TO:                  Mayor William F. Martin, Jr.

                                    And

                        Members of the Lowell City Council

FROM:            Bernard F. Lynch, City Manager

DATE:             September 5, 2007

SUBJECT:       MOTION OF 8/14/07 BY COUNCILOR JAMES MILINAZZO

“REQUEST THE CITY MANAGER PROVIDE UPDATE ON MASS MILLS PROJECT”

________________________________________________________________________

In response to the above-mentioned motion, the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) has prepared a follow-up to the motion response prepared in January 2007 on the current status of the Mass Mills project. 

As reported earlier, the City took the lead in reaching out to Mr. Mullins to address the need to redevelop the Mass Mills site in a manner that meets the standards for the National Park (NPS) by preserving the "mile of mills".  No formal plans have been submitted by the Mass Mills owner to pursue any development at this time.  Earlier this year the consultants for the Riverwalk Project reported back to the DPD with a concept that incorporated the Boiler Building into the Riverwalk.  DPD and the design review team, which includes the NPS, felt this concept would address various goals including:

·         improving the unsafe conditions in the building

·         providing safety to the Riverwalk users

·         preserving the building at the termination of the "mile of mills' since demolition is not supported by NPS

·         creating a larger public space along the Riverwalk

·         allowing interpretation of the power supply for the mills

·         enhancing the experience at the confluence of the Merrimack and Concord Rivers

·         and opening views from the Picker Building to the rivers

The consultants recently furthered their concept by providing cost estimates for structural stabilization, partial demolition (removal of roof and opening window pockets), and developing the framework of the public space provided by incorporating the Boiler Building into the Riverwalk.

Given the recent cost estimates, the DPD staff would like to present the concept to the owner and discuss options for pursuing this concept.  Discussions should center on alleviating concerns relative to the future of the Boiler Building and allow the owner to concentrate on redevelopment efforts on the Picker Building.  The concept opens unique and unhindered water views for the Picker Building units and should enhance the entire project site amenities for Mass Mills. 

If the owner of Mass Mills is not interested in partnering with the City to include the Boiler Building in the Riverwalk project, it would not be feasible from a safety perspective to build a Riverwalk adjacent to the decaying structure.  The Riverwalk project, with the exception of the Bridge Street node, is entirely dependent on the cooperative effort of the Mass Mills owner, the City and NPS.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Thank you.