Environmental Justice for Franklin Park

What to know about the proposed redevelopment of the Shattuck Hospital site: the current proposal is not the right approach.

Franklin Park is not the right place for these services. The site lacks neighborhood amenities and public transportation, and in the months since temporary housing cottages have been established at the former hospital site, 311 reports of hazards such as hypodermic needles have increased drastically in the surrounding areas of Franklin Park.
The process has shut out community voices. The state and city had already determined their plan before any community process, and did not include leaders from Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan and Jamaica Plain. Only recently have community leaders been informed of the full proposal. In order to move forward, the Commonwealth granted themselves 30 waivers to circumvent public processes.
This proposal is not an immediate solution. The state’s proposed redevelopment of Shattuck Hospital will not address these urgent, statewide needs for 5 years or more.
The proposed project is far from completion. It requires years of permits and approvals that it does not have yet—so there is still time for the community to shape and change it.
We have an opportunity to right past wrongs committed against the communities around Franklin Park. The park is one of the most important greenspaces to Boston’s Environmental Justice communities, and the demolition of Shattuck Hospital presents a once-in-a-generation chance to correct a 20th-century injustice.

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For decades, Franklin Park has been a key resource for neighboring Black and Brown communities, providing a gathering space for events and a welcome respite from city life—precisely what Frederick Law Olmsted intended when he designed it. Over time, the addition of other uses—including the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital, Franklin Park Zoo, William J. Devine Golf Course and Boston Parks Maintenance Yard—have eaten away at the parkland. Today, 40% of the park’s 526 acres is inaccessible for free public use.

Shattuck Hospital was built on “Heathfield,” originally designed as a large meadow with shade trees, after the City transferred 13 acres of parkland to the Commonwealth for building the hospital in 1949. The 70-year-old building has reached the end of its useful life, and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) intends to demolish it and relocate most of its services to the Boston Medical Center in the South End.

On June 21, 2023, The Commonwealth provisionally designated the Boston Medical Center Team as the redevelopment partner for the Shattuck Hospital site at Morton Street. The provisional designation allows BMC to begin due diligence efforts to advance the project. BMC’s development proposal is not a final plan for implementation, and it is currently subject to explorations of feasibility and ongoing public engagement. The BMC team’s initial proposal includes two facilities with 326 treatment beds, 200 units of permanent supportive housing, 205 units of family supportive housing, 120 emergency housing beds and seven-plus acres of green and open space.

Shattuck Hospital in Franklin Park, scheduled for demolition.

Vicinity of Heathfield, early 1900s (City of Boston Archives).

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This is a once-in-a-generation chance to restore much-needed parkland for Boston’s Black and Brown communities, as highlighted in the Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore report, underscoring Boston’s significant lack of green space in these communities compared with whiter, more affluent neighborhoods.

This proposal to build more than 400 units of supportive housing and make way for more than 300 other beds and services in Franklin Park, the crown jewel of Boston’s Emerald Necklace, recklessly builds on a foundation of a past wrong. It continues the tradition of the 1950s when too often communities were not asked but rather were told about the “plan” for their future. While we desperately need more housing and support for those struggling with addiction and homelessness, these are regional, statewide issues and they should not be dropped at the door of one Boston community. Together, Governor Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu have a unique opportunity to find other creative solutions that will not cripple the quality of life of those who for so long have been the victims of poor planning and even poorer implementation.

Please contact DCAMM, HHS, your local City Councilor, State Representatives and State Senators. Contact Information and talking points can be found below.

Contact Information

City and State Elected Officials

· Your local State Representative and
Senator can be found here: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

· Your local City Councilor can be found here: https://www.boston.gov/departments/city-council/who-my-boston-city-councilor

DCAMM Contact Information:

· DCAMM Project Manager, Loryn Sheffner: loryn.sheffner@mass.gov

· DCAMM Commissioner, Carol Gadstone: carol.gladstone@mass.gov

MA Governor’s Office:

· Contact the Governor’s Office here: https://www.mass.gov/forms/email-the-governors-office

Environmental Justice for Franklin Park

What to know about the proposed redevelopment of the Shattuck Hospital site: the current proposal is not the right approach.

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