All-Care VNA envisions new Lynn headquarters

LYNN – The City Council will hold a public hearing April 13 to discuss a major proposal by All Care Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice, which wants to build a new multi-story, downtown headquarters adjacent to the commuter rail station and bus terminal at Market and Broad streets.The proposal was first floated last spring when the Ordinance Committee was asked by the VNA to change the zoning of the 198,000-square foot tract of land owned by the cash-strapped Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority so that it becomes part of the Central Business District.Attorney Richard Cuffe, representing the VNA, described the project’s potential as “beyond the imagination” and “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” for the nursing organization and the city.If allowed, it would bring $24 million in new construction downtown along with 600 to 700 VNA employees into an area where pedestrian traffic is sparse, Cuffe said, adding 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.Under the tentative agreement, the VNA would lease for 20 years from the MBTA up to 200 of the parking spaces in the train station’s multi-level garage.Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy was enthusiastic about the project’s potential. “Of course I’m supportive of the VNA proposal,” she said Wednesday. “Any new development and any new construction in the downtown that would bring people and jobs to the area can only be viewed as a positive. It can help connect our downtown to the waterfront in accordance with the city’s Waterfront Master Plan, and it meets the principles of transit-oriented development.”If the City Council supports the zoning change, a structure of four to five stories with a footprint of 30,000 square feet could be built on the site.But not every councilor has been behind the project. The last time the issue surfaced, Councilor at large Daniel Cahill raised concerns about congestion and the building’s setback from the sidewalk. He also asked where neighborhood residents would park during a snow emergency if the MBTA parking garage spaces are filled with VNA employee vehicles.Taxation also reared its head in the last debate. City Assessor Peter Caron said the non-profit VNA would pay no taxes on the building, unlike a private developer and property owner.Cahill also pointed out that the VNA’s present headquarters in City Hall Square would be left unoccupied if the organization relocated at a time when the downtown vacancy rate for commercial buildings is high.Shawn Potter, president and chief executive officer of the VNA, previously told the council the VNA has outgrown its quarters and has begun leasing additional space in other communities, including Wakefield. VNA employees would benefit from the proximity of the train and bus stations and a centralized headquarters large enough to accommodate clinical and medical space, he said.”We’re glad to hear this is moving forward. We want it to happen,” said James Cowdell, executive director of the Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corp. “We want the VNA to stay in Lynn and creating jobs is a good thing.”The minimum required bid for the MBTA land is $925,000 with an option to lease the garage parking spaces, Cuffe said.