Over the past thirty years, Downtown Lowell has undergone dramatic changes. Large revitalization efforts of the 1970s and 1980s have radically changed the Downtown from an industrial center to a true urban village. Major initiatives, such as the Lowell National Historic Park, the Tsongas Arena and the redevelopment of numerous mill buildings, have forever transformed the nature of the Downtown. Based upon a large base of grass roots support, the revitalization of the Downtown continues today.
THE NEED FOR A PLAN
Many signs and indicators point the fact that Downtown Lowell is definitely on the rebound. Downtown vacancies are significantly lower than twenty years ago. Crime throughout the City has dramatically dropped. Many abandoned and "obsolete" Downtown buildings have been rehabilitated and converted into highly productive office and residential facilities. Many plans and proposals for the redevelopment of the Downtown - from the creation of a National Park to the construction of the Tsongas Arena - have had a huge positive impact on the state of the Downtown.
However, the Downtown needs a strategic plan that will ensure that this revitalization continues and the prosperity of the Downtown is not a "flash in the pan." Downtown must build upon its existing successes without an air of complacency to bring about a true renaissance to the Downtown. The model that drove the redevelopment of the Downtown in the 1970s and 1980s - that public-private participation based on concepts of economic development and historic preservation - still provides an applicable model for the continued accomplishments of the Downtown. Downtown Lowell must build on this model to achieve the pinnacle of success.
THE PLANNING PROCESS
Members of the Lowell City Council and the Downtown community have seen the need to develop a plan that will assist in the continued sustainable redevelopment of Downtown Lowell. From the initiative of the City Council's Downtown Subcommittee, the City of Lowell's Division of Planning and Development (DPD) was charged with developing a strategic plan for the continued redevelopment of the Downtown.
This Plan was developed to ensure that the guiding policies of the Plan use broad, community-wide precepts as a foundation, and that goals and strategies are the result of consensus agreement by the multiple stakeholders in the future of the Downtown. Instrumental to the development of this Plan is the creation of a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) to oversee the planning process and give direction to DPD staff. The thirty member CAC was appointed by the City Manager, and represented a broad cross section of Downtown stakeholders, including Downtown businesses, institutions and residents. Meeting on a monthly basis, the CAC provided insight to DPD on the history of the Downtown
This Plan, which utilized a broad-based public participation process, focuses on a wide variety of Downtown needs, including traffic management, pedestrian safety and many other issues. The Plan builds on a number of existing studies and ideas for the continued redevelopment of the Downtown, and were often used as primary and secondary sources for data for the Plan.
The final result of this planning process is a true community-based consensus plan for the future of Downtown Lowell. Any future redevelopment work conducted by the City in the Downtown will be based on the shared vision presented in the scope of this Plan.
HISTORY OF DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
Throughout Lowell's early history, the Downtown has served as the center for commerce and industry. While Lowell was radically transformed through the growth and expansion of the industrial revolution in the 1820s, the Downtown underwent an equally radical transformation in the past thirty years. The Downtown has slowly shifted from being a center of heavy industry to becoming a "destination city." Not only is the Downtown a destination for tourists and visitors, but Lowell is also shifting to become a destination for many office sector workers, students and a limited number of residents.
Within these past thirty years, the Downtown economy has been highly impacted by two economic trends. First, the continued decline of the mills for industrial use has had the most significant impact. The collapse of Lowell's textile industry, which began in the 1920s, and a Downtown industrial sector lingered into the 1970s. Lowell's mills, which were originally built to house Lowell's local textile industry, were not able to successfully convert into space for other heavy industries. The abandoned mill building began to be a symbol of Lowell's decline.
In many ways, Lowell is still dealing with issues resulting from the ramifications of such a large switch in its economic base. Primarily, the issue of how to effectively rehabilitate and utilize thousands of square feet of vacant mill space is a paramount question. While many portions of mill buildings have been successfully converted into office or residential space within the past ten years, Downtown Lowell still has an inordinate amount of vacant mill space that begs for reuse.
Second, the increased mobility and suburbanization of society has had an even greater impact on the Downtown within the past ten to twenty years. The mobility of the automobile moved residents from centralized locations to suburbs, and shopping patterns moved along with this "urban flight." As urban flight occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, suburban residents began to shop in strip malls, shopping malls and other new suburban shopping inventions instead of traditional Downtown shopping areas. Large downtown department stores quickly vanished in exchange for new forms of suburban shopping. The phenomenon of motor vehicle ownership also has creating new problems for urban areas aside from flight - most notably a transportation system that not designed for the automobile. Although downtowns throughout the country have seen a return in the number of individuals living and shopping downtowns, the question for Downtown Lowell will be how to continue to attract individuals to live, shop and visit.
From the 1970s to the present, the City and various partners have conducted several studies to determine how to revitalize the Downtown. These efforts have included the following studies:
· Central City Study (1971): This plan, conducted by the City's former Development Authority, was first to assess the Downtown's struggle to deal with the effects of suburbanization and mobility. The plan focused on identifying blight and determining the potential for revitalization, economic success and community renewal in the short and long term in Downtown. The plan assessed that the Downtown should compete with suburban commercial developments through the creation of large-scale commercial developments that would bolster the existing businesses in the Downtown. The plan recommended that this commercial development should be conducted on a series of large surface parking lots in the Downtown. Overall, the plan felt that these key commercial developments along with the development of a Central City "loop" transportation system would successfully revitalize the Downtown.
