By Lorna Garey
Neighborhood View recently sat down with Zachery LeMel, Malden’s new Deputy Director of Planning and Economic Development. LeMel is an experienced urban planner and policy expert with a background in zoning reform, transit-oriented development and using urban design to support local businesses. He comes to Malden from Newton, where he spent six years as chief of long-range planning.
Of course, this is a high-stakes time to step into an economic development role in Malden. With the recent failure of the tax override and looming budget cuts, pressure to grow the city’s commercial tax base is intense.
LeMel is up for it.
He’s picking up where Kevin Duffy — a famously boots-on-the-ground relationship builder — left off. Under Duffy’s leadership, Malden Center evolved into a dining and experiential destination with anchors like Boda Borg. Duffy also fostered the local creative economy, including helping secure permanent space for The Gallery@57.
That base is a strong selling point for the city, LeMel says. Plenty of employers will see the culture and think “my employees are going to want to live there, and they’re going to want to work there.”
“There are places out there that don’t have strong community, or don’t have strong culture and identity,” said LeMel. “Malden does.”
One key to bringing in high-quality development is making sure the city’s zoning makes sense now and into the future. Allowing for more by-right uses could help across the city, including in Maplewood Square, where property owners that have broader use options would be able to attract a range of potential buyers who would pay top dollar, and keep properties on the tax rolls.
As for threats, LeMel wants to make sure that what makes Malden, Malden — the people, the culture — benefits from economic development.
“Obviously a city is not static — if a city is static, then it’s dying — so Malden has always changed,” he said. “You need to be intentional, you need to be thoughtful.”
LeMel is out and about in the community, often accompanying city councilors on ward tours. If you spot him, say hey and share ideas for how to position the city for what’s next.
“You have economic upswings and downturns,” he said. “A challenge for a city like Malden is … are you positioned to be ready when the upswing happens?”
Here’s more from our interview. The Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.
Neighborhood View: What was your Job No. 1 from the mayor and council?
Zachery LeMel: It’s a continuation of Kevin’s work, being the point person between the business community, the development community, and the city. There’s also a concerted effort to look at economic development within the city really holistically. Linking the work that the sustainability planner is doing, the transportation planner is doing — if we’re investing in our roads and our infrastructure, how does that translate to assisting the businesses and the properties that are there? That’s an additional and key focus.
NV: What made you want to work in Malden?
ZL: The community, the culture, the opportunity. Obviously, there are real challenges, but it seems to me that there is a recognition by the administration, by the leadership, the City Council, by the staff, that we need to address them. They’re ready to face these things head on, and hopefully, in my role, I can come forward with recommendations that they will want to pursue.
NV: What might you do a little differently from Kevin?
ZL: Well, it’s going to be hard to fill those shoes. I have people calling, ‘Hey, I want to open this business. Do you have a property for me?” And obviously I don’t have that historic knowledge. So I’m talking to property owners, talking to business owners, touring areas and specific neighborhoods with councilors.
NV: What do you need from city councilors and the business community to help you succeed?
ZL: Open communication. Obviously, economic development is on top of everyone’s mind. There’s this sense of, ‘Hey, what can the city do to be more business friendly, more economic-development friendly?’
We’re working to put forward a package of regulatory changes that make it easier for existing businesses to expand and change and evolve, and for new businesses to come here. What should those be? Those conversations are ongoing internally and with business owners who have gone through the process. Maybe getting a sign was a challenge, or getting a certain license was really tough. We can look at that and see where the pinch points were.
NV: Malden does have a bit of a reputation.
ZL: Well, I’m coming from Newton, which is not known as a friendly place for development either. They also have 24 city councilors!
It’s about explaining and listening. What is it that you’re concerned with? Traffic, this is going to be too big, the design is going to be bad? Well, in order to be this big, it has to do these certain things that mitigate or make it so that it’s going to be a better product at the end of the day.
NV: Trust in government got a bit dinged up during the override process. How can you get people on board with big projects and improve transparency?
ZL: I think pointing to local examples is always helpful. It’s like, ‘Hey, someone wants to come in and do this. Well, you know, a mile down the road, this opened up two years ago. It’s somewhat similar. Have you been over there?’ After that, it becomes conversations. How are we going to mitigate traffic, for example.
NV: Given the structural deficit the city faces, there’s clearly pressure to grow the commercial base fast. What’s your strategy for getting some quick wins?
ZL: What’s really exciting is the TDI, the Transformation Development Initiative. We were designated for this three-year project where they provide a staff person and additional resources, funding, to really kickstart economic development. One part of that will hopefully be a quick win.
NV: Any insights into what that might be?
ZL: It’s going to be something highly visible—almost like a marketing piece, to say, ‘Hey, we’re launching this, and it’s going to allow for transformative change.’ We’re going for something downtown, community-focused, creating space for people to come, and those people then frequent the businesses, or people that wouldn’t come otherwise might come. We’re figuring it out.
NV: Give us an example or two of ordinance changes that could benefit the city.
ZL: A first step is reviewing the table of uses that require gaining a special permit, a multimonth procedure that adds costs. Within the zoning ordinance, uses are allowed by right, or they’re allowed by special permit. A special permit is a process. For some people, it could be easy, but it’s time and it’s money.
Speaking to property owners and brokers, they say ‘Hey, I’ve got this business that wants to come in. Can I do it?’ And a lot of times the answer is yes, but it requires a special permit.
