PEABODY — City, state, and federal officials on Monday announced that the city had received a $650,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to aid its long-gestating Riverwalk project, which would create a walkway along the North River connecting the city’s downtown to Salem.
U.S. Congressman Seth Moulton helped secure the grant, which is part of the city’s Brownfield Cleanup Grant program. The grant will go towards cleaning up the former Clark Barrel and Drum site on Caller Street, near East End Peabody Veterans Memorial Park, where the announcement was made Monday.
On hand for the grant announcement were Moulton, EPA Regional Director David Cash, state Reps. Thomas Walsh (D-Peabody) and Sally Kerans (D-Danvers), state Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem), Peabody Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt, Jr., City Councilors Julie Daigle and Stephanie Peach, Senior Planner Andrew Levin, and Assistant Director of Planning Brendan Callahan.
During the event, Moulton, who lives in Salem, said he hoped to one day be able to use the Riverwalk as a way to get to downtown Peabody.
“In Washington and in our State House, we debate funding bills with massive amounts of money … this is where it matters. This is where it counts when you see a project like this, that’s going to dramatically improve the everyday lives of the people in this neighborhood. The people who use this park who can in the future use the Riverwalk with their families,” he said. “I live just over the line in Salem and I want to be able to take my two little girls and walk down the bike path all the way into downtown Peabody and go out for lunch. We can’t do that right now.”
Moulton, who walked along the future site of the Riverwalk last summer, said he was excited to see the “transformative” results of the project.
“It’s going to be great for this city, but most importantly, is going to be great for our people. I’m excited to support this project,” he said. “We still have more work to do, but thanks to the vision of Mayor Bettencourt and his team and the city of Peabody there’s a bright future ahead.”
Cash spoke about the effects of the Brownfields program, which has taken polluted sites and turned them into parcels for redevelopment.
“These investments clean up a polluted site. They provide a parcel for redevelopment, whether it’s industrial, commercial or residential. They remove a public safety hazard. They leverage federal funding that catalyzes state, local, and private sector funding,” Cash said. “This one in particular, as we’ve heard from the mayor, is going to make this amenity so much better in terms of connecting communities providing outdoor space or providing recreational opportunities for families.”
In an interview following the event, Bettencourt said the Riverwalk project was nearing the close of the design phase, and he anticipated going to the City Council for funding in spring or summer 2023. He said talk of a Riverwalk dates back at least 25 years.
Bettencourt said the city has taken a number of small steps to bring the Riverwalk, which would take the form of a 1600-foot shared-use path running along the south bank of the river, to life over the years. But, he said, he felt the grant Monday represented a leap forward.
“This is a big part of the next step,” Bettencourt said.
Before the project can get underway, the city has to complete site acquisitions along the proposed path of the Riverwalk, as well as clean up the North River, he said.
“There is still work to do to make sure we have grants and finances in order,” Bettencourt said.
The Riverwalk project has environmental benefits for the city in that it would mitigate flooding, and because it would clean up the North River as well as fortify its walls. The project would also have economic benefits, Bettencourt said, because of its ability to connect people to downtown Peabody, which his administration has been working to revitalize.
“Peabody Square had potential but no identity,” he said. “We’ve worked to make improvements and [to make it] a viable, attractive location.”
Charlie McKenna can be reached at [email protected].
