Union Crossing Project fact sheet

Union Crossing
Lawrence, MA
Introduction
Union Crossing (UC) is a bold and innovative
redevelopment project that will transform
a complex of 19th century textile mills
into a dynamic new Lawrence neighborhood,
bringing investment, housing, and
jobs to the historic heart of the city. The
project will create close to 400,000 square
feet of renovated and newly-built space,
including family and workforce housing,
commercial offi ce, retail, and community
facilities, as well as new green space and
public access to the Merrimack River. The
Union Crossing project is also the fi rst time
that the people of Lawrence—represented
by the 6,200+ members of Lawrence
CommunityWorks (LCW)—are becoming
mill owners in the City. The project will
utilize an innovative array of green building
techniques, asset-building strategies for
residents, education and entrepreneurship
opportunities for local businesses, and
creative partnerships to increase affordability,
sustainability, health, and economic
development.
Union Crossing consists of two adjacent
properties. The 240,000 square foot
Southwick Mill buildings (and associated
parking lot), purchased by LCW in July
2007, are located at 50 Island Street and
front directly on the Merrimack River. The
120,000 square foot Duck Mill, purchased
by LCW in July 2008, stretches between
Island Street and the Merrimack River,
separated from Southwick by Union Street.
Together, these buildings provide the opportunity
to create 125+ housing units as
well as signifi cant new commercial and
community space. The two properties,
which fl ank the historic Duck Bridge, also
create an important gateway to downtown
from South Lawrence and the train station.
By virtue of their location, these buildings
offer an unparalleled opportunity to shape
the development of both the East Island
and Center Islands, extending the project’s
sphere of infl uence to the entire mill district.
In combination, these buildings are a tremendous
opportunity to build a new community
and stitch the revitalizing mill district
to the adjacent downtown and residential
neighborhoods.
Project Overview
•Redevelop Lawrence’s historic mills for
Lawrencians: LCW, Groundwork Lawrence,
and local business and community
leaders spearheaded an historic 2003
City zoning change that opened up the
mill district for residential redevelopment,
with an affordability mandate. This has
since catalyzed the fi rst major residential
mill conversion in the area at Washington
Mills Building No. 1. This project is a loftstyle
development with the minimum ten
percent affordability required by zoning,
and is geared toward young professionals
and empty-nesters. Union Crossing will
ensure that tapping the potential of the
mill buildings—one of the City’s great assets—will
benefi t and create rising value for
all our residents and families, regardless of
income, and provide them with a foundation
for economic success. Similarly, the
Union Crossing commercial partners have
a strong track record in supporting local
businesses that are generating new jobs
for Lawrence and the Commonwealth. This
commitment to supporting asset-building
and entrepreneurship is a central tenet of
Union Crossing.
Above: Building 9 Entry
•Provide Family and Workforce Housing:
Affordable, high-quality rental housing
is always in short supply in the city,
and demand is rising as more families are
forced out of their homes due to foreclosures
(Lawrence ranks 2nd in the State for
the most foreclosure fi lings per capita with
1,030 since 2007), and more homes become
abandoned and uninhabitable. Union
Crossing is both a complement to LCW’s
neighborhood-based redevelopment
strategies, and a response to the housing
needs of local and regional employers,
especially Lawrence General Hospital and
Community Day Care.
•Support Local Economic Development:
Union Crossing includes partnerships
with two local business families who will
develop the commercial space, and have
a track record of creating jobs and helping
grow local organizations and businesses.
The commercial portion of the project will
include business incubator space with a
focus on clean technology, incentives for
university partnerships, and a commitment
to supporting local businesses. The project
developers are also committed to training
and employing local people to maintain
and manage the property, and helping
them to develop valuable workforce skills.
