Representatives of LEC Environmental Consultants hosted a public information meeting on potential plans to rebuild the seawall at Mission on the Bay.

In May 2023, a portion of the seawall beneath the waterfront restaurant crumbled into the ocean. The building was evacuated, and no injuries were reported as the restaurant temporarily dangled over King’s Beach. Mission on the Bay reopened about a month later following emergency repairs. Now, the group is looking to construct a more solid, long-term solution.

“There’s a fairly long permitting process ahead of us,” said LEC Director Anne Marton.

Since the emergency repairs, Marton said LEC has been collecting existing conditions data and preparing base maps. Surveyors also reviewed the history of the area and its waterways. At the same time, structural engineer Mike Flynn of GeoEngineers evaluated the site and potential solutions.

LEC presented two feasible options beyond leaving the wall as is. The preferred option is to build a rock revetment to support the failed section of the wall.

“This would simply be building a revetment. It curves around,” Marton said.

Coastal Zone Management raised concerns about how water could become trapped, potentially running up the wall and causing issues during storm events. Marton said engineers addressed this by tying the revetment into both the wall and the property.

“This solution would have large boulders and rock to create a revetment that would shore up and hold the wall where it failed and the rest of the wall,” Marton said. 

Construction equipment would access the site from King’s Beach near the intersection of Lynn Shore Drive and Humphrey Street.

The revetment is estimated to cost about $915,000 and would take approximately four months to complete. The town will not be responsible for the cost, Marton said in response to a question from the Swampscott Tides.

“The town is not on the hook for that,” she said, noting the expense would fall on the restaurant or its insurance company.

Marton estimates the revetment could last more than 50 years. The project would impact about 4,000 square feet of wetlands, though Marton said the effects would be offset by new habitat created by the design.

The revetment could also include a 10-foot-wide public walkway with railings.

Conservation Commission Chair Toni Bandrowicz told the Swampscott Tides that the walkway could easily connect to the Hawthorne-by-the-Sea property, which – under the Town Meeting warrant approving the town’s purchase of the land – must include public water access.

Marton added that if Mission on the Bay were to receive another liquor license, the restaurant could potentially serve drinks to people using the walkway through a window.

The alternative option, presented largely for comparison, would be construction of a “sister wall” in front of the existing structure, extending across the failed area.

The sister wall would require extending onto town-owned property at the former Hawthorne-by-the-Sea restaurant site and would need tiebacks due to the required depth for structural stability. Marton cautioned that the schematic shown was conceptual and that structural elements could extend further than depicted.

While the sister wall would be more visually similar to the existing structure, it could cost up to $1.875 million, require ongoing maintenance, and last no more than 50 years. It would also require a significantly larger construction access area.

Marton said LEC presented the project in Lynn in December. Although construction would occur entirely within Swampscott, the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act requires outreach if an environmental justice community lies within one mile of the project. Swampscott’s environmental justice community is near Vinnin Square, while Lynn’s is located in the eastern part of the city.

“We are required to do everything we can to reach out to gain input from those individuals about how this project affects you,” Marton said.

Next, LEC will file an expanded environmental notification form with MEPA on Feb. 2, beginning a 60-day review by multiple state agencies. Another public meeting will be held to present the project.

On March 3, the group will file a notice of intent with the Conservation Commission and the Department of Environmental Protection’s Wetlands program, ahead of a March 24 public hearing. Bandrowicz said the commission will retain a peer reviewer to evaluate the proposals.

Tentatively in April, an environmental impact report will be filed with MEPA based on feedback from the February submission.

In June, LEC plans to apply for a DEP waterways license and water quality certification, as well as a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers general permit. Once all approvals are secured, construction can begin, Marton said.