Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-06-24)

June 24, 2019

39

year,upfromtwoorthreetimesin1960,according

to William Sweet, an oceanographer with the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

(NOAA) in Silver Spring, Md. Record high-tide

floodwaters during a storm last year trapped

motorists, closed a nearby subway station, and

proved that Seaport dumpsters can float.

“There is a lot of hubris,” says Spencer

Glendon, an economist and senior fellow at

Massachusetts’ Woods Hole Research Center,

which studies climate change. “There is nothing

more exciting for a city government than seeing

lots of tall buildings going up and going to lots of

ribbon-cuttings. Everyone knows South Boston

keeps flooding, and they keep building.”

Corporate executives and city officials are

now scrambling to protect the Seaport. It won’t

be easy: The area is a man-made peninsula that

was born almost two centuries ago when work-

ers started filling in tidal flats with rocks, dirt,

and trash. “We’re proposing infrastructure that

we believe will protect the city,” says Richard

McGuinness, a senior planning official working

on Boston’s response to climate change.

Developersareelevatinggroundfloors,putting

electricalandothercriticalequipmentonhigher

ones,andinvestinginsalt-water-resistantmateri-

alsandfloodbarriers.Bostonis planninga series

ofseawalls,berms,andotherstructuresthatwill

actlikea barricadeagainstMotherNature.The

citythismonthopenedanelevatedplayground

nearBoston’sChildren’sMuseumthatwilldou-

bleasthefirstsuchwaterbarrier.It stillneedsto

raiseasmuchas$1billionforSeaportdefenses.

Othercitiesaretakingsimilarsteps.NewYork

Cityhasraised$20billion in public money for,

among other things, sewer improvements and a

Staten Island sea wall, and Mayor Bill de Blasio

has said he needs at least $10 billion more for proj-

ects to protect Lower Manhattan, including

● Projected sea

level rise in Boston’s

Seaport District*

2020 2100

4ft

2

0

2019

$68m

2018
$111m

2016

$286m

2018

$120m

2013

$388m

2010

$298m

◀ Some major Seaport

District developments,

according to BLDUP.com

(left to right)

100 Pier 4 Blvd.

Luxury condo with

369 units

200 Pier 4 Blvd.

13-story office building;

headquarters of

consultant BCG

100 Northern Ave.

17-story office tower; law

firm Goodwin Procter is

the anchor tenant

130-140 Northern Ave.

Will house 106 upscale

condos and some

ground-floor retail

One Marina Park Dr.

Multi-use office

building; one of the first

developments on the

21-acre Fan Pier

waterfront site

50 Liberty St.

nit condo on Fan

also houses Davio’s,

00-square-foot

restaurant

Pier Blvd.

ry office tower;

quarters of Vertex

aceuticals