Feldmann and his wife, who wanted to live in a loft but
couldn't afford downtown Boston, sold their Jamaica Plain
condo and became pioneers at another urban front, buying
a loft in Lynn for only $200,000.
They moved into the Boston Machine Lofts, a stately building
that was the first to be converted. Convinced that Lynn's
downtown resurrection was real, Feldmann quit his job as
a Web developer and two years ago opened the Gulu-Gulu
Cafe, named for a cafe in Prague where he and his wife
met. The European-style cafe sells wine and craft beers
at night, hosts live music, and has abstract art hanging
on the walls.
The cafe -- right across the square from Feldmann's loft
-- is a cornerstone of the new downtown scene, which has
seen an influx of about 250 homeowners during the past
year-and-a-half, many of whom make the 20-minute commuter
rail trip to Boston, said Jim Cowdell , executive director
of Lynn's Economic Development and Industrial Corp.
Despite that impressive opening wave, Feldmann said he
expected the downtown to be even busier than it is now.
"I thought if somebody takes a chance and stakes
a claim downtown, others would follow, and it didn't happen
as quickly as I thought it would," he said. "Other
restaurants are doing well, the arts scene has really flourished,
the lofts are still selling, you're seeing more people
on the streets, but it's nowhere near where it's going
to go. The South End [in Boston] in the early '90s was
not too impressive, and it's the same here -- it hasn't
reached a critical mass yet."
Feldmann, who grew up in Central Massachusetts, said that
many of the young couples who migrated from Boston are
originally from Rhode Island, New York, or elsewhere, and
had no image of Lynn as impoverished and crime-ridden .
"Growing up, Lynn meant nothing to me," he said. "The
extra baggage didn't affect me at all. But my brother-in-law,
who grew up in Swampscott, has a different perception,
and he's been quite impressed that it's packed with all
these young professionals and artists."
The general slowdown in the real estate market that began
last year hasn't helped. Two developers with several condo
developments between them -- RCG of Somerville and the
Mayo Group of Boston -- each said units are taking longer
to sell than expected because of the market downturn.
The Mayo Group's 7 Central Square, which opened last June,
has sold 16 of its 22 units. Ed O'Donnell , vice president
of development, said that hasn't discouraged the company
from proceeding with another development nearby, 24 Mt.
Vernon St., where it added two floors to an old three-story
warehouse to create 31 units. MV24, which will have an
art gallery, is slated to open in the fall. Prices for
two-bedroom lofts will start at $299,000.
"We've only begun to scratch the surface in downtown
Lynn," O'Donnell said. "We're in Lynn for the
long haul."
RCG converted an old fire station into Ladder 3 Lofts
at 88 Franklin St. While it took more than a year to move
all 15 Ladder 3 units, a buyer is already reselling a condo
for more than the original sale price.
And at the Boston Machine Lofts,
which RCG also developed, owners "have seen their values rise and hold, even
as the market slowed," said Matt Picarsic , an RCG
principal.
In a way, the downtown scene is Version 2.0 of the new
Lynn. Another entrepreneur who has eagerly awaited Lynn's
comeback is Lowell Gray , whose success with the Internet
service provider Shore.Net in the 1990s fueled hope that
Lynn could host a thriving cyber district -- hope that
fizzled with the dot-com bust.
Gray kept his Oxford Street building but sold the company
to its current tenant, Primus Telecommunications Group,
and redeveloped a nearby building into three upper-level
condos and an upscale German restaurant, which recently
closed.
A new restaurant, called the Downtown
Bistro, will open in its place soon, operated by John
Moore , who owns the Navy Yard Bistro in Charlestown.
Although Gray closed his restaurant, he's "still a big Lynn booster" and
pointed to the undeveloped waterfront as something that
will drive the downtown's resurgence in the future.
"Over the next couple years, that's going to be huge," he
said.
As for the three-story Primus building
that he still owns, Gray described it as underutilized,
with extra space that could be filled by small Web service
companies. It's as wired as anything "in the heart of Silicon Valley," he
said.
A new retail center called Union Place will open soon
at the former Old Standard of Lynn Plumbing Supply House
. Developed by Lenny D'Orlando of Wakefield, the seven
storefronts will include a Bread and Butter convenience
store, a Subway, Chinese and Dominican restaurants, a laundromat,
and a women's spa.
Another new downtown entrepreneur is Thuydiem Le , 34,
who runs the Vietnamese restaurant Pho Lynn on Munroe Street
with her parents and lives on the second floor with her
husband and two small children. The family left Melrose
for the two-story, century-old building, and plans on sending
the kids to Lynn public schools.
"At night we're really busy, but it's really quiet
outside," she said. "I like it." |
