Boston PIC Advances Nine Projects, Sets August 14 Public Hearings

BOSTON -- July 31, 2025, Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved an Eversource utility pole petition and sent seven development and infrastructure petitions to public hearings set for August 14. Chair Yasha Franklin-Hodge led the July 31 session, which included a unanimous vote to allow Eversource Energy to install one new pole with a guy wire at 85 Harvard Street in Dorchester after concerns about nearby accessibility conditions were resolved. The most notable new item was a petition from the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services to rename Turquoise Way in Mission Hill to Pauline Bennett Way, presented by Mac Bonner and supported by the late resident's grandson Joseph Bennett, who told commissioners "naming the street would be the best honor that I could ever honor my grandmother with." Two National Grid gas regulator station replacements serving roughly 22,000 South Boston customers were introduced and are expected to proceed to construction after the heating season if approved August 14. Additional petitions advancing to public hearing include a 109-unit affordable housing project at 400 Melnea Cass Boulevard, a mixed-use development at 295 West 1st Street in South Boston, a digital sign license at the Box Center theater on Stewart Street, a hotel project at Boston Landing's 178-180 Guest Street in Brighton, and two Roxbury housing and commercial developments.