Note: The fraction used to identify the store has been corrected.
The Building 19 chain of discount stores once promised shoppers “Good Stuff Cheap,” and Haverhill seems to have walked away with the last bargain.
The City Council gave the go-ahead this past Tuesday to an agreement giving residents the right to use property owned by the former Building 19 1/6 for improved access to a portion of the city’s Riverside Park.
The easements are the result of an agreement made in 2019 between the Board of Appeals and 219 Lincoln Ave. Trust. The trustees are Judith Elovitz and Linda Elovitz Marshall, daughters of Building 19 co-founder Gerald “Jerry Ellis” Elovitz. The agreement allowed the creation of storage business in the old Building 19 1/6. In return, owners agreed to grant easements to the city.
The store closed in 2013.
City Solicitor William D. Cox Jr. explained what the properties will provide.
“One is an easement for 23 parking spaces in the parking lot adjacent to the baseball field, and those will be available to the public from March to November. The other easement allows for the continuation of the walking trail from Riverside Park to Riverside Avenue,” he explained.
Cox said the city hopes to make some improvements along that trail making it more pedestrian friendly.
Councilor Thomas J. Sullivan lauded the proposal, saying it will make it easier for people who have difficulties walking to get to and enjoy the park.
Councilors voted 8-0 to accept the easements with Councilor Shaun Toohey absent.