Beverly Lawyer Says Restaurant Proposal Can Move Forward

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly can move forward with a plan to redevelop a city-owned lot into a 350-seat restaurant, according to a lawyer hired by the city. Denise Chicoine said in a letter to City Council that there is no basis to a claim by residents that the project cannot move forward because the city purchased the land in 1996 with a state grant.

"In 1996 (and ever since) the City was crystal clear regarding the intended restaurant use of the facilities which had existed for decades," Chicoine wrote.

In October, attorney Olympia Bowker said in her own letter the deed from the city's purchase of the property in 1996 said it would only be used for parks and recreation purposes. Bowker was hired by a group of residents who oppose the project because, they say, the restaurant is too big for the lot and neighborhood.

The city used a $483,600 state grant to purchase the property for $1.6 million in 1996. The city received one response to a request for proposals issued last year to develop a restaurant on the city-owned, waterfront property. Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill has proposed giving developer Marty Bloom real estate tax breaks to move the redevelopment of 1 Water Street forward.