LYNN – Depending on who’s doing the talking, plans by the All Care Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) and Hospice to build a five-story headquarters adjacent to the downtown train station is either a boon to the central business district or a missed opportunity to use one of the many vacant city-owned structures in the same neighborhood.
The dynamic was played out Tuesday by the City Council’s Ordinance Committee, which has been asked to change the zoning of the 198,000-square-foot parcel owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) so that it becomes part of the Central Business District.The financially-beleaguered MBTA wants to sell the grassy lot and has opened the public bidding process. The VNA, currently headquartered in City Hall Square, hopes to win the bid and is already in negotiations with the MBTA.According to attorney Richard Cuffe, representing the VNA, the situation is “beyond the imagination” and “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the nursing organization and the city. It would bring $24 million in new construction downtown along with 600 to 700 VNA employees into an area where pedestrian traffic is sparse, he said, adding that the project would fulfill the VNA’s needs while simultaneously enlivening an urban neighborhood that city development officials have been trying to connect to the waterfront.Further, said Cuffe, the VNA would lease from the MBTA for 20 years an as yet undetermined number of parking spaces in the train station multi-level parking garage, perhaps up to 200.On the face of it, the plan seems a win-win, the city required to merely change the zoning so that such a structure ? four or five stories with a footprint of 30,000 square feet ? can be built on the vacant site.But there’s more to consider, said Ordinance Committee Chairman Richard Ford and Councilor-at-Large Daniel Cahill, a committee member. For instance, once the zoning is changed, the site would be more amendable to development, which could prove detrimental if the VNA were not to win the bid. After all, any developer must currently obtain a special permit from the City Council, but none would be required if the zoning was changed.Congestion is another concern, since the building would likely have little setback from the sidewalk on Broad Street, Cahill said. And as for the leased parking spaces, councilors questioned where area residents would park during a snow emergency since many now rely on the garage.There’s also the matter of property taxes, which is why the committee requested an opinion from City Assessor Peter Caron. According to Caron, if the VNA owned the newly-constructed building, it would pay no taxes. If a private party were to build and then lease the real estate to the VNA, the city would be owed taxes.Cahill also expressed concern that the VNA’s present headquarters would be left vacant in favor of new construction at a time when the city owns many downtown buildings that might be suitable and available at a reasonable price.Although Cuffe asked the committee to schedule a public hearing on the zoning change within two weeks – his haste based on the timeliness of the MBTA bidding process ? Ford and the other committee members agreed four weeks is a more reasonable time to gather information on the project and prepare for discussion. As a result, a hearing has been scheduled for May 12.Cuffe reminded the Ordinance Committee that even if a hearing were scheduled in two weeks, it could always be tabled, but at least would show the MBTA that the VNA is a serious contender for the land and has city support. He also insinuated that should the VNA not obtain the land, its future in Lynn might be uncertain.Shawn Potter, president and chief executive officer of the VNA , has asked the MBTA to extend the deadline for bids.Potter previously told city officials the VNA has outgrown its City Hall Square headquarters, forcing the organization to lease additional space in the Century Bank building and in W
