Mayor Carolyn Kirk has secured $800,000 in state funds to help the city buy the vacant Rogers Street lot known as I-4,C-2, a piece of prime real estate that has sat empty and derelict in the heart of Gloucester's waterfront for generations.
By purchasing the two upland acres of I-4,C-2, owned by Boston-based developer Jeffrey Cohen, the city would effectively reunite the landlocked section of the property with the waterfront it already owns, opening up the possibility of development.
The grant, from the Massachusetts Seaport Advisory Council, is not expected to cover the entire cost of purchasing Cohen's land, estimated in the neighborhood of $1.5 million.
But Kirk said yesterday that, if the city can come to an agreement on a price with Cohen, it could take possession of the property, physically if not legally, as soon as 60 days.
The $800,000 comes from a grant that had been approved for renovations to the Gloucester harbormaster's pier at Harbor Loop that has been delayed.
Kirk said she had convinced the Seaport Advisory Council, headed by Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, to redirect the funds toward an I-4,C-2 purchase, a top priority of her administration as well as previous mayors.
Kirk said she has been talking to Cohen about an I-4,C-2 for months and had come to a "meeting of the minds" on the need for the city to take control of the whole property.
"The only way to move this parcel is to reunite the harbor with the land side," Kirk said. "That means the land had to come to the city. The city will never give up the wharf."
Reached by phone yesterday, Cohen said I-4, C-2 remains, as it has been for years, not officially on the market, but that he will listen to reasonable offers.
"As I have for 20 years, anything I can do to help the city, as long as I am not put in a negative position," Cohen said about I-4, C-2. "The phone is always open for the mayor."
Centrally located between The Gloucester House restaurant and the Building Center on the Rogers Street waterfront, I-4,C-2 has languished for nearly 50 years, surrounded by chain link fence and overgrown with weeds.
Combined from two separate parcels with the urban renewal designations that now make up its name, the land has for years frustrated businessmen and city officials focused on economic development of the harbor.
Cohen purchased I-4, C-2 in 1986 from the Gloucester Redevelopment Authority with plans to build a shopping center on the harbor, but legal challenges eventually uncovered flaws in the deed to the property that left the waterfront out of Cohen's hands, dooming any building plans.
The city wharves on the water side are now leased to lobstermen.
As to how the city will raise the money it needs to make up the difference between the sale price and grant amount, Kirk said possibilities include:
Additional state funding opportunities.
A second application for Seaport Advisory Council funds.
A partnership with an organization of company interested in developing the land and willing to provide up-front money.
Cover the balance of the purchase price with city funds spread out over three or four years.
Whichever strategy is employed, Kirk said the key to the process would be bringing together residents to brainstorm — possibly in a roundtable — ideas of what they want built on the parcel and what requirements would go out in any request for design proposals.
Kirk said she thought having the city pick up the tab for the difference between the grant and purchase price was the least likely option.
Gloucester's state legislative delegation joined Kirk in heralding the grant.
"I am pleased that we are able to reallocate this funding to maximize its benefit to the community," state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante said.
"Transforming I-4, C-2 from a vacant lot to a productive parcel of waterfront land will be a victory for our regional economy, and is the type of revitalization legislators hoped for when we enacted the Seaport Bond Bill," said state Sen. Bruce Tarr.
The grant announcement came hours before Kirk officially kicked off her re-election campaign last night with a party at Cruiseport Gloucester.
Still excited about the announcement yesterday afternoon, Kirk said that, once the city takes possession of I-4, C-2, she would have the Department of Public Works tear down the chain link fence and invite residents to a "community unity day" ripping out weeds, rounding up debris and cleaning up the parcel.
"It has been vacant for 40 years," Kirk said. "We have a ways to go, but it is a step in the right direction. What we are doing is creating the opportunity to talk about the future."
Patrick Anderson can be reached at panderson@gloucestertimes.com
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