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On March 22, the NECC Foundation Board met and we discussed the
situation in Lawrence where there are now other bidders for the
In-Town Mall that the college has been attempting to acquire. It
appears the Lawrence City Council is looking at other bids now
that the process has dragged on so long and Lawrence is a tax
advantage.
The governor decided to go forward with this project last fall
and authorized the money, but now that there are other bidders the
college may not obtain the property. Senator Edward Kennedy and
Congressman Marty Meehan also secured the money to remove the
asbestos so the only thing standing in the way of the future
campus is the mayor and city council.
If the Technology Center is built there, the current building will
be demolished and replaced with a smaller state of the art
building and due to the smaller size, there will also be a green
area around the building.
As someone who grew up in the city and has watched the varied
changes over the years I truly believe that this campus would be a
long term positive for the city. Retail comes and goes but
education is forever. It appears that one of the higher bidders is
the man who owns Berkeley Shoes and he would like to put in a
store and distribution center there. I cannot imagine the city
going forward with this type of business that will bring more
large trucks to the downtown “business” center of the city.
My company was forced out of that area due to the trucks double
parking and causing traffic issues to the point our clients could
not do business with us without driving around several blocks. How
will other businesses operate in that area if there is a
distribution center there rather than in the industrial park where
other distribution centers are more suitably situated?
According to David Hartleb, the decision will be made within the
next couple of weeks. He said several council members have been to
Haverhill to see that new Technology Center to get an idea of what
NECC can do in Lawrence. There are still two members that need to
go there to see the Haverhill Tec building.
The numbers are very impressive regarding the jobs that the
Lawrence graduates have already been able to obtain. The Lawrence
campus would be such an advantage for our citizens and regional
folks. They hope to expand the medical program and add more
criminal justice programs.
It would be a shame for NECC to take the money and build a campus
outside of Lawrence but if they must then they will and the local
folks without transportation will be the losers. The college will
always have students but the students may not have a college
accessible to them. What a sad thought!
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