Aerial view of the Liberty Statue in Peabody Square. Item File Photo
By Adam Swift
PEABODY — The striping lines painted in newly-paved Peabody Square have barely dried but city leaders are taking the next step to develop downtown.
The city this week issued a request for proposals for the development of a municipal parking lot at the corner of Foster and Lowell streets.
Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt Jr. said he’s looking for a smaller scale commercial and retail proposal than the one brought forward by Middleton-based Bandar Development & Builders in 2015.
That proposal for retail and residential development and a parking garage was in concert with another proposal from the developer across the street at the O’Shea Building for a boutique hotel.
Bettencourt said there were concerns about the loss of downtown parking with the earlier proposal.
“There is real potential at the site,” Bettencourt said of the 55-space parking lot at 0 Foster St. “But on review, we thought it was necessary to scale back a bit.”
The city’s Purchasing Department is accepting bids for the development of the .69 acre parcel, which is assessed at $196,900, until noon, Monday, Oct. 31. Bettencourt said the proposal was written in fairly general language to gauge interest from developers the city may be able to work with.
“This bid is for a commercial/retail project that will maintain a significant amount of parking spaces, which I think is needed downtown,” said Bettencourt.
With the $3.6-million Peabody Square traffic reconstruction project wrapping up, the mayor also said the timing should be better now to gauge how developers are assessing downtown’s potential.
“Developers and people we reached out to knew there was a large project downtown,” said Bettencourt. “I think a lot of them wanted to see how it was going when it was at or near completion before making any proposals.”
Bringing commercial and retail development to the square is part of the continued effort to revitalize the downtown. The reconfigured and repaved roadways, along with new sidewalks and plazas, in the city center will help make the area safer for pedestrians, more attractive for residents and should help improve traffic flow, the mayor said.
“I do think we will open up some eyes and interest because of the improvements,” Bettencourt said.
He said he also expects the city to rebid for proposals for the development of the former O’Shea Mansion at 2 Washington St. in the coming months. No bids were received this summer on the development of the historic building, which the city seized by eminent domain earlier this year.
The Gloucester-based company that purchased the building before it was seized has filed legal action against the city for damages and to stop any further development of the parcel.
Adam Swift can be reached at [email protected].