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T stops likely to see a lot more riders soon

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Major new developments near these stations are expected to drive the bounces—is the system ready?

The Boston area’s T is already straining under its current ridership. But the main veins of the region’s mass transit system will see more riders in the coming years, including via new development around particular stations. Like these.


Malden Center and Wellington on the Orange Line

Boston’s Orange Line zipping through a station. Shutterstock

These stops are near the future Encore Boston Harbor, the 3 million-square-foot casino-resort that is expected to open in the summer of 2019 in Everett.

The Malden Center and Wellington Orange Line stops are seen as so integral to the casino-resort’s success that the developer behind it plans to run a free public shuttle from the stops 24 hours a day—“as parking at the resort will be limited,” according to a March 2019 announcement about the shuttles.

Kendall Square on the Red Line

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The Cambridge enclave is already one of the busier in the Boston region in terms of new development. M.I.T. is driving much of that development, much of which is expected to come online in the next few years. Then, another wave of development after that could bring Cambridge’s tallest building.

Beachmont on the Blue Line

Wikipedia

Greater ridership here would be completely due to a redevelopment of the 161-acre Suffolk Downs. The HYM Investment Group wants to turn the former race track into “a highly-resilient, transit-oriented, mixed-use development with commercial office, retail, housing, and open space.”

The Beachmont stop in Revere falls near the project’s 1.4 million-square-foot first phase, which HYM has said it hopes to start in 2019. The Suffolk Downs and Revere Beach stations—on either side of Beachmont—could also see some spillover.

Bowdoin on the Blue Line and Haymarket on the Green and Orange lines

Wikipedia

These two stops—and likely Government Center on the Blue and Green—will see fresh ridership from the under-development Bulfinch Crossing, a multi-building complex that includes hundreds of new apartments and condos as well as Boston’s tallest new office tower since 1984.

Back Bay on the Orange Line

A group of tall buildings with a pedestrian plaza in the foreground. Rendering via Pelli Clarke Pelli/Boston Properties

A multi-building, 1.26 million-square-foot development here includes a refurbishment of Back Bay Station. The project is also due to include hundreds of residential units and a new office tower with retail.

North Station on the Green and Orange lines

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There is a lot going up around North Station. The biggest addition is the Hub on Causeway, a multi-building project with hundreds of residential units, a hotel, a concert venue, and office space going up over and around the station.

Then there’s the redevelopment of the nearby Garden Garage into a 44-story residential tower. (And, speaking of residential towers, the 503-unit Avalon North Station opened in December 2016.) And! There’s the work on TD Garden above North Station that’s sure to bring in more concert-goers and sports fans.