Weymouth Awarded $640,000 in MassWorks Funding for Phase II of Smelt Brook Daylighting Project

Weymouth, MA – On October 31, Secretary Jay Ash of the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development presented the Town of Weymouth with a $640,000 MassWorks grant to fund Phase II of the Smelt Brook Daylighting Project in Weymouth Landing. The Town was awarded $1.6 million to complete Phase I of the project which is currently underway. The daylighting of Smelt Brook will help beautify the Landing and support proposed mixed-use, transit-oriented development by creating an open-air channel, streamside walkway, and pedestrian plaza.     

“Additional funding to support Phase II of the Smelt Brook Daylighting Project will work in concert with Phase I, which is currently underway,” said Mayor Robert Hedlund. “Investment in this area will help Weymouth and Braintree achieve our shared vision of the Landing to create a unique public space for residents and visitors alike that will open up economic opportunity in this area. This is achievable through state-funded programs like the MassWorks Infrastructure Program, and I would like to thank Governor Baker, Lt. Governor Polito, and Secretary Ash for their continued support of this project.”

Phase II of the daylighting project will provide for the replacement of 90 feet of the Smelt Brook culvert under Commercial Street. Phase I of the project uncovers or “daylights” the Smelt Brook, a subterranean stream that runs beneath the Landing, and creates a new streamside walkway and pedestrian plaza as part of the Weymouth Landing revitalization efforts that have spurred four new mixed use developments, creating 164 new housing units. By replacing the deteriorated culvert beneath Commercial Street, Phase II funding ensures that the value generated by Phase I is protected from serious road closures, detours, and traffic jams that could be caused by a culvert collapse.

Phase I of the daylighting is fully under way. Weymouth has hired BETA Group, Inc. as the Owner’s Project Manager (OPM) and Maverick Construction Management Services, Inc. as the General Contractor for the project. Phase I is anticipated to be completed in early 2019, upon which the Town will then move to Phase II of the project.

The MassWorks Infrastructure Program is a competitive grant program administered by the Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (EOHED). The program provides funding for capital improvement projects in cities and towns that spur economic development, job creation, and the production of multi-family or transit-oriented housing, particularly in walkable, mixed-use districts with the goal of revitalizing distressed areas.

According to the State, EOHED received 107 applications requesting over $200 million in funding for the 2018 MassWorks program and awarded 40 grants to 37 communities for a total of $82,838,964. The Commonwealth anticipates 2018 awards will leverage $2.9 billion in private investment, 4,431 units of new housing, and over 9,000 full time jobs.

About the Landing

A regional commercial center shared with the Town of Braintree, the Landing is the confluence of several major roads from Braintree, Quincy, and Weymouth. Once a thriving commercial center with many amenities, the Landing has been characterized by a sense of disinvestment for many years. In 2010, Weymouth and Braintree worked with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) to study the area to develop strategies that would make it more attractive for residents, businesses, and shoppers through high-density development near the Weymouth Landing commuter rail station. MAPC had called for an enhanced “sense of place and aesthetics" in the village, including “creation of a ‘Smelt Run’ walkway.” 

To spur investment in the area, a Village Center Overlay District was created in 2010 and in 2016 the Town was awarded $1.6 million in MassWorks funding for the Daylighting of the Smelt Brook, a prominent spawning habitat for rainbow smelt, that would create a new streamside walkway and pedestrian plaza. The Town further invested $2.4 million in Public Works Economic Development (PWED) funds in conjunction with Braintree to create sidewalk extensions and other streetscape improvements.

Daylighting will create a new high quality, pedestrian friendly public space that connects the municipal lot and adjacent rail service to storefronts, greatly improving the area's walking and shopping experience, all located adjacent to a proposed 133,016 square foot, 87 unit mixed use development. Since funding for Phase I has been secured, three additional developments totaling 77 units of housing and 127,000 square feet have been proposed and permitted, all within 0.5 miles of the daylighting site.