Bridging Old and New Lowell with Neighborhood Business Districts
Wil asks:
I was wondering what you would do about bridging the older Lowell and the newer Lowell together. What I a mean about that statement is there seems to be a struggle in the city with the way things were done and progression. We can even see this in the city council itself. I have read some comments that people are not happy with the new wave of condo owners not shopping in Lowell. I for one do try to support local businesses but I find it difficult because not to many cater to my needs. What would you do to bridge that gap.
Wil, you present a very interesting question, particularly in consideration of the fact that I, myself moved to Lowell when I came here to attend school at UMass Lowell.
As for our current City Council, I don’t see it as entirely different from previous years. In truth, the entire City Council agrees and/or disagrees as an entire body. However, on “larger” issues, the Council appears divided. There are currently some political factors that splinter the group. As your Councilor, I will always make decisions that come down on the side of the greater good of the citizens, not special interests.
In regards to the reports that folks in the City of Lowell are unhappy with “condo dwellers” not shopping downtown to fulfill basic needs…this problem is not exclusive to the Downtown neighborhood. There are neighborhoods all over the City of Lowell where residents do no shopping within their neighborhoods, and bring their business to other parts of the City or out of the City altogether. The fact is, if the retail or commercial outlets do not exist Downtown (or anywhere in the City) to fulfill your basic needs, of course you’d have to shop elsewhere. This is why I advocate the concept of Neighborhood Business Districts, which is already a part of the Comprehensive Master Plan (section 3.1.3). While it is encoded in the Master Plan, however, my intent is to ensure that it is not overlooked, because I believe that this is the best way to bridge old and new Lowell, keep tax dollars in the city, and support our local businesses.
Specifically, these neighborhood business districts should include food and clothing stores. I, for one, would love to have an all purpose farm stand/grocery store (similar to Trader Joe’s) and something like a Life is Good clothing store downtown. These types of shopping venues pull folks in to spend their money on basic needs, not only from the City itself, but from surrounding communities, as they are widely recognized brands. And we can start with the downtown, but we must not forget about every other Neighborhood Business District in the city of Lowell.
I’d also advocate that when the product or service is available locally, we all should give that vendor preference, and not fly off to NH to get a slightly better price. A bit of economic patriotism would do us all some good.
Furthermore, the trend nationally is that chain stores are coming back to the Downtowns of America. As your City Councilor, I would advocate wholeheartedly to bring those venues into the City of Lowell.