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What was once a brownfield at 15 Peabody St., located behind Wendy’s, will now serve the community as a recreational park. City officials and partner organizations say the new park complements the city’s plan for increased waterfront access — the Salem Harbor Walk, a pedestrian path that is also in the planning stages, will cross the Peabody Street property.
“This will be great for the quality of life in the immediate neighborhood. It will provide green open space, access to the water and access to the Salem Harbor Walk,” said Lynn Duncan, the director of Salem’s Department of Planning and Community Development, which is overseeing the project.
The vision for 15 Peabody St. is a multigenerational park with trees, shrubs and grassy spaces. Early plans for the land call for playground equipment that caters to toddlers, something the city lacks. However, the design has not yet been determined, and specifics will be finalized now that space and funding are being resolved.
The city received word last week that the state’s Urban Self-Help Program will contribute $474,000, a plumb grant applied for by Salem’s Open Space Committee. Salem will also tap funds from its Community Development Block Grant program, which contributes money toward public projects like this.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide another $200,000 for converting the brownfield into land safe for recreational use.
And since the park will connect the neighborhood with the harbor walk, Salem will be able to use Seaport Advisory Council money, earmarked for the walk, to convert part of the Peabody Street property.
“This project has been on the burner for a number of years, and now we finally have the resources to implement it,” explained Duncan. Designs for the Salem Harbor Walk entail continuous pedestrian access along the edge of the harbor, from Winter Island to Palmer Cove, with several sections in between.
The Urban Self-Help Program grants are designed to help cities and towns in acquiring and developing land for outdoor recreation, and the $474,000 furnished by the program will help make the long-discussed Peabody Street park a reality.
Any community with a population of 35,000 or more year-round residents, or any city regardless of size that has an authorized park and recreation commission, is eligible to participate. Only projects that are to be developed for suitable outdoor recreation purposes, whether active or passive in nature, are considered for funding. Access to the land by the general public is required.
The $474,000 from the Urban Self-Help Grant needs to be spent by June 2009.
“The goal would be for the park to be completed by 2009 unless the city got an extension,” said Barbara Warren, director of Salem Sound Coastwatch (SSCW), one of the organizations partnering with Salem on the project. SSCW is a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting and enhancing the environmental quality of the Salem Sound Watershed.
The $200,000 in funding from the EPA is earmarked for the cleanup of the oil-contaminated soil.
“The cleanup of a brownfield, a space in a vacant contaminated parcel, is a great asset for the neighborhood and city,” said Duncan.
Meeting the community’s needs
Four master’s students from Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Program decided to partner with the Salem Sound Coastwatch for their semester-long field project, focusing on the Peabody Street plans.
The goal for the students was to come up with a conceptual plan for the land, and they worked from January to May to complete it.
The SSCW and the student’s task was to get the ball rolling. They need to bring to the community’s attention the fact that the city owns the lot on 15 Peabody St. The goal was to involve the community and the immediate neighbors of the Point.
They did this by interviewing and surveying the community, asking several questions about their ideal park and their priorities for Peabody Street.
The student team held two meetings to involve the community, on March 6 and March 16 to give the residents a chance to speak. They also went to Salem High School and interviewed the students.
The high school students thought the park should have basketball courts. However, the lot is only one-quarter acre and a court would take up too much space. Peabody Street planners raised the point that there is already a basketball court at Palmer Cover Park, which is located on the outskirts of the Point and is geared toward the high school age group, ages 12 to 18.
Also in the vicinity of the neighborhood is Mary Jane Lee Park. This park has a number of benches, a jungle gym and a half-court for basketball, and is in process of putting up hoops. Like Palmer Cover, Mary Jane Park is targeted towards age 5 to 12.
Residents made other suggestions for the Peabody Street park, including benches, picnic tables, game tables and hopefully a wall with a mosaic or mural of seafaring Salem and the nautical history. The mosaic, or mural, will soften the look of the park and hide the chain-link fence, between the park and National Grid.
Other possibilities for the park are a gazebo and playground. For safety the park will be illuminated at night and also have speed bumps or raised crosswalks close to the entrance.
The idea is to create a place with a strong sense of community.
“I think that [the park] will be very positive and increase people’s knowledge of the rivers, and the access to the Salem Harbor Walk,” said Warren.
What’s next for Peabody Street?
The planning process for the future Peabody Street park will include further conversations with the neighborhood and cooperation with departments and commissions. The hope is to hire a consultant who can work on both the remediation of the land and the design. And before plans move forward, the state grants need to be certified.
The expected timeline entails the design being completed within the next year, addressing the environmental issues and the use of the park. Engineering of the design will hopefully be completed in 2008, with the construction finished in 2009.
