SALEM — A Beverly developer has filed plans to build a 141-apartment complex along the North River canal.
MRM Project Management hopes to develop the former Salem Oil Grease factory, one of the last vestiges of Blubber Hollow, which was a historic tannery district and industrial site for more than 200 years.
The developer plans to demolish most of the existing factory structures, erect three, four-story buildings with market-rate apartments and convert the company’s former office at 60 Grove St. into a commercial building.
The complex would have 215 parking spaces and a main entrance off Harmony Grove Road.
Some cleanup has been done and more will be required once buildings are removed, according to the developer’s lawyer.
This project, he said, will bring life to a long-dormant site.
“It’s a $20 million investment in a brownfields site and we’re excited about it,” said Joe Correnti. “And we’re excited to present our plans to the city.”
At a meeting several weeks ago at The Moose Family Center, neighbors had a mixed reaction to the project, according to a representative of a neighborhood group.
While the cleanup and development of a polluted site were hailed, concerns were raised about the size of the residential development.
“Our concern is the density,” said Rosemary O’Connor, chairperson of the Mack Park Neighborhood Association. “We want to see it developed, we’re thrilled to see it developed … We’re not against it being cleaned up at all. I think it’s the number of units.”
O’Connor said residents are worried about the increased traffic in an area with “old Salem streets that wind and go nowhere…” She also mentioned the potential impact on public services and schools.
This new project, Legacy Park Apartments at Harmony Grove Road, is the latest development proposed for an area that was re-zoned a few years ago. Several other projects have been stalled due to financing, legal and other issues.
Among the long-delayed projects are a 130-apartment complex at the Salem Suede factory site; a proposal for 44 condominiums on Goodhue Street; a light manufacturing plan at the former Flynntan property; and the $30 million Gateway Center, a proposed office building at Boston and Bridge streets that would include the city’s new senior center.
For more than a year, developers have been looking at the Salem Oil Grease property, meeting with city officials and talking with neighbors.
A few days before Christmas, MRM filed plans with the city seeking permits from the Planning Board and Conservation Commission. The developer also needs a state permit to build near a waterway.
No hearing date has been scheduled at the Planning Board.
This project will be built by the Federated Companies, real estate developers who have done a number of multi-family apartment complexes in Greater Boston.