Though gas prices may no longer dominate the headlines, more and more Massachusetts residents are thinking about how to structure their lives to reduce their dependence on automobiles. As such, many are trading homes in suburbs for urban villages near public transit. The Launch at Hingham Shipyard and The Moorings at Hingham Shipyard build on a transit oriented location to create a development that serves a variety of needs and supports this new approach to live, work and play.
The cornerstone of the Hingham Shipyard is it's location - from the beauty and history of the waterside perch on which the project sits to the convenience of commuter boat and nearby commuter rail. But despite the old real estate adage about location being the most important selling point, it is the diversity of uses at The Launch that makes this project a vibrant new addition to the South Shore.
Samuels & Associates, a development team with experience reinvigorating Boston's Fenway neighborhood to reinvigorate an underutilized Boylston St., applies a number of important urban design principles to The Launch and The Moorings. We worked closely with several architecture, engineering and master planning firms, including Elkus Manfredi, Pullman Architects, Dimella Shaeffer, and BSC Group, to ensure that the various project elements came together successfully.
Mix of lifestyle oriented retail and commercial space: Though The Launch boasts a number of well known national retail brands, including Bed Bath & Beyond and Old Navy, the team didn't want the project to be just a suburban shopping center. Instead, they created a destination, with a mix of retail and commercial uses that serves commuters, visitors and nearby residents. For example, a person heading to the commuter boat in the a.m. could drop off their child at the proposed day care center and pick up lunch from one of the casual restaurants. When returning home at the end of the day, our commuter can squeeze in a workout at the Bodyscapes fitness center, gather ingredients for a healthy dinner at Fresh Market and buy a birthday present for a friend at one of the smaller boutique shops.
On the weekend, local South Shore residents might stop by to do some shopping, stroll the waterfront, take in a movie at Patriot Cinemas and conclude the evening with dinner at either Alma Nove or Esti's, two of the fine dining restaurants.
Scale: A walkable scale is critical to creating the type of environment where individuals want to spend an afternoon or evening moving from one activity to the next. At The Launch, the development team, in collaboration with the architecture firm Elkus Manfredi, developed a carefully spaced mix of large retailers, smaller boutiques, restaurants and service providers. The parking is clustered at the center of the project, ensuring that visitors feel as though they are in a community and don't need to cross vast asphalt fields to get from one use to the next. And the streets mirror those of a traditional downtown center, small and easy to cross.
24-hour vibrancy: By including both residential and office space in the project, along with uses that generate activity later in the evening (cinema, restaurants), The Launch will have a lively feel at all times, not just during the morning and evening commutes. Unlike traditional downtowns, which may be quiet when office workers go home, or shopping centers, which go dark once the stores close, The Launch and The Moorings will always be an exciting place to live or work. The design for the residential Moorings, created by Dimella Shaeffer, was developed to ensure a lively architectural interplay between commercial and residential space.
Building on the natural benefits of the location: The Launch and The Moorings benefit from both their waterside locations and the strong history as a working shipyard. The development team leveraged the history by working with Roll Baressi Associates to create a walking museum with wayside panels and exhibits on the shipbuilding history of the site throughout the project. And the project is oriented toward the water, with great views from several of the restaurants, walking paths and a spot for entertainment when the weather allows.
By mixing these many elements into one integrated project, The Launch and The Moorings both leverage the benefits of nearby transit and makes it easier for residents, commuters and visitors to accomplish their shopping, chores, entertainment and work in one trip. More than a transit hub, The Launch and The Moorings creates a lifestyle hub any South Shore resident would be excited to visit.