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BROWNFIELPS SUCCESS  IN NEW  ENGLAND
MERRIMACK STREET PROJECT
LAWRENCE, MASSACHUSETTS
  Property Details
  Property Address:       290 Merrimack Street; Lawrence, MA 01840
  Property Size:                                      4.45 acres
  Former Uses:       Former power station (boiler house) and fuel/coal
         storage facility and fabric storage unit in Worsted Mill Complex
  Contaminants Found:                      Lead and PAHs in soil
  Current Use:             Vacant, under redevelopment construction
  Current Owner:                           Riverwalk Properties
  Project Partners
  City of Lawrence; State of Massachusetts; Environmental Protection
  Agency; Riverwalk Properties
Drivers for Redevelopment: This property's location is prime real
estate along the river banks of the Merrimack River. The boiler house
was in the heart of industrial activity, providing power to the entire
Worsted Mill Complex. The site sat idle and vacant for decades when
the developer, Riverwalk Properties, saw the potential of the property
and wanted to change the persona of the downtrodden, economically
hard pressed area into a desirable commercial real estate location. Mr.
Salvatore Lupoli, owner of Riverwalk Properties, wanted to give back
to the community and realized that creating a safe campus setting
along the riverfront would entice new businesses and residents to
the area. Therefore, he and his company are developing this property
as greenspace and a community center, a place for workers and
community members in the nearby area to go outside and relax.
Property History: The City of Lawrence, known as the Immigrant
City, is about a 30 miles north of Boston and sits along the Merrimack
River. The city thrived during the industrial revolution in the mid-
1800s by opening textile mills—including the world's largest textile
mill American Woolen Company—and other forms of industry.
However, the textile industry fell during an economic decline in
the 1970s leaving the city with many abandoned buildings, vacant
homes, and unused incinerators and waste treatment facilities. This
site housed the boiler, fuel and fabric storage for the former Worsted
Mill Complex, which sat vacant for over 20 years. The boiler facility
contained a 100,000-gallon #6 heating oil tank, a 1.5-million gallon
fuel tank, and asbestos piping insulation and floor tiles. In early 2003,
Mr. Lupoli, a pizza shop owner looking to expand his business into
a first class, world renowned chain of pizzerias, realized the prospect
of converting the old textile mill in the Merrimack River Valley,
including the former boiler house, to a mixed-use property under
Riverwalk Properties. The City of Lawrence funded the Phase I and II
Environmental Site Assessments (ESA) and initiated momentum for
brownfields redevelopment on the property.
                                         Funding Details
                                           EPA Brownfields Community-wide Assessment funded Phase I and II
                                           ESAs totaling $39,833.00
                                           Private developer, Riverwalk Properties, spent $5 million for cleanup
                                           and demolition.
                                           As part of Phase I of redevelopment, Riverwalk Properties will spend
                                           an estimated $15 million to redevelop the site for a multi-use complex
                                           along the riverfront, including a community center and river park
                                           (subject property)
                                                                   Project Highlights
                                           The demolished boiler house/fabric storage building will become a
                                           30,000-square foot park and community center, a keystone between
                                           two large office complexes.
                                           Redevelopment along the waterfront, including this parcel, through
                                           this public/private partnership has spawned economic growth and a
                                           growing population in the city.
                                       Project Results: Working closely with the city, the private developer
                                       funded the cleanup of the former boiler house. The cleanup included
                                       removal of asbestos, fuel tanks, and lead and PAH-contaminated soil.
                                       After completion of the cleanup and removal process in the summer
                                       of 2009, demolition and construction began on the parcel with the
                                       building of a community center and the preservation of greenspace
                                       as a river park. The project will be finished in summer of 2011.
                                       The 290 Merrimack Street site is an integral part of a much larger
                                       redevelopment of Merrimack Street that has created 1.2 million square
                                       feet of retail space and  leveraged 2,000 jobs for the city from the
                                       200 companies now located there. The park and community center
                                       are donations to the neighborhood that will enhance the state-funded
                                       riverwalk through the area.
                                         Project Timeline
                                         2003   Riverwalk Properties purchased the property
                                         2007   EPA awarded the Brownfields Assessment grant; assessments
                                                commenced
                                         2009   Completed cleanup and broke ground in the summer for Phase
                                                I of redevelopment
                                         2011   Construction shall be complete for Phase I of the multi-use
                                                complex, including the community center and park
April 2011
Local Contact: ArtMcCabe • Community Development, City of Lawrence • amccabe@cityoflawrence.com • 978-620-3516

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