Downtown Lynn Cultural District Recovery Plan

En Español

The City of Lynn, EDIC/Lynn, Lynn Main Streets, and the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce have been working hard to implement the Downtown Lynn Cultural District plan since it was finalized in November 2021. Here's some of the progress we have made six months later:

• GOAL 1: Support our existing small businesses, particularly our establishments owned by people of color and immigrants.
  • EDIC/Lynn has hired a bilingual outreach manager to support communications with Spanish-speaking businesses in Lynn.
  • EDIC received $3M in ARPA Funds from the City of Lynn and has distributed $2.5M in grants to small businesses so far. Nearly 80% of grantees are minority- or female-owned businesses.
  • MassDevelopment named Lynn's Union Street commercial district as a new Transformational Development Initiative (TDI) District. TDI works with cross-sector partnerships in targeted commercial districts in Gateway Cities in order to engage community members, implement local economic development initiatives, and spur further public and private investment. In particular, our application for this TDI district focused on how we can support small businesses in the context of new development.
  • The City hired four translators to provide support for residents seeking services in Spanish, Arabic, Haitian-Creole, and Khmer.
  • The Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce continues to provide support for new and existing businesses through its business counseling services, training and educational programs, and networking and marketing opportunities.
  • Lynn Main Streets is completing a Downtown Lynn Business database.
• GOAL 2: Increase foot traffic in the downtown in the near-term and the long-term.
  • Work continues on Lynnstallation, which will be installed on Exchange Street in 2022.
  • MassDevelopment awarded Lynn access to the Creative Cities program, which will provide support for building creative infrastructure along five main areas: (1) staff support, (2) implementation funding, (3) partnership development, (4) leadership training, and (5) place designation. Lynn's participation will be led by the City of Lynn’s Planning Department in partnership with Beyond Walls, Creative Collective, the Economic Development & Industrial Corporation Lynn, Essex County Community Foundation, Lynn Arts, Lynn Main Streets, Lynn Museum, Raw Art Works, and other community partners. The partnership will merge small business recovery with innovative arts, culture, and leadership development activities with a focus on amplifying Lynn’s traditionally underrepresented voices and promoting equitable economic development.
  • The Planning Office has released an RFP seeking assistance in conducting marketing activities for the downtown to further increase traffic into the area.
  • Lynn Main Streets has planted a sunflower field on the High Rock Tower slope, which will be a focal point of events like a community picnic and social media campaigns to encourage visits to Downtown Lynn.
  • Lynn Main Streets has also added multilingual capacity to their team through the help of Josie Santos, one of the consultants on this plan.
• GOAL 3: Support new businesses.
  • The Lynn Small Business Loan Fund is a new funding opportunity that will provide loans to the city’s existing and start-up businesses that cannot currently access financing from a traditional bank or credit union. Loans will range from $5,000 to $100,000 with a 1-percent closing fee, fixed interest rate, and a term of up to five years.
  • EDIC/Lynn continues to be the fiduciary agent for an Urban Agenda grant, which provides financial support for North Shore Latino Business Association and EforAll to support new and existing small businesses in Lynn.
  • Lynn Main Streets, making use of funds collected in memory of Elaine Mavros, will be starting a $1000 grant program to be awarded to a female entrepreneur in the city of Lynn each year for 3 years.
• GOAL 4: Activate underutilized space.
  • The City, thanks to a $5,000 grant from MassDevelopment, was able to explore what the community would like to see in the viaducts (the spaces underneath the train tracks). Many participants talked about wanting to support micro businesses in the spaces. Read the final report from that community process here. Now, the City will continue to work with the MBTA as it makes important station area repairs and improvements to explore how to make these ideas a reality.
  • Lynn Main Streets has planted flowers and installed planters at the Lynn Museum, in front of the flat iron building/La Fogata in Central Square, in front of the LynnArts building, and by Boba Tea and Snow Ice in City Hall Square.
• GOAL 5: Support safety, comfort, and cleanliness in the downtown.
  • The City, through its Litter Committee, is exploring utilizing ARPA funds and new partnerships to bring new trash facilities into the downtown.
  • The City, through its Inspectional Services Department, has been installing new, energy efficient lighting throughout the downtown.
  • Lynn Main Streets submitted an ARPA project proposal focusing on beautifying the downtown and providing support to local businesses.
  • Lynn Main Streets has also been assisting with trash clean up in the downtown area.

