City Council Hears Plans Tonight for 15 Market Rate Apartments Above Downtown Haverhill Restaurants

Architect’s rendering of proposed restoration at 45 Wingate St., Haverhill.

Click image for Haverhill City Council agenda.

Plans to build 15 market rate apartments while maintaining two restaurant spaces on Wingate Street in downtown Haverhill go before the Haverhill City Council tonight for approval.

Developers of the Kelly Block at 45 Wingate St., home to the Peddler’s Daughter and Shoe City Urban Bistro, are seeking the Council’s major plan approval to construct nine studios and six one-bedroom apartments on the upper three floors. Besides the restaurants, plans also call for keeping another small commercial space. Because the project is located in one of the downtown waterfront overlay zones, councilors have only limited authority.

In a letter to city councilors, attorney Robert D. Harb said 15 parking spaces have been secured in the nearby garage, owned by the Merrimack Valley Transit Authority. If approved, West Newbury developer Theodore P. Ammon will seek a limited property tax break from the city. The property will be restored to its historic appearance.

Ammon previously purchased the former Haverhill TV and Appliance building nearby at 27 Washington St.

Haverhill Economic Development and Planning Director William Pillsbury Jr. told councilors by letter Friday that he believes the “project is in the best interest of the City of Haverhill in that it provides needed market rate housing in the inner-city area without the requirement to add additional utilities to service the project.” Pillsbury also said the development is “a strong, positive indication of the private sector confidence in investing in Haverhill.”

The Haverhill City Council meets at 7 p.m., tonight, online and in-person at the Theodore A. Pelosi Jr. Council Chambers, second floor of City Hall, 4 Summer St. As a public service, 97.9 WHAV plans to carry the meeting live.

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