When the historic Prescott Building, at 2 Washington St. in downtown Haverhill, was built in 1882, there was no thought given to the concept of “smart apartments,” but there is now.
Developer Jonathan Cozzens, of Lee Properties, is in the process of restoring the building in the Washington Street Historic District that is most associated with the former Haverhill Music Center. Cozzens, a recent guest on WHAV’s morning program., said the project includes 14 apartments, mostly one bedrooms, and they will all be considered “smart apartments.”
“We’re integrating a smart app integration into every apartment there. It basically just makes life easier for the residents of the building. The windows, for example, will have motorized blinds in them. It’s all integrated into a single system so it can operate on a schedule. It can open when you wake up. It can open when the sun rises or it can close at sunset, or on any schedule you’d like. The door locks are all smart, so as you enter the building, the door will recognize your phone, and it will open the door as you approach the building. If you have your hands full of groceries, you can simply push the knob and get in the building that way as well as the apartment itself,” he explained.
Cozzens says the model apartment on the top floor will soon be available for viewing. He also talked about the work being done on the outside of the building
“We’re restoring the façade of the building to how it looked in 1882 when it was initially built. We the wall on the top, near the roof line, that was the purpose of the scaffolding we had not too long ago. And we’re also changing out the entire façade of the front, where the doors and store glass windows area,” he added.
The entire first floor will be commercial space and has been leased out to a “game board café,” where families and friends will be able to gather, play games while enjoying the café experience, while also being near the state Rep. Brian S. Dempsey Boardwalk along the Merrimack River.