LYNN — Lynnway property owner Patrick McGrath said the six-story storage building he wants to build on Blossom Street will generate added property tax revenue in a neighborhood now dominated by light industry and auto repair shops.
In a statement filed with the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), McGrath estimated the proposed facility will pay $700,000 to $800,000 in property taxes annually based on an $18 million to $20 million property value for the project.
“This is going to be a brand-new building with zero impact on schools and fire services,” he said on Monday.
The ZBA is scheduled on April 2 to review McGrath’s request for a variance to allow him to build the 100,000-square-foot storage facility. The variance is required, according to the public notice for the ZBA hearing, because the 164 Blossom St. site, located a half block off the Lynnway, has less than the required open space under zoning guidelines for the waterfront district overlapping the Lynnway.
McGrath is unveiling his Blossom Street plan at a time when Lynnway development is on the upswing with McGrath poised to play a role in the commercial road’s prospective economic resurgence.
The Garelick Farms dairy complex is for sale and work on a $1.4 million seawall off the Lynnway near Market Street got underway last week. The project is the first phase of a $90 million apartment complex project.
McGrath last July outlined his plan to build 550 apartments on the site of the Lynnway Mart Indoor Mall & Flea Market located near the General Edwards Bridge. The announcement came two months after he purchased the Porthole Pub Restaurant and outlined plans to build luxury condominiums.
McGrath said on Monday planning for both projects is ongoing but provided no additional details.
His Blossom Street project has the support of City Council President Darren Cyr, who called the storage facility the best use — for now — of the former Lynnway Truck Center property.
Cyr said a higher use of the site, like a more detailed and complex development, will probably take years to materialize because of the potential environmental cleanup related to industrial and automotive repair contamination on the site.
“I am in favor of it because of the tax revenues. It’s a somewhat blighted area,” Cyr said.
McGrath said he paid $1.1 million six months ago for the 164 Blossom St. site. Lynway Truck moved to Alley and Commercial streets where Lynn Lumber was once located.
His ZBA statement said the storage facility will create 12 to 14 permanent jobs and 75 to 90 construction jobs with an estimated nine- to 10-month construction time frame.
The statement indicates the facility would increase traffic by 25 to 30 vehicles a day on nearby streets.
