LYNN — The SEB Lynn Harbor project is looking to transform 8 acres of privately owned waterfront property into a public park and promenade.
The proponent hosted a public meeting to gather community input in order to further implement a plan that reflects the public’s vision for the park.
Noah Maslan, a principal at Eden Properties, a real estate firm that is collaborating with the SEB Lynn Harbor LLC entity, explained the goal of the proposed park and promenade.
“Part of the vision for the waterfront is to transition it from industrial uses and, through redevelopment, create a network that provides public access to the waterfront and allows the community to engage and use the waterfront,” Maslan said.
The promenade is expected to extend along the waterfront to the Nahant Beach Reservation. Meanwhile, the proponent is also looking at implementing community programs in the future public park.
The ideas for activities, which have been brainstormed via community suggestions, include fishing, kayaking, seasonal concerts, outdoor movies, cultural heritage festivals, food truck nights, history walks, farmers markets, and more.
Doug Jones, principal at LeBlanc Jones Landscape Architects, said the proponent team is currently in the process of determining where to locate and how to utilize these potential programs.
“These are all uses that will help activate the park. There’s a symbiotic relationship so that the park can support these spaces, and these spaces are definitely going to make the park a nicer place to be,” Jones said.
He added, “There are some things on the list which we’re quite excited about. We can create a park that will allow these kinds of activities to happen in a multitude of places. We’re not going to develop it in a way that prevents people from using them.”
The project site, which is located at 830 Lynnway, is currently owned by developer Samuels & Associates. Maslan also addressed attendees’ potential concerns regarding the park’s accessibility and funding.
“It’s important to have pieces that draw everybody from the community to the waterfront. It’s also important to have commercial uses that help populate at different times of day to bring people down and help them stay,” he said.
Maslan added, “Part of the vision we’re trying to facilitate is to open the waterfront up by creating roads, sidewalks, and areas for small business to bring people down to the waterfront. The public is going to take back ownership of the prime real estate on this site of the wharf.”
He continued, “It’s going to take a lot of effort and resources to be able to build on this land. To build a lot of this infrastructure, it will be a combination of private investments from the development team and the owners as well as public investment from the state and the city to make the transformation at this scale happen.”
Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan was heavily involved in the phase one opening of Harbor Park at the waterfront, which included repurposing a former 30-acre municipal landfill into walking paths, a recreational area, pickleball courts, and an outdoor amphitheater. Hogan assured attendees that the city is prioritizing public access when it comes to the Lynn Harbor Project’s design for the 8-acre park.
“(The City) made sure that public access was for the residents of Lynn first. We want local organizations out there doing things to make this a place for us. We have access to these locations,” Hogan said.
