Harbor Place, White’s Corner. (WHAV News photograph).
The establishment of a condominium ownership plan and first sales of office spaces at downtown’s new Harbor Place took place within the last month—with one buyer maintaining part of the former “Woolworth” department store name.
Developer Merrimack Street Owner sold an 11,076-square-foot, fifth floor, unit for $3.2 million to Woolworth Partners, headquartered at 100 Coffin Ave., Haverhill. The office space known as unit 7—representing about 21 percent of one of the buildings—was transferred Dec. 28. Woolworth Partners lists its managers as Randall Bennett, a local accountant and real estate developer, and Ronald G. Trombley, manager of the Greater Haverhill Foundation.
The site was home to the former F. W. (Frank Winfield) Woolworth department store building. It was built in 1949, closed20 years later, was intentionally spared by the government-sponsored Merrimack Street Urban Renewal Program and demolished in 2015.
The foundation is, itself, one of the developers. The office space comes with 18 parking spaces.
Haverhill Community Television closed on its $924,000 purchase of a 3,379-square-foot, first-floor office unit at 2 Merrimack St. The office space comes with eight parking spaces.
Transfers of condominiums at 2 Merrimack St.; 20 Merrimack St.; and 32, 34, and 44 Merrimack St., were largely paper transfers between Merrimack Street Owner and Harbor Place Bell, Merrimack Street Owner and Harbor Place at Merrimack and Merrimack Street Owner and Harbor Place at Riverfront.
Other filings with the Southern Essex Registry of Deeds created the Harbor Place Primary Condominium, 2-54 Merrimack St., and Harbor Place Commercial Condominium, 2 Merrimack St.
The initial trustees of the condominium association are William H. Grogan, of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs, and Trombley.
Unless trustees waive conditions, the documents prohibit commercial spaces being used by a massage parlor, adult bookstore; disco, nightclub, cocktail; lounge or bar; funeral parlor; on-site dry cleaning; cinema; tattoo parlor; package store; hot tub or suntan business; gambling operation; convenience store; or marijuana business.
Just curious – not asking to be critical. How does Haverhill Community Television come up with $924,000 to purchase office space? How are they funded?
Boomer, you and I paid for that. The city receives a cut of Comcast’s profits (you see it on your Comcast bill as franchise fee). Then, the city–in a no bid contract–gives almost all of it to Haverhill Community Television to play amateur TV. Millions of dollars in what should be taxpayer money goes to this group.
That’s what I figured, Gladys. Just wanted to make sure I was seeing it correctly.