SAUGUS — Cliftondale Square may be one step closer toward transforming it into the thriving town center that many residents imagine it can become.
A article drafted by Town Meeting member Joe Vecchione for the January Special Town Meeting would create a 10-person committee focused on improving the Cliftondale Square district.
Cliftondale has suffered in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, experiencing a rash of recent business closings, with the branch of North Shore Bank shutting down this September and the branch of Webster First Federal Credit Union closing in August. The Tumble Inn Diner, One Stop Market, and a hair salon also recently shut their doors.
“If you go down to the square now, you’ll see they decorated this big evergreen tree—and it’s dead. That’s the epitome of what Cliftondale Square is right now,” said Vecchione, who has lived in the area his whole life. “I’ve certainly seen a decline in recent years.”
In a letter to the Board of Selectmen, Vecchione described the pandemic as “the knock-out punch for many businesses in Cliftondale.” But he adds, “while COVID-19 has devastated small businesses and main streets, such as Cliftondale, it presents a unique opportunity to rebuild better.”
Selectboard Chairman Anthony Cogliano, who supported adding Vecchione’s article to the warrant for the Special Town Meeting, agreed with Vecchione’s characterization of the situation.
“It’s a depressed area right now, and it’s a perfect time to organize something to straighten it out,” said Cogliano. “Hopefully we can entice some good places to come into the square. But before we can do that we’re going to need parking and we have to address the traffic situation. There’s a whole lot that has to go into this, but it’s an exciting time because (the area) definitely needs it.”
He added that the Selectboard was working on purchasing a building to install a parking lot, and had acquired three additional liquor licenses in hopes of attracting restaurants to the area.
Cogliano hopes that, if the article is passed, the new committee could start meeting as soon as possible.
This “Cliftondale Revitalization Committee” would investigate potential opportunities, synthesize previous studies and provide recommendations to, as Vecchionne put it, “kickstart the process of (incentivizing) development and improvement for local stakeholders in Cliftondale.”
The process of revitalizing Cliftondale Square has been ongoing for many years. The most recent action occurred in 2016 when a study was commissioned through a $10,000 grant through the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative to figure out what kinds of businesses the square needs.
Yet to Vechhione, that process seemed to yield little in the way of results.
“If you look at that report in 2016 its pretty concrete in what needs to be done. It bullets out potential improvements in both short term and long term.” said Vecchione. “But nothing on that list was ever checked off. We do a lot of studies but when it comes to execution it never gets done.”
According to Vecchione, his committee would have seven clear and measurable objectives:
performing a parking study, conducting roundtables with stakeholders, polling the community on their ideas and concerns regarding the project, collaborating with state and local agencies, exploring potential grants that could aid in the revitalization process, reviewing past studies to present a set of recommendations to the town manager, and changing the zoning of the area.
The 10-person committee would include the town manager, the director of planning and economic development, the town planner, the planning board chair, two members of the Board of Selectmen and four members of Town Meeting from precincts two and six.
“What I’m trying to do with this committee is get the right people in the room and hash this out so we can find out what we can do and what we can’t do.” said Vecchione. “There’s going to be roadblocks along the way, but we’re going to have to work to overcome those and find a solution that works..”
A vote on this issue will occur at the Saugus Special Town Meeting, which was originally scheduled for this December but has since been moved to the second Monday in January.