Actualización de la implementación del plan

La Ciudad de Lynn, EDIC/Lynn, Lynn Main Streets, y la Cámara de Comercio de Greater Lynn han estado trabajando duro para implementar el plan del Distrito Cultural del Centro de Lynn desde que se finalizó en Noviembre de 2021. Aquí están algunos de los progresos que hemos hecho hasta ahora:

• OBJETIVO 1: Apoyar a nuestras pequeñas empresas existentes, especialmente a los establecimientos propiedad de personas de color e inmigrantes.
  • EDIC/Lynn ha contratado a un gerente de extensión bilingüe para apoyar las comunicaciones con los negocios de habla hispana en Lynn.
  • EDIC recibió $3 millones de dólares en fondos ARPA de la ciudad de Lynn y ha distribuido hasta ahora $2.5 millones de dólares en subvenciones a pequeñas empresas. Casi el 80% de los beneficiarios son empresas propiedad de minorías o mujeres.
  • MassDevelopment designó el distrito comercial de Union Street de Lynn como nuevo distrito de la Iniciativa de Desarrollo Transformacional (TDI). La TDI trabaja con asociaciones intersectoriales en distritos comerciales específicos de las Ciudades de Entrada con el fin de involucrar a los miembros de la comunidad, poner en práctica iniciativas de desarrollo económico local y estimular una mayor inversión pública y privada. En particular, nuestra solicitud para este distrito TDI se centró en cómo podemos apoyar a las pequeñas empresas en el contexto del nuevo desarrollo.
  • La ciudad contrató a cuatro traductores para dar apoyo a los residentes que buscan servicios en Español, Arabe, Criollo-Haitiano y Jemer.
  • La Cámara de Comercio de Lynn sigue prestando apoyo a las empresas nuevas y existentes a través de sus servicios de asesoramiento empresarial, programas de formación y educación, y oportunidades de creación de redes y marketing.
  • Lynn Main Streets está completando una base de datos de empresas del centro de Lynn.
• OBJETIVO 2: Aumentar el tráfico peatonal en el centro de la ciudad a corto y largo plazo.
  • Se sigue trabajando en Lynnstallation, que se instalará en Exchange Street en 2022.
  • MassDevelopment concedió a Lynn el acceso al programa de Ciudades Creativas, que proporcionará apoyo para la creación de infraestructuras creativas en cinco áreas principales: (1) apoyo al personal, (2) financiación de la implementación, (3) desarrollo de asociaciones, (4) formación de liderazgo, y (5) designación de lugares. La participación de Lynn estará dirigida por el Departamento de Planificación de la Ciudad de Lynn en colaboración con Beyond Walls, Creative Collective, la Corporación de Desarrollo Económico e Industrial de Lynn, la Fundación Comunitaria del Condado de Essex, Lynn Arts, Lynn Main Streets, el Museo de Lynn, Raw Art Works y otros socios de la comunidad. La asociación combinará la recuperación de pequeñas empresas con actividades innovadoras de arte, cultura y desarrollo del liderazgo, centrándose en la amplificación de las voces tradicionalmente subrepresentadas de Lynn y la promoción del desarrollo económico equitativo.
  • La Oficina de Planificación ha publicado una solicitud de ayuda para llevar a cabo actividades de marketing para el centro de la ciudad con el fin de aumentar el tráfico en la zona.
  • Lynn Main Streets ha plantado un campo de girasoles en la ladera de la High Rock Tower, que será el punto central de eventos como un picnic comunitario y campañas en los medios sociales para fomentar las visitas al centro de Lynn.
  • Lynn Main Streets también ha añadido capacidad multilingüe a su equipo gracias a la ayuda de Josie Santos, una de las consultoras de este plan.
• OBJETIVO 3: Apoyar a las nuevas empresas.
  • El Fondo de Préstamos para Pequeñas Empresas de Lynn es una nueva oportunidad de financiación que proporcionará préstamos a las empresas existentes y nuevas de la ciudad que actualmente no pueden acceder a la financiación de un banco o cooperativa de crédito tradicional. Los préstamos oscilarán entre $5,000 y $100,000 dólares, con una comisión de cierre del 1%, un tipo de interés fijo y un plazo de hasta cinco años.
  • EDIC/Lynn sigue siendo el agente fiduciario de una subvención de la Agenda Urbana, que proporciona apoyo financiero a North Shore Latino Business Association y EforAll para apoyar a las pequeñas empresas nuevas y existentes en Lynn.
  • Lynn Main Streets, haciendo uso de los fondos recaudados en memoria de Elaine Mavros, iniciará un programa de subvenciones de $1,000 dólares que se concederán a una empresaria de la ciudad de Lynn cada año durante 3 años.
• OBJETIVO 4: Activar los espacios infrautilizados.
  • La ciudad, gracias a una subvención de $5,000 dólares de MassDevelopment, pudo explorar lo que a la comunidad le gustaría ver en los viaductos (los espacios bajo las vías del tren). Muchos participantes hablaron de querer apoyar a las microempresas en esos espacios. Lea el informe final de ese proceso comunitario aquí. Ahora, la ciudad continuará trabajando con la MBTA mientras realiza importantes reparaciones y mejoras en el área de la estación para explorar cómo hacer realidad estas ideas.
  • Lynn Main Streets ha plantado flores e instalado jardineras en el Museo de Lynn, frente al edificio de hierro plano/La Fogata en Central Square, frente al edificio de LynnArts, y junto a Boba Tea y Snow Ice en City Hall Square.
• OBJETIVO 5: Apoyar la seguridad, la comodidad y la limpieza en el centro de la ciudad.
  • La Ciudad, a través de su Comité de Basura, está explorando la utilización de fondos ARPA y nuevas asociaciones para traer nuevas instalaciones de basura al centro de la ciudad.
  • La ciudad, a través de su Departamento de Servicios de Inspección, ha sido la instalación de nuevas luces de bajo consumo en todo el centro de la ciudad.
  • Lynn Main Streets presentó una propuesta de proyecto ARPA centrada en el embellecimiento del centro de la ciudad y el apoyo a las empresas locales.
  • Lynn Main Streets también ha estado ayudando con la limpieza de la basura en el centro de la ciudad.

