Market Street Site Work Expected To Start Next Month

Site work is expected to begin on the Market Street at Lynnfield project around the end of April, reported National Development Managing Partner Ted Tye at this week's Lynnfield Planning Board meeting.

The site work is expected to last for about 4 1/2 months before the first building foundation of the project is laid. The site work will include ground leveling, the construction of a berm not far from Walnut Street, and it will include some blasting, Tye reported at the Tuesday night meeting.

The site work will come several months after workers left over from the days of the Colonial golf course property.

"It's a complex project. We will make it as easy as we can and be as professional as you expect us to be," Tye told planning board members this week.

Tye was at the meeting to speak with planning board members on a variety of different aspects of the project, such as the consultants who will be working on areas like design and fire safety standards. Walter Adams, who will serve as a consultant on design standards, was among those in attendance as well.

Along with the start of the site work, town residents may also be interested to hear that National Development plans to create a website that will provide information on the construction progress, traffic advisories, a general schedule, and photos.

In a follow-up conversation on Wednesday, Tye told Lynnfield Patch that the site could go online in as soon as three weeks.

When the work gets underway, one effect will be that motorists will need to access the Boston Sports Club from Exit 42 off 128 in Wakefield instead of from Walnut Street, off Exit 43. Advance notice of this change will be provided shortly, noted Tye.

Motorists may also note that the traffic lights outside of the entrance to the property are now flashing. They are expected to be fully functioning in a few more weeks.

Another interesting detail that came up at the planning board meeting is that National Development now plans to use LED outdoor lighting for Market Street at Lynnfield - which Tye noted to planning board members was a much newer technology in 2008 when the project was first being planned.

Tye said in Wednesday's conversation that National Development was an early user of LED lighting at its Newton office to test out the technology - and that the company has been very happy with its performance. "It really is the way lighting is going," Tye told Lynnfield Patch, adding that National Development tries to be as green as possible with its work. He added that Whole Foods, one of the major announced tenants so far for Market Street, is likely to incorporate even more green features into its own structure when the time comes.

While LED lighting requires somewhat more of an up-front investment, it will deliver savings on electricity costs in the longer term, noted Tye. That said, he pointed out that the LED technology will deliver another benefit that adjoining residents may especially like - when the businesses are closed, the outdoor lighting can be dimmed.

In total, the upcoming project will feature four parcels, Tye explained - for the golf course, the retail, residential and LIFE (Lynnfield Initiatives For Elders) components.

At this point, the goal is to have the first tenants on the site up and running by fall of 2013. , Tye noted that the project is expected to create about 500 construction jobs and 2,000 full and part time jobs upon completion.