One day last summer, a young man wearing a wetsuit emerged from the Boston Machine Lofts on Willow Street and tethered a surfboard to the roof of his Jeep.

In any upscale seaside community, this seemingly mundane act might have gone completely unnoticed.

The fact that it was happening in downtown Lynn was what made it remarkable.

As word spread, investors and real estate agents joined city officials and community business leaders to collectively celebrate the image as a harbinger; a sign that the rebirth of downtown Lynn was indeed a reality.

That story, as told by Gordon Hall of the Hall Company property management firm, became a galvanizing point at last week’s quarterly meeting of the Lynn Business Partnership (LBP), held on the top floor of Eastern Bank’s operations center; and attended by an assortment of the movers and shakers.

As Hall put it, “That’s something I’ve never seen before in downtown Lynn. The city has become a more vibrant place to work.”

The Boston Machine Lofts, a handsome industrial building converted to residential condominiums by RCG Associates, has become a model of sorts for successful development in the city.

Completion of that project followed closely on the heels of a renaissance at the Edison, a run-down hotel on Exchange Street that Gilberg Realty transformed into a first-class office building that quickly filled with tenants.

Over the past year, many real estate projects have become more visible in the downtown, from the efforts by Oasis Development Enterprises to gut and rebuild the old Goldberg Furniture store into Goldblock Lofts – a mix of retail and residential condos on Munroe Street – to the conversion of the J.N. Appliance building into more condos in the same neighborhood.

The Mayo Group, owned by John McGrail, has purchased at least a dozen downtown properties, most of in a state of reconstruction, including the former Klemm’s restaurant and the Keith Building, both in Central Square, and nearby Pevear Building on Munroe Street.

What became most apparent at the LBP meeting was the sheer number of projects ongoing simultaneously which, when viewed together, constitute a wave of redevelopment unprecedented in the city’s recent economic history. An enormous condo-conversion wave has swept the downtown, taking advantage of aging but handsome and strongly-built industrial buildings, a bus and train transportation hub, a 15-minute drive from Logan Airport, nearby recreational resources such as public beaches and Lynn Woods, and affordable property.

Alex Steinbergh of RCG said the investment company plans to increase its presence in Lynn, noting that work will soon begin converting the former warehouse at 589 Essex Street, directly across from the Lynn District Courthouse, into residential units.

According to Steinbergh, five of the 32 units are already under agreement. Since parking is limited in the courthouse area, plans include sacrificing the street-level units to make room for the occupants’ automobiles.

“Right after the holidays, we’ll be going full bore,” Steinbergh said, explaining that the 100-percent full Boston Machine lofts gave the company enough experience and results with the Lynn market to move forward with other projects, including purchase of the former Franklin Street firehouse. The latter has become a condo conversion project known as Ladder 3 Lofts.

“We’re bullish on Lynn,” he said.

Dennis Joy of the Mayo Group said the proximity of the Market Street train station to Central Square played a key role in the company’s decision to purchase and refurbish properties. “It worked in Cambridge. When you can walk to the T, it’s very desirable,” he said. “Our experience in Lynn has been very positive and very exciting.”

Joy said the Mayo Group has completed several downtown projects, such as the former LeVar’s Bar building at the corner of Union and Washington streets, while work continues on the Keith and the Pevear buildings, and the former Klemm’s restaurant building. In recent weeks, interior demolition began at the former Ross Jewelers and defunct Stage Door costume shop on Union Street near the corner of Central Street.

Lowell Gray, founder and former owner of the Inernet company Shore.Net, said he purchased two buildings on Oxford Street that will contain upper-story condominiums and ground-floor restaurant catering to upscale patrons.

Yet another conversion project by Andrew Perkins and his associates aims to create residential artist lofts in a former industrial building on Mount Vernon Street, adjacent to The Daily Item building. Perkins said 13 potential buyers have made down payments on the units.

Steve Rima, owner of the McDonald’s restaurant on the Lynnway and a prominent community business leader, said increasing the number of residents downtown will make the neighborhood thrive. Rima has been assisting the Lynn Museum with its plans to replocate its headquarters from Green Street to the state-owned Lynn Heritage State Park Visitors’ Center at the corner of Washington and Union Streets. The museum relocation, hinged on a long-term lease with the state, dovetails with the growth of the city’s Arts & Cultural District, he said.

In a related matter, the visitors’ center pocket park is scheduled for expansion toward Central Square, connecting it to the Lynn Arts building on Exchange Street. The park expansion was the result of an agreement the Miles Group real estate developers and the city. In return for the Central Square land and a promise to complete the wrought iron fencing and make other park improvements, The Miles Group was released from an easement along the waterfront, where it purportedly plans to construct townhouse condominiums. However, since The Miles Group was not represented at the LBP meeting, it was unclear whether the harborfront project is still on track.

City Council President James Cowdell said Lynn has begun to thrive because obstacles erected by the local government have been removed. For example, he cited a recent zoning change that allows for high-rise development along the waterfront, greater density in residential construction near the downtown train station, and less restrictive parking requirements per housing unit, albeit condo or apartment.

“The zoning change was important because it removed government from the equation,” Cowdell said, noting that Lowell officials are now looking at Lynn as a model for downtown redevelopment.

“They’re coming here to see how we do things and how they can do the same thing back in Lowell,” he said.

City Development Director Harold McGaughey said his office will look at Lynn’s overall zoning in an attempt to analyze the situation and perhaps make recommendations for further change. “We’re trying to say we’re open for business,” he said.

Norman Cole of the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development, said the city’s master plan must connect the waterfront with the downtown and create zoning that prohibits inappropriate uses on key properties. Parking lots, car lots and gasoline stations must be removed from the downtown, just as heavy industry must not dominate the waterfront, he said, echoing a report by a private consulting firm hired by the city’s development office.

As for density, while the city zoning code might seek to reduce it in some neighborhoods, developers willing to actually increase it in the downtown should be rewarded, Cole said. Cole cited the ongoing St. Jean’s housing project as an example of strategically increasing density where needed. “The public sector has to step up to the plate,” he said, suggesting the city do whatever is needed to encourage investment.

LBP Chairman James Berk said about 180 loft condominiums were recently completed or under development, boosting the local tax base by an estimated $41 million, which translates to about $500,000 in new annual revenue for the city while not increasing the need for municipal services.

John Gilberg, who with his brother, Robert, carried out the successful Edison conversion, said Lynn is still hurt by its iamge as a poor, blue-collar, rough-and-tumble city. To make matters worse, a popular jingle known throughout the region paints the “city of sin” in an unfavorable light, he said.

According to Gilberg, such negative bias can have a snowball effect that must be addressed through a strong public relations campaign similar to Lowell’s.

That city recently launched a booster blitz with the theme, “There’s a lot to like about Lowell.”

Lynn Business Partnership:

Chairman James D. Berk; Members John F. Barry Jr.; Eric H. Ciccone; Robert F. Conlon, treasurer; Thomas P. Costin Jr.; Thomas D. Donahue; Peter H. Gamage; Jeffrey M. Gibbons; Richard E. Gorham; Edward M. Grant, Chief executive officer and clerk; Gordon R. Hall; Richard E. Holbrook; Thomas P. Iarrobino; Paul R. Keating; Mark S. Kennard; Nicholas L. Leuci; Maura P. Lynch; and James D. Moore.