Beverly Awarded $800K State Grant For Waterfront Property Purchase

BEVERLY, MA — An $800,000 state grant will go toward the purchase of private waterfront property for public use in Beverly.

Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said on Wednesday that Beverly was included in the nearly $10.8 million in Seaport Economic Council grants covering 19 projects. The grants are designed to help coastal communities with project that benefit maritime industries, improve resident and visitor access to the waterfront, mitigate climate change and provide for future dredging.

Beverly's proposal is to use the grant funding to buy property adjacent to the existing harbor center.

"I appreciate the hard work of the Seaport Economic Council members in evaluating and investing in projects that will deepen our maritime economy, promote economic development, and support resilient infrastructure in our coastal communities," Polito said. "From the North Shore to the South Coast, today's awards will advance important improvements along our waterfront."

With this latest round of grants, the Seaport Economic Council has invested approximately $77 million through 164 grants in 54 coastal communities since 2015.

"Our waterfronts are economic drivers for Massachusetts, supporting maritime industries and drawing visitors to enjoy our beaches and local businesses," Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy said. "Providing the resources to shore up our waterfronts through

infrastructure improvements and coastal resiliency efforts is integral to both the long-term environmental and economic health of our commonwealth."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)