What was once a brownfield at 15 Peabody St., located behind Wendy’s, will now serve the community as a recreational park. City officials and partner organizations say the new park complements the city’s plan for increased waterfront access — the Salem Harbor Walk, a pedestrian path that is also in the planning stages, will cross the Peabody Street property.
“This will be great for the quality of life in the immediate neighborhood. It will provide green open space, access to the water and access to the Salem Harbor Walk,” said Lynn Duncan, the director of Salem’s Department of Planning and Community Development, which is overseeing the project.
The vision for 15 Peabody St. is a multigenerational park with trees, shrubs and grassy spaces. Early plans for the land call for playground equipment that caters to toddlers, something the city lacks. However, the design has not yet been determined, and specifics will be finalized now that space and funding are being resolved.
The city received word last week that the state’s Urban Self-Help Program will contribute $474,000, a plumb grant applied for by Salem’s Open Space Committee. Salem will also tap funds from its Community Development Block Grant program, which contributes money toward public projects like this.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide another $200,000 for converting the brownfield into land safe for recreational use.
And since the park will connect the neighborhood with the harbor walk, Salem will be able to use Seaport Advisory Council money, earmarked for the walk, to convert part of the Peabody Street property.
“This project has been on the burner for a number of years, and now we finally have the resources to implement it,” explained Duncan. Designs for the Salem Harbor Walk entail continuous pedestrian access along the edge of the harbor, from Winter Island to Palmer Cove, with several sections in between.
The Urban Self-Help Program grants are designed to help cities and towns in acquiring and developing land for outdoor recreation, and the $474,000 furnished by the program will help make the long-discussed Peabody Street park a reality.
Any community with a population of 35,000 or more year-round residents, or any city regardless of size that has an authorized park and recreation commission, is eligible to participate. Only projects that are to be developed for suitable outdoor recreation purposes, whether active or passive in nature, are considered for funding. Access to the land by the general public is required.
The $474,000 from the Urban Self-Help Grant needs to be spent by June 2009.
“The goal would be for the park to be completed by 2009 unless the city got an extension,” said Barbara Warren, director of Salem Sound Coastwatch (SSCW), one of the organizations partnering with Salem on the project. SSCW is a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting and enhancing the environmental quality of the Salem Sound Watershed.
The $200,000 in funding from the EPA is earmarked for the cleanup of the oil-contaminated soil.
“The cleanup of a brownfield, a space in a vacant contaminated parcel, is a great asset for the neighborhood and city,” said Duncan.
Meeting the community’s needs
Four master’s students from Tufts University’s Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Program decided to partner with the Salem Sound Coastwatch for their semester-long field project, focusing on the Peabody Street plans.
The goal for the students was to come up with a conceptual plan for the land, and they worked from January to May to complete it.
The SSCW and the student’s task was to get the ball rolling. They need to bring to the community’s attention the fact that the city owns the lot on 15 Peabody St. The goal was to involve the community and the immediate neighbors of the Point.
They did this by interviewing and surveying the community, asking several questions about their ideal park and their priorities for Peabody Street.
The student team held two meetings to involve the community, on March 6 and March 16 to give the residents a chance to speak. They also went to Salem High School and interviewed the students.
The high school students thought the park should have basketball courts. However, the lot is only one-quarter acre and a court would take up too much space. Peabody Street planners raised the point that there is already a basketball court at Palmer Cover Park, which is located on the outskirts of the Point and is geared toward the high school age group, ages 12 to 18.
Also in the vicinity of the neighborhood is Mary Jane Lee Park. This park has a number of benches, a jungle gym and a half-court for basketball, and is in process of putting up hoops. Like Palmer Cover, Mary Jane Park is targeted towards age 5 to 12.
Residents made other suggestions for the Peabody Street park, including benches, picnic tables, game tables and hopefully a wall with a mosaic or mural of seafaring Salem and the nautical history. The mosaic, or mural, will soften the look of the park and hide the chain-link fence, between the park and National Grid.
Other possibilities for the park are a gazebo and playground. For safety the park will be illuminated at night and also have speed bumps or raised crosswalks close to the entrance.
The idea is to create a place with a strong sense of community.
“I think that [the park] will be very positive and increase people’s knowledge of the rivers, and the access to the Salem Harbor Walk,” said Warren.
What’s next for Peabody Street?
The planning process for the future Peabody Street park will include further conversations with the neighborhood and cooperation with departments and commissions. The hope is to hire a consultant who can work on both the remediation of the land and the design. And before plans move forward, the state grants need to be certified.
The expected timeline entails the design being completed within the next year, addressing the environmental issues and the use of the park. Engineering of the design will hopefully be completed in 2008, with the construction finished in 2009.
