Potato chip plant crumbles; National Grid to the rescue |
 |
||||
City Economic and Development Director James Cowdell said National Grid representatives and city officials will work together to develop the entire Boyd’s site. He said discussions will focus on ways to bring additional manufacturing jobs to the Lynnway. “What we don’t want is to have a vacant lot there. We think there is a higher, better use. They are on the same page with us,” Cowdell said. Cowdell said two factors made the Boyd’s building reuse cost prohibitive to National Grid: A gas holding tank beneath the building and the structure’s deterioration after being empty almost 10 years. “They will clean up the site and work with EDIC to sell the land for development purposes,” he said. Beyond constructing a new power substation, the Boyd’s site’s future will be dictated by the city’s Waterfront Master Plan. Drafted in 2007, the plan outlines building residential and commercial projects on more than 300 acres from the General Edwards Bridge to Market Street and along the inner harbor to the Nahant Rotary. City officials last November hoped an initial proposal for a waterfront hotel might serve as an example of how the plan can reshape the Lynnway from a commercial strip to a redeveloped waterfront featuring residences and other uses. Touted as a $9 million investment, the hotel plan did not materialize; however, Starbucks opened a location at 821 Lynnway this week. Thor Jourgensen can be reached at tjourgensen@itemlive.com |
|||||
Back to News
