The Charlesgate Alliance launched on January 24th, 2017, to bring positive change to the Charlesgate neighborhood. We look forward to working with you!
Mission
We are dedicated to improving Charlesgate and to knitting together the Charlesgate district. We promise to become an effective new force to defend and serve our diverse and dynamic neighborhood.
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy received the $250,000 from the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which the Massachusetts Legislature approved earlier this year for design and engineering improvements to the Charlesgate Park! Special thanks to State Senator Will Brownsberger and Representatives Jay Livingstone and Byron Rushing. For more information about this and other Charlesgate Alliance news, please see this update from our last Leadership Meeting.
Short-Term Goals
- Develop the notion of Charlesgate as a neighborhood – join us and donate!
- Improve the Charlesgate park areas. 21 trees adjacent to Charlesgate have been planted this Spring!
- Consider enhancements that can be made for the Charlesgate area. We hold Leadership Meetings, which are open to anybody who would like to take an active role in shaping the future of the Alliance.
Medium-Term Goals
- Create safe, pedestrian friendly, public areas – Share your ideas
- Improve Muddy River water quality
- Help public agencies like the DCR and MassDOT maintain and improve the area
Long-Term Goals
- Charlesgate revitalization
- A fully integrated Charlesgate neighborhood
- A solid, enduring Charlesgate Alliance organization
Landing Studio Designs
You can see slideshows from our past meetings with Landing Studio or view them as downloadable PDFs.
Achievements
- 15 lightweight chairs were donated to the Charlesgate Alliance and the Emerald Necklace Conservancy by the Solomon Foundation for the Summer of 2018.
- We received a grant for $15,000 through the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) from the Fenway Park Demonstration Project Community Benefits fund to prune trees in the Charlesgate this year.
- The SPS staging area of work trailers off of Charlesgate East north of Beacon Street has been vacated and replanted with grass.
- In conjunction with advocacy from the Neighborhood Association of the Back Bay, the Garden Club of the Back Bay, we succesfully worked with Chris Cook at the Boston Parks and Recreation Department to get 21 trees planted on Marlborough Street between Mass. Ave. and Charlesgate East.
- In conjunction with the Emerald Necklace Conservancy and the Charles River Watershed Association, we had Charlesgate area cleanup days on Earth Day 2017 and on April 28, 2018.
- We received our first grant from the Solomon Foundation, matched by funds from our own constituency, in the Summer of 2017. This allowed us to hire the Landing Studio architectural firm in September 2017 to lead the Charlesgate Improvement Outreach Process and Concept Design, which concluded in June 2018.
- We had a Walk Around DCR Charlesgate Park event on September 16th, 2017, and Talk About events on October 10th, December 4th, and April 9th. The final Walk Around and Talk event for the community process happened in the park on June 9th.
- Our first Wine & Cheese Tasting with Silent Auction happened on January 28th, 2018.
- The April 28th Charlesgate in Bloom and October 11th There Is Something Brewing in Charlesgate fundraiser cocktail parties were other community events.
- The Emerald Necklace Conservancy received $250,000 in funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in association with the Charlesgate Alliance in early December 2018. This will allow us to continue working with Landing Studio and the Department of Conservation and Recreation on the next step of the process, including design and engineering aspects.
Please contact us at charlesgatealliance@gmail.com if you have any questions!