South Bay
Part of: Dorchester
Contains: Newmarket
Massachusetts > Greater Boston > City of Boston > Dorchester > South Bay

South Bay is the northernmost neighborhood in Dorchester, between Roxbury, the South End, and South Boston's Andrew Square.

Poised for redevelopment. The area is currently a stretch of older commercial and industrial buildings, anchored by big-box South Bay shopping center. It has long been a prime site for redevelopment – especially given its proximity to the South End, and rising prices in surrounding areas of Dorchester and South Boston – and its significant potential is only recently becoming realized. In addition, the neighborhood is between two subway stops – the Andrew Square station on the Red Line, and the Newmarket stop on the Commuter Rail.

The neighborhood is divided into two areas, divided the train tracks: South Bay, and Newmarket to the north.

The South Bay Town Center (101 Allstate Rd.) project will be the first phase of a larger project that will transform the neighborhood into something like Assembly Square in Somerville. The first phase of the project redevelops 10 acres around the South Bay Shopping Center into 113,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, a movie theater, hotel, and 475 apartments. It is expected to be finished mid-2018.

Significant truck traffic. Since the 1950s, the Newmarket area has been home to meatpacking and food processing operations forced by urban renewal out of Faneuil Hall and Haymarket Square. These food distribution businesses generate considerable commercial truck traffic, according to the and one could find many people seasonally camped in the shrubbery along Melnea Cass Boulevard.

Until now, the neighborhood has largely been a pass-through between Upham's Corner and the South End. It is anchored by the South Bay shopping center, and a strip of warehouses and active industrial buildings. However, the neighborhood is beginning to undergo a significant redevelopment effort which may transform it into a desirable space between the fancy South End and the emerging Upham's Corner.

Sub-sections

The neighborhood is loosely divided into two sections divided by the train tracks. To the north, closer to the South End, is Newmarket. The southern section of the neighborhood is South Bay.

Newmarket is the northern section of the neighborhood, an industrial area around the commuter rail stop with the same name. Since the urban renewal of the 1950s, the area has been home to meatpacking and food processing operations. The area has direct access to I-93, and as a result, is served by a steady stream of large commercial truck traffic distributing for the food companies, according to the here.

Transportation

The South Bay neighborhood within Dorchester is between two subway stops, the Andrew Square station on the Red Line, and the Newmarket stop on the Commuter Rail.

Boundaries

South Bay is the northernmost neighborhood in Dorchester, with Roxbury to the west, the South End to the north, and South Boston's Andrew Square to the east. To the south are the Dorchester sub-neighborhoods of Uphams Corner and the Polish Triangle.

The South Bay was a noted feature of the landscape bordering Dorchester, Roxbury and Boston. The Washington Village (Andrew) section of Dorchester was annexed to the city in 1855, following Dorchester Neck (the main part of South Boston), which was taken from Dorchester and annexed to Boston in 1805.

The map is not meant to be exact in detail, but it does provide an impression of the area. It shows the commercial activity in South Boston and some of the wharves on the South Bay. The stream that runs into the South Bay at the left appears to be Dorchester Brook, the dividing line between Dorchester and Roxbury. The church at the upper left is probably the Stoughton Street Baptist Church.
http://www.dorchesterhistoricalsociety.org/blog/?p=2835

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