LITTLE MYSTIC CHANNEL PARK

In partnership with the Charlestown community, the City of Boston and Massport, we are creating a vision for how a high-quality park along the Little Mystic Channel can provide better opportunities for recreation, access to nature, social gatherings and climate resiliency. This waterbody is a long-forgotten corner of Boston’s waterfront, characterized by years of deferred maintenance and a lack of open space amenities. This is area is also susceptible to coastal and inland flooding in the near-term and the entire neighborhood threatened by increasing surface temperatures in the summer.

Steering Committee

The Little Mystic Channel Steering Committee (the “LMCSC”) is a coalition of Charlestown community leaders that will work together to shape the goals, outreach strategy and design for Little Mystic Channel Park. Through participation in the LMCSC, members will be encouraged to engage their community, further MyRWA’s commitment to equity and inclusion, and help to amplify voices of individuals that have previously gone unheard.

Meet our current LMCSC members!

Intiya Ambrogi-Isaza

John Benson

Victor Castro

Marius Gallitano

Sean Boyle

Shamilia Lloyd

Kelliegh Moses

Lana Tager

Yee Wong

Progress

2024: The first construction on the Little Mystic Channel broke ground for improvements to the CharlesNewtown Plaza in September, 2024 and is expected to continue until spring of 2025.

2023: Designs for the boat ramp parcel, CharlesNewtown Plaza, and Harborwalk Extension Path continue to be advanced (click links for most recent designs) with guidance from our Little Mystic Channel Steering Committee.

2022: Construction neared completion for the Barry Field Connector walkway. Designs were also advanced for the boat ramp parcel, CharlesNewtown Plaza, and Harborwalk extension path. For the boat ramp parcel, you can view summary of feedback and check back soon for event announcements and design updates for open space improvements.

2021: Our work with the LMCSC began in July of 2021. After a few months of onboarding, we held a virtual public meeting December 9, 2021, where we shared initial design concepts as informed by our outreach and discussions with the community. Watch the meeting recording here and view the presentation below.

Public Meeting Presentation (2021)

2018-2020: A robust engagement process with hundreds of residents resulted in the creation of a shared-vision for new and enhanced open spaces and active transportation routes connecting people to the Lower Mystic River. Learn about the outreach, design ideas and opportunities from this first phase of work in the links below or watch this short video.

Lower Mystic Overview (2019)

Open House Posters (2019)

Community Feedback (2018)

Survey Results (2020)

Resources

To learn more about MyRWA’s work in the Charlestown neighborhood, read this blog post - What is MyRWA Working on in Charlestown? (Summer 2025)

City of Boston projects relevant to this effort include Climate Ready Boston and Rutherford Avenue/Sullivan Square Design Project. Funding is provided in part by the Barr Foundation and the Lawrence and Lillian Solomon Foundation.

Share Your Thoughts

To share comments, please contact: Karl Alexander, Greenways Program Manager, karl.alexander@mysticriver.org, 781-316-3438.