Dempsey, state money key to Harbor Place development

July 26--HAVERHILL -- Its sad and dilapidated state on one of the city's highest profile spots befuddled local leaders and drew sighs and head-shakes from resident for decades.

How could such a conspicuous building at the entrance to a bustling downtown, on the banks of the Merrimack River, remain vacant and unused for 45 years?

For much of that time, the Woolworth building was seen by many as a symbol of Haverhill's decline. The main reason various proposals to redevelop the site fell flat over the years was lack of nearby parking. No private developer could build underground parking and still turn a profit.

In 2005, a local economic development group called the Greater Haverhill Foundation bought the property for $1.4 million from the estate of the late William Conte, a well-known owner of properties across Haverhill.

The foundation's intention at the time, its leaders said, was to sell the property as quickly as possible to a developer for a project to revive the eastern end of downtown.

The 15,000-square-foot, yellow-brick, art-deco-style building is between the Merrimack River and Merrimack Street at the downtown end of the Basiliere Bridge.

Initially there were several potential buyers. Residents and city officials discussed a number of dream uses, including razing the building and replacing it with a park, cultural center or museum. But then the economy tanked and the real estate market collapsed.

There wasn't much talk about the property for a few years, except for the occasional complaint about the building's deteriorated condition. Bricks toppled from the top a few years ago. Weeds and even an occasional tree could be seen sprouting from the roof.

Every now and then some novice city council candidate unfamiliar with the property's history and challenges would talk about his or her plan for redeveloping the site and revitalizing Merrimack Street.

But that's ancient history now, finally.

A public-private venture plans to demolish the Woolworth building in September and replace it with a five-story, glass-encased building called Harbor Place. The new building is to include a satellite campus for UMass Lowell as well as a restaurant, shops and offices overlooking the river. Pentucket Bank and Haverhill Community TV are among tenants that have already signed on.

Later phases of the Merrimack Street Ventures project include the demolition of several more large buildings on Merrimack Street, including the Ocasio and Newman's Furniture buildings. They are to be replaced with mixed-use projects with ground-floor retail and condominiums and apartments on upper floors.

So how did it happen?

State Rep. Brian Dempsey, born and raised in Haverhill, said the roots of the Harbor Place project go back to a rainy Friday two and a half years ago in his Haverhill insurance office.

Truth is, the seeds were sewn when Dempsey was promoted to House Ways and Means Committee chairman in January 2011. The powerful committee plays a leading role in writing the state budget and deciding where and how the state spends its money.

Since then, Dempsey has steered $31 million to the Harbor Place project for infrastructure improvements such as the planned boardwalk behind the building and streetscape upgrades.

The state also plans to make tax credits available later to the development team that includes the foundation and the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, which is the housing development arm of the Boston Catholic Archdiocese. The tax credits aren't part of the $31 million in state funding already secured for the project, however.

"We have all been frustrated that this key parcel has been vacant for so long, since before I was born," Dempsey said of the Woolworth building. "We have been searching for the right partner and we have finally found them," he said of the foundation, the Planning Office for Urban Affairs and UMass Lowell.

The largest pot of state money is to build a boardwalk behind the building along the Merrimack River. Another $5 million will be coming from the state later to set up the UMass Lowell satellite and pay its lease, Dempsey said.

The boardwalk and a public plaza are to be built on a raised platform that will allow direct access and views of the river. There are also plans for an underground parking garage and a public boat dock with access to the river, according to the Harbor Place plan.

Today, a towering flood wall that protects downtown from the river blocks views of the waterway.

Dempsey said that initial meeting in his office in 2012 included key foundation members Sally Cerasuolo-O'Rorke and Ronald Trombley.

"I told Sally and Ron what I wanted to do and that UMass Lowell was the key," Dempsey said, recalling the meeting. "They were already talking to the Planning Office of Urban Affairs about a broader housing project."

Dempsey said the group worked quietly for more than two years putting the pieces together. The developers needed to acquire additional privately-owned buildings on Merrimack Street, so for negotiating reasons they didn't want word to leak out about the full scope of the plan, he said.

"UMass Lowell was the critical piece to making it work, but we also had to get (state Housing and Economic Development Secretary) Greg Bialecki and Governor Patrick on board," said Dempsey, also a UMass Lowell alum. "We had to convince them that this was a transformative project in a gateway city."

Next, they had to get UMass Lowell Chancellor Martin Meehan to join up, Dempsey said.

Meehan announced his support for the project in the spring.

"It says Lowell in our name, but we are also Haverhill's college," Meehan said at an event to announce the college's intention to move into the new building. Meehan noted more than 2,000 UMass students, faculty, staff and alumni live in or near Haverhill.

"Downtown Haverhill has everything we are looking for -- public transportation, commuter train service and housing -- but the main reason we are involved in this is Chairman Dempsey, because he wants us and he gets results," Meehan said.

The project is designed to bring new life to the eastern section of downtown, in the same way that redevelopment of vacant shoe factories into housing has done for the western end of downtown in recent years.

"We waited 42 years for this," Mayor James Fiorentini said, referring to how long the Woolworth department store has been closed. "Most people can't remember a day when that building was not an abandoned eyesore."

The former department store opened in 1949 and closed in 1969. The building has been vacant since.

Dempsey said he expects Harbor Place to be ready and UMass Lowell to open for classes there in January 2016.

"It feels terrific to do this for my hometown and my alma mater," Dempsey said. "It was a hard project that took a lot of people and a lot of hard work."

State money for Haverhill'sHarbor Place

2014: $12.3 million

2013: $5 million

2012: $4 million

2011: $1.2 million

Still to come: $8.5 million (For UMass Lowell campus)

Total: $31 million

Source: State Rep. Brian Dempsey's office

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