Mayor Edward Clancy Jr. vowed to push hard Wednesday to make the South Harbor development site a reality by making the Massachusetts Electric Co. bury electrical transmission lines dissecting the property.
"We are going forward with great guns," he said during his state-of the-city address to the Chamber of Commerce, adding that the city must use its premier parcel of oceanfront property as a keystone to future development along the busy commercial strip. "We are having a full court press on that piece of property and we are going to force Mass Electric to come to the table."
Although privately owned, development has eluded the South Harbor property, which is along the shoreline north of the Gen. Edwards Bridge. The power company holds an easement to run its lines across the property and, in past negotiations, claimed it would cost more than $1 million to reroute or bury them. Massachusetts Electric Co. said it would not assume such an expense.
Clancy also called attention to the so-called Beacon Chevrolet property along the northern stretch of the Lynnway near Lynn Heritage State Park, where developers want to build a cluster of townhouse condominiums. According to the mayor, the Miles Group is preparing to move forward with that project.
"We're hoping to see that project in the ground very shortly," he said.
The contaminated General Electric Co. property on Western Avenue was also part of the mayor's address on the state of local business. Clancy said he has a working relationship with the GE executive in charge of the Lynn property and its local manufacturing.
"We need those properties to become marketable," he said, referring to the approximately 15 acres of paved-over vacant land where GE once manufactured aerospace instrumentation.
Known as a brownfield because it may be contaminated, the land is abutted by a section of Federal Street that GE closed decades ago. According to Clancy, plans to reopen Federal Street to pedestrian and automobile traffic are progressing.
The mayor's list of business initiatives also included the installation of antique lighting on the Buchanan Bridge as a new gateway to the city from Route 107 and Salem, and talks with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority that could result in using its Market Street garage as a full-scale downtown transportation hub. Currently, buses are boarded along Mt. Vernon Street or in Central Square, adding to the general confusion among riders. Neither site is within view of the commuter rail station lobby where passengers might seek a connector service.
Clancy touted the city's new Web site, noting it already has received thousands of hits by Internet users and will one day offer online permitting. The Web site offers information about the city and its many departments, services and electronic bill paying.
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Apr 3 2003
(edited 3 years, 4 months ago)
Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce |