The owner of a sprawling apartment redevelopment in downtown Haverhill is seeking permission to reduce its required number of tenant parking spaces by 73 spaces. The Forest City Residential Group project, now known as Halstead Haverhill, originally provided 394 parking spaces, including 72 offsite on city property and in the Granite Street public parking garage. Attorney Connor A. MacIsaac, however, says a parking demand study shows the offsite parking spaces are not necessary. In a letter last Thursday to city councilors, city Economic Development and Planning Director William Pillsbury Jr. said he “strongly recommends” councilors deny the request.
(Additional photograph below.) The sky is still dark when Larry Corcoran, a bus driver for Merrimack Valley Transit, starts his route outbound from Haverhill at six a.m. For the few who ride this early in the morning, the transportation is essential. When MeVa leaders went before state lawmakers to request more money early this month, Chief Communications Officer Niorka Mendez said, for some of the people they serve, “This is the only way to get to food access, to get to medical care—even in the social aspect of visiting friends. On the bus, as a bus driver, I used to talk to them, and maybe we are the only people they talk to during the whole day.
While it won’t plug a looming revenue shortfall, Haverhill could receive $5.3 million more in state education aid over last year if the House Ways and Means Committee gets its way. The House last week proposed a formula that would give Haverhill $88 million in so-called Chapter 70 aid compared with $82.6 million in the current year. The amount is also $131,664 more than Gov. Maura T. Healey proposed in her draft budget.
The Northern Essex Community College Theater production of “Hurricane Diane” has won nine national awards from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. Honors include The Citizen’s Award; Outstanding Achievement in Performance, Mirrorajah Metcalfe, liberal arts writing major; Distinguished Achievement in Dramaturgy, Jessica Newey; Outstanding Achievement in Ensemble Performance; Distinguished Achievement in Performance, Gwynnethe Glickman; Distinguished Achievement in Performance, Olivia Barberian; Distinguished Achievement in Direction of a Play, Brianne Beatrice, Northern Essex Community College professor; Special Achievement in Production of a Play; and Outstanding Achievement in the Facilitation of a Brave Rehearsal Space. “It’s crazy our work is being honored like this.