GA Blog: Beverly

6.30.10 Beverly & Salem Housing Group Merger

Following-up on our post in February, the Salem Gazette is reporting that the merger between the Salem Harbor Community Development Corporation and Beverly Affordable Housing Coalition is expected to be completed by end of July.

The CDC has developed around 180 units of affordable housing since it was founded in 1979, but its high-profile development for buyers, the Palmer Cove Condominiums, was threatened with foreclosure and was converted into a rental property.  The CDC’s English for Speakers of Other Languages classes serve about 100 students each year through an active volunteer instructor program.

The smaller BAHC broke ground earlier this year on one of two new affordable housing developments in Beverly, the 43-unit Cabot Street Homes, and has secured funding for the 65-unit Holcroft Park Homes slated to begin construction in 2011. Founded in 2000, BAHC oversees about 70 affordable apartments, but hopes to have closer to 100 units by the end of this year.

According to David Jacobson, president of the Salem Harbor CDC Board of Directors: "The board is going to be a mixture of both Salem and Beverly, and we’re developing contacts and deepening the roots in both cities… We expect it to really be a good organization, one that will be stronger and better able to satisfy our clients.”

Read the entire Salem Gazette article.

2.11.10 Salem and Beverly Housing Groups Seek Merger

The Salem News is reporting that Salem Harbor Community Development Corp. has been in merger discussions with the Beverly Affordable Housing Coalition.  Salem Harbor CDC, which has headquarters on Lafayette Street, owns several buildings and about 180 affordable apartments, many in The Point, an adjacent low-income, largely Spanish-speaking neighborhood. It also offers English classes for immigrants.

The Beverly Affordable Housing Coalition oversees about 70 affordable apartments, with two affordable-housing projects under way – it broke ground last month on 43 studio apartments on Cabot Street at the site of the former Mayflower Motel and has secured initial funding for Holcroft Park Homes, 65 affordable residences in the Gloucester Crossing section of Beverly. They hope to begin construction on that project early next year.

Read the entire Salem News article.

9.4.09 Update on Beverly Parking Garage

The Beverly Citizen reports that in the latest step to build a $20 million 500-space parking garage near the Beverly Depot, the MBTA has offered to pay a private developer $12.5 million and allow the developer to then lease its portion of the project from the MBTA.  The goal is for the 1.5 acre sit at the end of Court Street, between Rantoul Street and the train tracks, to be a commercial and residential space, allowing Beverly to take advantage of smart growth zoning policies.  The garage is scheduled to be complete and open in October 2011.

 Read the entire Beverly Citizen article.

7.22.09 Waterfront Walkway in Beverly

The Beverly Citizen reported that MassHighway is exploring to complete the waterfront walkway on the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Beverly. The walkway was originally part of the commitment MassHighway made when it received environmental permits to build the bridge in 1996.

Beverly Planning Director Tina Cassidy said that the state plans to build a park on the stub of the old Beverly-Salem Bridge off Bridge Street in Salem. The park was also part of the original permit agreement. The work is back on the front burner after city officials met with MassHighway representatives in February and “reminded them about the project” and the “outstanding, lingering obligation,” Cassidy said.

Read the entire Beverly Citizen article.

6.13.09 Beverly MBTA Parking Garage

The Beverly Citizen reported that the MBTA will purchase 1 ½ acres of land at the end of Court Street, near Beverly Depot, for $3.75 million, where it plans to build a new commuter-parking garage. The land is currently being used as a privately operated commuter parking lot. The new $20 million 500-car commuter-parking garage is scheduled to be open in 2011. The money used to purchase the property will come from the $3.2 million in federal money already earmarked towards the project and $550,000 of the state's $12.5 million share of the project. The MBTA will also fund $4.1 million of the project, using revenue from the $5 daily parking fee.

Read the entire Beverly Citizen article.

5.16.09 Beverly Land for Sale

 

The Beverly Citizen reported recently that the 59-acre parcel of land which was once the site of a proposed senior housing complex, is on the market.  The northern side of the property borders the town of Wenham and the Lord's Hill neighborhood. To the east is Route 97 and to the south are Birch Plains Park fields, Beverly emergency management offices and Beverly Airport property.

Read the entire Beverly Citizen article.