{"id":28165,"date":"2017-01-10T21:01:24","date_gmt":"2017-01-11T02:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom2\/2017\/01\/11\/community-partnerships-contributing-to-the-revitalization-of-downtown-lawrence-and-haverhill\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T17:03:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T21:03:58","slug":"community-partnerships-contributing-to-the-revitalization-of-downtown-lawrence-and-haverhill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2017\/01\/10\/community-partnerships-contributing-to-the-revitalization-of-downtown-lawrence-and-haverhill\/","title":{"rendered":"Community Partnerships Contributing to the Revitalization of Downtown Lawrence and Haverhill"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

The new Lawrence connector<\/p><\/div>\n

On a recent warm September morning, Adelia Purdy of Amesbury, a Northern Essex medical assistant student, was studying under the shade of a honey locust tree outside the college\u2019s Dr. Ibrahim El-Hefni Allied Health & Technology Center in Lawrence.<\/p>\n

Just a year ago this now clean and beautifully-landscaped space connecting the El-Hefni Center with Essex Street was far less welcoming.\u00a0 Neglected for years, it was clogged with weeds, strewn with trash and broken glass, and the buildings were covered in graffiti.<\/p>\n

Its transformation is a perfect example of how Northern Essex\u2019s positive impact goes beyond its campuses, dramatically improving the quality of life in the communities it serves.<\/p>\n

When the $27 million El-Hefni Center opened in 2014, it was a boon for downtown Lawrence.\u00a0 Its sleek contemporary styling was a definite improvement over the dilapidated three-level parking garage it replaced.<\/p>\n

With the help of the college, the city of Lawrence applied for and received a $900,000 grant from MassWorks<\/a>, a state program that supports local redevelopment efforts, to clean and renovate the space connecting the building to Common Street, the commercial center of Lawrence.<\/p>\n

Bench style seating, contemporary lighting, colorful wall murals, and a fresh pavement with a graphic pattern now invite Northern Essex students as well as the public to sit, relax, and enjoy the city.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Artist’s rendering of Haverhill’s Harbor Place<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhen people walk through our downtown area, they no longer see trash-filled alleyways \u2013 they see areas where they can sit and have lunch with co-workers and friends or read a book in the sun,\u201d said Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera.\u00a0 \u201cThis is an improvement on the quality of life in Lawrence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northern Essex also hopes to have a role in the revitalization of downtown Haverhill which will celebrate the opening of Harbor Place<\/a>, a mixed-use development, at the intersection of Route 125 and Merrimack Street this fall.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the college\u2019s partnership with HC Media, communications students will take their broadcast journalism classes in the state-of-the-art television studios located on the first floor of Harbor Place.<\/p>\n

As President Lane Glenn recently told the Haverhill City Council, \u201cit will be just like 30 Rock\u201d\u00a0 referring to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York home of NBC studios.<\/p>\n

The college is also exploring offering a hospitality and culinary arts program in downtown Haverhill in partnership with Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School and Endicott College.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur downtowns are the heart center of our communities,\u201d said Glenn.\u00a0 \u201cAnd Northern Essex wants to be a part of their revitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On a recent warm September morning, Adelia Purdy of Amesbury, a Northern Essex medical assistant student, was studying under the shade of a honey locust tree outside the college\u2019s Dr. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":28167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archive"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity Partnerships Contributing to the Revitalization of Downtown Lawrence and Haverhill - NECC News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/necc.edu\/newsroom\/2017\/01\/10\/community-partnerships-contributing-to-the-revitalization-of-downtown-lawrence-and-haverhill\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Community Partnerships Contributing to the Revitalization of Downtown Lawrence and Haverhill - 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