Second apartment building demolished on waterfront

LYNN -The second of two multi-story apartment buildings adjacent to Christie’s restaurant on the Lynnway came tumbling down Thursday.
The demolition marked the latest phase in site-preparation work aimed at developing a key parcel of the city’s waterfront at the Nahant traffic circle. An excavator tore into the wooden structure during most of the morning, providing a spectacle for commuters.
The property, which affords a sweeping view of the Atlantic Ocean, had been a point of contention between city development officials and the Dean family which owns the land.
Last year, a public outcry rose against a proposal to build a CVS pharmacy on the site. City officials asked that the landowners consider a more appropriate use for the strategically located property that could physically link the renovated Lynn Shore Drive and its pedestrian walk with the upper portions of the Lynnway that front Lynn Harbor.
The restaurant, at 17 Lynnway, occupies only part of the site and remains in business.
The Dean family received a $175,000 low-interest loan from the city’s Economic Development and Industrial Corp. to pay for the demolition of the two apartment buildings. The demolition was halted in early summer after contractors found asbestos on the site.
“We ran into some environmental issues,” EDIC Executive Director James Cowdell said. “There was asbestos in the building and that has been removed. We worked with the (state Department of Environmental Protection) to resolve the problem. Now we’re moving forward with the remainder of the demolition.”
According to Cowdell, demolition is the first phase of the redevelopment project, and will be followed by the Dean family securing financing to erect a mixed-use building on the site.
“We’re committed to the project and we’re willing to go to the bank with the Dean family to show them the master plan,” Cowdell said.
The plan includes a three-story structure with retail on the ground floor and residences on the second and third.
“The Dean family would like to see a restaurant go in there, along with a Starbucks coffee shop and maybe even a bookstore,” Cowdell said. “The sight of the second building coming down pleased a lot of people, from those who live near it to those who drive past it every day. Those buildings have been vacant since 1969.”
The city’s master plan also includes linking Central Square and the Lynn Museum with the North Shore Community College campus and the pedestrian bridge that feeds into Seaport Landing Marina.