GA Blog: Peabody

12.30.11 Peabody Recieves Brownfield Grant to Develop New Park

The Salem News recently reported that the city of Peabody received $497,000 from MassDevelopment to convert a polluted site in the downtown area into a park. The funds will be used to clean up the area by removing contaminated soil and capping the site with clean fill.

To fund the $1.5 million project, Peabody has received $549,000 from the state, $240,000 from the Environmental Protection Agency, and has put forward $265,000 from the city’s community preservation fund. The city first bought the land, that was one a leather tannery, in 2009 for $115,000.

City officials expect that roughly $800,000 will go towards design, permitting and construction, while the rest will be used for the cleanup. The park project is part of a bigger plan in which the city is attempting to “reimagine” the entire downtown and make it a more sought-after area. The city is already going forward with an $18 million project that will redirect flood waters away from downtown as well as a $1.5 million redesign of Main Street.

Read the entire Salem News article.

12.9.11 Downtown Peabody Flooding Fix Could Save Businesses Millions

The Salem News recently reported a consulting firm was hired to study the impact of flooding in downtown Peabody, and that after seeing the firm’s findings the city is considering going forward with a $21 million “flood mitigation” project to divert water away from the downtown.

RGK Associates Inc. interviews dozens of downtown Peabody business owners in their study. After completing their interviews they determined that as much as $8 million would be saved over the next 20 years by local businesses if the flooding problem was fixed. During the most recent flooding in October, RGK estimated that over $700,000 was spent by area businesses in repairs.

The city’s plan, if they choose to go forward, is to build a large culvert that would go underneath the downtown and release water into the North River. Once the problem was fixed the city believes that a bump in property values as well as new business development in the area would turn profitable in the long run.

Read the entire Salem News article.

12.22.10 Peabody's Marriott Hotel sold for $11.5M

According to the Peabody/Lynnfield Weekly News, the Peabody Marriot Hotel was recently sold by the Analogic Corp. for $11.5 million to the newly formed Sigma Pi Alpha Corp. which is headed by Analogic Corp. founder, Bernard Gordon. In the agreement Sigma Pi Alpha purchased the land the hotel sits on for $2 million, the hotel buildings for $8 million and a personal property building used in hotel operations for $1.5 million.  Analogic Corp. also assigned the Marriot franchise agreement to Sigma Pi Alpha, so the hotel will remain a Marriot hotel.

The hotel which is located in Peabody’s most important industrial park has been a cornerstone of the area for years. The sale was official and recorded at the Salem Registry of Deeds on Oct. 29, 2010.

Read the entire Peabody/Lynnfield Weekly News article.

12.17.10 Peabody Debates Reconfiguring Main Street

According to the Salem News, Peabody officials recently endorsed the idea of a $1.6 million project that would slow traffic and make it easier for pedestrians to cross Main Street. The plan would call for pedestrian islands as well as “bump-outs” at the beginning or crosswalks. The Main Street travel lanes would be cut down to two, form the current four, and include a turning lane.

Read the entire Salem News article.

11.22.10 Expansion of Assisted Living in Peabody

The Peabody/Lynnfield Weekly News reports that construction of a $35 million expansion project at the Woodbridge assisted living facility in Peabody is scheduled to start at the beginning of the year. The project’s owner made the announcement last month and is looking forward to roughly doubling the size of the current facility.

The new, state-of-the art skilled nursing facility will feature three wings which will contain 144 beds, a learning center, a childcare center, and a bistro. The new facility will be replacing the 176-bed Jewish Rehab Center located in Swampscott. While there are fewer beds in the new building, Stephen Neff, president and CEO of Aviv Centers for Living, expects to serve more people.

The project is planned to initiate early in the first quarter of 2011 and is expected to be finished by the summer or fall of 2012.

Read the entire Peabody/Lynnfield Weekly News article.

11.12.10 Peabody ZBA Vice Chairman Resigns Over Bartholomew Street Land Deal

The Salem News reports that Peabody Zoning Board of Appeals Vice Chairman resigned over a recently Bartholomew Street land deal.  Paul Ruocco, a vice president at Cambridge Savings Bank, purchased 98 Bartholomew Street in Peabody in March 2010.  A month later, he received approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals to divide the property into two lots – one to build a home for himself and, according to meeting minutes, one to build a home for his in-laws.

Instead, in June, Ruocco sold one of the parcels to his mother-in-law, who on the same day sold the property to a third party, Roger Barile, a local builder.  Over the summer, an unsigned complaint was sent to Mayor Michael Bonfanti, who asked City Solicitor John Christopher to look into the matter.

According to Christopher, "What we saw on paper, it just didn't look good,"  In late August, Mayor Bonfanti invited Ruocco to meet with him and Christopher, and during their conversation, Ruocco offered his resignation.

Read the entire Salem News article.