June 11, 2025 By Carol Britton Meyer
The Economic Development Strategic Plan, once finalized, will provide Hingham with “a path to pursuing new revenue opportunities that leverage the town’s strengths, protect its assets, and accounts for evolving business location strategies.”
The plan is the result of Hingham’s cooperative effort with the Town of Rockland — due to their shared interest in the Rte. 3/228 corridor — and Camoin Associates to develop a plan that capitalizes on the town’s three primary commercial districts — Hingham Shipyard/Route 3A as a “dynamic waterfront hub blending modern living and access,” downtown Hingham as an “historic, walkable village core anchored in the community,” and the South Hingham/Rockland corridor as a large-scale district “with room to grow and evolve.”
The process involved extensive community outreach, including stakeholder interviews, outreach sessions, and surveys.
The select board, planning board, and Hingham Development & Industrial Commission met in joint session Tuesday night to discuss the newly crafted draft plan.
“This work reflects a year’s worth of effort,” following the work of the sustainable budget task force that named economic development as an important source of revenue, Assistant Town Administrator for Operations Art Robert said.
Preserving and enhancing the town’s character
Goals included preserving and enhancing the town’s character and supporting current — and encouraging new — businesses as part of “supporting a vibrant, resilient economy,” he explained.
Alex Tranmer and Tom Dwortesky of Camoin Associates presented the draft plan and explained possible uses with the highest development potential for Hingham. Nothing has yet been decided.
These included a chain hotel, senior and market-rate housing, specialized industrial uses, a medical office, and a “trophy” office.
They also talked about development opportunities in the three districts, including a possible boutique hotel or entertainment or cultural venue at the current downtown post office site; mixed-use ideas for the Station Street parking lot; mixed-use possibilities for the MBTA ferry parking lot and 29 Shipyard Drive — including retail, entertainment, a hotel, residential development, community recreation and green space, and structured parking; long-term mixed-use ideas for the Talbot’s Campus; and the same for Old Derby Street — including retail, recreation/entertainment, a hotel, medical office, senior living, and green space.
Noting that the Derby Street Shops “are already successful,” there’s a long-term potential for a second-story multi-family residential use. Dwortesky said.
Connectivity to waterfront is key
A key component is improving connectivity to the waterfront.
Under the heading, “Where do we go from here?” Tranmer — who spoke about a private-public partnership with regard to potential implementation of parts of the plan — talked about a three-phase approach to help attain the goals/concepts set forth.
Phase 1 involves setting the stage for economic growth and phase 2, leveraging tools and collaborations to capture market potential — including increasing area visitation linked to the ferry; fostering business-led initiatives; expanding residential development capacity in the Shipyard/Route 3A area; and expanding strategic mixed-uses with residential capacity in South Hingham/North Rockland.
Phase 3 relates to actively attracting “market-feasible” uses to Hingham in the medium to long term — including implementing a business retention and expansion plan and a diversified hotel development strategy; developing an economic development branding strategy; coordinating the implementation of a transportation network enhancement plan; maximizing the potential of the MBTA ferry parking lot; and “reimagining the Talbots site” off Route 3A.
The process to create the plan involved extensive community outreach, including stakeholder interviews, outreach sessions, and surveys.
‘Laying out a clear vision’
Key to the success of its is “laying out a clear vision of what the town wants to see in different districts and rolling out the welcome mat to different businesses in specific locations — as well as a focus on tourism and the town’s rich history — and continuing community feedback as the plan is finalized and then unfolds.
Planning board member Gordon Carr noted that “Hingham has all kinds of potential and assets, but some headwinds as well” and that not a lot of places have such a wide variety of assets, including, in Hingham’s case, “a harbor and historic assets.”
Crystal Kelly, the newly elected planning board member, expressed interest in the hotel concept. “The region doesn’t have a lot of places for people to stay and hold meetings,” she said. “This is one exciting idea out of many.”
Go to https://www.hingham-ma.gov/1072/Economic-Development to read the draft plan and to provide feedback through this week.