This story was published as part of a collaboration between Andover News Service and the Department of Journalism in Boston University’s College of Communication. The student journalist is a member of Professor Meghan E. Irons’s Reporting in Depth class.
By Lilly Chapman
Particularly this time of year, when all Andover residents coming home from Boston on the commuter rail exit the train into darkness, the Andover stop on Railroad Street can feel like an uninviting area.
But Paul Materazzo, the director of planning and land use in Andover, believes two development projects in that area will change things beginning this year.
The town received a $3.3 million MassWorks Infrastructure grant in November 2023 to renovate the Essex Street corridor that connects Elm Square to the commuter rail stop.
More coverage on Andover News: Taking The Commuter Rail To Andover
Beyond that, Materazzo and other town officials support a Town Yard Redevelopment plan that will include 165 new housing units, al fresco dining and a community plaza with walkways and trees. The plan was approved by the Planning Board back in August of 2024, and the Town Yard, LLC received a Special Permit for a Historic Overlay District.
Materazzo said he expects work for both endeavors will begin in 2025, with construction for the Essex Street corridor project starting in the spring and the Town Yard Redevelopment beginning in the summer.
“This is going to be a magnet of activity. There’s going to be stuff going on, people are going to come by the train and go ‘Wow, there’s something going on here, I gotta be here!’” said Materazzo. “Whereas today it’s like ‘Don’t get hit by a car or run over by a train!’ because (the area is) not put together in the way that it should be.”
The redevelopment project includes new sidewalks, closing off Pearson Street, changing the Pearson/Essex/Railroad street intersection and creating accommodations for bicycles. The goal is to make the area around the commuter rail stop more walkable and inviting, said Materazzo.
“This is downtown, it should be a place you should feel comfortable,” he said. “And so to flip the paradigm on the commuter rail, I would argue that once this project is done, combined with the investments the town is making on Essex Street, this is going to be by far one of the best commuter rail stops North of Boston, if not in the entirety of the train system.”
The Boston-to-Haverhill line of the MBTA’s commuter rail typically stops in Andover 13 times a day (see related story), and supports thousands of riders each month.