LYNN — There are at least six major development projects along Lynn Harbor, one adding more than 800 apartment units, giving the Fire Department reason to think proactively about emergency response to the area.
Lynn Fire Chief Stephen Archer has a proposal: A new public safety facility should be built along the waterfront so authorities can better serve the rapidly developing area.
“It’s a practical, commonsense thing to do with so much growth,” Archer said. “It would be a small, relatively inexpensive building with one fire engine, and possibly a police substation and first aid station.”
Archer said he has support from Lynn Police Chief Michael Mageary, and he sent an “informal proposal” to City Council outlining his idea earlier this month.
The vision is a two- or three-bay “joint-use” public safety building with a fire engine relocated from one of the city’s six other active stations, Archer said. The station would give the Fire Department easy access to the harbor, and could serve as the station for the rescue boat the department acquired last year. It would also allow easy access to both the northbound and southbound lanes of the Lynnway, Archer said.
“We are trying to plan progressively for what our public safety needs will be in the future so we don’t have to play catch-up,” Archer said.
Lynn Harbor is seeing major development both currently and in the near future. Ground broke last year on a project transforming the former Beacon Chevrolet site at 254 Lynnway, dubbed “North Harbor,” into 332 market-rate apartments in multiple buildings. At 98 Lynnway, the former Porthole Restaurant is being demolished and replaced with 48 to 60 luxury condominiums by developer Patrick McGrath. Both of those projects are expected to finish in summer of 2021.
At the southern end of Lynn Harbor, Belmont Capital LLC has submitted preliminary plans to the city to build a neighborhood of 828 market-rate apartments over three wood-framed buildings, with retail space and 935 parking spaces at the former Harbor House site by the General Edwards Bridge. McGrath, owner of Lynnway Mart Indoor Mall & Flea Market at 810 Lynnway, is in the permitting stage of a plan to demolish the mall and replace it with 550 market-rate apartments.
At 843 Lynnway, developer Charles Patsios is seeking to build a $500 million neighborhood with 1,262 apartments in eight buildings, boutique retail, restaurants, a gym and new roads on the 65-acre site of the former General Electric Co. Gear Works. Patsios has reached agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to allow the nearby MBTA stop at the GE plant to service residents of the new neighborhood, rather than just plant employees as it does now.
A.W. Perry, a Boston real estate firm, also began the process of turning the 17-acre former Garelick Farms site into a mixed-use site with light manufacturing, an assisted living home, an apartment house and fitness center last year. That project is years away from completion, dependent on zoning changes to allow a variety of industrial uses for the site.
“We need a presence in that area,” Archer said. “There is a tremendous amount of development.”
A formal proposal for the public safety facility is in the works and will be sent to City Council “in the near future,” Archer said, after which the councilors and public will get to weigh in on the project. Specifics regarding square-footage and cost have yet to be determined, but Archer has suggested the former landfill area behind the sewage treatment plant at 2 Circle Ave., an area currently owned by National Grid, could be a location for the facility.
Archer said the two closest active fire stations to the developing waterfront area are the Fire Department’s headquarters on Western Avenue, about 1.5 miles from the harbor, and the station on Fayette Street, about 1.3 miles away.
“Both are kind of distant to the waterfront area,” Archer said. “They are not ideal in terms of response times.”
Ward 6 City Councilor Fred Hogan, whose ward encompasses the waterfront development, said it’s still early on in the process, but he is intrigued by the idea.
“Right now, it’s just a proposal,” Hogan said. “We’ll have to look it over and come up with the finances.”
Hogan said he wants to make sure the burden of any project does not fall too heavily on the taxpayers. Ideally, a new facility would be funded with aid from federal or state grants and other alternative funding sources, he said.
Hogan also said public safety is “very high on the list” of things to consider regarding waterfront development, as well as transportation.
“Of course, with more units going there and with the area spreading out, it’s something we’re going to have to go over,” Hogan said. “We’re trying to be proactive about a lot of these things on a lot of fronts, and that includes public safety.”
The waterfront development in general should be “exciting” for Lynn residents, Hogan said.
“It’s an important asset to the city and a lot is moving forward and moving forward very fast,” he said. “It’s definitely an exciting time.”
City Councilor-at-Large Brian LaPierre said the building could double as a public safety facility and a place to host community events and meetings. He also said the facility wouldn’t take away fire services from other sections of the city.
“It sounds like a real win-win for the city of Lynn,” LaPierre said. “It’s a similar idea to the Overlook Ridge Apartments in Revere, where there is a small substation because of the density.”
Ward 2 City Councilor Rick Starbard said he has not had a chance to look at Archer’s informal proposal yet, so he could not comment on it. However, he said he is in general agreement something should be done to ensure public safety services have adequate access along the developing waterfront.
“I do think that with all the building that’s on the horizon on the waterfront, we’re going to have to do something for public safety in that area,” Starbard said.
