Public Invited to WalkMalden River Walk on May 21
Event Festivities to Include Dedication of New Walkway Built for Public by Combined Properties, Inc.

Residents of Malden and neighboring communities are invited to enjoy a guided stroll along the scenic Malden River on Saturday, May 21, at the second annual WalkMalden River Walk. Free to the public, the walk and other activities get underway at 195 Canal Street in Malden and run from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Hosts are non-profit organization WalkMalden, along with 195 Canal Street developer Combined Properties, Inc., and Cambridge Health Alliance, whose Malden Family Medicine Center makes its home at the property.

Activities will include a leisurely walk on recently-finished pedestrian paths along the Malden River, a small health fair, blood pressure screenings, breast cancer and smoking cessation information, healthy-living tips, face painting, a free raffle for a children’s bicycle donated by JRA Cycles of Medford, and displays by local arts and education groups. Also on hand will be information about the Northern Strand Trail, a new bicycle path that non-profit organization Bike to the Sea is constructing nearby in partnership with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the Malden Redevelopment Authority.

“We anticipate an enthusiastic turnout for the River Walk,” said WalkMalden’s Kevin Duffy, former Executive Director of Healthy Malden, the founding organization of WalkMalden. “The welcome mat is out for kids as well as adults.”

The group tour will start on a just-completed walkway by the river at 195 Canal Street. Officials from Combined Properties, the city, and the state will inaugurate the walkway, which was built for public use, in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The completed walkway marks the final phase of the com-pany’s transformation of the once-vacant 4.5-acre “brownfield” industrial site into an attractive modern office campus that today houses Cambridge Health Alliance’s Malden Family Medicine Center.

“We hope that our investment in revitalizing the property and creating the new public trail will allow the neighborhood and the city to better enjoy one of the area’s natural resources, the Malden River,” said Chris Maietta, Combined Properties V.P. of Business Development.

The company’s investment is reflected in the city’s assessment of the property’s value, rising from about $2 million prior to redevelopment to almost $10 million today.

The new walkway grew out of a public/private collaboration among Combined Properties, the state Department of Environmental Protection as overseer of the Chapter 91 waterways licensing pro-gram, and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, which contributed access for a segment of the walkway to be built on their land. As construction was wrapping up this January, Malden Ward 1 Councilor Gary Christenson introduced a City Council measure whereby Combined Properties would deed to the city permanent access to the walkway for the benefit of the public. The Council voted unanimously in favor, and the measure was endorsed by Mayor Richard C. Howard.

Helping to plan this year’s River Walk are Anthony’s Restaurant, Bike to the Sea, the City of Mal-den, the Malden Redevelopment Authority, and Tri-CAP. Free parking for the River Walk will be available at 195 Canal Street and at neighboring Anthony’s Restaurant. Rain date is Sunday, May 22. More information is available at www.combineproperties.com/riverwalk.html.

Combined Properties & the Malden River: Combined Properties’s interest in stewardship of the Malden River is in keeping with property the company owns along a half-mile of the waterway.

The company has had a vision for the long-neglected river as a recreational and environmental re-source. In 1999, it conceived of introducing the sport of rowing on the little-known waterway. Goals were to give local high school girls and boys the developmental advantages of the venerable team sport, provide recreational opportunities for adults, and create public awareness of the river’s value. The company reached out to Tufts University, which subsequently relocated its intercollegiate crew program from the Charles River to the Malden River and built a boathouse. Combined Properties also approached Mystic Valley Regional Charter School and Malden High School and offered to help them establish interscholastic crew programs for girls and boys. Today both schools have teams that call the Malden River home, the latter operating under the auspices of the non-profit Gentle Giant Rowing Club. Gentle Giant also oversees interscholastic teams for Medford and Somerville high schools, while offering youth and adult programs from two locations on the Malden as well as Mystic rivers.

“In 1999 when we were working to introduce rowing, awareness of the river was almost zero, and a lot of eyebrows were raised,” said Combined Properties’s Chris Maietta. “People who had lived in the area all their lives would say, ‘What river? There’s no river in Malden.’ Now the watersheet is activated and in use almost daily. The resource is on the map and appreciated, perhaps more than at any time in its history.”

About WalkMalden: WalkMalden was created in 2010 when local non-profit organization Healthy Malden received a grant from allied nonprofit WalkBoston to make and distribute pedestrian maps of Malden. The group hosted its first walk in May 2010 to celebrate the release of the new maps and continues its mission of getting people active to experience the benefits of walking and of connect-ing with their community.

About Combined Properties, Inc.: Combined Properties, Inc is a full-service investment and development real estate firm specializing in quality office, R & D, industrial, retail, and multi-family residential properties on Boston’s north shore. Since its founding in 1935, the firm has purchased, developed, and managed over 2 million square feet of space. Combined Properties offers a complete spectrum of capabilities to meet its clients’ individual needs. With in-house experts in design, construction, property management, legal affairs, finance, and leasing, the Combined Properties team delivers a tailored client experience.

About Cambridge Health Alliance’s Malden Family Medicine Center: The CHA Malden Family Medicine Center is a state-of-the-art primary care facility that opened in June 2007 at 195 Canal Street. Affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine, more than 30 doctors work onsite and see patients of all ages. The new center was designed as a model practice to use the latest technology to benefit patients. Services onsite include primary care, women's health and pregnancy care, sports medicine, x-ray, lab testing, diabetes and asthma programs, acupuncture, complementary medicine, nutrition, mental health services, anti-coagulation services. For more information, visit http://www.challiance.org/locations/malden_family_health.shtml.