SWAMPSCOTT — The Hawthorne Re-Use Advisory Committee is exploring a variety of options when it comes to transforming the Hawthorne-by-the-Sea site for future developments.
The Item spoke with Committee Chair Brian Watson and Community and Economic Development Director Marzie Galazka about the committee’s efforts to determine the best possible path forward for the project, where they explained the intricacies of studying each plan for the site.
Galazka noted that the committee managed to consider four plan/concept drawings during Wednesday evening’s meeting, which all had a focus on prioritizing open spaces for the town to enjoy.
“Last night was the first night where we began to analyze the plans one by one, but before we did, there were generally about a number of factors taken into account,” Watson said. “One of the biggest was the financial picture which goes along with each plan, revenue to the town and costs to the town of each plan.”
Watson noted there was quite a range of different financial impacts and benefits for each plan. The committee started with plans primarily focusing on parks/open green spaces — which would be the most costly to the town, because the town would need to build and maintain the park, without the town gaining much revenue from a potential redevelopment, should it head in that direction.
“If it’s a park with zero buildings, then the town doesn’t generate revenue from the plan. As there would be more buildings on the site, that would generate more revenue to the town in the form of property taxes,” Watson said
What the committee’s considering would not be publicly owned buildings — buildings the developer would build and either own or sell them off — which would depend on the usage of the buildings.
“Some of our plans show a streetscape of buildings along the street, those would hypothetically be two or three-story buildings, and the town could have the first floor be commercial spaces, cafes, and then the floors above would be residential.”
On top of the variety of plans that the committee will be looking into, the committee is looking at the viability of each plan. “The committee is in a phase right now where we’re studying each plan for positive and negative features,” Watson said. “We’ll be in this study phase for a good number of additional meetings.”
“As we look at each plan, we make certain assumptions, but continually go back and question those assumptions,” Watson added. “As we look at the plans we’ve drawn, we also come up with additional ideas as modifications — these are not etched in stone, and we freely modify the plans that we have as we go.”
Watson added that, “The task for the committee is to create a plan that balances various elements, including park space, revenue, and new building construction.”
