Lynn bus tour a sure eye-opener

LYNN – Local development officials joined with members of the Citizens Advisory Board for a bus tour Wednesday to sites that are changing the face of Lynn.The first stop along the waterfront behind Walmart offered panoramic views of Lynn Harbor and Broad Sound, and more than 300 acres of fallow land that will soon be ripe for investor dreams.”I think it’s a great idea to actually get out and see the development sites and the renovations that have been completed,” said James Marsh, director of the Office of Economic and Community Development. “You can get bogged down in plans, bogged down by the bureaucracy and things like site-plan reviews. So it’s good to see things first hand.”The tour was the brainchild of activists Damon Harrison and Dennis Liberge, newly appointed to the 18-member advisory board, and key city development officials.”We want transparency in government,” said Harrison. “People need to know how their money is being spent and how these projects are being prioritized. We should have a role in that.”The Citizens Advisory Board includes seven members appointed by the mayor and one from each of the 11 city councilors.Donald Walker, director of project operations for the Office of Economic and Community Development, said the city has released a draft of its Five-Year Consolidated Plan and Annual Action Plan. “As part of our ongoing efforts to involve and educate the community about community development priorities and activities, we scheduled a bus tour to various sites throughout the city to provide an overview of current and anticipated entitlement grant activities,” he said.Walker noted that because Lynn is classified as an entitlement community, federal grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development annually help fund projects that otherwise might not be possible.Most seats on the charter bus were filled. In addition to Marsh, Walker and several advisory board members, the passengers included Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development Executive Director Charles Gaeta and members of his staff, Rose Mary Sargent from U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney’s office, school leaders, interested residents and one investment banker.As the group stood along the harbor shoreline, Marsh explained that the city received $250,000 from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge a channel connecting sections of the harbor currently isolated by shoaling and mudflats. He also highlighted plans to construct a seawall and extend the boardwalk from the Nahant traffic circle to the Gen. Edwards Bridge.”When the entire build-out of the waterfront is completed, including condominiums, hotels, businesses and greenspace, it will translate to $18 million in annual tax revenue for the city,” Marsh said. “It’s a longterm project, but the overhead wires will be gone by October.”The entire project is expected to generate 10,000 temporary construction jobs and 5,000 permanent jobs, Walker said.National Grid and the city reached an agreement after years of haggling that will move the electrical transmission lines from the waterfront to the other side of the Lynnway. The new electrical towers already have been installed.”We should plan some events that will bring people down here,” said Harrison. “If people had a reason to come down to the waterfront they could see its potential and feel more comfortable with the surroundings.”The bus tour also included stops at the Brickyard Village neighborhood revitalization project, the St. Jeans affordable housing, the Waterworks affordable housing, the Devlin housing initiative, the Curwin Circle public housing rehabilitation, Flax Pond Park, Keaney Park, Jackson and Essex streets construction and renewal of foreclosed properties, High Rock Reservation Park, Herbert Street improvements, new Fayette Street housing, public infrastructure improvements on Mt. Vernon Street, the GAR building upgrades, and the Market and Washington streets corridor where a Gateway Access project is planned.”We a