•Set a Standard for Energy-Effi cient and
Healthy Development: In a City that struggles
with major contamination—from lead
paint and asbestos to industrial waste—
green development practices improve the
health and sustainability of both the buildings
and the community. In addition,
the energy-saving results of such practices
greatly reduce ongoing housing costs for
residents and commercial tenants, increasing
long-term affordability. The cost to
taxpayers for treating polluted water and

disposing solid waste will also be substantially
reduced in comparison with a conventionally-designed
building. To the extent
that Union Crossing can become a model
for other local redevelopment projects,
particularly in the mill district, its impact can
be magnified.
•Build Resident Assets and Wealth: LCW
has a strong track record in helping hundreds
of residents build skills and savings,
further their education, start businesses,
and buy homes. Union Crossing will
include designated “wealth-creation” units
linking residents to financial literacy training
and matched savings that will enable them
to build family stability and prosperity.
•Promote Education and Wellness: Union
Crossing includes innovative partnerships
with the City’s leading provider of
early childhood education and Lawrence
General Hospital. On-site childcare facilities,
built-in wellness programming and
health education, access to green space,
and other physical and programmatic elements
will help create a culture of wellness
among residents. Better health translates
into lower health-related expenses for our
families.
Project Benefits
•125+ units of mixed-income family and
workforce housing, including dedicated
units for Lawrence General Hospital workers
and young teachers
•New day care center serving infants, toddlers,
and pre-schoolers
•Approximately 200 new jobs (including
incubator space for start-up companies
and small businesses)
•New public access, green space, and
eco-system restoration along the Merrimack
River
•Improved pedestrian, bike and vehicle
circulation on the East Island and Center
Islands
•Re-use of former brownfield/ industrial
sites
•Innovative energy-efficiency features
and on-site renewable energy systems to
reduce operating costs and minimize or
eliminate dependence on fossil fuels
•Healthy home design will maximize indoor
air quality and ambient comfort, reducing
health risks for a vulnerable population
(Lawrence has one of the highest pediatric
Above: Union Crossing Site Plan
asthma rates in the state)
•Preservation and adaptive re-use of
historic structures in a National Register
Historic District
•Collaborative, cost-effective, and efficient
parking strategy: approx 475 spaces
(including compact and shared spaces)
provided on 50 Island St site—sufficient to
support all existing and planned development
at 50 Island, 56 Island, and 60
Island St buildings; additional parking at
4 Union/220 Canal to support redevelopment
of the Duck Mill and potentially other
projects in the area
•Reduced costs to municipality for water
supply, treatment, and waste disposal
through innovative rain water harvesting,
materials recycling, and composting
systems
•New tax revenues (approximately
$225,000 annually to the City of Lawrence
at full build-out)
Energy efficiency and renewable
energy
The design of the Union Crossing site and
buildings will seek to achieve the highest
possible levels of performance in terms

Top Left: Building 4 Entry
Top Right: Building 9- Second Floor Plan
Bottom Right: Project Phasing Plan
of both energy efficiency and renewable
energy generation, thus reducing the consumption
of fossil fuels and cutting utility
costs for the building owner and residents.
A recent analysis indicates that the first
phase of Union Crossing (at Building 9)
will use 81% less energy for heating than
a conventional residential mill conversion,
and will generate 50% less carbon emissions.
The primary options for energy efficiency
and renewable energy systems under consideration
for Union Crossing are:
•Efficient building envelope, ventilation
system, lighting, and appliances
• Multi-split air-to-air heat pumps for space
heating and cooling
•Solar thermal hot water system
•Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels to generate
electricity
Developers
The Union Crossing development team is
a unique partnership between Lawrence
CommunityWorks (LCW), a non-profit
Development Corporation with a successful
track record that includes more than
$20 million of award-winning affordable
housing and educational facilities over the
past eight years, and two of Lawrence’s
most successful commercial developers,
the Yepez brothers and the Sidell family.
Collectively, the developers bring a wealth
of experience in residential and commercial
real estate and have been leaders in
the effort to redevelop the North Common
neighborhood and the Reviviendo Gateway
District in Lawrence.
