‘Needed 30 days’
“We just needed 30 days and we have been there a long time and no one is disputing that in May or June there was an agreement,” Flynn said. “We were basically saying ‘give us a break, will you,’ we’re not asking for the moon here.”
According to O’connor, Oct. 15 was the longest the city could wait to start phase 1 before impacting the project’s costs and timeline.
“At this point the city’s back is against the wall with the project,” City Manager Eileen Donoghue said.
Dr. Evan Coravos, another of the building owners, is moving his practice to Dracut. However his Dracut office is not yet ready, so Coravos is working out of a temporary location in Lowell. The disruption on top of the pandemic has impacted care.
“We’re going to try to service them as well as possible, we hope our patients are patient,” Coravos said.
The Reichheld practice is now three generations strong with Stephen, his brother John Reichheld Jr. and Stephen’s sons Stephen Reichheld Jr. and Timothy Reichheld all working together.
Wednesday marked Timothy’s first day working alone as an orthodontist. It was also the last day the Reichheld practice operated out of 75 Arcand Drive.
“That was kind of cool. I never thought he was going to be able to do that,” Stephen Reichheld said of Timothy working alone in the office his grandfather built.
The Reichheld practice will move to a brand new space on Wood Street. That space is also not ready so Stephen Reichheld said the practice will be storing furniture and equipment for a few weeks until the new space is ready.
“It’s a disaster for us,” he said. “It’s ridiculous that the city could not give us two weeks.”
Coravos said the city has been “non-communicative and adversarial” throughout the entire process. Stephen Reichheld agreed.
“Not once did they come over and say, ‘ hey we’re taking your building can we help,'” Stephen Reichheld said of Donoghue and the City Council. “They shoved it down everybody’s throat.”
According to Donoghue, the city hired a relocation expert to manage the building and help with the relocation. She said the city has “bent over backwards” to work with the doctors.
“I think it’s outrageous that they would suggest the city has been unfair,” Donoghue said. “As far as not being communicative, they brought the lawsuit. Our attorney has been in touch with their attorney on a regular basis.”
Though frustrated with the situation, Stephen Reichheld said he does want Lowell to have a good high school. His frustrations are with the city, not the project.
Reichheld said his father, who died a few years ago, would feel similarly.
“He wants Lowell to be successful, he wants Lowell to have a great high school, but not happy with the city itself and how they treated us,” he said.
On Thursday the dentists will gather at 75 Arcand Drive to finish moving and say goodbye. They’ll eat pizza, maybe drink a few beers and reminisce.
“When you practice across the hall from someone for 25 years, all of a sudden it’s gone, it’s sad,” Stephen Reichheld said.