Grants boost Lawrence, Lowell projects

On April 23, Governor Deval Patrick announced grants of $1 million apiece to Lawrence and Lowell for economic growth-related infrastructure projects.

MassDevelopment, meanwhile, on April 27 announced its award of $4 million in low-cost loans for a project to renovate 35 town house units in a former mill housing complex off Market Street in Lawrence. All the units will be rented at affordable rates.

Lawrence and Lowell officials said they welcome the state money.

"I can't overstate the importance of this," Michael Sweeney, Lawrence's planning director, said of his city's $1 million infrastructure grant.

The money will pay for construction of a new bridge over the North Canal, helping pave the way for Union Crossing, a planned mixed-use development at the site of two former mill complexes on East Island.

"This allows Union Crossing to go forward, and continues the momentum for . . . the entire Gateway project," Sweeney said, referring to a larger public-private initiative to revitalize an 11-acre former mill area.

The $1 million grants awarded to Lawrence and Lowell were among four Community Development Action Grants totaling $3.56 million presented by the state. The program funds public infrastructure projects aimed at generating significant economic activity.

Union Crossing will bring 60 units of affordable housing, a new early childhood education center, and new commercial space to East Island. Lawrence CommunityWorks, a nonprofit community development corporation, is undertaking the project in partnership with Luis and Juan Yepez and the Community Group, a nonprofit that will run the childhood center, according to the project director Maggie Church.

"This is terrific news for Union Crossing," Church said, calling it an indication of the "tremendous partnership" that exists among local, state, and federal officials and the private sector that is moving the project forward.

The new bridge will provide a second access point to the island, which can be reached now only by a small bridge along Union Street, according to Thomas Schiavone, Lawrence's chief economic development director.

"It will make for a natural circular traffic pattern so people can get on and off the island a lot quicker," he said.

The Lowell grant will pay for new sidewalks and Victorian-style lighting along Jackson Street from Central to Revere streets, and the extension of the Lowell National Historical Park's canal system along the south side of the Hamilton Canal.

The improvements will help a larger plan to transform Jackson Street, a former industrial area, into a vibrant neighborhood, according to city officials. In particular, they will help leverage a project by Banc of America CDC and the Architectural Heritage Foundation to convert former mill buildings on Jackson Street for market-rate and affordable housing as well as medical and institutional uses.

"We sincerely appreciate the support of the state administration, and we look forward to this project being under construction in the coming months as a visible sign of progress toward our much larger goals of revitalizing this entire neighborhood," said Adam Baacke, Lowell's assistant city manager and director of planning and development.

In Lawrence, the MassDevelopment loans will provide about half the financing needed for the former town house mill housing project near Market Street, according to Steve Wolfberg, who with Kenneth Stoll is the principal of the developer, Jupiter IV LLC.

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development authority, is providing the loans through the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds purchased by Enterprise Bank.

Wolfberg said his company, which has also been awarded federal historic and low-income housing tax credits, will incur substantial administrative costs to meet the requirements of the tax credit and loan awards. But the benefit is so significant it made it worthwhile to seek the financing, he said.

The mill housing was built in 1909 by American Woolen Mills as cottages for its workers. When Jupiter IV LLC bought the property in 2005, it remained in use as rental housing, but had deteriorated, Wolfberg said.

The project involves gutting and rebuilding the interiors of 35 units located in five of six buildings. Improvements to those buildings will also involve new roofs and mechanical systems, and lead removal.

To date, work has been completed on 21 units, 14 of which are being leased to a nonprofit to provide transitional housing for homeless people. All the units are expected to be leased by July.

(Jupiter IV LLC plans similar renovations to six of the seven units in the remaining building, but that work is outside the scope of the state-financed project. The building's other unit is privately owned and has been renovated by its owner).

Wolfberg said he is pleased with the Lawrence project, which he noted will take housing that was "pretty much derelict" and turn it into quality homes for low-income families.

Sweeney said the city supports the project and welcomes the state's assistance.

"They are a very responsible and responsive developer," Sweeney said of Jupiter IV LLC. "They are helping to revitalize housing in that area while keeping it affordable to families."