Patrick helps launch Lowell mill-district renewal with $13M check

By Matt Murphy, mmurphy@lowellsun.com

Gov. Deval Patrick, fifth from left, helps mark the start of the $800 million Hamilton Canal District redevelopment yesterday with, from left, MassHousing Executive Director Thomas Gleason, state Reps. Tom Golden, Kevin Murphy and David Nangle, Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield, state Sen. Steve Panagiotakos, U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, MetLife Vice President Gregory Redmond, Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Tina Brooks, and Frank Callahan, president of the Massachusetts Building Trades Council. SUN / TORY GERMANN

BOSTON -- With a shovel in one hand and a check for $13 million in the other, Gov. Deval Patrick helped kick-start construction of the new Appleton Mills in the Hamilton Canal District yesterday, signaling the official start to a multimillion-dollar redevelopment project expected to change the landscape of downtown Lowell.

Patrick joined dozens of local and state officials as well as members of the community at the Appleton Mills site, where construction has begun on the first phase of a project to develop 130 units of affordable live-work space for artists. The governor came to deliver the latest round of grant funding for the project, bringing the state's investment to $16.5 million.

"Isn't it great to be in Lowell? And with jobs. Even better," Patrick bellowed into the microphone as he took the podium.

With the crumbling mills as a backdrop, Patrick said investments in projects like the Hamilton Canal District will not only create immediate jobs, but position the city for long-term growth, economic health and vibrancy.

"Today we took a walk around Lowell and my optimism for this community is great," Patrick said.

The $64 million Appleton Mills project is the first phase of the redevelopment of the Hamilton Canal area that has been designated a "growth district" by the Patrick administration.

When completed, the 15-acre Hamilton Canal District will boast up to 450,000 square feet of commercial and office space, 55,000 square feet of retail space and 700 units of affordable and market-rate housing downtown. It will also be home to the new Lowell Trial Court.
The $800 million project is expected to generate as many as 400 permanent, full-time jobs in the city. The first phase of construction at Appleton Mills is scheduled to be completed in 18 months, according to the developer, with completion of the whole project 10 years away.

"This is not just an important day for Lowell. It's a historic day for Lowell and its future," said state Sen. Steve Panagiotakos. "This is a transformational project that will take Lowell into the 21st century, much like the mills took us into the 19th century."

The Hamilton Canal District is the first project to move through the state's expedited permitting process. The $16.5 million in state grants were also a major coup for the city and its representatives on Beacon Hill.

The Legislature set aside $50 million for "growth districts" across the state, which now total 20. Panagiotakos and the Lowell delegation were instrumental in convincing the Patrick administration to invest heavily in the Hamilton Canal District which now accounts for more than 25 percent of the available funding statewide.

Gov. Deval Patrick, center, heads to the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hamilton Canal District redevelopment yesterday with state Sen. Steve Panagiotakos, left, and state Rep. Tom Golden. SUN / TORY GERMANN

Panagiotakos  was joined at the celebration by his Lowell colleagues in the Legislature, as well as U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield, city councilors and City Manager Bernie Lynch.
The project was heralded by those in attendance as a triumph of public-private partnership, one that succeeds in getting a hugely expensive economic-development project off the ground at a time when projects across the state are falling apart due to a lack of financing.

Trinity Financial, the developer of the site, packaged a series of state and federal historic and housing tax credits to lure private investment from insurance giant MetLife Inc., which agreed to purchase those tax credits for $42 million. The deal was brokered through Redstone Capital Partners, the private-equity arm of The Redstone Companies, a Houston-based investment firm.

The project also received a $1.6 million permanent mortgage and a $34 million construction loan from MassHousing.

"It was scary for awhile. I never let on that I was scared, but $42 million in this market is a lot of money," said Jim Keefe, president of Trinity Financial, on the MetLife partnership.

As people spoke at yesterday's groundbreaking ceremony, cranes in the background were already at work. Gesturing to the hollowed mill buildings and brick walls that were once home to a thriving manufacturing industry, Tsongas said it's exciting to imagine the future.

"I have a sentimental attachment to that wall over there, but it will be so nice to see it converted into something broader," Tsongas said.

Before the event at the Appleton Mills, Patrick spent the morning touring sites in Lowell that have benefited from state investment. The governor started at the Connector Park on Chelmsford Street, where $1 million in grants through the Massachusetts Opportunity Relocation and Expansion Jobs Capital Program were used to attract private investment. Construction of a Lowe's Home Improvement store is now under way.

Patrick also stopped at Community Teamwork Inc. and the Children's Village at the Mill on Market Street, where he met with city children.

This story appeared in the Lowel Sun on Friday, November 13, 2009