SALEM — The new owners of Shetland Park won’t build 1,400 housing units on the property, but they do want to build something and are asking for the city’s help to decide what.
New York-based Prime Group bought Shetland Park for $70 million in 2019. They’re now launching a “framework plan” process with Salem leaders to design the Shetland Park Redevelopment Area. The process, targeting roughly 1.5 million square feet of industrial land along Salem Harbor and the South River, will “bring together input and priorities from community members and the property owner into a shared vision for the site’s future,” city officials said in a release issued Thursday.
“We’ve encouraged the property owner to be responsive to stakeholders’ concerns and questions and thoughtful about how the role and impact this major site has in our larger community,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll. “My hope is that the framework that emerges from this process will be one that is workable for those who live near or work at Shetland, the owners of the property, and our community as a whole.”
The process will kick off with a community listening session on Tuesday, April 12, at the Salem Academy Gym, 16 Lynch St., at 5:30 p.m.
The Shetland project has raised concerns around Salem, in part because of gentrification concerns that could impact The Point Neighborhood if development at Shetland Park isn’t done sensitively.
“They have a big piece of property, and now they want to explore development,” said Ward 1 Councilor Bob McCarthy, who represents the entirety of the Shetland property and most of The Point. “I personally want to make sure it fits with the neighborhood, fits with the city, but also try to maintain the businesses who are there and want to stay.”
The property has hosted a small number of community meetings to date, which have explored possible reconfiguration of the site’s massive buildings to allow for Point Neighborhood streets to be extended out to the ocean.
“They’ve already done some initial work on what the buildings are, what kind of occupancy they have, the state of some of the buildings,” McCarthy said. “They’re looking to come up with a plan that works.”
For more, including to sign up for updates and submit feedback, visit publicinput.com/ShetlandPark.
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
