There's A Lot to Like About Lowell: 100 Developers And Real Estate Professionals Tour Key Sites During City/MassDevelopment-Sponsored Conference

September 17, 2009

Contact:
Mark Sternman, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2034

At a standing-room-only audience of 100 developers, investors, and real-estate professionals from throughout Massachusetts, Lowell Mayor Bud Caulfield yesterday declared, “There’s a lot to like about Lowell.” Citing business-friendly policies and quality-of-life amenities including the country’s first urban national park, Caulfield launched a three-hour pitch punctuated by trolley and bus tours that featured canal-front development sites and future luxury residential lofts.

The event was the fifth in a series co-sponsored by MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, to spotlight development opportunities in the state’s Gateway cities. Previous events took place in Springfield, New Bedford, Lawrence and Worcester.

Describing Lowell as well-planned, ready to do business and welcoming, MassDevelopment President and CEO Bob Culver said, “What we are trying to do is make sure you know who to call when you are ready to do business in Lowell and how to reach our regional team for information on MassDevelopment finance programs.”

Lowell City Manager Bernie Lynch, noting the Commonwealth’s efforts to take advantage of current demographics by focusing renewal efforts on mid-size cities, said, “Despite the economy, there is more than $200 million in private development underway in Lowell today.” He cited construction of the 50,000-square-foot Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union building at 257 Father Morisette Boulevard, the first new commercial building in Lowell in more than a decade, as well as the anticipated opening of national retailers Target and Lowe’s in coming months.

Featured among the showcased development opportunities were the 60,000-square-foot Freudenberg Building and Parcel 5 in the Hamilton Canal District, an $800 million district revitalization project that will include more than 300,000 square feet of commercial space, 700 residential units and 50,000 square feet of retail uses; 26 Jackson Street in the City’s historic downtown; and seven other parcels.

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions, and local officials to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2008, MassDevelopment financed or managed 265 projects statewide representing an investment of more than $3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are supporting the creation of 4,001 housing units and more than 10,384 jobs: 5,424 permanent and 4,960 construction-related.