and East Bay with River front
• There are over 400 free events held on the Greenway each year.
• A strong, community-oriented master plan for public art and cultural participation supports fundraising and implementation efforts
• Engaging every kind of community group paves the way for small
• successes to turn into bigger, more ambitious projects.

• The Greenway - History
• The Greenway - Funding and Services Agreement
• The Greenway - Subsidy Agreement
• Wikipedia - Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway
• City Parks Alliance - CITY PARKS A Smart Investment for America’s Health, Economy & Environment
• City of Boston - Analysis of Needs: Resource Protection

         info@rosekennedygreenway.org