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Erroneous
Eagle~Tribune story
costs Monarch $40M
TOM DUGGAN
(10/04/07)
An exclusive interview with Bob
Ansin Earlier this month, several erroneous
Eagle-Tribune stories alleged that Robert Ansin, CEO of
sustainable development company MassInnovation, was
running out of funds and that asbestos was found inside
the Monarch on the Merrimack building. On Sunday,
September 16, the Eagle-Tribune ran a cover story by Jill
Harmacinski and Bill Kirk which claimed that
workers in Tyvek suits and respirators were on site
Thursday clearing the contaminated material out of the
building.
That claim, said Ansin, was categorically untrue.
Construction on the first phase of the Monarch Lofts
project in the old Wood Mill Building on Merrimack St. in
Lawrence was approaching 40% completion after Ansin
invested $25 million of his own money into the project.
The project was selling strongly despite the broader
market conditions: 53 of the 201 lofts in the first phase
were already under agreement before the building was even
completed.
Erroneous Tribune stories endangered
Monarchs funding
According to Ansin, a San Francisco-based bank backed out
on their commitment on a $40 million construction loan
days after the Tribune story came out.
The bank cited the Eagle-Tribune story as a reason
for pulling their commitment, Ansin said.
Construction on the $200 million project has been halted while Ansin seeks
funding from other sources.
Weve had to spend a lot of time correcting
the inaccurate perceptions that the Trib story
created, said Ansin. Harmacinski and
Kirks story raised concerns about environmental
issues that caused the bank to pull its financing
commitment. Those concerns were unjustified. But now we,
the crews, and our buyers are paying the price for the
inaccurate claims in those Tribune articles.
What makes it more surprising is that the Tribune
had accurately reported on that story back in July,
said Ansin. They had the facts. We had found a
small pocket of asbestos in the ground outside, which was
probably debris from when the Wood Mills twin
building was demolished in the 1950s. We halted
excavation work and filed an action plan with the
Department of Environmental Protection.
The Tribune writers should have looked at the plan
filed with the DEP when they wrote their story. Last
week, the subcontractors were working outside the
building, according to the plan. They were certainly not
clearing contaminated material out of the
building as the Trib had written, said
Ansin.
One thing for sure, this project is moving forward.
I have made a commitment to the city of Lawrence, and I
am keeping that commitment.
Monarch is the largest eco-friendly development in New
England, and has brought positive national attention to a
town that many people had overlooked. The project has
been featured in CNN/Money as one of the top green
developments in the nation, in Forbes as a Home of the
Week, in Businessweek as Hot Property, and has been
profiled on National Public Radio and the Wall Street
Journal. Commonwealth magazine has described the project
as catalytic for the city of Lawrence and as
a lynchpin in the citys revival.
Eagle-Tribune issues a correction: too
little, too late
Shaw Rosen, the Chief Operating Officer of MassInnovation
and Constantine Valhouli, principal of The Hammersmith
Group, a firm which advises developers and cities on
reviving historic downtowns, met with the Eagle-Tribune
on Monday, September 17, to discuss the inaccuracies in
Harmacinski and Kirks reporting.
The Eagle-Tribune issued a brief (50 word) correction the
next day that confirmed that asbestos was not found
inside the building. But theres a huge
difference between a 1450-word cover story that alleges
asbestos in the building, and a tiny correction on page
two, said Valhouli.
The Tribune also issued a correction for having written
that MassInnovation was based in Fitchburg.
MassInnovations offices moved from Fitchburg
to Lawrence in 2003. Part of our commitment to helping
Lawrence revive was to become part of the
community, said Ansin. Many developers are seen as
outsiders who come to a town for a project and then
leave. The Trib had reported that we were based in
Lawrence in a number of previous stories. So it was
surprising that they got that small but important fact
wrong in their cover story.
In contrast to Ansin contributing to the revival of the
city of Lawrence by moving his MassInnovations
facility to Lawrence from Fitchburg, the Eagle-Tribune
(formerly the Lawrence Eagle Tribune) moved its
offices out of Lawrence in 1968 and built their brand new
(then) state of the art facility in North Andover.
We chose to make a stand on this
issue.
Valhouli and Rosen discussed several other inaccuracies,
including misattributed quotes, with the Tribune
reporters, but no corrections were issued on those
erroneous reports. Rosen responded to the
Eagle-Tribunes claim that Ansin is behind on his
payments to the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit
Authority (MVRTA) for parking across the street from
Monarch. Ansin said that he has been withholding payment
because of a legitimate concern about the contracts at
the MVRTA.
The maintenance fees for the garage appear to be
much higher than they should be, said Ansin.
It turns out that they were a no-bid contract. We
have withheld payment until they can demonstrate that the
contracts were legal, and their figures could be
supported by a public bid process, something the MVRTA
has not yet been able to do.
Heres what the Trib didnt tell their
readers, Ansin continued. I donated the land
so that they could build that parking garage at the new
commuter rail station. As part of the agreement we were
to get free parking on the top two levels but we agreed
to pay the administrative costs to manage the building.
Well, those costs turned out to be astronomical. We were
paying two or three times the price we ought to be
paying. So I began to question the billing.
Thats when, Ansin says, he learned that the
contract for managing the garage never went out for a
competitive bid. Thats why we were
withholding payment, not because we were going belly up
as the Trib made it seem.
