City officials will be presenting the information gathered through public input on what to do with the I-4, C-2 property and will discuss future plans for the long debated parcel during a virtual meeting next week.
Located at 65 Rogers St., I-4, C-2 is a 2-acre city-owned lot that officials and residents alike have debated what to do with for decades. Currently the site is used for downtown parking, lobster trap storage and dock access.
For the past 6 months, members of the city’s Community Development Department have been working on a re-visioning project for the lot by collecting information from residents about what how they would like to see it used. Community Development has been assisted by Zapalac Advisors, a real estate and economic development firm, through a $50,000 MassDevelopment grant.
Officials will provide an overview of the results from public input and outline next steps during a virtual meeting Monday, July 13. The meeting will begin at 5 p.m. and can be attended via https://gloucester-ma-gov.zoom.us/j/83896630953.
Economic Development Coordinator Emily Sloane said in general, the public has said maintaining public access to the waterfront, maintaining a view of the harbor and keeping I-4, C-2 “authentically reflecting the working waterfront” are priorities.
Other topics she said people mentioned include parking and exploring the “designated port area.”
The designated port area, or DPA as it is sometimes called, is a state restriction on I-4, C-2 that mandates most of the property must be used for water-dependent industrial uses.
Sloane said next steps for the project include refining and issuing a request for “expressions of intent” for possible developers. She said the request will not be issued until the fall.
An expression of intent is a non-binding offer a developer would bring forward if they are interested in working with the city on redeveloping I-4, C-2.
In years past, Sloane said the city has essentially skipped this step and requested proposals for site development, which is a larger commitment than the expression of intent, but that has been unsuccessful.
“(The expression of interest) allows the city to test the waters and see what ideas are out there,” she said. “We could see if there seems to be anything that meets our conditions which are largely based on community priorities.”
“It also allows us to provide feedback and say we really like this idea but we feel it would be stronger if you did x, y and z,” Sloane continued. “It allows us to align and provide feedback so that if we do move on to a request for proposals process, then ideally the proposals would come in stronger and more aligned with our vision.”
At this point the city has not committed to going through a request for proposals process. That decision hinders on what ideas the expressions of interest generate.
The city is also not looking to sell the property, according to Sloane, and instead is interested in a public-private partnership where a development team would work with the city on a redevelopment plan.
“The city has a role to play, the city can facilitate certain processes but the city is not going to be putting together a proposal and doing construction on the site,” she said.
Community Development Director Alex Koppelman said no commercial fishermen or lobstermen would be displaced from the site.
“We’ve been very clear and the mayor’s been very clear, we will in no way entertain something that would displace a commercial boat,” he said.
More information about the I-4, C-2 project may be found at https://gloucester-ma.gov/1586/I4-C2-Site-Visioning.
Staff Writer Bobby Grady may be contacted at 978-675-2714 or bgrady@gloucestertimes.com.