SWAMPSCOTT — Sculpture walks, a concert venue, and ice skating rinks were just some of the many ideas proposed by nearly 400 town residents that attended the Hawthorne by the Sea idea exchange on Saturday.
Town Meeting approved the acquisition of the property in June, though there were no immediate plans on what to turn it into. As a result, the town decided to hold an idea exchange to get the community involved and hear what residents have to say. Select Board member Peter Spellios said the whole concept of the exchange was to make town residents feel that they will have an impact on the project.
“This is all about people being heard. Not just feeling heard, but being heard. In 2018 when we did the first idea exchange at the high school, this (Hawthorne by the Sea) was something that we all heard,” Spellios said. “Now it’s about hearing people again as to the details on what they want to see.”
The event got underway just after 10 a.m. inside the restaurant with Select Board Vice Chair David Grishman and Spellios giving a brief introduction and thanking the town’s finance team, Town Meeting, Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald, and the Athanas family for making the acquisition possible.
Residents were then invited to engage in four different exercises that involved interim use of the property, programming and activities, and iconic images. Boards containing the town’s history were also made available to see how it could potentially impact what the property turns into.
While there were ideas that ranged from a yacht club being built to pop up shops, a common theme amongst many residents was the idea of the property turning into a green space. Cameron Samodai, who lives in close proximity to the restaurant, says he would like to see the property turned into a common, where people can gather outdoors to enjoy a night of music or any other events that could take place.
“It’s really important that we turn this space into more of a town center or common,” said Samodai. “We have a really unique opportunity to have new developed space pretty much right in the heart of town where we can have things like music and movies and food, maybe open air markets. Just something that really draws people in to the more walkable part of town.”
In contrast, another common theme expressed by many was that the property needs to be able to make some type of revenue. Architect Brain Watson said he has a vision where the town could get the best of both worlds.
“You’d have buildings on both sides of the street, like it used to be, and we could create a substantial sized park in the back of the site,” said Watson. “People are very focused on the view and for sure putting buildings along the street does take away some of the view, but having a sequence of spaces that people move through where they don’t have a view, then they have a view, that’s acceptable.”
The event was hosted in partnership with design firm HDR Inc. Architect and planner for HDR Nathalie Beauvais said that the exchange was a huge success.
“It went very well, it was amazing post-COVID to see so many people come to the event and celebrate such a unique place. It also has a lot to say about how people think they can make a difference in local government by having such a high attendance,” Beauvais said. “Overall, we are very impressed by the participation.”
No decisions were made at the event, but Beauvais said all of the ideas will be gathered and sifted through to create three or four “visions” based on common themes found throughout the exercises.
The information gathered through Saturday’s idea exchange will be made available online and a survey will also be available for those who were not in attendance via the town’s website.
Once an idea for the property has been finalized, a timeline for the project will be created and the project will undergo a vote at a future Town Meeting.
