An outdoor ice skating path — the first of its kind in New England — and a holiday shopping market will be open at the Boston City Hall Plaza from after Thanksgiving until early 2017, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Wednesday.
The winter attractions aim to activate City Hall Plaza and create “a vibrant public space and welcoming for all,” according to a press release.
“This endeavor is the beginning of a joint venture that will help transform the plaza into a year-round destination, inviting the people of Boston to see the plaza come to life in new and exciting ways,” Walsh said in the release.
The Boston Garden Development Corporation, a subsidiary of TD Garden’s owning and operating company Delaware North, will be constructing the 11,000-square-foot ice path and the market, which will cater local and international vendors, the release stated.
BGDC is investing approximately $1 million into the City Hall Plaza installations, according to BGDC spokesperson Tricia McCorkle.
More temporary amenities will be constructed within three years, in accordance with the company’s contract with the City.
Charlie Jacobs, CEO of Delaware North’s Boston holdings, said in the release that with the City Hall Plaza changes, the company aspires to provide Boston “a welcoming, enticing communal space.”
“We are truly excited to move forward with this partnership with the City of Boston and get activations started on City Hall Plaza,” Jacobs said in the release. “Delaware North is committed to Boston, and our team is actively working to create an engaging winter experience for the plaza as well as unique activations for every season.”
BGDC will be fully liable for the costs of the enhancement, according to the contract between BGDC and the City of Boston, and it will also pay a portion of programming, advertising, sponsorships and restaurant revenues as taxes to the city government.
Ian Taberner, a professor at the Boston Architectural College, said he welcomes the construction of temporary amenities on the City Hall Plaza, as they will “activate the space,” especially throughout the holiday months, and support local businesses.
“Through the recreation of the skating ring and the activity of the marketplaces, it will enhance the understanding of this space and sort of bring people to the space,” Taberner said. “The more people that come to the space, we will then also discover more things that we can do with this space.”
Taberner said public areas always evolve to fit the needs of surrounding citizens, and City Hall Plaza will change to fit the needs of the citizens of Boston.
“As a designer, I welcome the opportunity to experiment, and I think we should try different things to see what works and what doesn’t work,” Taberner said. “Currently the plaza is not reaching its growth potential. We should anticipate there will be experimental changes to the public spaces that we use to find out what is best for us.”
Boston residents expressed support for the rejuvenation of the plaza; several, however, also called for the revitalization of the City Hall building.
Brahiem Tippett, 29, of Chinatown, said although construction of recreational facilities would help boost the city’s tourism potential, the City Hall’s architecture needs to be revamped, especially compared to its new, neighboring Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority station, Government Center.
“City Hall should look more like the library,” he said. “It’s just a waste of space for bums to hang out. We could put some more stuff and make it look neater.”
Frederick Grafton, 74, of South Boston, said the ice path could help generate a vibrant atmosphere and attract more visitors.
“[The city] might generate a nice crowd in there. A nice crowd of children, young people,” he said. “There’s a lot of space out there just being wasted. Try it just to get people to the city to do things.”
Sandra Lopez, 40, of Roxbury, said the plaza’s additions should bring the community together in a new and exciting way.
“It brings more for the community to do, so with a skating rink, it’s more than an activity,” she said. “It’s expanding. I think they’re making it bigger because they redesigned Government Center. I think it’ll do great.”
