With some concerns voiced about parking and traffic impact on the surrounding neighborhoods, the first look at the redevelopment proposed for the old Benny’s plaza off Court Street got generally good reviews at a joint meeting of the Select Board and Planning Board Tuesday night. The conceptual plan unveiled shows the seven-acre plaza at 179 […]
Author Archives: Michael Cohen - Independent Correspondent
Posted inBusiness
Cherry’s fails to attract bidders
Despite its prime waterfront location, no one responded to the town’s offer to lease and renovate the former Cherry’s Bait and Tackle Shop. Potential bidders say the town priced itself out of the market on the restricted-use building, with high monthly rent and requiring repairs costing up to $100,000. So, the building remains vacant as […]
Posted inBusiness
Shuttered Benny’s may become assisted living facility
New buyers for the long-shuttered Benny’s Plaza are expected Tuesday to announce plans to transform it into an assisted living facility with two mixed-use commercial buildings and some public green space. Pioppi’s Liquors, which now operates at the plaza, would remain. A partnership of HYM Investment Group of Boston and the NexCore Group of Denver […]
Posted inGovernment
Group announces effort to abandon Town Meeting
Taking the name “Yes on Charter Change,” a group hoping to push Plymouth Town Meeting into the history books is now public, with a fundraising committee and a Facebook page soliciting donations. The group filed with the Plymouth town clerk establishing itself as a ballot question committee with town residents Leonard Levin as chair and […]
Posted inBusiness
Town officials seek new life for Cherry’s Bait and Tackle
The town is casting a wide net hoping to land a new business to transform the former Cherry’s Bait and Tackle shop on Water Street. A Request for Proposals (RFP) to lease the prime waterfront location was issued on March 26. Responses are due at Town Hall by 3 p.m. on April 27. Anyone interested […]
Posted inBusiness
Water Street project could disrupt season for some
Heavy construction to replace a sagging sewer line deep under Water Street could run into June, with traffic detours hurting waterfront businesses and the rumble of digging and drilling continuing to damage sidewalks and nearby buildings. This is the third time in three years Water Street has been under construction because of the troubled effort […]
Posted inEnvironment & Health
Hospital expansion leads to $3.6 million in ‘Community Health’ grants
Local programs to help middle and high school students with mental health issues, older people facing social isolation, and families hit hard by grief have been awarded $1.3 million in community health grants from Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital-Plymouth. This is the first round of $3.6 million in state-mandated community health grants BID-Plymouth will award to […]
Posted inGovernment
Prospective Costco gas station decision delayed by zoning board
As Plymouth and Kingston jockey for position in the race to attract a new Costco, the owner of the potential Plymouth site hoped a green light from the town to build a gas station on its land would accelerate it into the lead. But faced with opposition from some residents and the owner of the […]
Posted inGovernment
Town Meeting form of government under fire again
A move to toss out Plymouth’s Town Meeting form of government – one critics call antiquated and inefficient – is in the works, renewing an effort that’s failed at least twice since the turn of the century. The latest attempt surfaced at Tuesday’s joint meeting of the Select Board, Planning Board, and Plymouth Foundation called […]
Posted inGovernment
Plymouth needs more commercial development. Bureaucracy has kept it to a trickle.
As a gloomy fiscal outlook descends on Town Hall, there’s added urgency to bolster local revenue to avoid layoffs, service cuts, or a Proposition 2 ½ override. Growing the commercial sector is not a new idea, but it has not been Plymouth’s strong suit for decades. Most of the growth here over the past 25 […]