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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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