HAVERHILL, Mass., Sept. 25, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Hammersmith Group released today the anticipated and controversial master plan for the downtown of one of the oldest cities in the country. The plan follows a long and high-profile battle between citizens and the city's mayor. "It's one city, with two very different visions of its future," said Constantine Valhouli, principal of the Hammersmith Group, a firm that advises developers and cities on reviving historic downtowns.
Valhouli co-authored the plan with Shaw Rosen, past chair of Team Haverhill, a citizen's think tank. The plan was written to protest the demolition of the architectural heritage of Haverhill, which was settled in 1640.
"The mayor's approach will make Haverhill a generic place," said Valhouli. "Our recommendations come from historic towns that revived by building on their history."
The city has a rich heritage. Tristram Coffin, one of the original settlers of Haverhill, founded Nantucket in 1659. R. H. Macy built his first department store downtown, where he held the first Macy's parade in 1854. Hollywood mogul Louis B. Mayer's career started with two theaters in downtown Haverhill at the turn of the century. Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman got his start at his father's factory in Haverhill in the 1960's. Archie Comics creator Bob Montana based the adventures of Betty and Veronica on his classmates at Haverhill High School. The city has also been home to writers John Bellairs, Andre Dubus, Andre Dubus III, and musician-director Rob Zombie. Historic buildings and rooms from Haverhill are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, and Greenfield Village.
When George Washington visited the city in 1789, he remarked that it was "the pleasantest village he had passed through." He wouldn't think so today. Much of the Federal and Victorian downtown was demolished during Urban Renewal. The historic town -- older than Deerfield or Nantucket -- is cocooned in vinyl siding and chain-link fences. The historic town squares are being demolished for in-town strip malls and bland townhouses. A statue of the Marquis de Lafayette once stood proudly at the center of a rotary in Lafayette Square; Haverhill pursued road "improvement" funds and demolished the rotary. The Marquis now stands alongside a Store-24, earning him the nickname of "the discount viscount."
The city's mayor has come under fire for encouraging rampant growth and for resisting historic preservation. Last June, the mayor released a Downtown Master Plan that essentially advocated a second Urban Renewal. The mayor's plan advocated demolishing historic buildings downtown, and installing "giant fiberglass shoes to pay homage to the city's past as a center of shoe manufacturing, and help rebrand downtown as a fun and exciting place."
"The city is approaching a tipping point," said Valhouli. "If it continues to demolish its history, 'giant fiberglass shoes' will not help it revive."
Valhouli wrote the alternate Master Plan with Shaw Rosen, past chair of Team Haverhill and COO of sustainable development company MassInnovation. "The mayor's plan advocates demolition. Ours advocates preservation," said Valhouli, principal of The Hammersmith Group, a firm which consults to developers and cities on reviving historic downtowns.
"Residents needed an objective plan to make informed decisions about Haverhill's future," said Rosen. "We wanted citizens to compare the plans, and imagine what kind of a place Haverhill would become under each set of recommendations."
The rival master plans are generating controversy, as the issues are at the heart of the upcoming mayoral race. "Haverhill's future hinges on which plan becomes reality," said Valhouli.