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October 18, 2007

Shelter, JAM Plan can coexist

Shelter, JAM Plan can coexist
The Lowell Sun
Article Last Updated: 10/18/2007 11:35:20 AM EDT

I know that Dan Phelps likes to play the fool, and maybe some readers will think his column in Monday's Sun was funny (it wasn't); however, I would like to offer some suggestions for the shelter, the city, and local businesses to coexist in the JAM area.

Having recently worked in Boston in the vicinity of the Saint Francis House on Boylston Street, I saw a 20-year-old shelter within a block of a Starbucks, Registry of Motor Vehicles building, Chinatown restaurants, CVS and the Ritz Carlton Hotel & Towers (home to Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox). Now the shelter began to operate while that area was still essentially the "Combat Zone," but the city of Boston has worked to improve that area while not displacing the shelter. I do not compare the Hamilton Canal District to downtown Boston, but I think that some strategies may be available to Lowell by studying what Boston has done in that area.

In addition, the Pine Street Inn in the South End of Boston opened in a derelict warehouse district many years ago. As Boston continues to redevelop, the shelter now sits a stone's throw from high-end condos, art galleries and artists lofts, and office and retail spaces. Again, perhaps some strategies and lessons can be learned.
The Transitional Living Center isn't going anywhere, but if the residents, businesses, city officials and shelter staff work together, then the JAM Plan/Hamilton Canal district has a chance to succeed.

MICHAEL J. PAGLIA

Lowell

Posted by Admin at October 18, 2007 4:51 PM