Developer will activate former Lynn GE plant with new mixed-use development and commuter rail station

By Marlon A. Cohen

For years, the Riverworks commuter rail station, located along the Saugus River in Lynn, has been open only to employees of the nearby eponymous General Electric (GE) plant. However, as part of developer Charles Patsios’ proposal to construct approximately 1,260 residential units over five phases across 65.5 acres formerly owned by GE, the station will be open to the general public in the coming years, providing the surrounding Lynn community with a direct rail connection to Boston.

Last week, Patsios and the State of Massachusetts reached a deal to allow public access to the station for the first time. Per the deal, Patsios will pay to construct two new 783-foot-long accessible station platforms with spacious walkways, as well as an 80-car parking lot. The station, which will be directly accessible by car from the Lynnway (Route 1A), will be a remarkably important improvement for Lynn, providing a 15-minute train ride to Downtown Boston just two stops to Boston’s North Station. The station will also create new transit-oriented housing opportunity north of Boston. “Having the Riverworks station available for everyone makes this a truly transit-oriented development,” Patsios said in an ItemLive interview. Patsios purchased the 65.5-acre site in 2014 for $7.6 million.

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