Coastal infrastructureBoston developers continue to build on the waterfront, but take account of sea level rise

The threat of rising sea levels has not discouraged property developers and buyers in Boston from investing in multi-million dollar condos located along the city’s waterfront. Buyers worry about “whether the developer is going to finish the project, how strong is the project financially, and am I going to get what I paid for, but nothing remotely related to environmental issues,” said Michael Carucci, president of Group Boston Real Estate. Despite warnings from the New England chapter of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) that a significant portion of the city will be underwater in the coming decades, dozens of new properties are still being built. “We have not seen any lessening in the desire to develop on the waterfront,” said Vivien Li, executive director of the Boston Harbor Association. “What we have seen is a great concern on part of developers to have their consultants look at how they can protect their future investments.”

TheBoston Globe reports that billions in new condo, apartment, and office towers are set to open over the next few years in the Back Bay and Seaport/Innovation District, but both neighborhoods will be along the path of rising sea levels. A new report from the ULI suggests that sea levels around the city could increase by 7.5 feet by the end of the century, and by roughly 2.5 feet in the next few decades.

Some property owners in New York experienced the dangers of rising sea levels during 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, and many Boston property developers are taking precautions to avoid the disasters which occurred in New York. A few Boston developers are keeping copies of key building records off-site in case electricity shuts down during a storm surge. Some developers are moving mechanical systems from the basements of high rises to several stories above ground, to ensure power and critical systems are intact during a flood.

Developers ask “how can we insulate the buildings so it’s basically leak proof,” Li said.

The Urban Implications of Living with Water, the report released by the ULI, recommends several design and building solutions to combat rising sea levels including building a canal system along parts of Boston and Cambridge that would mimic Venice or Amsterdam. Not discouraged by rising sea levels, a growing trend among Boston property developers is to build with resilience in mind. Seaport condos “are moving at a very rapid pace — they are selling north of a thousand dollars a square foot,” Carucci said.