Seaport Square public library? Legislator proposes $10M in funding

A pair of state legislators representing parts of South Boston is proposing that a branch of the Boston Public Library be a part of Seaport Square, the development slated to fill in the final 12.5 acres of the Seaport District.

That project won Boston Planning & Development Agency approval on November 16. It is due to include 3.2 million square feet of residential space, 2.8 million square feet of office space, a 476,800-square-foot hotel, and 1.12 million square feet of retail, restaurant, and entertainment space.

Seaport Square is also due to include two 5,000-square-foot spaces for “civic, education, and cultural” uses, per Tim Logan and Jon Chesto at the Globe.

It is that square-footage that could host a branch of the Boston Public Library, according to state Rep. Nick Collins and state Sen. Linda Dorcena Forry.

Collins recently proposed setting aside $10 million in funding in a state bond bill for “creation and construction of a Boston Public Library branch on the South Boston Waterfront.”

And that’s pretty much where things stand re: a library as part of Seaport Square: A proposal and the possible funding to maybe see it through to fruition.

Developer WS Development said it’s open to the possibility—among other possibilities—and the Boston Public Library system is not openly opposed to it, though it’s not actually actively in favor of it, either. (The BPL has its hands full already.)

Stay tuned. This is definitely another thing to watch for in 2018.

• The Seaport just might get a library after all [Globe]
• Seaport Square developer adds three theaters to plans to sweeten appeal [Curbed Boston]
• Dudley library branch’s $14.7M renovation will let in the light [Curbed Boston]
• 7 trends and milestones set to rock Boston-area real estate in 2018 [Curbed Boston]