Partners
LCW has signed Memoranda of Understanding
with two key partners, both of
which will be playing a central role in the
project: Lawrence General Hospital and
Community Day Care Centers of Lawrence.
These partners will help anchor the
project as tenants, and will work with the
development team to plan, design and
build a healthy community that offers highquality
educational and economic opportunities
for Lawrence families.
LCW is also building on its long-standing
and successful partnership with
Groundwork Lawrence to help develop
Union Crossing. To date, GWL has assisted
with site design and facilitation of
community meetings during the Master
Planning phase, which concluded in April
2008. GWL will continue to play a key
role in guiding the further design of the
green features, including: the pedestrian
walkway and green deck, community gardens,
recycling/composting, storm water
management and river walk. GWL will also
be working closely with LCW to develop
educational programming that ensures
these elements can be successfully and
affordably maintained over the life of the
project.
LCW is also partnering with MIT@Lawrence
and the Lawrence History Center to
document and interpret the history of the
site and to display the information in innovative
ways. Two groups of local high
school students, one from Movement City
(LCW’s youth program), and the Green
Team (GWL’s youth program), are working
with students and faculty from MIT, staff
and volunteers from the Lawrence History
Center and the Lawrence Heritage State
Park, a local sound engineer and local
filmmaker to interview employees at the
Southwick factory before they move to
their new facility in Haverhill, capture the
sights and sounds of the factory in operation,
and interview project team members
in order to capture “history in progress” as
this nineteenth-century industrial property
is transformed into a new sustainable
community. MIT students will work with
this team to organize the information and
create prototypes for site signage, radio
programs, podcasts, a video documentary,
and/or a web portal to share this information
with the global community.
Sources of Funding
Upon completion, Union Crossing will represent
an investment of approximately $75
million+ from a variety of public and private
sources. We have identified many of these
funding sources already, including
Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, state
and federal historic tax credits, new market
tax credits, Renewable Energy credits,
HOME funds, Affordable Housing Trust
funds, EPA Brownfield funds, Mass Technology
Collaborative funds, utility rebate
programs, private-sector Foundation support,
and conventional bank financing.
Phasing
•PHASE ONE (targeted construction start
in 2009)
•PHASE TWO (targeted construction start
in 2010)

Community Involvement
LCW and the UC partners are committed
to a community-driven planning process at
every stage of the project. During the master
planning phase alone LCW organized
six community events to solicit ideas and
feedback. As the project moves forward,
we will continue to seek community-based
solutions that address the objectives we
have established for Union Crossing.
Newcomers are encouraged to volunteer
with the Union Crossing Committee.
Currently, the Committee includes local
residents and business owners who have
committed to serve for one year, and to
consistently participate in project planning.
In addition to the full committee, volunteers
and students are participating in smaller
sub-committees to guide the building design,
site design, and local hiring process.
Community meetings follow a variety of
formats. Volunteers participate in site
visits to comparable projects, get updates
from the design team, and engage in small
group discussions. These small group
discussions enable members to explore
specific ideas/programs/decisions in depth
and then report their findings and recommendations
to the larger Committee. The
Top: Dye Works Building Roof Deck
Bottom: Neighborhood Context
goal of the Committee is to add one new
community volunteer at each Committee
meeting.
Moving forward in the design and eventual
construction process, LCW will look for
opportunities to employ local residents in
these efforts. In order for this project to
succeed, LCW needs your support. You
can contribute to the success of Union
Crossing by coming to a Committee meeting,
signing a letter of support, or by just
staying informed about the project and
spreading the word to your friends and colleagues.
We look forward to hearing from
you; please contact Dan Koff at 978-722-
2621 to join our planning sessions or be
involved in any way.
Additional Information
For more information and to see the
complete Master Plan please visit the client
area at:
www.coldhamandhartman.com
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