Public-private partnership works in Massachusetts city

Public-private partnerships have been a lifeline to urban centers pursuing economic development that otherwise would be beyond their financial reach.

In this state, that integral relationship was recently on display in Lowell and Leominster with the awarding of grants to support two major projects.

On Monday, Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito and other top state officials were in Lowell to announce a $1.72 million MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant to support a mixed-use development proposed on upper Merrimack Street, along with a number of other monetary awards.

Earlier this month, Leominster received a $2.09 million MassWorks grant for the extension of Orchard Hill Park Drive.

That funding, along with $19 million in private investment, is expected to create 300 full- and part-time jobs in 234,000 square feet of new building space, according to the city.

Proposed by JDCU and Soucy Industries,

Lowell’s Acre Crossing development will create 32 affordable condominium units for firsttime homebuyers and street-level retail and office space.

The MassWorks funding enables the city to make infrastructure improvements needed to support the project, including sidewalk reconstruction, traffic signal updates and new lighting.

Lowell City Manager Eileen Donoghue called the project “a textbook example of the kind of transformative development the MassWorks program can support,” and that it will have a great impact on the city’s Acre section, one of the state’s most diverse neighborhoods.

“Once completed, this project will revitalize an underutilized space, create permanent jobs, provide pathways to homeownership for working families and set a new standard for development in the neighborhood,” Donoghue said.

Monday also marked the inaugural round of

MassWorks funding awarded through the One Stop process.

Combined with the other grants, the One Step program represents a combined total of $88 million for projects in 122 communities.

In Leominster, this latest MassWorks grant marks the continuation of vital funding secured through that program.

“This is a real win for Leominster,” Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. “This grant brings our total received from the MassWorks program to over $8 million in 10 years.”

The city previously received a $1.3 million infrastructure grant for the Adams Street area that leveraged $20 million in private investment, creating 100 units of housing and 40,000 square feet of commercial/retail space.

The city also received a $2.5 million grant for the downtown area that complemented private-sector investments put into the new Enterprise Bank Building, Brady’s Restaurant and new housing units on Summer Street.

Currently in the works is another MassWorks infrastructure grant for $2.4 million for the mall area, which will allow for development or expansion of several buildings on its perimeter. That project connects improved infrastructure from the current Route 13 project all the way through to downtown.

“We have been investing in this area for years,” Mazzarella said. “In the 2000s we partnered with the state to invest over $3 million to bring the sewer/water lines from the Mall at Whitney Field all the way to Orchard Hill Park Drive, which expanded local jobs and our tax base.

“This project will continue that trend with 300 more jobs and additional tax revenue.”

City officials noted the highly competitive nature of these grants, which funnel funding to only the most ready and highest impact projects.

It’s no exaggeration to say that MassWorks grants have worked out for these two old mill towns.