- Brownfield Cleanup: This is for the land between the existing and soon-to-be vacated DPW buildings and river. The official 'ground breaking' for this was held earlier this week and the portion of the Riverwalk on Water Street has already been blocked off. Digging will start next week and should be done in June, in '4 - 6 weeks.' With the long winter, start on this initial piece of the big puzzle has been delayed. I was unable to attend this but I was pleased to see that both our current and former Mayors were there for this. A project like this (20 + years in the making) transcends changes in administrations and requires a long view from lots of folks in order to ever get done. It took a lot of effort from Mayor Kezer to get us to this point and it will take a lot of effort from Mayor Gray to see this through.
- Heritage Park Construction: This will begin after the clean-up is complete. With the late start to the clean-up, this also will have a late start (in June). This is especially important since the bulk of the State resources paying for the park are supposed to be expended by the end of June. However, Mayor Gray has worked with the relevant state agency and this should not be a problem. What is more of a problem is that (not unlike the Fire HQ rehab), the winning bid came in well over the allocated amount (allocated = $548k for construction; winning bid = $738k). What does that mean? It means that, as with the Fire Dept. HQ rehab, the scope of the project will have to be scaled back substantially, given the almost $200k difference. Unfortunately, this means that the planned water feature will likely not be included in the final design. The City is working to shift costs where possible out of construction and on to other aspects of the overall LMY redevelopment, in an effort to preserve the water feature.
- Demolition of DPW Building:What we are talking about here is the demo of the building immediately in front of you in this view of the LMY (the two-storey building behind it will be preserved as the new location of the Carriage Museum). This is currently out to bid but that process will be completed shortly. The DPW is on deadline to remove all equipment from there and the building should be down completely by the end of June. These first three elements will bring substantial and rapid change to the 'look' of the Lower Millyard area.
- Water Street Re-Alignment: This is also currently out to bid. This will start this construction season but will continue into next year. This involves moderating the curve of Water Street, directing it through what is now the DPW building that you see in this picture. This will bring new curbing and new sidewalks, as well.
- Riverwalk Extension + Boat Launch: These elements are still in design review and negotiation with the Department of Transportation (primary funder). At best, this work will begin this year and extend in to FY2016. Don't go buying a new kayak just yet. The Riverwalk extension will:
- add a new bridge across the Back River, avoiding the current re-direction that the Walk takes across the existing Water Street bridge over the Back River, connecting the Walk in a direct line into the new Heritage Park
- extend the Riverwalk across the Powow River to Mill Street (and into the 'valley' area below downtown) and then bring it up Mill Street to Main Street, where it can connect with the Upper Millyard walk
- create a small craft boat launch in Heritage Park for canoes and kayaks
- shore up the banks of both the Powow and Back Rivers where they meet by Heritage Park
For more information on the project:
- HERE is a link to a Mass. Development overview of the LMY project.
- HERE is a link to a great set of graphics that visually indicates the where & what of this project, using photos of current conditions.
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