Richard Heath
Sheila Dillon, housing chief for the city of Boston, gestures during a tour of Washington Street with Rose Center Fellows. March 2015.
As the city continues to promise a long-delayed planning study of the Washington Street corridor, an outside nonprofit is stepping in with a close look at the stretch. Fellows from the Rose Center for Public Leadership have been in the neighborhood this week and plan to share their findings in a public forum on Thursday.
This year's Daniel Rose Fellows began visiting Boston Monday. The city was chosen along with Pittsburgh, Seattle and Omaha as a focus of study, according to a press release from the Mayor's Office.
The group will make a public presentation of their findings on Thursday at 9:30 a.m. in the Boston Redevelopment Authority board room on the 9th floor of City Hall.
"We are honored to have been selected by the Rose Center for this opportunity," Mayor Marty Walsh said in a statement. "The concepts and ideas that this group of national experts can provide will be extremely valuable as we figure out how to maximize the potential of the Washington Street Corridor, so that it contributes positively to the growth of our city. I look forward to a robust public process to hear the thoughts of the community on the results of this study, as they know the needs of their neighborhood best."
The group will examine Washington Street from Forest Hills Station to Egleston Square.
Washington Street is seeing an influx of developments. In various stages of development there's:
- 3200 Washington St. — 76 housing units plus retail
- "Bartlett Square 2" — 15 apartments plus retail and office space
- 3371 Washington St./197 Green St. — 20 condos
- 3383-3389 Washington St. (Former Royal Fried Chicken parcel) — 21 apartments plus retail
- Flanagan & Seaton — 132 residential units, retail and a four-story storage facility
- The Commons at Forest Hills Station — 280 apartments