By Adam Swift
City Manager Fidel Maltez responded to concerns about the effect of the Downtown Broadway construction project with a letter that was presented to the city council at its regular meeting Monday night.
Maltez said the city has reached out to local businesses and provided mitigation efforts during the ongoing project. A number of local businesses have expressed concerns about negative impact and lost sales due to the construction.
“Our administration realizes that this project is our biggest challenge, but it is also our biggest opportunity,” stated Maltez. “The city has been able to secure significant funding from state and federal sources that are largely responsible for covering the cost of the infrastructure. The project will cost over $30 million and will be the single biggest project completed in Chelsea.”
Maltez said the Downtown Broadway reconstruction is the single biggest investment in the downtown infrastructure since the 1970s.
“The project will completely transform our downtown, giving us traffic signals in many of our most dangerous intersections, changing our traffic flows on 5th Street and Hawthorne, and completely replacing our water, storm water, and sewer infrastructure,” stated Maltez. “Finally, I cannot wait to get brand new sidewalks throughout the corridor.”
The city manager said that throughout the project, city officials have realized the need to help support local business owners.
“We want our business owners to thrive and to enjoy the fruits of this project,” Maltez stated.
In order to do that, Maltez said there have been a number of programs in place to help the businesses, as well as work on parking program improvements.
“The city has been to pause meter enforcement on Broadway in the construction zone until 5 p.m., which is the end of the work day for our contractors from Monday to Friday,” stated Maltez. “The city has also reduced the cost of the Business Day Sticker from $150 per six month period to $50 per six month period, for businesses and employees of businesses located in the construction zone which includes: Broadway from City Hall Avenue to Williams Street, Washington Avenue from City Hall Avenue to Broadway, Winnisimmet Street from Broadway to Second Street, Congress Avenue from Pearl Street to Broadway, and Fourth Street from Broadway to Pearl Street.”
The reduction in cost will extend through the end of 2025.
“Our Director of Constituent Services will continue a dialogue with our small businesses on how to improve parking during construction,” said Maltez.
Some of the other programs being offered to local businesses include small business development and navigation services, a digital marketing and online sales readiness program, a storefront improvement program, and an entrepreneurship program.
“The talks are ongoing to mitigate the damages, and so far the city has done an outstanding job to make sure we do that outreach so that we know what the specific concerns are,” said District 7 Councilor Manuel Teshe. “I just want to reiterate that we are doing the best we can to support (them) every step of the way.”