UMass Lowell said Wednesday its Haverhill campus did not bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing it to leave its two floors at Harbor Place in downtown Haverhill.
The statement, released by a UMass Lowell spokesperson, follows WHAV’s report that tenants of the Haverhill Innovation Hub were told they would have to leave the space by Oct. 31. Those tenants include the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce and various groups that have used the public meeting space overlooking the Merrimack River.
“UMass Lowell has been honored to closely collaborate with the Haverhill Foundation, the Planning Office of Urban Affairs and local business and students to expand the university’s footprint and impact at the Harbor Place location. Unfortunately, following the pandemic the demand the university expected and required for the campus to stay financially viable has not returned,” the statement read.
During the summer 2014 groundbreaking ceremony for the $68 million Harbor Place redevelopment, UMass Lowell’s involvement was hailed as critical to garnering necessary construction financing. At the time, Lisa B. Alberghini, president of the Boston Archdiocese’s Planning Office for Urban Affairs, which partnered with the Greater Haverhill Foundation to develop the site, said Bank of America provided a $25 million construction loan and $13 million in equity financing through the purchase of tax credits, while Haverhill Bank and Pentucket Bank providing the remaining financing.
Gov. Deval Patrick was among those participating in the 2014 ceremony across the street from the site of the former F. W. Woolworth Building and three other buildings on the south side of Merrimack Street.
“We have to think outside ourselves, I think, outside our limitations, outside our past, outside of being stuck in 45 years with a shutdown Woolworth’s building, and start imagining a different future and then reaching for it,” Patrick said.
Wednesday’s UMass Lowell statement acknowledged tole role the university played in the redevelopment.
“UMass Lowell is proud of the important role the campus played in the development of Harbor Place and the subsequent revitalization of the entire area and remains dedicated to serving students in Haverhill through online and on-campus course offerings in Lowell. Further, the university remains firmly committed to partnering with businesses across the Merrimack Valley to advance our education and research missions.”
UMass Lowell told tenants its plans to sublet its space at Harbor Place.