Residents: Parking Top Priority in Navy Yard

Before any presentations were given or questions were solicited at the Wednesday night meeting on a new proposal for the Ropewalk Building, one Charlestown resident spoke up about parking.

She was asked to wait to speak, to allow the developer and members of the Boston Redevelopment Authority to give their presentations, but her message was loud and clear and echoed by nearly everyone in the room: Parking in the Navy Yard must be addressed.

The meeting, held at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s new community room and led by members of the Charlestown Neighborhood Council, was set up to give the Ropewalk development team a chance to explain their plans to the community and gather support when seeking tentative designation as the developer from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which owns and manages the building.

And the team—consisting of Joe Timilty of Timilty Development, Stephen Sousa of Sousa Design Architects and John French of Neshamkin French Architects—did present their plans Wednesday night, hearing some positive feedback and some concerns. But the real topic discussed was parking and the potential use of Building 108 as a garage.

CNC chairman Tom Cunha said the council had submitted a letter to the BRA almost eight weeks ago suggesting they “stand up and say” how they are going to address parking in the Navy Yard but had heard nothing in reply. The letter came a few weeks after the BRA voted to approve a separate development in the Navy Yard—Starboard Place on Parcel 39a—without any on-site parking.

“We need to do some kind of development,” Cunha said of the Ropewalk Building. But he also said the BRA had "as much responsibility as any developer" to come up with a parking solution for the Navy Yard.

“Building 108 is an eyesore and a half,” Cunha said. “Cap it, make it a shell and make it parking.”

The latest Ropewalk proposal also does not include any on-site parking plans; however, Timilty said the project likely could not get financing without some parking plan. He, too, suggested the city take a look at Building 108 as part of the effort to renovate and preserve the historic Ropewalk Building.

Timilty said the development team would be willing to help with a study of Building 108 for future parking use.

“Without Building 108, the Ropewalk doesn’t work,” he said.

Lois Siegelman, a Navy Yard resident and president of the Friends of the Charlestown Navy Yard, said she worried not only about parking but about the deterioration of Building 108.

“I’m concerned it might be spewing toxins into the air right now,” she said, referring to the open roof and possible hazardous materials inside the building.

Shipway Place resident Josh Young encouraged the BRA to invest in Building 108, suggesting that they “have some money leftover that they haven’t invested in the building over the last 10 years” that could be used to build the garage.

Heather Campisano, deputy director for development review for the BRA, attended the meeting Wednesday and asked CNC members what she should tell the board.

CNC member Mark Rosenshein said the board needed to bring up the Building 108 and Navy Yard parking issue at an upcoming meeting—before awarding tentative designation to any developer for the Ropewalk Building.

Campisano said she would deliver the message.