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Rooms with a
View and Jobs with Pizzazz
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Skilled Worker Condos and Modern
Commercial Mix Are Keys to Haverhill’s Downtown Renaissance
according to Michitson |
By John Michitson with contribution
from Seth Itzkan
I recently made several business
trips to San José in Silicon Valley and marveled about
how far it has comeback from its low point following the dot
com bubble burst of 2000. My next thought was “Can such
a transformation occur in downtown Haverhill, albeit tailored
with its own set of economic drivers?” I suspect that the
answer may be “Yes”, however, our emphasis must focus
on complementing residential development with a cutting-edge
commercial sector.
Background
Downtown Haverhill has been transforming
in stages since it had boarded up storefronts in the 1970s and
early 1980s. City Councilor William Ryan, who was Haverhill’s
Mayor for six years in the 1980s, oversaw the first stage of
while serving as Mayor. Councilor Ryan recalled, “the key
to the Washington Street comeback was the financial incentives
for facade and awning improvements...even over empty storefronts...it
primed the pump.” The storefronts gradually re-appeared
and it triggered a build-out of hundreds of condominiums and
apartments, the second stage of which is occurring now.
Then in the 1990s another shot
in the arm occurred. Clusters of art galleries, shops, restaurants
and high technology start-ups began to pop up during the Internet
boom. The jump in art galleries, shops and restaurants were the
result of a buzz and organization created by the business owners
and patron support. The high technology companies were the result
of a grass roots Cyber-District task force sanctioned by then
Mayor James Rurak to add another piece of the puzzle for the
downtown.
Each of these stages has contributed
to today’s state of Haverhill’s downtown, which is
on the cusp of a renaissance. However, a few missing pieces remain
to make it happen.
Today’s Stage
“The future of Haverhill's
downtown is at a critical juncture”, says Jules Epstein,
CEO of Primary Design, Inc., a branding and marketing management
company, who has seen the incremental improvements in the downtown
first hand. Retail continues to transition as stylish, new restaurants
like the Essex Grille open their doors. The relatively affordable
local housing market, enabled by Governor Romney’s smart
growth initiative with financial incentives for both developers
and municipalities, is poised to take off. Mayor James Fiorentini
and the Haverhill City Council have put in place plans and ordinances
to make Haverhill a frontrunner in leveraging the Governor’s
transit-oriented housing initiative.
“Beacon Communities is making
an impressive investment in the renovation of two former mill
buildings into chic, urban apartments. I believe that the future
of Haverhill's downtown growth may well hinge on the successful
outcome of this ambitious project as I expect it could ignite
a fire under other developers currently seeking or holding permits
to build”, states Mr. Epstein. Several hundred new condominiums
and apartments are in various stages of development. In addition,
residential success will increase demand for more entertainment
and restaurants in the downtown. However, one caveat remains
the decade-old problem of insufficient public parking. Mr. Epstein
concurs, “the time has more than come for a viable solution
that must include a multi-story public garage.”
But is this enough for the downtown
to hit critical mass?
- “Beacon Communities is
making an impressive investment in the renovation of two former
mill buildings into chic, urban apartments. I believe that the
future of Haverhill's downtown growth may well hinge on the successful
outcome of this ambitious project...”. - Jules Epstein,
CEO of Primary Design, Inc..
Missing Piece in Downtown Strategy
– New and Retained Local Jobs with Pizzazz
In order to encourage young professionals
to reside downtown, local jobs with pizzazz are needed. This
should be an added focus to the downtown plan.
William Nofsker of Kifor Development
Co., who developed and manages the Burgess-Lang Professional
Center on Essex Street, agrees that business development is a
key ingredient for the downtown to realize its potential, “The
Burgess-Lang Professional Center will be an oasis among the residential
developments in the downtown because people need a place to work.”
He is embarking on a marketing campaign in the next few weeks
to lease his “best value in region” space primarily
for professional offices, as well as distribution and storage
facilities.
One approach to create new jobs
and retain existing ones is to transform traditional businesses
by leveraging 2nd generation Internet and wireless technologies.
This will help businesses create new channels to sell their products
and will enable them to provide leading-edge services to customers.
The resulting buzz will also help attract new businesses to the
area.
Fortunately, this process is
already underway. Many of the web application and networking
companies that either opened their doors or moved to downtown
Haverhill in the 1990s are today providing the knowledge, products
and services to help technology-enable traditional businesses
in the area. For example, SemaTree provides Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) software and web applications, MVA.net and USAi.net
provides wireless Internet access, while the Special Projects
Group, Inc. provides engineering services.
Traditional companies in the
downtown that are adopting new technology include: Margot’s
Gallery, Haverhill Beef and Primary Design. Joe Terrazzano, owner
of Haverhill Beef, has been using the web as a sales channel
for several years. According to Mr. Terrazzano, “people
find the web to be a convenient way to submit orders. In fact,
last week alone we had 350 orders over the web and we average
about 30,000 unique visitors to our web site per month.”
Gary Albanese, who runs home-based Galaca Web Solutions and was
a Cyber-District advocate, designed and manages Haverhill Beef’s
web site. “It’s important to link your web content
to your overall marketing campaign, which includes newspapers,
radio and television advertising and to expertly achieve a high
ranking on today’s 2nd generation search engines. Haverhill
Beef has achieved this level of technology adoption”, according
to Mr. Albanese.
Primary Design, a 26-year old
firm with 20 years in the downtown, continues to experience growth
as its customer base has expanded to a national arena through
technology and communications. “We are experiencing our
greatest growth in the area of cybermarketing – Internet
marketing strategy, advertising and web development. We’ve
recently expanded into a second office downtown to accommodate
this demand”, says Mr. Epstein, Primary Design’s CEO.
In doing so, Primary Design has hired six additional skilled
employees in the past year, two of whom were recruited out of
Boston firms.
Mr. Epstein said, “In all,
we draw from a 50 minute radius including Manchester and Dover,
NH, Westford and Marblehead, MA, bringing dollars into downtown
for lunch, medical, and a host of other services.” Mr. Epstein
said that he suspects that his younger employees that don’t
already live in Haverhill may choose to do so if and when the
reality of the renaissance appears imminent. “I have long
believed that Haverhill is an ideal geographic location for business
and as a place to live. My firm has definitely benefited from
the ability to recruit into NH where many talented younger people
have migrated and also offer the option of not having to go into
Boston to work”, concludes Mr. Epstein.
Thus, the answer to my question
is indeed “Yes”. Although Silicon Valley’s second
stage renaissance is being driven by high-tech research and development,
our own economic growth can be driven by a modern commercial
sector that enhances traditional industries. As Jules Epstein’s
experience with Primary Design has shown, traditional service
industries, such as advertising, can realize substantial growth
through technology adoption. The approach is providing the district
with both residents and revenues. A plan for the downtown that
incorporates new commercial growth as part of the mix with mill-space
residential conversion, will ensure that the district is attractive
to young skill workers, and economically vital for years to come.
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