Dominion to Sell Blaney Street Property to City of Salem

SALEM, Mass., June 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy New England announced Monday that it will sell the City of Salem the 2-acre Blaney Street property that is home to the Salem Ferry.

The city will use a grant from the Massachusetts Seaport Advisory Council to purchase the property that is adjacent to Dominion's Salem Harbor Power Station for $1.7 million.

"The Blaney Street site is crucial to the city's waterfront redevelopment plans, and the city has long expressed an interest in buying it," said Katheryn B. Curtis, Dominion vice president-Fossil & Hydro Merchant Operations. "We are pleased that the sale will allow the city to move forward with its development plans."

The property was purchased in 2001 by the power station's former owner for $2.1 million. Dominion obtained the Blaney Street property when it purchased the power station in 2005, and the company agreed to lease the site to Salem for $1 annually later that year.  In 2006 the city built a temporary pier and an associated parking lot. The Salem Ferry, which provides high-speed, round-trip service from Boston to Salem, began operating later in 2006.

"Dominion's sale of the Blaney Street property to the City of Salem is another example of their continued commitment to our community," stated Kimberley Driscoll, Mayor of Salem.  "This parcel is central to our desire to develop our waterfront, which we expect to be an important engine for our local economy.  The ownership of the land is the first step to unlocking this property's potential for the City.  Without Dominion working cooperatively with us on the sale and the sale price, the long-term operation of the highly successful Salem Ferry and full construction of the Salem Wharf project would not be possible."

"Thanks to the city's successful working relationship with Dominion, Salem will have an opportunity to move forward with efforts for the development of Blaney Street and the surrounding waterfront," said State Senator Fred Berry. "Salem's vision for this area has already brought immense success to the ferry.  I look forward to seeing the city's plans come to fruition for the creation of a new waterfront gateway to Salem."

State Representative John Keenan said: "This is tremendous news for the City of Salem as ownership of the Blaney Street property is critical to obtaining additional state and federal funds for the construction of the new wharf facility.  Dominion's partnerships in making both the ferry possible and now the new wharf are examples of their commitment to helping Salem create a vibrant economic future."

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of more than 27,500 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 12 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at www.dom.com

SOURCE Dominion Energy New England