March 3, 2008
Editorial/The Daily Item
What appears on paper and what happens in real life are not always one-in-the-same.
As such, it may have been premature last week for James Cowdell, Executive Director of Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, to tout the city's new Waterfront Master Plan, which he has worked on for 18 months, as "truly the biggest thing to happen in Lynn in my lifetime."
There's little doubt the waterfront holds incredible potential for development, and Cowdell, along with Mayor Edward Clancy, Jr., and the local legislative delegation, scored a major victory last year when the state committed $2.5 million toward relocation of the South Harbor power lines.
But the occasion of a City Council sub-committee approving a Master Plan to forward to the full Council for its approval should hardly be touted as a "biggest thing".
The biggest thing, in our view, will be for the city to actually see a developer build on the waterfront. A master plan, while essential, establishes rather dull zoning details, i.e. parking regulations and building height restrictions. Marketing the site and putting the plan into effect is the major challenge.
In the past decade, at least two tentative plans for a large portion of the vacant waterfront property - the former Beacon Chevrolet site - have fallen through. And given the current economic climate, particularly in housing, it's not likely ground will be broken soon on the new waterfront construction.
In fairness, Cowdell, the former City Council president, has been busy and his position warrants that he be an eternal optimist.
It's to Cowdell's credit the state is considering a Lynn-to-Boston ferry service. And he shares a vision with Clancy and generations of city officials before, of extension of the Blue Line to Lynn and a bustling waterfront with a mix of new residential and commercial development.
One day? Perhaps.
Soon? Don't hold you breath.
|
