LYNN — The Massachusetts Development Finance Agency (MassDevelopment) has awarded the city a $38,000 grant to study regional demand for industrial buildings, policy recommendations related to industrial development and zoning, and a review of possible uses for an existing industrial property at 82-86 Sanderson Ave.
The property in question is a two-story industrial manufacturing building, housing food manufacturers and other businesses. It was sold to Dwarka LLC for $3.8 million in October 2018. The owners are exploring different options for the building’s development, and have reached out to the city’s Planning Department for assistance.
Associate Planning Director Lauren Drago said a potential option for the owners is investing in life-sciences companies, to increase commercial and industrial use of the property. Drago said that 15 percent of jobs in Lynn are manufacturing, but the number of manufacturing jobs decreased by 20 percent over the past 10 years.
“Of existing manufacturing jobs, a quarter are in food manufacturing,” said Drago. “Many of our industrial properties are aging, and many industrial properties in Massachusetts have redeveloped into residential uses over the years. Although housing is of course needed in Lynn as well, we want to be mindful of how our policies affect these important job centers.”
Drago said the grant will be spent on RKG Associates, Inc. for two different work components. The first is a study on the trends and role that manufacturing companies have in Lynn’s economy; the review will determine whether preservation strategies are needed at a policy level to protect industrial-land uses in the city. The second component will focus on developing a real-estate strategy for Dwarka’s building. Drago said that the Dwarka team will still have agency over the project.
“The Dwarka team will still be able to do what they like with the property long term, regardless of what comes out of our research,” says Drago. “But we hope that working with these experts at RKG will be helpful to them as they assess their options, and helpful for us as a planning department to understand how we can ensure good jobs stay in Lynn.
The grant is part of a Site Readiness Program award of $2.8 million from the Baker-Polito administration for fiscal year 2022. The program helps to develop potential projects in communities across the state. Eight communities, including Lynn, were awarded grants for project assessments, infrastructure upgrades and future redevelopment studies.
MassDevelopment Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy thanked the administration for their partnership. He said the funds will help communities become commercial hot spots.
“Many communities are home to large-scale sites with great economic potential, yet require some pre-development work before they are shovel-ready for active use,” said Kennealy. “The Baker-Polito administration, in partnership with the legislature, created the Site Readiness Program to respond to this demand and accelerate the transformation of these prime sites into industrial and commercial hubs.”