· Central City Development Study (1972): Essentially a follow-up to the 1971 Central City Study, the City Development Authority to determine how the proposals recommended in the 1971 Central City Study could be carried out in terms of marketability, economic and design. The City proposed new roadways in the Downtown to connect French Street to the Lowell Connector and Market Street to Dutton Street. These roadways were designed to improve the circulation in and out of the Downtown, but not around the Downtown. The plan also proposed the Downtown first parking garage at the site of the existing Leo Roy parking garage on Market Street. The study also recommended that large parking lots located at Warren Street, East Merrimack Street, John Street and Bridge Street should be utilized for major commercial anchors.
· National Park Proposal (1977): Standing as a landmark in Downtown Lowell history, the City and various partners proposed the creation of an urban national park in Downtown Lowell as a response to the further issues of decadence. The Plan proposed that that the preservation of the Downtown, which is rich in historic and cultural significance, through the creation of such a Park should be paramount. As a result of the approval of this plan, the Lowell National Historic Park was officially designed in the Downtown, and began to signal the beginning of Lowell's revitalization. The creation of the Park has resulted in the investment of millions of Federal dollars into Downtown Lowell. Many of Lowell's mills and other historic structures that were once considered to "obsolete" were preserved through the financial and technical assistance of the Lowell National Historic Park. This Proposal was early to suggest that the economic revitalization of the Downtown could largely be driven by historic preservation.
· American City Corporation Studies (1980): These studies, conducted by the American City Corporation on behalf of the City of Lowell, assessed that the Downtown had a huge potential to capture more of the Greater Lowell market in the areas of retail, office and residential development. In addition, the American City Corporation proposed a highly successful development program for Downtown Lowell. The objectives that were implemented included the creation of a downtown hotel on Warren Street, a new parking garage on John Street, office development in Boott Mills, residential development in Mass Mills, and a park at the existing Kerouac Park site. However, one of keys of the study, the renovation and expansion of Jordan Marsh (an existing department store), failed to occur, and soon Downtown suffered another blow caused by the suburbanization of the economy. The success of these programs lies in its major development program; however, this program could not successfully address the lack of retail in the Downtown.
· Downtown Lowell Action Plan (1995): Created by the Lowell Center City Committee, this Plan focused on improvements to five components of the Downtown: retail development, transportation, community building, marketing and public safety. The plan suggested that methods for recruiting, training and improving Downtown businesses should be examined; that the Lowell Police Department should have a more active presence in the Downtown; that streets should be more pedestrian friendly; and that an aggressive marketing campaign should be undertaken for Downtown Lowell.
· Downtown Retail Studies (1988 - 1999): Over the past twelve years, the City and various partners have conducted numerous studies to determine how retail could be attracted to the Downtown and which retailers should be attracted to the Downtown. Most of these studies noted that despite millions of dollars in investment into the Downtown, many retail storefronts in the Downtown continued to remain substantially vacant. All of these studies focused on a program of loans and retail recruitment to impact the level of retail in the Downtown. Most recently, the City contracted Todreas Handley to conduct a retail study and subsequent leasing effort to attract businesses to the Downtown. Most of these studies and follow-up leasing efforts have had little to no long-term impact on the make-up of Downtown retail.
Amidst all of these Downtown studies, more indirect planning was explored for additional components of the Downtown. The Tsongas Arena and LeLacheur Park projects, although not part of an official Downtown plan or study, were community-based development projects that incorporated a visioning process for the Downtown. Similar development projects, notably the Lawrence Mills and Performing Arts Center projects, are at various stages of completion and implementation.
APPROACH TO CONTINUED DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION
As the elements of this plan are laid out, it is important to note certain guiding principles that will direct the approach of this plan:
· Long-Term Strategies: The revitalization that Downtown Lowell has experienced has not happened overnight, and it would unreasonable to perceive that new changes to the Downtown will happen in unreasonably quick time-frames. In addition, revitalization should not be a "quick fix" solution to problems. Instead, revitalization is a long-term strategy for the prolonged success of the Downtown. Continued revitalization of the Downtown will occur over a ten-year period, fulfilling a community-based vision for the Downtown.
· Multi-Project Approach: While the Tsongas Arena and the National Historic Park have had a significant impact on the Downtown, neither of these projects alone has been able to completely transform the Downtown by itself. It takes a multifaceted approach, incorporating many key revitalization elements, to revitalize a Downtown.
· Setting Priorities: If successful, the Downtown's revitalization must continue through its numerous public-private partnerships. In this manner, the public sector will have to prioritize the proposals that it wishes to implement, and those that are better suited for cooperative arrangements or private sector investments. Public investment into the Downtown should be conducted in a manner that will attract private investment and maximize its impact and visibility.
Send questions and comments to:
Downtown Plan Project Manager
Division of Planning and Development
J.F.K. Civic Center
50 Arcand Drive
Lowell MA 01852
(978) 970-4276
tgallaga@ci.lowell.ma.us
Downtown Plan Draft Section 2 Existing Conditions
Downtown Plan Draft Section 3 Market Analysis
Downtown Plan Draft Section 4 Community Perspective
Downtown Plan Draft Section 5 Strategies
City of Lowell Downtown Plan Home Page
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