November 12, 2018 — Any hopes of importing a South Boston ‘Lawn On D’ style park on Pier 5 in the Navy Yard have been dashed this week after Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) officials told neighbors that the pier is not salvageable and, also, very expensive to demolish. The BPDA and the community now sit at quite a conundrum as Pier 5’s underwater supports are extremely deteriorated, it cannot be used for any purposes (not even walking), and it is likely too expensive to demolish. “The bad news tonight is we have done extensive investigations since last year with marine divers on Pier 5,” said BPDA’s Devin Quirk. “They looked at the pilings and the steel and the pier was condemned. The situation was worse than we thought. There’s nothing we can do to salvage it.” BPDA Director Brian Golden said that the cost to demolish the pier would be $5 million, and a plan to make it a passive walking park would cost $16 million. The BPDA’s Rich McGuinness said 10 years ago, a study to get the pier ready for development revealed it would cost $19 million. He said that cost is likely now well into the $25 million range. Golden said the Pier is in danger of falling in if something isn’t done – and that could come in one month or in five years. One of the major issues is that the piers were built during war-time, meaning that the steel used in them was rationed. Instead of being solid with clear welds, they are more hollow, causing serious deterioration.

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Click here to read article from Charlestown Patriot-Bridge by Seth Daniel on Page 15.