PrintKendall Wallace is chairman of Lowell Publishing Co. He has more than 50 years of newspaper experience, starting as a reporter at The Sun in 1959.
Can the city of Lowell rally itself again?
Anyone who has sat in on the presentations by renowned urban planner Jeff Speck has to be impressed with his vision for Lowell.
He is involved internationally with smart growth for urban areas, he has fought suburban sprawl and is a recognized leader of the new urbanism.
He has just spent more than a month living in downtown Lowell with his family -- without a car.
He has walked the city, loves what he sees and has great dreams of what might be.
Speck was hired by the Lowell Plan to look at downtown and make recommendations.
He has done the looking part and is in the process of writing a report based on his observations and his discussions with a wide variety of people from the community.
Along the way he has outlined some of his thoughts with scores of community groups.
Having sat in on one of the off-the-record discussions, I can tell you it's pretty exciting.
He loves cities. He thinks downtowns should be lively, livable and attractive.
I've been an optimist all my life. I've seen the city go through great periods of hope and promise, and I've seen some tough times.
The last 30 years have been pretty good here. The city developed a "can-do" reputation, and there was extraordinary cooperation among city, state and federal leaders as well as support from the private sector.
That type of united effort led to the creation of the National Park, the development of the Wang Towers, the baseball park, the hotel and the arena. It changed the city's image and saw Lowell become a destination center, which has ultimately led to thousands of people investing in lofts and apartments downtown. Those events saw the development of the theater, the expansion of the city's auditorium and new restaurants.
So after a lull, it's time for Lowell to dream again.
Speck's written report will be out sometime this fall.
Despite my normal optimistic style, I wonder if we are poised to carry out the dream. We are not exactly in position for a rapid takeoff.
City government has been sharply split over the last several years with clear lines drawn between factions. City Manager Bernie Lynch last year had negative support on the council. Voters changed that last November and gave him a clear majority, but political wounds still linger.
Our Statehouse delegation, once a key component in the city's famed delivery system, is at a very low ebb. None of our state representatives holds a leadership position and the city's biggest gun, state Sen. Steve Panagiotakos, has announced he will leave office after this term.
U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas lacks seniority and is supposedly seen as vulnerable in the next election. Sen. Ted Kennedy and his clout are gone.
The Lowell Plan was out of favor for several years and just now appears to be getting back into its partnership role with the city.
The city itself has changed. There are thousands of new people living in the city, many in the downtown area, occupying lofts and condo units in rehabbed buildings. The Asian population is now in its second and third generation here and many of the key players of the glorious redevelopment era are a generation older.
Despite all those concerns, I've never doubted the will of the city's lifelong residents to support anything that makes Lowell a better place to live and work. They have proven it many times.
And newer residents have paid a lot of money for their downtown lofts. They are becoming more involved. They want progressive development and will likely be the biggest backers of the types of proposals Speck will likely champion in his final report.
If the long-term residents and the new Lowell folks can come together in support of this new thrust for continuing Lowell's revitalization, then a lot of the concerns listed above could be overcome.
Perhaps what is needed is a summit of key leaders in city government, state government, federal government, the business community, the old guard who has always been there for Lowell, and spokespeople for the new residents.
The worst thing for any old city is to do nothing. The best thing is to unite behind a thoughtful plan.
The city is lucky. Its local banks are strong and supportive, the Hamilton Canal development is well under way, Lowell General Hospital has a near $100 million project in the construction stage, Jeanne D'Arc has just opened a new office tower downtown, and UMass Lowell and the community college are aggressive in their growth.
So can we follow the Speck plan? Do we have the will for the next phase of making downtown Lowell a model for urban living?