The real story here is about whether its
acceptable for public services to go out for no-bid
contracts, said Ansin. Our goal is to help
the city of Lawrence revive. But Lawrence cannot be a
sustainable city unless it is an efficient city. Public
bidding helps keep costs down for the city and the
residents. We chose to make a stand on this issue.
Why is that story not getting covered? asked
Ansin.
Monarch Loft buyers offered a refund but
most refuse
After the Tribune story torpedoed the Monarch
projects $40 million financing, Ansin recognized
that there would be a delay for buyers whowere expecting to move into the
lofts this winter. I was troubled that our
buyers lives would be on hold because of our
problems with financing, Ansin said. We
offered each buyer the chance to rescind their purchase
agreement.
Ansin offered each of the 53 people who had deposits or
contracts on a loft at Monarch the opportunity for a full
refund.
Almost every one of the buyers refused to take their
deposits back.
Almost every one said they believed in the project
and were willing to wait, despite the uncertainty of when
construction will resume, said Ansin.
Several buyers said that they were not bothered by the
bad press.
Of course we will wait, said Ed and Joannie
Warnshuis of Tewksbury, who were the first buyers at
Monarch in April 2006. We looked everywhere and
there is no place else we would rather live.
John Grange, a retired wine broker said he was not
discouraged. Im sticking with this for three
reasons: for the quality, for the vision, and for the
integrity of the team, said. Ansin said of
the three who asked for their deposits back, all three
said their decision was driven by external circumstances,
not a lack of faith in the project.
Monarchs sustainable approach quickly transformed
the mill conversion from a local project to a national
success story. But Ansins vision of sustainable
development went beyond eco-luxury, renewable materials
and resource efficiency: We try to run every aspect
of our business sustainably. When the project started, we
bought and hired locally because it was the right thing
to do. Right now, returning deposits was also the right
thing to do, said Ansin.
Were touched that so many people are standing
by Monarch.
The Impact on Lawrence
Bob Ansin didnt have to offer a refund to
anyone, said Michael Sweeney, Planning Director for
the city of Lawrence.
He has a signed contract with each of his buyers.
Most developers would have said, youre just
going to have to wait. But Bob didnt do that.
He showed he is a stand-up guy and he did the right
thing, just as he did last summer when a small patch of
asbestos was found in the ground outside the building. He
could have paved over it and not said a word to anyone.
Nobody would have been the wiser. But Bob voluntarily
stopped the project, notified the Department of
Environmental Protection, and had the problem taken care
of at great personal expense. Its really
unfortunate for Lawrence that this project has been
delayed. Its going to have a very profound effect
on the economy of this area.
Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan said he was very
disappointed in the halt of construction at Monarch
saying that a ripple effect would be felt by local
businesses.
Bob Ansin was using his own money to pay local
companies to work on his project. Those companies in turn
were hiring and paying local people to do the work. These
workers put that money right back into Lawrences
economy. They get their coffee in Lawrence before work,
eat their lunch across the street or walk to Sals
for dinner after work. They are spending their money
locally because they live here. Closing down this project
for any length of time is going to hurt Lawrence
businesses
Were all pulling for Bob and were going
to do whatever we can to help him through this,
said Mayor Sullivan. As Monarch succeeds, Lawrence
succeeds. The people in the Merrimack Valley ought to be
rallying around him and his efforts to get this project
back on track.
Only days after Tribunes retraction, Managing
Editor Gretchen Putnam says she Sticks by their
reporting
On Saturday, September 22, the Eagle-Tribune ran a cover
story alleging that the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) was investigating asbestos inside
and outside the building. The Trib article quoted
Joe Ferson, spokesman for the DEP, saying that the agency
had an enforcement action against Monarch.
When questioned by the Valley Patriot, Ferson clarified
the terms and contradicted the Tribune story.
There is a difference between an enforcement
investigation and an enforcement
action, said Ferson.
When Ferson was asked if the Eagle-Tribune account about
an enforcement action against Monarch was
accurate or whether there were any enforcement
actions related to recent allegations against
Monarch, he said, No.
This directly contradicted what was reported in the
Eagle-Tribune article printed on Saturday, September 22.
If youre asking me if theres an
investigation going on at 250 Merrimack Street,
yes, said Ferson.
The enforcement investigation is directed against an
independent subcontractor who was performing work at the
site. According to the DEP website, a Methuen company
called Premier Abatement & Labor Services, Inc. was
fined $1,000 on June 25, 2007. The DEP website described
the incident as follows:
During a routine inspection of a
demolition/asbestos abatement site at 250 Merrimack
Street in Lawrence, MassDEP observed asbestos containing
waste material which was not properly sealed or labeled
in Premiers asbestos-containing waste
trailer.
However, the Tribune story clearly stated that the DEP
had an enforcement action against Monarch,
instead of a routine and minor investigation against a
subcontractor.
Despite these continued inaccuracies in their coverage of
the Monarch story, Eagle-Tribune managing editor Gretchen
Putnam was quoted in a Boston Globe story on Thursday,
September 27, as saying We stick by our
reporting.
Ansin said he is going to continue to seeking funding for
the project but that the Eagle-Tribunes continued
attacks on Monarch are making it difficult.
Ansin said he has not ruled out a legal action against
the daily newspaper.
*Send your questions comments to ValleyPatriot@aol.com
The October 2007 Edition
of the Valley Patriot
The Valley Patriot is a Monthly
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