Economic Pulse: Spotlight on Swampscott 

The North Shore Alliance, or the “Alliance,” prides itself on supporting economic development initiatives across the 30 communities and four Gateway Cities of the North Shore of Massachusetts. Each month we will be conducting a community highlight. We will be taking a look at some of these communities, where they stand economically, and highlight commercial development sites that may be of interest to our readers. 

This month we will be taking a closer look at the city of Swampscott, Massachusetts, located 15 miles north of Boston, right along the scenic Atlantic coastline. 

A Word About Swampscott, Massachusetts 

Originally part of the large Saugus land grant and later the eastern part of Lynn’s Ward One, Swampscott was settled and established in 1629 when Francis Ingalls came and built the first Massachusetts Bay Colony tannery on Humphrey’s Brook. 

There is a long history of Swampscott being a seafaring fishing village. Additionally the town was known for its shoemakers, farmers, and merchants. 

From its fishing interests, Swampscott reached worldwide status as the place where Ebenezer Thorndike invented the lobster pot in 1808 to revolutionize lobster harvesting. Also, the Swampscott Dory, a fishing boat still in use throughout the world today, was invented in 1840 by Theophilius Brackett to row and to pull lobster pots. The dory was considered the best seaworthy boat for fishermen due to its unique flat-bottomed design. (Swampscott Town page) 

Today, Swampscott is a seaside community of 13,800 residents. Swampscott offers a friendly, welcoming and nurturing family environment, an excellent preschool to grade 12 public educational system, superb public safety and support systems, abundant youth sports opportunities and a town government which is responsive to the needs of its citizens.

Swampscott Economic Development 

Swampscott, like many towns and cities across the North Shore of Massachusetts has a dedicated Office of Community and Economic Development with resources for the businesses of the area. 

The duties of this office include: 

• Technical and administrative support to the Planning Board in the form of residential, commercial and subdivision project review and approval
• Technical and administrative support to the Renewable Energy Committee in the form of energy efficiency programs and grants
• Coordinating projects with other town offices 
• Liaison between Town Planning Board and the other town offices 
• Meeting with abbutters and coordinating with petitioners (Source: Swampscott Economic Development) 

Resources 

To find out more about the planning for Swampscott over the next ten years, we encourage you to visit PlanSwampscott.com. The site planSWAMPSCOTT is the online resource to all of these plans. This tool allows you to browse the planning work by topics, download each individual plan, as well as track progress on the actions identified in each plan.

On this page you will find helpful links and resources including members of each committee that can answer your questions regarding economic development in the town of Swampscott.