Upbeat article in the Boston Globe this past Thursday about the Union Crossing Project down in the Canal Street area...it's still happening, still receiving funding and it will help Lawrence for years to come.
From Thursday's article:
As if to defy the recession, a nonprofit development corporation is pressing ahead with its multimillion-dollar project to transform two of Lawrence's old textile mills into a mixed-use development that includes affordable housing.
it follows:
The $70 million development holds much promise for Lawrence's future as the city rebuilds, officials say.
"It's a critical project from an economic development standpoint, as well as a community development project," said Lawrence's chief economic development director, Tom Schiavone. "Lawrence is going through a really unique renaissance."
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had the usual-we-need-a-down-on-its-heels-place for an even scarier than usual article on unemployment...let's go to Lawrence. I'm not saying it isn't true and I'm not saying it isn't very bad, but why does it always have to be Lawrence?
here's a bit of the article:
MARCH 7, 2009
Rate Passes 13% in Lawrence, Mass. -- and It's a Painful Sight
By KELLY EVANS
LAWRENCE, Mass. -- The people seeking help at this mill-turned-jobs-center offer a glimpse into the world of double-digit unemployment.
Neal Trubowitz, 59 years old, has a Ph.D. in anthropology but no job. Angel Berrios, 29, was a debt collector of student loans -- until he got laid off in October. Samuel Maisonet, 43, is a carpenter struggling to pay his mortgage and support four children.
The U.S. recession has spread its pain to all ages, races, regions and job sectors. In February, the national unemployment rate hit 8.1% and is predicted to hit 10% this year or next.
This fading industrial city, located about 25 miles northwest of Boston, has already crossed the 10% threshold, and unemployment now tops 13%. The town's potholed roads, its homes with foreclosure notices fluttering from porches and the abandoned storefronts downtown, all illustrate the grim numbers.
"The downturn came quickly and took most of us by surprise," said Tom Schiavone, the city's economic development director.
Not so long ago, Lawrence was experiencing what he and other locals described as a renaissance as the economy boomed: a new $110 million high school, three new grade schools and a renovated city hall.
Sal Lupoli, a pizza restaurateur-turned-developer from New Hampshire, purchased and refurbished several abandoned and decrepit mills along the Merrimack River, leasing out nearly 1.4 million square feet of space to some 200 companies employing 2,000 workers.
But Lawrence also got swept up in the housing boom. A concentration of immigrants and a high proportion of renters made the city a target for predatory lenders. "The opportunity to refinance and take cash out or use these properties for investment created hysteria and led to a lot of abuse," said Juan Bonilla, director of homeownership education at Lawrence Community Works.
Foreclosures began in 2005, he said, in a growing wave that has led to scores of vacant properties that invite vandalism and further erode property values.
Mr. Bonilla now worries rising unemployment will compound the problem. "We can't afford to lose any more homeowners here," he said.
Residents like Mr. Maisonet are trying to hold on. The Puerto Rican carpenter had earned a steady income at $30 an hour until the housing boom went bust. Mr. Maisonet bought a timeshare in Orlando for $38,000 and a duplex in the city for $290,000. A year and a half ago, his wife lost her job at a gas station.
In November, Mr. Maisonet lost his job and now collects unemployment of about $2,000 a month, roughly the same amount he pays on the mortgage of his home, now worth about half of what he paid. His savings, once $14,000, have dwindled to about $1,800.
Last week, increasingly sharp stomach pains sent Mr. Maisonet to the hospital emergency room, where he found out he has diverticulitis, a disease of the colon. The doctors told him he needs surgery, but he no longer has health insurance.
Such circumstances brought him to the ValleyWorks Career Center on Thursday. "The doctors tell me to relax, try not to worry. How can I do that?" he said.
The nation's woes are magnified here. Nearly three-quarters of the population is Latino, a group whose unemployment rate nationwide jumped to 10.9% last month. Whites, by comparison, have an unemployment rate of 7.3%.
Lawrence also has a young and undereducated population, affected disproportionately by the 21.6% unemployment rate among teenagers. Nationwide, the jobless rate for those with a bachelor's degree or higher is 4.1%, while those with less than a high-school diploma face 12.6% unemployment.
"Everybody here hopes the stimulus bill will put people back to work," said VCC director Arthur Chilingirian. "We've had layoffs in the past, but now companies are just totally closing their doors."
Another resident, Frederick Aquino, 29, is considering a career switch. Mr. Aquino lost his job as a delivery driver five days before Christmas. He's looking to find a one-year training program to get into the medical field, maybe as an X-ray technician. "I'm doing it for the job security; hospitals are less likely to lay people off," he said. Indeed, health care has been the only sector, besides the government and education, currently adding jobs.
Yet those in the health-care industry say they're already saturated with résumés. Joan Stygles Hull, president and chief executive of Home Health Foundation, which provides hospice care, has 750 employees and is still hiring. But increasingly, she said, even "a nurse with two years' experience isn't working right away."
Write to Kelly Evans at kelly.evans@wsj.com
Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A2
0 comments:
Post a Comment