The Haverhill City Council gave its approval to a special permit to convert an old upper Washington Street barn into four one-bedroom apartments.
Rick and Amy Carter purchased an old Victorian home three years ago at 417 Washington St. The home was in need of considerable repair at the time and Amy Carter told councilors Tuesday night how they brought it back to life.
“It was one of those big Victorians in disrepair and now the front part of the house is pretty blue and all of the apartments on the inside have been redone. We just take pride in our work and just our practices in general as landlords and so we find that we end up with good tenants and little to no turnover,” she explained.
Many councilors were familiar with the Carters’ restoration work. Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan offered high praise.
“I fully support this and want to thank you for your investment, especially in the Mount Washington neighborhood area. You’re taking another building and bringing it back to elegance, which is just fantastic, particularly the Victorians that are on that street. Thank you for the work you’ve done in other areas and thank you for your investment in Haverhill. I look forward to seeing the end result,” Sullivan said.
The Carters had already received a favorable recommendation from the Planning Board and Planning Director William Pillsbury Jr. The council voted unanimously to approve the conversion.