Downtown Progress Report to be Presented Nov. 12

MassDevelopment Transformative Development Fellow Noah B. Koretz.

A progress report on an urban design study for the “Merrimack Street Transformative Development Initiative” (TDI) takes place in downtown Haverhill, Thursday, Nov. 12.

Quasi-public agency MassDevelopment will make the presentation at 7 p.m., at 90 Washington St., according to MassDevelopment Transformative Development Fellow Noah B. Koretz.

“Our consultant team is hard at work on the urban design study for the Merrimack Street District. After incorporating initial feedback from Mayor (James J.) Fiorentini and our core partnership next week, we are scheduling a public meeting for our consultants to present some of their initial analysis and solicit additional public comment,” Koretz said.

As WHAV reported in September, the first of several interactive meetings, also known as a “public charrette and visioning session” for an urban design study in the eastern half of downtown Haverhill, was held Sept. 22 by city officials in partnership with MassDevelopment, a state economic development and finance agency. MassDevelopment had also engaged, on behalf of the city, Utile Architecture and Planning of Boston to participate in that public brainstorming meeting.

MassDevelopment “works with businesses, nonprofits, and local, state, and federal officials and agencies to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth, according to a statement on its website. “Through these collaborations we help create jobs, increase the number of housing units, revitalize urban environments, and address factors limiting economic growth including transportation, energy, and infrastructure deficiencies.”

Last April, Koretz was among three Transformative Development Intiative (TDI) Fellows hired by MassDevelopment to work in the gateway cities of Haverhill, Lynn and Springfield, which the agency selected last December as “pilot TDI Districts in Development.” They joined with gateway cities of Brockton, Holyoke, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Revere and Worcester.

Koretz appeared on WHAV’s Open Mike Show last June 1.

3 thoughts on “Downtown Progress Report to be Presented Nov. 12

  1. Saw a sneak peek of this project. I don’t think Utile understands that the Merrimack is a river with a strong current, it isn’t the Charles Basin or Boston Harbor. Most of what they’re proposing would wash away after one winter. Who the heck hired these guys?

  2. Poor Haverhill. Do they realize Utile aka Tim Love is Boston’s snake oil salesman? Glittery images, nothing else. Love will try to pitch a rejected Boston waterfront project in a poor gateway city

  3. “Quasi-public agency MassDevelopment” –

    Oh look, another “quasi-public agency” in Massachusetts. A place where nepotism reigns supreme, yet unaccountable to Taxpayers.

    All of these “quasi” agencies should be abolished forthwith.