Thank you to the 45 people who filled out our survey! We hope you saw the fabulous downtown characters that the RAW Wall Wise students made to promote our survey. We're happy to share the results of the survey as of August 10, 2021.

What People Like About Downtown

23 respondents talked about businesses, particularly the restaurants (13 respondents) and the diversity of business offerings (5). The diversity was another big plus of the downtown (14), as was the art and murals (13) and the historic architecture (9). Seven respondents talked about the great people, and six others mentioned a sense of bustling vibrancy that made downtown seem fun and exciting. People also mentioned transportation access (5), the parks like the Common (4), and specific organizations like the G.A.R., Lynn Public Library, Lynn Museum and RAW Arts (8).

Three Words that Describe the Downtown Now

The responses to this question ran the spectrum from positive to negative. Many of the comments seemed to relate to change--whether the downtown had gentrified, whether it was currently changing, or whether it needed improvement. The most-used word across the board was "diverse," with eight respondents. Three respondents each used "trash," "vibrant," "busy," and "community." We made some minor edits to the word forms to help highlight where people agreed.

How Can We Make Downtown Lynn Better

People had a wide variety of ideas for how to improve the downtown Lynn area! The most common theme by far was improved cleaning and trash pick up, with nearly half of our respondents mentioning it (21). Nine people also asked for more community spaces, including indoor spaces to study or host events, outdoor parks, and even just places to sit and hang out. Nine other people identified greenery like trees and flowers as something that would improve the downtown. Eight people talked about housing policy, typically with a concern for ensuring that downtown Lynn remains affordable. Four people asked for more art, and four others pined for infrastructure that better supports bikers and walkers.

Who Responded

Of the 45 people who participated, 60% identified as White only, 13% identified as Latino/a/x, 9% identified as Black or African American. 7% of respondents chose not to share information about their race.

About a third (36%) of respondents were between the ages of 31 and 40, about a quarter (22%) were between the ages of 41-50, and about a fifth (20%) were between the ages of 19 and 30. We also had 16% of respondents under 18, and 2% over 50.

All responses were in English, although the survey was translated into Spanish as well.

What's Next?

The survey is still open if you'd like to weigh in. The City, Chamber of Commerce, Lynn Main Streets, EDIC, and MAPC are still working to put the final plan together based on all the feedback we have heard from the community. Register for this site if you'd like to receive an email when the final plan is released.

We had 25 participants join us for our May 26 public meeting, Data & Resources for Businesses. You can download the slides here or view the recording here. The project team shared some background information about this project, and then Ella Wise from MAPC detailed some of the key takeaways of our assessment of the downtown area and initial needs. One of the key takeaways that seemed to resonate with attendees was that there are so many development projects currently underway in or near the downtown, representing a possible 1,200 new units in the area. While this may bring a larger customer base for our businesses, the conversation came back to how important it is to ensure existing businesses benefit from these changes rather than be displaced. To read more about what our survey responses said, download the full report.

