LYNN — Residents may notice a pleasant change during their next visit to Lynn Common.
On Saturday, non-profit organization Lynn Main Streets, along with city councilors Richard Colucci and Brian LaPierre, spent the morning with nearly 20 volunteers planting more than 25 hydrangeas throughout Lynn Common as the latest in a number of recent initiatives to beautify the city’s downtown district.
“Lynn’s going through a renaissance of sorts at the moment, and especially during these trying times, this is something positive,” said Lynn Main Streets board member Josh Judkins. “The plants will be here basically forever, so seeing them grow and watching them bloom is something to look forward to.”
Purchased using donations from a number of local business owners, including Nick Menino of Menino Construction, John Gilberg of Seabay Realty, and Fitzroy Alexander of Traditional Breads, the hydrangeas are symbolic of a much broader objective to improve the quality of life in Lynn by turning the city’s downtown into a thriving, community-centric area.
“I’ve lived in Lynn my entire life, and we just want the community to be able to walk downtown. We have so much that nobody really knows is even here unless it’s activated properly,” said LMS Community Engagement Director Tia Cole. “We want to activate it, help make it a little bit better, and make it fun to bring our families to.”
To help reach that goal, the organization was recently awarded a Commonwealth Resurgent Places Grant on behalf of MassDevelopment. A portion of the money will go toward building an outdoor eatery in front of Boba Tea & Snow Ice House in City Hall Square, where Cole said additional outdoor seating may help surrounding local businesses retain their customer base by giving patrons a place to sit while heavy COVID restrictions remain in place.
“(Boba Tea) was one of the first businesses we noticed that had lines out the door, so people will be able to sit while they wait, or they can grab their tea and sit down to relax,” Cole said. “Part of Lynn Main Streets’ mission is economic development (by) supporting small businesses downtown.”
Board President Brenda Ortiz Peral added: “(We hope to) break that stigma of ‘it’s not safe to be downtown or walk downtown.’
“One of our main goals is focusing on Market Street. Like Tia said, there’s so much to do here, so (we want to say), ‘Come on, bring your kids and bring your family.’ We can help by setting up some tables and planting some plants and, eventually, hosting some events down here just to get it going.”
Although Lynn Main Streets helped spearhead Saturday’s effort, planting hydrangeas throughout Lynn Common was actually the brainchild of City Councilor Colucci, who came up with the idea following a trip to the Azores with his wife.
“In Portugal, every single street was covered with (hydrangeas),” he said. “Now they’re doing it in Fall River, and we’re bringing it to Lynn as well.
“As they mature, they’re really going to be a focal point for the city when people drive by.”
Ultimately, Cole said the organization hopes to change perspectives about the Lynn community as a whole.
“(We want to) change the narrative,” she said. “With all of the new tenants we’re going to have soon, we want to make sure people are aware that they can spend their dollars in our city and they don’t have to go outside (of Lynn) to get what they want.”
