Revised plan deletes a section of the planned parking deck on city land near the Post Office.
While it may not look like much yet, city officials say the $2.5 million extension of the Haverhill’s riverfront boardwalk and a new parking deck are on schedule.
Economic Development and Planning Director William Pillsbury Jr. said the boardwalk—being extended from behind Haverhill Bank westward towards the post office—is “all framed up and getting closer.”
“There’s been a little bit of a weather restraint, but they’ve kept working up to this point,” Pillsbury said. “It is on target for a spring completion.”
The two-level parking deck is designed support Salvatore N. Lupoli’s 10-story, “The Heights,” project. It was originally envisioned as an L-shaped structure and included a wing extending from Lupoli’s 192 Merrimack St. property to a city lot behind the Franklin Block, 200 Merrimack St.
When the city’s portion of the project came up $1.1 million short in August 2018, Haverhill city councilors adopted a compromise plan, calling for the city to spend $500,000 from surplus to finish the Rep. Brian S. Dempsey Boardwalk. The deal, proposed by Mayor James J. Fiorentini, also swapped out part of the parking deck for continued surface parking behind the Franklin Block, paid for from a previous state MassWorks grant.
Officials say reconfiguring the deck will still yield about 60 parking spaces. Construction is under the direction of brothers Stephen and Roger Ploof’s S&R Corporation. City Purchasing Director Steven S. Bucuzzo previously announced the company won the contract with a bid of about $1.5 million.
Pillsbury said the boardwalk and parking deck is expected to be complete at about the same time as Lupoli’s mixed-use glass tower.