In the latter portion of the meeting, we heard from different business support organizations about the resources they currently provide to Lynn businesses. Here are some highlights, with a few additions:

• City of Lynn Storefront Improvement Program - Businesses can receive reimbursement grants for facade improvements or sign installations. Email Rich for an application and program information.
• EDIC Lynn Financing - EDIC/Lynn has a rich history of more than 40 years of providing financing to businesses within the City of Lynn. Through innovative programs, EDIC/Lynn is able to put financing tools into the marketplace that allows for capital to become available at very attractive rates.
• Lynn Main Streets - This new organization had a very productive first year: establishing the Lynn Community Care Fund with United Way, food security program assistance, small business support with outdoor dining implementation, community programming and beautification efforts. Lynn Main Streets is eager to connect with new businesses, visit their website for more information.
• Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce - The Chamber provides marketing and networking solutions, business advancement and development, and business advocacy.
• EforAll - Entrepreneurship for All (EforAll) is accelerating economic and social impact in communities nationwide through inclusive entrepreneurship. They host business accelerators and pitch contests, as well as workshops.
• North Shore Latino Business Association - This small business association helps Latino and business owners and entrepreneurs grow. Their powerful network, events, and technical assistance has been immeasurably helpful to Latino-owned businesses throughout the North Shore.
• Creative Collective - Creative Collective is an innovative, equitable, and modern business program that focuses on supporting small businesses across the North Shore. Combining our small business support with economic development and the creative workforce, the Collective creates opportunities and connections that go beyond traditional B2B offerings. Over 250 members have benefited from the hands-on approach to small business support, storytelling, marketing, and human connections. From organizations and institutions to freelancers and gig workers, the Collective is the most effective program for those that have a true passion for what they do.
• Finally, check out the helpful workshops the North Shore Community Development Coalition will be hosting in in June.

The next steps will be to conduct one-on-one interviews and focus groups with business owners and begin to pull together ideas for the final plan. By registering for Lynn in Common, you can stay up to date on this project.

En Español

Own a business? Live or work nearby? Have ideas for Downtown? Please join for a community presentation and conversation to create a plan for an equitable recovery plan in Downtown Lynn from the impacts of COVID-19.

The City of Lynn, in partnership with Lynn Main Streets, the Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, and the Chamber of Commerce, has received a state grant to develop a Local Rapid Recovery Plan for the Downtown Lynn Cultural District. At this first of two public meetings, the City and partners will be sharing the results of the business owner survey that was conducted in April 2021, information about existing resources that support small businesses, as well as collecting your feedback on the goals, challenges, and opportunities facing Downtown Lynn.

Please register in advance for the virtual public meeting here: bit.ly/downtownlynn1. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. If you prefer, you can use your phone to call in to the meeting with the following number and meeting ID: (312) 626-6799, ID: 99192559904#

This is just the beginning! We will be talking to businesses and community groups throughout the summer. If you’d like to learn more, please contact Lauren Drago: Lauren.Drago@lynnma.gov or 617-869-5271.

Data & Resources for Business Recovery

Wednesday, May 26, 2-3pm

In English and Spanish with help from the North Shore Latino Business Association

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¿Tiene un negocio? ¿Vive o trabaja cerca? ¿Tiene ideas para el centro? Por favor unese para una presentación virtual y conversación para planificar la recuperación equitativa en el centro de Lynn de los impactos de COVID.

La ciudad de Lynn, en asociación con Lynn Main Streets, Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, y Chamber of Commerce, ha recibido una subvención estatal para desarrollar un plan para la recuperación rápida para el centro de Lynn. En esta primera de dos reuniones públicas, la Ciudad y los socios compartirán los resultados de la encuesta a propietarios de negocios que se realizó en abril de 2021, información sobre los recursos existentes que apoyan a las pequeñas empresas, así como también recopilarán sus comentarios sobre los objetivos, desafíos, y oportunidades frente al centro de Lynn.

Por favor regístrese por adelante para la reunión pública virtual aquí: bit.ly/downtownlynn1 . Después de registrarse, recibirá un correo electrónico de confirmación con información sobre cómo unirse a la reunión. Si lo prefiere, también puede usar su teléfono para llamar a la reunión con el siguiente número e ID de reunión: (312) 626-6799, ID: #99192559904

¡Este es solo el comienzo! Hablaremos con empresas y grupos comunitarios durante todo el verano. Si desea obtener más información, comuníquese con Lauren Drago: Lauren.Drago@LynnMA.gov o 617-869-5271.

Datos y recursos para la recuperación de negocios

miércoles, 26 de mayo, 2-3pm

En inglés y español, con la ayuda de North Shore Latino Business Association.