There may have been a reason or a concern, and those maybe haven’t materialized. For example, in a lot of our business zoning districts around the city, a psychiatrist’s office requires a special permit. That’s a couple hundred square feet that people are coming into to talk. Should that be the case?
If they don’t have to spend as much money on process, they can spend more money on design. We can essentially create the frame, or the envelope, and then let creative people do creative things. We’ll put recommendations forward, talk to people who’ve been here much longer than me, and say, ‘Hey, why is this?’
NV: Malden does pretty well on economic development grants. What are some opportunities there?
ZL: A vacant storefront tax credit was awarded to us in October. We have $50,000 right now, money that if a new business fills a vacant spot, given certain requirements, they can apply for these tax credits. That’s an annual one, so we’re going to reapply for that.
There are other grants up to $250,000, $500,000, for projects that are stuck. Say we want to build a mixed-use building but there’s an issue with the site and we need to do some cleanup; this could alleviate that.
NV: I’m assuming you’ve heard about the empanada lady? Are creative uses like ghost kitchens on your radar?
ZL: Maybe there’s an opportunity in some of the industrial zones to do that kind of thing. In my previous role, I wrote regulations for, not specifically ghost kitchens, but dark stores. Maybe we can allow for incubators, right, for businesses where upfront costs are really high. If we can get four or five of these folks together and they can access space, it becomes a lot more affordable. So it’s working with inspectional services, doing our research and analysis. What can we allow for that gives the best possible outcome while mitigating unintended consequences?
*In the context of city planning, a dark store is a retailer’s facility that looks like a conventional store but is completely closed to the public. In practice, they’re more like warehouses than stores. A ghost kitchen is a commercial food prep facility that operates exclusively to fulfill online delivery orders, with no dine-in seating, waitstaff, or public-facing storefront.
NV: The Exchange 200 building has some good tenants. What other businesses with well-paying job opportunities, like light manufacturing or robotics, can Malden attract?
ZL: Obviously, across the region, there’s a glut of available office space, available lab space. I think we point to Exchange and the folks that are there now and use that to create momentum. ‘Hey, we’re here not just because there was a space available, but because it’s in Malden, and they have this vibe.’
We have access to the T, the restaurants, the gaming district. We have skilled employees that live here or are looking to move here. It’s obviously a challenge, but I think it’s about building on the wins.
NV: The city recently had a Route 60 visioning session. How are you meshing with that? And what’s your vision?
ZL: When it comes to street upgrades and improvements, we need to look at them holistically. They’re not just spaces for single-occupancy vehicles. You can design such that our roads can move cars, they can move people, they can move bikes.
NV: Have you dived into updating the city’s Master/Comprehensive Plan yet?
ZL: The Comprehensive Plan was updated last in 2010, so that’s going to be getting kicked off pretty soon. Cities and towns update every 20 to 30 years, generally. It’s a guiding document. Comprehensive planning allows us to look at economic development, housing, transportation, sustainability, open space, under one umbrella and say, ‘This is our grand vision and driving force for the ciWhen we’re talking about specific economic development, we can’t wait for that. We need to do things. If something is working well, we can incorporate that into the Comprehensive Plan over the next few years. It’s not a one-and-done. It’s something that you work on continually.
NV: Small businesses are struggling. What do you think is the missing piece that would make someone getting off a train, or going to dinner, come to Malden and spend money?
ZL: I think right now, everyone is hurting, and people are making decisions to spend less and do less, and that’s tough. The DESE building is starting to fill back up with different uses, but the loss of office use from COVID is impacting those businesses greatly.
Looking ahead to the TDI program, this is a really big piece that we’ll be looking at. We look at the city as a whole and see who’s working from home and say, hey, well, it’s really nice outside. What if you take a short bike ride or a short walk or a short drive for lunch?
I think the farmers market coming back will be big. It’s great that it’s right downtown. People will hopefully say, we’re coming here for the farmers market, we’re gonna go to lunch first, then go to the farmer’s market, or go to the farmer’s market then get a bite. Having more of those things, and allowing for more of those things that bring people here, like retail. That empty storefront tax credit can help.
NV: When we talked to Kevin Duffy last, the Eviva and 110 Grill spaces were empty. They still are. Have you seen any movement?
ZL: I think we’ll hopefully see some movement there soon. That’s all I got.
NV: How about the courthouse?
ZL: There was a look at reaching out to some developers. A few people came and toured the space. We’re looking for other responses. And then at the same time, I think we’re looking at, hey, are there other operators out there that might be able to take on a space like this, some sort of arts and culture space, a theater, you know, some sort of music venue or whatever.
A space like that needs a lot of work, no matter what. It’s being explored, but obviously took a backseat to the other financial needs of the city at the moment. But we’re looking at it.
NV: You look around at the development happening in Medford, Everett, Somerville. And it does feel like, ‘Hi! We’re Malden, take a look at us!’?
ZL: Yes. Again, I think it’s about building on the resources that are here. The T, access to the highway, buses that can take you right to the airport. It just seems like a no-brainer. Is there anything within our control that has prevented a certain use? If that’s the case, let’s get that off the books. Let’s figure that out, and then let’s go out — again, the boots on the ground piece — and say, ‘Hey, we’re here in Malden. What’s going on?’
Got a business plan or an empty retail space to share with LeMel? Drop him a line at zlemel@cityofmalden.org.
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