October 20,2009
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The meeting opened at 8:35 AM. Bill Lipchitz announced that Adam Baacke of the Division of Planning and Development will be speaking at the Stakeholder’s meeting on October 27th. Adam will update the committee on the street improvements and talk about the possibility of the City of Lowell hiring city planner Jeff Speck. The owners of Garcia Brogan’s will also be present to talk about their business. Since the room in the Morse Building is not available on Tuesday, the CCC Stakeholders Meeting next week will be held at Garcia Brogan’s Restaurant on 131 Middlesex Street. The work on the cobblestones on Middle Street seems to be progressing well. The sunken areas of the street are being repaired and the curbing is being redone. The project should take six to eight more weeks to complete. Chris Samaras reported that the Made in Lowell event went well. This year’s event featured businesses involved in the creative economy. The discussion turned to the addition of two new box stores in Lowell: Target and Lowe’s. Bill asked if stores like these are good for Lowell. Russ Smith responded that their presence is inevitable and that they in effect raise the bar for other similar businesses in that the smaller businesses need to have a compelling reason to attract customers. Instead of being smaller versions of the larger stores, they need to have value added, such as the type of customer service. Steve Syverson agreed, saying that that was how he competed with stores such as Michael’s where staff often do not have the level of expertise he has. Another example is Tutto Bene which appears to be doing well despite its location which is off the beaten path. Dharma Buns opened last week and seems to be doing well. They are open much later than other restaurants or sandwich shops and are hoping to get late-night business. Bill talked reported on a recent meeting of the Lowell Heritage Partnership where plans to expand the National Park’s Visitor Center’s activities were discussed. The Lowell Heritage Partnership was formed in 2000 to preserve Lowell’s cultural heritage through community partnerships. One of the partners is the Lowell National Historical Park. Park officials are presently considering whether or not to move the Visitor’s Center because the Hamilton Canal District would like to build buildings on the present parking lot behind the center including a new parking garage. There are four options being discussed: keep the center where it is along with the parking; move the center to the Hamilton Canal District; keep it at its present location but give up the adjacent parking lot for further development; or keep the present location, give up the parking, and locate another site in the Hamilton Canal District, and perhaps establish smaller sites in various parts of the downtown. There has been some discussion about the need for more ranger presence in the park. Bill stated that he will invite Peter Aucella to the November Stakeholder’s Meeting to talk about some of these issues. Bill reiterated his concern that the downtown area and the Hamilton Canal District be well-connected so that Lowell’s focal point does not shift to the Hamilton Canal. Ted suggested the trolley system, which the Park Service is talking about expanding. It was pointed out that as an outsider, planner Jeff Speck may have a different view of Lowell and thus may make suggestions that others may not have considered. Bill stressed that connections, views, and walkability are vital to the future development of Lowell. For example, the area between Merrimack Street and the Merrimack River needs to be well-connected, with views of the river to attract people over to that area. The Riverwalk is fairly isolated but could attract many more people, particularly visitors, if it has a more visible connection to the downtown area. Captain Kennedy briefed the committee on crime in the downtown area. Apparently there has been a steep increase in car breaks and residents in the downtown are encouraged to remove their belongings from their cars. The break-ins are generally drug-related. Stolen items are traded in directly for drugs and are sometimes sold on Ebay or Craig’s List. Captain Kennedy stated that in Lowell, as elsewhere, drugs on the street are very available, are potent and cheap, making them easier for young children to get a hold of. Steve stated that Open Studios was a success. It was estimated that 2,000 visitors attended. A survey is being sent out to artists and should be completed by October 22nd. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 AM. |
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The Next Meeting of the Stakeholder Representatives
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