Swampscott To Close On Hawthorne Property, Begin Use Plan Process

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — The future of Swampscott's impending acquisition of the oceanfront property currently home to the Hawthorne restaurant will be up for a community discussion beginning next month after Select Board Neal Duffy announced that the town expects to close on the property this week at Monday night's Special Town Meeting.

Duffy said a community discussion will be held on Jan. 28 — which is designed to be the first of several to determine the ultimate use for the property that the town moved to acquire for $7 million in a vote of town meeting on June 14.

"Thanks to your vote and support and a lot of hard work this incredible piece of property will belong to the residents of Swampscott in a matter of days," Duffy said, before adding, "an overwhelming majority of the Select Board feels strongly that open space be a primary focus of this property but we also feel strongly that there be a robust conversation for everyone to bring their ideas."

Duffy said the Jan. 28 conversation will not be the only opportunity to contribute ideas for the Hawthorne property but the beginning of an engagement process that will run through the winter, spring and summer to "discuss the amazing possibilities for this signature parcel."

The announcement was made as part of a presentation on Articles 9 and 10 of the Special Town Meeting warrant that authorized the purchase of two small sections of the Archer Street properties that were also authorized for town purchase at the June town meeting.

The town closed on one of the two Archer Street lots — each about five acres large — on Nov. 4, while Duffy said he expects to close on the other by the end of the month.

Duffy said the intent of both of those properties — which are largely undevelopable — is to keep them as 10 combined acres of land that "remains undeveloped forever."

The combined vote on Articles 9 and 10 was considered unanimous.

The two-hour town meeting included the mostly uneventful approval of all 10 articles — including the use of free cash and cash reserves to mitigate property tax increases and offset the debt service of the new K-4 elementary school and $3 million more allocated to the contingency budget for new school construction costs that have been higher than expected because of inflationary pressures since the town voted to approve the original debt exclusion in 2021.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)