Lynn lands $500G grant to fix marina

LYNN – The state has awarded the city a $500,000 grant toward rehabilitating Seaport Landing Marina, a project that city and state officials say is critical to redeveloping the waterfront.”It’s another great investment from the state to continue to focus on the future of the waterfront and how important that is to the future of our city,” said State Senator Tom McGee (D-Lynn). “There have been a lot of positive things over the past year and a half on the waterfront, and every time something happens, it gives us a boost.”The Patrick-Murray Administration announced the $500,000 award Monday as one of 23 new MassWorks Infrastructure Program grants to advance local development projects across the state. The 160-slip marina was one of three components of private and public development along the waterfront around 1985 which resulted in condominiums, Heritage Park and Seaport Landing, the property which includes the marina. The developer planned to own and operate the marina, city Community Development Director James Marsh previously told the Daily Item, but that never happened. Instead, the city purchased the marina in 1985 with a $1.7 million loan from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Marsh said previously.But damage from storms and wear-and-tear has made only 85 of the slips usable today, Marsh said Monday. The city also defaulted on the NOAA loan and owes $215,000 for a missed payment, the Daily Item reported in June.Marsh said Monday that the grant will go toward an approximately $1 million project to rehabilitate the marina’s outer slips, hopefully enabling the slips to generate revenue once again. The city has also received $130,000 of federal money for the project, Marsh noted. Equally importantly, Marsh said the property is “a linchpin” to attracting further publicly and privately funded improvements on the waterfront.”Blight begets blight,” Marsh said. “If you have potential developers come down and see a marina that’s in a state of disrepair, I don’t think it does any good. It’s an eyesore and with this money, it will go a long way to remedying the eyesore and also helping facilitate development on adjacent sites.”Ward 5 City Councilor Brendan Crighton – whose ward includes the Seaport Landing area – agreed.”Times are tough right now and there are not a lot of ways that we can attract that kind of funding,” said Crighton. “This shows that there is opportunity and I’m sure that (private) funding could tie in some way.”Ward 6 City Councilor Pete Capano said that he hoped the improvements would expand along the waterfront from the Seaport Landing site to portions of his ward.”Money follows money and that’s what we need down there,” Capano said. “It’s going to inspire people to add to it – the marina will look nicer and that will inspire other people to do things nicer ? I’d be really excited if they’d do that.”Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy said that she hopes that federal grant opportunities are also considered after meeting with Sen. Scott Brown and a member of the senator’s grant-writing team on Monday.”The state delegation has done a great job on asking (for funds) on the state level,” Kennedy said, echoing praise from each city official for the state representatives and the Patrick-Murray administration. “I had a good meeting today with Sen. Brown and told him about the needs of the city ? Between the Senator and (his grant-writing team) we may be able to make some headway at the Federal level for funding.”McGee said he hoped to expand the vision of the waterfront from the public to the private sector.”The Governor and Lt. Governor have been great allies on this and really been working with us to move this project forward – their vision matches ours,” McGee said, citing their support as the city removed power lines, developed a master plan and harbor plan and is moving ahead on a commuter ferry. “I’m excited about these and looking at private investments to come forward so that we can move oppor