Mattapan station explained

Mattapan
Style:MBTA
Style2:Red
Coordinates:42.2675°N -71.0931°W
Other: MBTA bus:
Platform:1 side platform (deboarding)
1 island platform (boarding)
Tracks:1 track on balloon loop; splits to 2 tracks for inbound boarding platform
Parking:100 spaces ($4.00 daily)
Bicycle:8 spaces
Passengers:1,310 daily boardings
Pass Year:2023
Opened:December 1, 1847
Rebuilt:August 24–December 21, 1929
June 24, 2006–December 22, 2007
Accessible:Yes
Other Services Header:Former services
Other Services Collapsible:yes
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Marker:rail-light
Mapframe-Zoom:13
Map State:collapsed

Mattapan station is an MBTA light rail station in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the southern terminus of the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, part of the Red Line, and is also an important MBTA bus transfer station, with routes terminating there. It is located at Mattapan Square in the Mattapan neighborhood. At the station, streetcars use a balloon loop to reverse direction back to Ashmont station. Mattapan station is fully accessible, with mini-high platforms.

History

Railroad station

The Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad opened from Neponset to the Upper Mills section of Dorchester (later called Mattapan) on December 1, 1847. It became part of the Old Colony Railroad system the next year. A wooden station building was located on the east side of Brush Hill Turnpike (now Blue Hill Avenue) at Mattapan Square along with an engine house and turntable.[1] [2] The station was initially called Dorchester.[3] [4] [5] It was renamed Milton Upper Mills around 1852, then Mattapan by 1858.[6] [7] [8] [9] A freight house for the Tileston and Hollingsworth Company was added south of the station later in the century.[10]

The widening of Blue Hill Avenue in 1901 necessitated construction of a new station set further back from the road.[11] [12] An old passenger car began serving as a temporary station in August 1901.[13] The new stone building measured with a NaNfeet waiting room. A sheltered island platform served passenger trains.[14] [15] The new station opened on July 4, 1902.

Streetcar station

Passenger service on the Milton Branch ended on August 24, 1929, for conversion of the line to rapid transit. The first segment of the Mattapan Line, a "high-speed" streetcar line, opened between and two days later. The second segment, between Milton and Mattapan, opened on December 21, 1929.[16] A streetcar transfer station and yard replaced the old rail yard. The station building was kept and converted for use by businesses.

On May 5, 2006, the MBTA awarded a $6.2 million contract to replace the 1929-built station.[17] The MBTA closed the line on June 24 to allow a new viaduct to be constructed at Ashmont station. During the closure, all stations on the line were modernized and (except for Valley Road) made accessible. The 1929-built shelter and platforms were replaced by modern platforms with canopies; a new building for MBTA police and bus operations with a community room was built.[18] Streetcar service resumed on December 22, 2007.

In 2014, the MBTA made $500,000 in additional renovations to the station. These included upgraded shelters and heating in passenger waiting areas, pedestrian improvements, improved signage, and bicycle storage.[19]

The MBTA plans to convert the line to modern light rail equipment. All stations would have raised platforms for level boarding on the new vehicles; the existing Mattapan platforms would be replaced by a single island platform. An expanded maintenance facility for the line would be built next to the south busway.[20]

Transit-oriented development

As part of the first round of modernization, the MBTA began planning for mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) to be built on the underused station parking lot.[21] The planned development was not built, even after a second request for proposals was issued in 2012. In July 2014, a local charter school announced plans to build a new building on the site, despite calls for a third RFP to be issued to attract TOD instead.[22] In January 2015, after opposition from local officials about the school's $1.5 million offer, the MBTA announced it would instead issue a third RFP that March.[23] The third RFP was issued in November 2015.[24]

