Beverly Residents Say Restaurant Proposal Is Illegal

BEVERLY, MA — A proposal to build a 350-seat restaurant on a Beverly waterfront property that has been vacant since 2006, according to a letter sent to city council by an attorney hired by residents opposing the project. In her letter, attorney Olympia Bowker said the deed from the city's purchase of the property in 1996 said it would only be used for parks and recreation purposes. Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill has proposed giving developer Marty Bloom real estate tax breaks to move the redevelopment of 1 Water Street forward.

A group of residents who oppose the project because, they say, the restaurant is too big for the lot and neighborhood, hired Bowker, according to the Salem News, which first reported this story. 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.