Boston PIC Approves Vicinity Energy Steam Line Route Through Fenway Over National Grid Objections

BOSTON -- December 7, 2023, Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved a contested grant of location for a Vicinity Energy steam distribution main along Brookline Avenue in the Fenway neighborhood despite unresolved coordination disputes with National Grid. The commission voted unanimously to allow Vicinity Energy Boston Inc. to install an 18-inch steam main running approximately 700 feet along Brookline Avenue, terminating at 109 Brookline Ave., with a target in-service date of Q2 2024. National Grid representatives Melissa Owens and Mike Tupper raised concerns about proximity to plastic gas mains and a manhole relocation conflict that had emerged only days before the hearing, but Commission Chair Amy Gordon ruled those matters outside the PIC's scope. "Here at the PIC, we are only talking about location, not the what's in it, what's around it, and how these play together," Gordon said. The commission also advanced but continued to December 21 a sweeping set of petitions from Channelside Acquisitions LLC for the 244-284 A Street South Boston development, which includes a 25.5-foot widening of A Street, a new public Necco Street extension, and a roughly three-acre park, pending community outreach and coordination with abutter Alexandria Real Estate Equities.