ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Peabody Mayor Edward A. Bettencourt stands near the war memorial that may be relocated to a new position behind where he is standing. The road between him and the island will be eliminated.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
PEABODY—For years, flooding issues have plagued Peabody Square. Now, Mayor Ted Bettencourt has outlined changes that could alleviate those problems and help revitalize the city’s downtown area.
Bettencourt said Peabody Square is located where three streams converge, and when there are major rain events, water works down those streams to that area.
To lessen the amount of water that flows down from those streams, Bettencourt said an upstream retention area — the Scouting Woods Retention Pond — was created in a strategic location near Centennial Park. He said through that strategy, the city has been able to hold back potential flood water at a cost of $1.1 million. The pond was completed last year.
“(It was about) creating a holding pond to catch this water as it flows to the downtown,” Bettencourt said. “It has worked wonderfully and produced the desired results.”
Another issue that impacts flooding is the high tide on the North River, as that river comes up to Peabody Square. Bettencourt said the city has started a quarterly maintenance system with trustees from the Essex County Correctional Facility helping city workers clean out culverts. He said the work includes removing a lot of the brush that builds up in the culverts and removing tires and refrigerators that are thrown into the waterways. He said those items clog up the culverts that help push water out to the North River.
Bettencourt said those two approaches are the most cost-effective ways to reduce flooding. He said another option would be to install large culverts to hold additional water, but that approach would cost tens of millions of dollars and have an impact on businesses.
“I just do not feel that’s the appropriate approach right now,” Bettencourt said.
Another project, slated for the spring, is moving the Civil War monument that is right in the middle of downtown to the front of Peabody District Court. Bettencourt said having the monument in the new location would create an open plaza to have more events.
Removing the monument from its current location would create a four-way intersection downtown, which would help with the flow of traffic. Currently in that area there are slip lanes to avoid the intersection, which have been a source of accidents. Bettencourt said those slips lanes would be eliminated.
Also part of the downtown revitalization effort is the sale of “important parcels of our downtown,” which have been purchased by investors. One of those parcels is the 9 Main St. property, which has been vacant for more than 20 years.
Bettencourt said a new developer and owner purchased that property for a potential restaurant or boutique hotel.
At the vacant property at 98 Main St., a new owner is seeking to put a bakery on the first floor and some apartment units above it for a mixed commercial/residential use.
“We feel that this is an excellent addition to our downtown and epitomizes what we are looking for,” Bettencourt said.
Thursday night, Bettencourt will go before the City Council to ask for authorization to sign a purchase and sale agreement for the 12 Washington St. property, which used to be St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He said the city is looking to purchase that site to potentially have city offices or a children’s museum in that location.
For that property, Bettencourt said the purchase price would be $650,000 and would be paid in four installments — $275,000 for the first year and $125,000 for the next three years. He said 50 additional parking spots would be created.
“The goal is to create destination areas for Peabody Square,” Bettencourt said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]