LYNN — The South Harbor Implementation Plan seeks to transform the very look of the Lynnway, following recent updates given by Noah Maslan, a principal at Eden Properties.
Rick Starbard, a member of the Greater Lynn Chamber Board of Directors, introduced the project during a meeting Wednesday morning.
“It will change the view of entering Lynn from Boston, driving over that bridge and seeing something other than weeds and sticks,” Starbard said. “It will definitely be a transformative project for the city of Lynn [and] will bring a lot of positives. I’m sure there are going to be other impacts as well. Hopefully, the positives outweigh whatever negative impacts there are.”
Starbard said that he hopes the project activates the space and brings more people down to the waterfront not only for what will be on the site but also with the new Harbor Park that will be opening shortly in the spring or summer.
“Just to step back a little bit, we’re here because of all the work that has preceded us that has been driven by the City of Lynn,” Maslan said. “It is the effort and the execution of planning that has happened in Lynn, in this area, that is remarkable to us as developers.”
Maslan went on to say that developers have been focusing heavily on the Environmental Impact Report. It is a 1,000-page document that analyzes all potential environmental impacts, from traffic to climate resiliency to air quality. The draft report was submitted in 2024, and comments have been returned.
“Now we’re working with the state agencies, and anticipate submitting the final document, which is the final Environmental Impact Report that will address any of their additional comments in the next two months,” he said.
Maslan added that they hope to complete the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) process within 2025.
“At the same time, we’re working with the state to secure public infrastructure dollars on some of the public infrastructure work for the coastal infrastructure, as well as the new intersection, park, and those kinds of elements,” he said.
Maslan stressed that they are working closely with the Mayor’s office, the delegation, and the administration. They are on track, he added, although there are some difficulties.
“On the state permitting side, there are a lot of conflicting regulations,” Maslan said. “There’s a strong desire for more housing in the state. Everyone acknowledges that we need more housing, that we have a huge demand issue as well as commercial development.”
The vision for the site is to create a new South Harbor waterfront commercial district, which will include about 26,000 square feet of new retail residential space on the ground floor that leads out onto the Harbor Park. Maslan said that there will be 850 units of housing, 10% of which will be derestricted and affordable, which is consistent with the Lynn Housing Plan.
Every building that gets put up will have parking on the ground level. One building will be purely residential with no retail.
“It’s really important to be able to concentrate the retail and restaurant space so that it becomes synergistic and feels like an urban commercial district,” Maslan said.
There are still things that need to be worked out with different agencies and this plan has been in the works for years: The first Waterfront Master Plan was developed in 2006. But progress is being made, Maslan said.
