LYNN — The city plans to provide updates and seek input from the community on a proposed waterfront park at a former landfill site.
The updates and public discussion will occur at a virtual meeting on March 24 at 6 p.m.
The meeting will be hosted by city officials, representatives from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EOEEA), members of the Planning Department and members of the landscape architectural firm Brown, Richardson + Rowe, Inc. (BRR).
The project, known as the Lynn Harbor Park, is a part of the Lynn Waterfront Open Space Master Plan, which was finalized in 2019 and approved by the City Council and EOEEA in 2020.
The goal is to create a signature vibrant and accessible park on the waterfront on a vacant plot of about 30 acres between a Walmart on the Lynnway and Marine Boulevard. The park is sited on old industrial land, part of which is on the landfill.
Principal Planning Director Aaron Clausen said the city’s Planning Department will be managing the Harbor Park Plan alongside EOEEA and BRR.
He said the first phase of the project focuses on acquiring funding for the project.
“The project would cost nearly $10.5 million for park enabling and components,” Clausen said.
“We would seek funding support from the state and possibly look at using federal funding, such as funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).”
Clausen suggested that funding could come from a contribution from Charter Development, a company hired by the city to cap the landfill.
He said implementation of the plan would take place shortly after the landfill is capped and closed in 2025.
“We are going to lay out some possible scenarios in this meeting next week,” Clausen said. “The project is not going to be done in one phase. It is a benefit for the community to build upon this cap-and-closure project and have open space on top of the landfill.”
Additionally, an update on the cap-and-closure project will be given during the meeting as well, he said.
The virtual meeting comes after two site visits in October 2021, where stakeholders discussed possible locations for park amenities such as benches and playgrounds.
According to Clausen, the idea to have an open space area was originally conceived in 2007 as part of the Municipal Harbor Plan.
It had been a long-term goal for both Lynn and the state, he said.
“This is a revised plan,” Clausen said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both community members and stakeholders to bring the final plan into fruition.”
Those who wish to participate in the meeting can register at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIuceyvqDksGdZbqgWa3cxMLpTRVn3m7JfF
The meeting and presentation will be provided in both English and Spanish.
