MJA REALTY TRUST is looking to rebuild the portion of The Shops at Post Office Square strip mall that burned down in a six-alarm fire on Sept. 10, 2024. The Conservation Commission is currently reviewing the project. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The owner of a South Lynnfield strip mall is looking to rebuild part of the complex after a fire destroyed it last September.
A massive six-alarm overnight fire destroyed seven businesses located at The Shops at Post Office Square strip mall on Sept. 10, 2024. The fire destroyed Cervizzi’s Martial Arts Academy, Dunkin’ Donuts, Fitness Together, Olde Town Market and Wal’s Cleaners. While Bank of America was damaged in the fire, the branch closed and was subsequently razed during the strip mall’s demolition.
Fire Chief/Emergency Management Director Glenn Davis informed the Villager that the strip mall fire’s cause was unidentifiable/accidental. The fire started at Olde Town Market.
Paul Guarracino of the MJA Realty Trust recently submitted a Notice of Intent to the Conservation Commission in order to seek approval for rebuilding the portion of the strip mall located at 1 Post Office Sq. and 3 Post Office Sq.
“Work is proposed within riverfront, bordering land subject to flooding and the 100-foot buffer to bordering vegetated wetland to Hawkes Brook,” said Conservation Commission member Maria Fernandez-Donovan while reading a legal notice during a recent Conservation Commission meeting.
Hancock Associates professional engineer Jay Polakiewicz gave an overview of the strip mall reconstruction project to the Conservation Commission.
“About a year ago, this building burned down,” said Polakiewicz. “We are proposing to reconstruct this building within the existing footprint.”
Polakiewicz said that there are resource areas located on the property, including Hawkes Brook.
“Almost all of the entire limited work is in the 200-foot riverfront area,” said Polakiewicz. “There is bordering vegetated wetland. About half of the limited work is within the 100-foot buffer zone.”
Polakiewicz said the rebuilt strip mall will comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
“It will be maintaining the existing parking spaces and right-of-way elevations,” said Polakiewicz.
Polakiewicz said the strip mall reconstruction project also involves repaving the parking lot and repairing damaged concrete that occurred during the fire and the subsequent demolition of the building.
“We are also reconnecting the utilities to the building,” said Polakiewicz.
Polakiewicz said Planning and Conservation Director Emilie Cademartori and a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) analyst requested that Hancock Engineering update the strip mall’s stormwater management system.
“We are converting some of the paved area and developed area adjacent to the bordering vegetated wetland,” said Polakiewicz. “We are going to provide a mitigation planting.”
Polakiewicz said the Post Office Square property has high groundwater. In addition to the mitigation plantings, he said the project will include a pea stone gravel diaphragm that will be located at the back of the reconstructed building.
“The pavement was reduced to the minimum that we can possibly have to make the site operate,” said Polakiewicz. “They are rebuilding the building as it was. It is going to be a strip mall. We need parking there. The building inspector is requiring as much parking as possible. We are providing angled parking to try and suck that parking closer to the building.”
Polakiewicz said there is a 20-foot access road that will remain behind the strip mall once it is rebuilt.
“It’s 20-feet for fire access,” said Polakiewicz. “This building did burn down, so we want to make sure that we have that.”
Polakiewicz said the pea stone gravel diaphragm “will filter stormwater as it runs off the site towards the wetlands.”
“It will slow down the rates of runoff,” said Polakiewicz. “The mitigation planting area will act as a vegetated filter strip that will be filtering groundwater.”
Polakiewicz said MJA Realty Trust renovated the Post Office Square property in 2016.
“Part of it was regrading the parking lot,” said Polakiewicz. “They installed catch basins with hydrodynamic separators that does go to an infiltration system of sorts. It’s a crushed stone bed with a perforated pipe through the middle. This was possible because the flood zones back in 2016 were different than they are now. We will be reconnecting back to this system. When the system was done in 2016, it was done under current Massachusetts Stormwater Standards. The site was recently, in terms of engineering, improved to have better drainage. What we are doing now is an improvement upon an improvement.”
Polakiewicz said the MJA Realty Trust informed him that The Shops at Post Office Square strip mall was built around 1961.
“That was well before any sort of regulations for riverfront areas and buffer zones to wetlands,” said Polakiewicz. “We are really just trying to build back what was there and making improvements on a site that was never developed with any of these regulations in mind.”
Polakiewicz said the strip mall reconstruction project’s updated drainage system will be “reducing” stormwater runoff.
“We are meeting the Stormwater Standards to the maximum extent practicable,” said Polakiewicz.
Polakiewicz said Hancock Associates resubmitted the strip mall reconstruction project’s plans to Cademartori and the Conservation Commission the day before the meeting. He proposed that a site visit be held before the commission’s September meeting. The site visit was held on Sept. 4.
Conservation Commission member Jared Yagjian expressed his support for holding a site visit.
“I definitely think a site visit would be an appropriate next step at this point,” said Yagjian. “I think we all want the Dunkin’ Donuts back.”
In response to a question from Conservation Commission member Maria Donovan-Rodrigues, Polakiewicz said the bituminous pavement located behind the building is going to be reduced.
“The site needs two dumpsters and parking at the rear,” said Polakiewicz. “Realistically, I believe we can only fit in nine parking spaces back there. We kept those two dumpsters and those nine parking spaces. Those parking spaces are for employees.”
Polakiewicz said the edge of the pavement is going to be cut off and replaced with native plantings.
“During the site walk, you will see it is a degraded area back there,” said Polakiewicz. “We will be replacing that with native plantings.”
Cademartori said the revised plan for the strip mall’s stormwater management system “has improved greatly” from the first plan that Hancock Engineering submitted.
“I think we are on the right track based on the DEP comments and based on our feedback that said we know you are rebuilding the same building, but you still have to make it better because that is what the law says,” said Cademartori.
Cademartori proposed that Linden Engineering Senior Partner Bill Jones conduct a peer review of the revised stormwater management system.
“I would at least feel more comfortable if Bill at least reviewed the stormwater management system because he probably reviewed the stormwater for us in 2016,” said Cademartori, who started working for the town in 2018. “It would be good to have his eyes on it again because he is familiar with the site. I do think seeing the back and the proposed changes and improvements would be helpful. I think it is a great improvement over the first plan. It is a mess back there and it is really close to the stream. I think these improvements could make a big difference.”
After the discussion, the Conservation Commission voted to continue The Shops at Post Office Square strip mall reconstruction project discussion to Tuesday, Sept. 16.