Boston breaks ground on North Meadow, adding parkland to the Rose Kennedy Greenway

BOSTON — July 22, 2026 — Boston breaks ground on the North Meadow, adding green space to the Rose Kennedy Greenway. Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy Executive Director Chris Cook hosted the July 22 ceremony converting a roughly 5,000-square-foot downtown parcel — once slated for private development — into public parkland. Mayor Kim Janey, MassDOT Secretary and CEO Jamie Tesler, State Representative Aaron Michlewitz, State Senator Joe Boncore, and City Councilor Lydia Edwards attended the shovel-turn event. The parcel, owned by MassDOT and formerly known as Parcel 2, was funded in part through mitigation contributions from nearby development projects including Hub on Causeway and One Congress, with design by landscape architecture firm Ask Plus and construction by contractor Nelm. Conservancy Board Chair Doug Housen, a 40-year participant in the Central Artery process, cautioned that "these partnerships are fragile" even as he celebrated the milestone.