>>Valley Patriot>>
|
Planning
for our Future
Lawrence Planning Director Michael
R. Sweeney
(03/06/07)
 This week the City of Lawrence
will begin the first move in a historic direction
concerning the sale of city owned land.
Mayor Michael J. Sullivan recommended that the City
Council approve the sale of a Market Street lot to
PowerHouse Enterpises. This home will be constructed in a
manner that will save the future owners of the property
between 65% and 80% each year on their utility bills.
The company making the purchase, PowerHouse Enterprises,
is also a Lawrence based company taking the lead in New
England in the placement and construction of homes that
are on the cutting edge of environmental technology.
For over 100 years Lawrence has been know as the heavy,
industrial mill city where back breaking work served as
the city’s signature.
The next few years presents us with the opportunity to
change that imagine and to place the City of Lawrence on
the cutting edge of technology and green engineering.
Walking in partnership with private business owners such
as Mr. Sal Lupoli and Mr. Robert Ansin, who have both
seized onto the economic sense of green technology, Mayor
Sullivan is moving us in a direction to seriously
consider issues of storm-water management and creating
homes that permanently address utility costs through the
effective uses of modern technology.
For perhaps the first time in the history of the
Commonwealth, a municipality has set out to sell property
with the intention of creating housing on a site that
provides for utilities reductions of 65% to 80%.
With the successful completion of this transaction, we
can all watch as PowerHouse Enterprises constructs the
house and view the final product. Under the leadership of
A. Quincy Vale, company president, and John Rossi, design
principal, PowerHouse Enterprises will build a modular
home that is highly energy efficient, built of materials
from recycled and sustainable products, and the house
itself will generate less pollution through it reduced
dependence on the standard energy grid.
The future is wide open for Lawrence and our citizens. If
we continue to push the envelope and think creatively, we
do not have to constantly play catch up. Instead, we can
take the lead and show both government and the business
community how successful partnerships between a
municipality and a private company can help transform a
city’s imagine.
Mayor Sullivan has been clear in asking us to think of
ways to attractive and maintain dynamic businesses here
in the city of Lawrence. With the growing interest in
green technology and America’s need to gain
energy-independence, fully exploring the opportunities
presented by new technology will further strengthen the
city’s position as a leader in the decades to come.
Michael Sweeney is the planning director for the city
of Lawrence, a former member of the Lawrence City Council
and School Committee. You can e-mail Mr. Sweeney at
Esqsweeney@aol.com
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The March 2007 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
Publication.
All Contents (C) 2007, Valley Patriot, Inc.
We publish 12,000 newspapers and distribute in Andover,
North Andover,
Methuen, Haverhill, Chelmsford, Georgetown, Groveland,
Boxford, Amesbury,
Lawrence, Dracut, Tewksbury, MERRIMACK, Hampton &
Salisbury Beach, and Lowell.
|
Valley Patriot Archive
Valley Patriot Story
ARCHIVES
Prior Lead
Stories
Prior
Valley Patriot Editorials
Prior Columns by ...
Tom Duggan
Dr. Chuck
Ormsby
Paula
Porten
Ralph
Wilbur
Hanna
Ted Tripp
Valley
Patriot of the Month
Griselsilva.com
Patrick
Blanchette
D.J.
Beauregard
Jim
Cassidy
D.J. Deeb
Marcos
Devers
Bob
Desmarais
Regina
Faticanti
Jim
Fiorentini
Bill Kelly
Wilfredo
Laboy
Peter
Larocque
Vilma Lora
Ed Maguire
Billy
Manzi
Paul
Murano
Mark
Palermo
Hartley
Pleshaw
Debbie
Quinn
Raise Em
Right
Dr. Peary
Kathleen
Corey Rahme
Barney
Reilly
Angel
Rivera
Jim Rurak
Grisel
Silva
Mike
Sullivan
Sandra
Stotsky
Mike
Sweeney
Ken Willette
Scott Wood
Jim
Xenakis
|