![]() (COURTESY FITCHBURG PUBLIC SCHOOLS)įPS Family and Community Engagement Coordinator Luisa Fernandez was part of the crew who distributed the baskets first come, first served drive-thru style on Nov. 15 included a box of mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables, dessert mix, and an oven pan for the turkey that recipients could purchase with a gift card to a local grocery store. The Thanksgiving baskets distributed to Fitchburg Public Schools families on Nov. ![]() This year FPS collaborated with the Lunenburg church to raise funds to distribute 140 baskets filled to the brim with a box of mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, canned vegetables, dessert mix, and an oven pan for a turkey that recipients could purchase with an included gift card to a local grocery store. “We’re going to be repaving Summer Street coming down into the square so that will transform the entire square and we’re happy about that,” DiNatale said.FITCHBURG - The spirit of giving was on full display in the city last week during the yearly tradition of distributing Thanksgiving baskets to dozens of families in the school district through a partnership with a local church.Ĭity United Church has been donating Thanksgiving baskets to Fitchburg Public Schools for the last seven years. “It’s very, very close to the intermodal center.”Īs the project moves ahead, so does other work to rejuvenate the area. “That whole area is enhanced by the fact that it’s transportation oriented development,” DiNatale said. Skwierawski said it removes an additional hurdle for developers.Īccess to public transportation with nearby commuter rail and bus service is a benefit for the community and the developer. “In this case our smart growth district in Fitchburg reduces the parking requirements needed for developing within the downtown and it also creates the opportunity for a project like this to be approved by right as opposed to by special permit,” he said.Īpproving the project by right means that something is considered an acceptable use in the district whereas special permit requires special dispensation from the Planning Board. Moran Square, Skwierawski added, is zoned as a Smart Growth district through the state’s Chapter 40R. “That’s always a great incentive to developers,” he said. As part of that program, big redevelopment projects can receive matching contributions from the city. In addition to tax credits, Skwierawski’s office administers HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. In doing so, that opened up the two Harper Furniture and fire station buildings to redevelopment. Skwierawski said Mary Jo Bohart, the city’s director of Economic Development, worked with a consultant to get the entire Moran Square registered as a historic district. “You’ve got to really go put that work in and get them on the National Register of Historic Buildings and then they’re eligible for tax credits that represent about 40% of the rehabilitation cost.” But you can’t just take a historic building and get those credits,” Skwierawski said. “Our historic architecture is a great selling point for the city. To make the project happen, Executive Director of Community Development and Planning Tom Skwierawski said the city looked to how Lowell has utilized federal and state historic tax credits in the redevelopment of old mill buildings. “We’re thrilled to see that it’s moving forward and it will be a great addition to the explosion that’s going to happen in that area,” Mayor Stephen DiNatale said. Upon completion, there will be 44 mixed-income residential units available and 8,400 square feet of commercial retail space. Sometimes described as “the missing teeth along Main Street” a new building will be constructed between the former Harper Furniture building on Main Street and the former fire station on Summer Street. FITCHBURG - Shovels are in the ground at Moran Square as private developers work to rejuvenate the area near the city’s intermodal transit station.
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