page_title: Massachusetts Turnpike
section_title: Air rights
hierarchical_section_title: Massachusetts Turnpike / History / Air rights
caption_attribution_description: English: Shaw's over the Massachusetts Turnpike, Newtonville Massachusetts
context_page_description: The Massachusetts Turnpike is a toll highway in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The turnpike begins at the New York state line in West Stockbridge, linking with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway. Spanning 138 miles along an east–west axis, it is entirely concurrent with the portion of Interstate 90 that lies within the state. The turnpike is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, while I-90 in full is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States.
  The turnpike opened in 1957, and it was designated as part of the Interstate Highway System in 1959. The original western terminus of the turnpike was located at Route 102 in West Stockbridge before I-90 had been completed in New York state. The turnpike intersects with several Interstate Highways as it traverses the state, including I-91 in West Springfield; I-291 in Chicopee; I-84 in Sturbridge; the junction of I-290 and I-395 in Auburn; and I-495 in Hopkinton. The turnpike originally ended at I-95 in Weston; it was extended to Allston in 1964, and to the Central Artery in Downtown Boston in 1965.
context_section_description: Much of the air space ("air rights") over the Boston Extension has been leased to third parties for commercial development. This concept was originally designed to "knit together communities" that were divided by the new highway, since the turnpike had been described as "wider and more divisive to the city" than the original Central Artery. More recently, the income received from the leased air rights have been used for paying off the Big Dig. There are 23 parcels of air space over the highway, the majority of which have not been developed. Among other objectives, guidelines established by the "Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston" in 2000 recommend that the proposed use of the parcels "[foster] increased use and capacity of public transportation" and "[reinforce] the vitality and quality of life in adjacent neighborhoods".
  The Star Market (briefly renamed Shaw's Supermarket) in Newton is the earliest example of commercial construction over the turnpike. In the 1960s, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority intended to route the highway through the parking lot of the supermarket's previous location in the city; this alignment that was ultimately approved by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, under the condition that a replacement Star Market was allowed to be built over the turnpike. Other projects developed through air rights include the Newton Plaza Hotel in Newton, the Copley Place shopping mall in Boston, and the Prudential Center in Boston. Proposals for future air rights projects include the mixed-use Fenway Center, and an extension of the Boston University campus near Boston University Bridge.
  After four decades of no new developments, on August 2020, construction began on Parcel 12, and construction was expected to begin within the month at Fenway Center pending a final agreement with MassDOT, leading to planned closure of one lane in each direction for a year. Parcel 12 is between Newbury Street, Boylston Street, and the west side of Massachusetts Avenue, and is expected to feature a 13-story Citizen M hotel, a 20-story office tower (including the headquarters of CarGurus), a reconstructed bus shelter, a public park, street-level retail, and a new entrance to the Hynes Convention Center station of the MBTA Green Line subway. The developer of Parcel 13, on the east side of Massachusetts Avenue along Boylston Street, submitted updated plans in February 2020, with 17 stories of condos, hotel, parking, and public space. An approved plan for Parcel 15 (known as 1000 Boylston Street) was cancelled by the developer in August, 2019, with the dissolution resulting in a lawsuit.
caption: Star Market (briefly Shaw's Supermarket) built over the turnpike in Newton, August 2009
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