In July 2016, the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board selected the winner from two proposals for the property.[25] The winning bidder, POAH/Nuestra, will pay the MBTA $4.89 million over the first 20 years of a 99-year lease of the site, upon which they built 135 rental units and of ground-floor retail. 50 parking spaces were reserved for MBTA riders.[26] The project was approved by the city in 2018.[27] Financing was secured in November 2020, with construction starting shortly after for a planned 2022 completion.[28] The $57 million development, called "The Loop at Mattapan Station", opened in April 2023.[29]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Atlas of the county of Suffolk, Massachusetts : vol. 3rd including Boston and Dorchester : from actual surveys and official records . 1874 . G.M. Hopkins & Co. . 70–71 . Plate Q: S. W. Part of Ward 16, Dorchester . 1:7,200.
  2. Book: Roy, John H. Jr. . A Field Guide to Southern New England Railroad Depots and Freight Houses . Branch Line Press . 2007 . 9780942147087 . 190.
  3. Book: Cobb, Charles . American railway guide, and pocket companion, for the United States . September 1850 . Pathfinder Office . 91.
  4. News: Old Colony Railroad . Boston Evening Transcript . January 1, 1848 . 1 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: Boston Evening Transcript . May 15, 1848 . 3 . Newspapers.com.
  6. Book: ABC Pathfinder Railway Guide . 8 . June 1858 . New England Railway Publishing Company . Google Books.
  7. Book: Barrett, Richard C. . Boston's Terminals and Depots: A History of Downtown Boston's Railroad Stations . Railroad Research Publications . 1996 . 9781884650031 . 215.
  8. News: Old Colony Railroad Summer Arrangement . Boston Evening Transcript . April 5, 1852 . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: Old Colony & Newport Railway . Boston Evening Transcript . October 4, 1866 . 4 . Newspapers.com.
  10. Atlas of the city of Boston : Dorchester, Mass. . 5 . Bromley . George Washington . Bromley . Walter Scott . 1894 . Plate 38 . yes . Part of Ward 24, City of Boston . 1:2,400.
  11. News: Mattapan's Bijou Station Building . The Boston Globe . March 14, 1902 . 11 . Newspapers.com.
  12. News: Widening Blue Hill Avenue . Boston Evening Transcript . May 14, 1901 . 7 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: New Mattapan Station Opened . The Boston Globe . July 5, 1902 . 6 . Newspapers.com.
  14. Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts . 1908 . 9 . Sanborn Map Company . 113 . 1:1,200.
  15. Atlas of the city of Boston: Dorchester . 1910 . Bromley . George Washington . Bromley . Walter Scott . Plate 39 . yes . Part of Ward 24, City of Boston . 1:2,400.
  16. Book: Cheney, Frank . Boston's Red Line: Bridging the Charles from Alewife to Braintree . 2002 . Arcadia Publishing . 9780738510477 . 96, 97, 99.
  17. Mattapan Station To Get Upgrade . May 5, 2006 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  18. Web site: T projects: Mattapan Station . https://web.archive.org/web/20080402104136/http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/?id=994 . 2 April 2008 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . 24 July 2014.
  19. Web site: Mattapan Station Improvements . February 2014 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . https://web.archive.org/web/20160810232223/http://www.mbta.com/about_the_mbta/t_projects/default.asp?id=21160 . August 10, 2016 . dead.
  20. Web site: Mattapan Line Transformation Public Information Meeting . June 20, 2023 . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
  21. Web site: Mattapan Square Station TOD - Mattapan, Boston, MA . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . Commonwealth of Massachusetts . https://web.archive.org/web/20140724211240/http://www.env.state.ma.us/Neponset_River_Greenway_Corridor/Documents/Mattapan_Sq_TOD.pdf . July 24, 2014 . dead.
  22. News: Charter school wants to buy T lot in Mattapan Square and move there . Dorchester Reporter . July 10, 2014 . Dezenski, Lauren . July 24, 2014.
  23. News: MBTA backs off on Boston Prep school's $1.5m offer, puts Mattapan Square parking lot back on market . Dorchester Reporter . Dezenski . Lauren . January 8, 2015 . 9 January 2015.
  24. Web site: Invitation to Bid: Sale of Land . Boston Redevelopment Authority . Massachusetts Realty Group . November 18, 2015 . February 12, 2016.
  25. MBTA: Transit-Oriented Projects in Beverly & Mattapan . MassDOT Blog . July 26, 2016 . Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
  26. Web site: Mattapan Station Transit-Oriented Development . Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . 25 July 2016.
  27. News: Residents get closer look at updated Mattapan Station project . August 15, 2019 . Caleb . Nelson . Dorchester Reporter.
  28. Web site: The Loop at Mattapan Station: Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council Meeting . February 25, 2021 . POAH & Nuestra Comunidad.
  29. News: Mattapan Station housing development opens its doors . Tiana . Woodard . April 25, 2023 . The Boston Globe . https://web.archive.org/web/20230426053332/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/25/metro/mattapan-station-housing-development-opens-its-doors/ . April 26, 2023.