AMESBURY – What To Do With an Old Truck Stop? The city of Amesbury is taking the next step to find out.
It is asking for proposals from private developers for how best to redevelop the once popular Trader Alan’s Truck Stop on Pond View Avenue near Interstate 495. The almost 7-acre site is adjacent to the city’s solar field and across the street from townhomes in the Village at Bailey’s Pond.
Abandoned since the 1990s and seized by the city through tax foreclosure in 2001, the site once was an active place where travelers and locals could grab a meal, spend the night or get your car or truck filled with gas or repaired.
City officials now hope the old truck stop could become a new hub of commercial activity.
“Proposing this site for surplus was one of the first things I did after taking office,” Mayor Kassandra Gove said in a statement. “It’s an important parcel for redevelopment, the integrity of the neighborhood and for our commercial growth as a community.
“We need to expand our capacity for commercial growth and have very few options to do so. I’m hopeful we receive responses that work for us and look forward to continuing this process.”
The 6.8-acre truck stop at 21 Pond View Ave. is zoned for an office park. Although it was once a gas station, an assessment found that the site has no environmental limitations.
After 18 months of studying the site, the city’s Disposition Committee, headed by Scott Kelley and Adrienne Lennon, would like to see an engineering or technical business locate there.
Examples might be robotics, artificial intelligence and medical pharmaceutical research and development.
The site is conveniently located to I-495, making it ideal for truck deliveries.
“This property is identified as a Brownfield under state and federal definitions and has been mostly remediated through the removal of underground storage tanks from the former fueling station. According to the environmental assessments that have been completed, there are no foreseen limitations for the future use of this property,” the request for proposals stated.
Proposals are due at the Office of Community and Economic Development, 39 South Hunt Road, by noon March 27.
Trader-Alans-Land-Truck-Stop
Trader-Alans-Land-Truck-Stop
