LYNN — The city and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) hosted its first public forum Wednesday night on building affordable housing by using a municipally-owned lot located between School and Ellis streets.
The project, dubbed School Street Redevelopment in “Housing Lynn,” the city’s housing-production plan, was presented during a virtual public meeting. Housing Lynn was developed by the city and Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development in consultation with the MAPC.
MAPC Chief of Housing and Neighborhood Development Karina Oliver–Milchman said the goal of the project is to build more affordable housing on a city-owned site downtown for individuals and families who have incomes of $53,500 or less.
“Sixty-two percent of Lynn households are defined as low-income and 42 percent of Lynn households are cost-burdened,” Oliver–Milchman said. “That means those living in those households pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing.”
Oliver–Milchman said the solution the city decided to pursue was to use city-owned land to incentivize developing more affordable housing — such as the lot between School and Ellis streets.
MAPC Principal Regional Housing and Land Use Planner Alexis Smith said the two-acre lot is located in Lynn’s downtown district, near amenities and public transit, such as three MBTA bus stops. Because the lot is located in the downtown district, developers can construct buildings up to 10-feet high under the city’s zoning bylaws, she said.
“The city will get to decide its goals when it reaches out to developers,” said Smith. “A Request For Proposals (RFP) process will occur from July to September this year.”
Once a proposal is recommended and selected, it will be sent to the City Council for approval, Smith said.
During the meeting, community members provided feedback on the project and asked questions that ranged from how the city would continue outreach and how market research would be conducted.
Smith said the market analysis will help the MAPC understand how much it costs to build housing in Lynn and understand how much rent costs for said housing.
Lynn Principal Planning Director Aaron Clausen, who is managing the project, said the best thing participants can do after the meeting is to share a survey about the project with family and friends.
The survey asks participants to provide feedback on what the city should prioritize when building affordable housing, such as determining the type of housing development that should be built.
“This survey will be running until April 13,” Clausen said. “We’re going to be doing a lot of outreach. The MAPC has a website about this project, but the best thing you can do is to share this survey with family, friends and others.”
A second public forum will be held in June.
