A new public library could be coming to the neighborhood

The Boston Business Journal reports that the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) is exploring ways to repurpose District Hall in the Seaport, including use as a library and housing.

A little history of District Hall

Way back in 2013, as part of a 10-year public/private partnership agreement, District Hall opened its door.  This is back when Seaport was hardly the bustling section of the neighborhood that it now is. (Have you seen the lines at the Holiday Market?).

This partnership was a way for Morgan Stanley, who initially owned the property and the BPDA as a payment in lieu of taxes pilot program, which you can read about here. 

Then, in 2015, WS Development purchased District Hall as part of the Seaport Square project and honored the public-private partnership.  Back in June, the decade-long pilot agreement ended.

A library and housing

So now that little area of the Seaport where District Hall sits is being considered for a library with potential housing on top of it.

According to the BBJ, the BPDA began a “South Boston Waterfront Library Needs Assessment,” showing how “District Hall, in the heart of Seaport Square, is an ideal central location for a new cultural asset. The study concludes that District Hall’s 8,000 square feet of flexible spaces, like a kitchen, meeting rooms, and auditorium, “can be repurposed for library needs.”

This is not the only area where a library is being proposed in the neighborhood—the somewhat controversial proposal for the six acres near the convention center in South Boston.  The bid led by Boston Global Investors includes 1.1 million square feet of development, with a lab building, hotel, grocery store, a life sciences building on E Street AND a library on D Street.

So we shall see!