SWAMPSCOTT — The town is preparing to put the Archer Park Hiking Trail project out to bid in search of landscape architects to help design a new unique open space for the community to enjoy.
Community and Economic Development Director Marzie Galazka said the town received a grant of $112,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a federal funding program to “safeguard natural areas, water resources and cultural heritage,” according to its website. The town will be matching that amount to fund the project.
The development will see new hiking trails added throughout the area for the community to explore.
Galazka elaborated on the origins of the project, saying it started during Town Meeting in December 2022, when the future of the site was in jeopardy of being turned into a site for affordable housing units, with a proposal to create 160 units on the parcel of land. After pushback from the community, the town ultimately voted to keep the area as open space.
The next steps will see the Town working with a Purchasing Agent to take the project out to bid and secure a landscape architectural firm. Galazka said she hopes to have the project completed by June of next year.
She added that the town will be working with residents who have properties abutting the area as the project continues.
The park itself spans 10 acres. The proposed trail system includes 2,764 feet (0.5 miles) of potential trails, including two primary trails in the interior of the property — the Overlook Trail (and Wetland Spur) and the Hilltop Loop — and five potential Connector Trails, according to a site study done by Penn Trails, an environmental consulting firm.
The western boundary of the park is also the boundary between the Town of Swampscott and the City of Lynn.
This project provides the desired recreational experience and pedestrian connectivity, maintains buffers around the Park boundary and separation between trails, and utilizes as much of the park as possible, the site study noted.
Interim Town Administrator Gino Cresta shared his excitement for the development.
“I think this is a great utilization of space that was under-utilized. It was just a wooded area that nobody really knew how to access, and with these improvements and new trails, it will be a great open-space project for everybody in the town to enjoy,” Cresta said.
