Dorchester Bay City Project Status 2026

Featured image: The Commonwealth Museum and Massachusetts Archives building on Columbia Point in Dorchester, near the former Bayside Expo Center site where Dorchester Bay City is planned. Photo: Whoisjohngalt via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Dorchester Bay City, the 21-building redevelopment approved for Columbia Point in Dorchester, still has not broken ground three years after city approval. In October 2026 its developer said it is seeking a federal loan of about $400 million to start a first phase of more than 700 apartments. This update for Dorchester residents covers what was approved, what has changed in 2026, and what to watch next.

What the Dorchester Bay City master plan approved

The Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) board approved the Dorchester Bay City Planned Development Area (PDA) Master Plan on Sept. 14, 2023. The plan covers more than 36 acres on four parcels of the Columbia Point peninsula, much of it the former Bayside Expo Center site, which the University of Massachusetts owns.

According to the BPDA announcement, the plan allows:

21 buildings with office, research and development, residential, retail, restaurant, community and cultural uses
about 1,957 apartments in seven residential buildings, 20% of them income-restricted
more than 11 acres of public realm improvements and more than eight acres of new open space
a new street grid for walking, biking and driving, with indoor space for about 3,700 bicycles

The agency said construction would come in three phases, and that each building or group of buildings must go through its own public process and BPDA board vote. The master plan approval alone does not let construction start.

Flood protection and community benefits

The site sits on a known flood path. The BPDA said the buildings and new streets would be raised, two neighborhood flood pathways would be closed, and each building must meet the city’s Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District rules. The developer also agreed to give $5 million to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation in Phase 1 for a flood protection system in the Dorchester Shores Reservation, which addresses a third flood pathway.

The listed community benefits include $53.7 million in linkage payments for affordable housing, $9.9 million for job training, about $23 million for Moakley Park maintenance and repairs, $41.6 million in transportation improvements and mitigation, $10 million for the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance’s STASH homebuyer savings program, $1.2 million for public art and an $8.2 million community benefits fund. Most of these payments are tied to construction, so they depend on the project actually being built.

Why construction has not started

The Boston Globe reported on April 1, 2026, that lab demand had cooled and construction costs had risen after the 2023 approval. It said Accordia Partners, led by Richard Galvin and Kirk Sykes, had hired brokerage Newmark to sell a 13.6-acre parcel at 2 Morrissey Blvd., about one-third of the project’s land. The city approved eight buildings and 2.4 million square feet on that tract as part of the master plan.

A Boston Planning Department spokesperson told the Globe the master plan still applies to the full site regardless of owner. Any change to the plan would need city review and a public meeting. Accordia said it remains committed to the waterfront Bayside site, where 13 buildings and 3.7 million square feet are approved.

The project has also faced a legal challenge. The Dorchester Reporter reported in January 2025 that Harbor Point tenants and their landlord, Corcoran Jennison Companies, appealed a state Department of Environmental Protection permit for the project, calling the application “premature” and “flawed.”

The $400 million federal loan application

In an Oct. 6, 2026, report, Galvin told the Dorchester Reporter that the team applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau for roughly $400 million through the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) program. “We’ve gone and applied for a loan — approximately a $400 million loan — to support more than 700 units in two buildings,” he said.

The RRIF program lends to development near rail stations. Dorchester Bay City is across the street from JFK/UMass station, which serves the Red Line and Commuter Rail. Galvin told the Reporter the project is one of three nationally that has completed the letter-of-interest stage and could move into further underwriting. He also named Opportunity Zone investment, possible union pension fund money and some form of city property-tax relief as other parts of the financing. No loan has been announced as approved.

What Dorchester residents can watch for

A federal loan decision. The application still has to go through further underwriting at the Build America Bureau before any loan could be approved.
A 2 Morrissey Blvd. buyer. A new owner seeking a different mix of uses would have to go back to the city for changes.
Building-by-building filings. Each phase-one building needs its own BPDA review with public comment, posted on the agency’s project page.
The UMass lease. Christopher Dunn, executive director of the UMass Building Authority, told the Globe the 99-year ground lease was still open and not finalized. He said Accordia had paid $32 million in fees and deposits since 2019.

Other Dorchester projects are moving through approvals too. They include the 754-unit 75 Morrissey Boulevard project now facing a lawsuit and, across the line in South Boston, the Marian Manor redevelopment with 204 apartments.

More on Dorchester Bay City

The UMass Building Authority deal with Accordia is set to generate $192 million to $235 million, depending on what is ultimately permitted, the Globe reported. Ares Management, Accordia’s financing partner, bought 2 Morrissey Blvd. for $110 million in 2019, according to Suffolk County records cited by the Globe.
The Globe reported Accordia has committed $25 million to transportation improvements, including at nearby Kosciuszko Circle.
The BPDA estimated the full project could support about 13,000 to 17,000 permanent jobs, and it plans public bike racks for nearly 500 bicycles.
The plan’s street grid is meant to connect to Carson Beach, Moakley Park and the Dorchester Shores Reservation, following the 2011 Columbia Point Master Plan.

Sources

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Dorchester Bay City Update: $400 Million Federal Loan Sought to Start 700 Apartments on Columbia Point