A Boost From the Boott
By FRANK TUTALO
Sun Staff
LOWELL While 35 percent of all commercial office space in the city sits idle, a renovated portion of the Boott Mill is almost filled to capacity, boasting such tenants as law firms and environmental clean-up companies.
Both the mill's owner and business owners say the newly renovated space, which faces the Merrimack River and Boarding House Park, has things even newer office parks lack: unusually bright and picturesque space, quiet neighbors and a key location.
And the unique setting is drawing businesses briskly.
"I've always wanted to own a business in downtown Lowell, and this is really nice quarters," said Jack Davidson, president and founder of the four-employee Telecommunications Consulting and Outsourcing Inc., which has been in the Boott for about a year. "You get the impression that it's very eerie in here, because it's a big space, and you don't feel cramped in."
"We've got high ceilings, big windows, and all that really makes this space a livable and workable space," he continued. "That helps, since I'm here sometimes for 10 or 12 hours a day."
Davidson, whose lease runs month to month, hopes to convince other officials at the Dallas-based consulting company to expand its Lowell operations later this year. Local customers include Jeanne D'Arc Credit Union and the Lowell Housing Authority.
Another new tenant, Mill City Environmental Corp., a waste management and remediation firm that is helping with work at the Silresim Superfund site on Tanner Street, chose the mill for similar reasons.
Company president Brian Chapman said his client base and business-friendly city officials made the decision an easy one.
"We feel the business climate here in Lowell is one of growth and opportunity, and not just for the high tech startups," said Chapman, a Lowell native. "It's conducive to small businesses, and it's also a good climate for us, because the environmental industry is pushed by two things building construction and superfund clean-up projects. There's a lot of both in the area."
Owners and tenants interviewed credited officials from the city and national park for their efforts to turn a once-idle mill into a bustling business space. In all, there are 14 businesses there.
The nearly 200-year-old Boott Mill, which sits on the edge of downtown, features 90,000 square feet in one building. A second building has 180,000 square feet, and a third one will host 150 apartments, once redeveloped. A courtyard is also part of the vast complex.
Incorporated in 1835 (work started in 1821), and named after Kirk Boott, the first mill agent, Boott Manufacturing Co. was once a cotton textile mill. The national park service still runs a two-story museum there today commemorating its storied past.
"It's very attractive landscaping, and we have a great neighbor in the Lowell National Park," said co-owner Ed Barry. "Plus, we're only two blocks from downtown. You can't get that in office parks. You might get a river, but you're not going to get a downtown, where there are nine or ten restaurants within walking distance, not to mention other conveniences."
The 98 percent occupancy rate achieved is something any office park owner would be jealous of, but even Barry admits more hard work lies ahead. Renovations are under way on a second building at Boott that is double the size of the recently renovated one.
City officials call the building a centerpiece for downtown development. And, they're showing their commitment to continue in that vein.
This Tuesday, the City Council will likely vote to submit a $2.3 million application for tax credits, under the federal renewal community program.
"The mill is the first opportunity for us to use the program to our advantage," said City Manager John Cox. "We're thrilled to be working with Mr. Barry. It's been a long road for him, and hopefully, the rest of the development will work out."
Depending on each tenant's build-out plans, owners are charging roughly $15 to $20 per square foot, which is slightly more expensive than the city's showcase office space, the CrossPoint Towers. Also housed in the building, occupying roughly 14,000 square feet, is the headquarters for Konarka Technologies Inc., a solar technology company that has received several recent accolades.
The company relocated from the nearby Wannalancit Mills in search of more flexible, and larger, space requirements. Once the second building is done being renovated, even more companies could call Lowell home.
Already, the building is off to a promising start, even though work has just started: a few occupants have already taken up roughly 20,000 square feet, Barry explained.
"Everything that's built is rented, but there is work to be done on 180,000 feet for offices, still," Barry added.
The developments come on the heels of a widely watched report that shows there is a vast amount of vacant space in Lowell and surrounding communities.
The study, released by Spaulding & Slye Colliers last month, shows that 35.6 percent of all office space in Lowell, or 733,000 square feet, is unused, whether vacant or available as of Dec. 31. In the region, only Burlington has more, at 36.2 percent, or 1.9 million square feet.
But Lowell saw its space nearly triple in the last year, from 262,513 square feet reported on Dec. 31, 2001.
Frank Tutalo's e-mail address is ftutalo@lowellsun.com
This story ran in The Lowell Sun on 2/23/03.
Return to Issues Page
Return to Center City Home Page