Lawrence swaps vacant lots for much-needed cash

By Jill Harmacinski
Staff Writer

May 12, 2008 01:25 am

—

LAWRENCE — A series of overgrown vacant lots will soon be transformed into new homes, stylish townhouses, parking lots and bigger yards. Better yet, no longer will these lots, among 200 properties the city currently owns, sit dormant on the tax rolls.

The sale of 10 vacant lots, approved by the City Council, nets $227,000 immediately and thousands more in future tax payments. This is more than welcome news for a cash-strapped city that laid off dozens of employees and is headed into another lean budget season.

"We need, as a city, every cent of revenue we can get from any source possible," said City Councilor David Abdoo, a former Planning Board member and strong proponent of home ownership in Lawrence. "We need to stop sitting on equity that can be driven into the budget."

City-owned surplus property is valued at $2 million or more.

Leaders say sales of the land — taken by tax lien and through Land Court — are lucrative and also benefit neighborhoods.

Instead of just vacant lots, which sometimes become backdrops for litter, illegally dumping and crime, these properties now become assets and will eventually increase area property values, said City Planner Michael Sweeney.

"They fill in a gap in a neighborhood," he said.

Michael Coutris of MC Construction purchased two of the vacant lots to build single and two-family homes in the Prospect Hill neighborhood where he lives. He's done other area projects and also rehabbed homes he bought at foreclosures sales. The vacant lots he's now buying are on Fulton and Prospect streets.

"Right in my neighborhood," said Coutris, noting, "I want to keep fixing up the area."

His two lots were among the 10 properties City Council members approved for sale. All of the properties, bids and future plans for the vacant lots were reviewed by the city's Planning Department, the council's Housing Committee and a property evaluation committee organized by Mayor Michael Sullivan earlier this year.

At the same time, City Council President Patrick Blanchette unveiled a plan "to speed up" the sales by taking the responsibility away from the Planning Department. Council action has yet to be taken on that plan.

In a recent interview, Blanchette said he hopes the speedy pace of the surplus property sales continues.

"It's taken the Planning Department two years to start moving on the properties but I'm a believer in the better late than never theory," Blanchette said.

Sweeney said these surplus properties were intentionally brought forward for sale earlier this year once a new City Council started meeting. He noted the former City Council dissolved a task force charged with evaluating the surplus property sales.

"That's the reality," he said. "The facts speak for themselves."

Dozens more properties are now being prepared for sale, Sweeney said.

Folks interested in purchasing surplus properties should contact the planner's office, he added.

Here are a list of city surplus properties being sold:

r 98 Bunkerhill St. Daher Group Inc. is purchasing the 4,060-square-foot vacant lot for $24,000 to build a duplex with four off-street parking spaces.

r 40 to 42 Fulton St. Michael Coutris will buy the 6,135-square-foot vacant lot for $25,000 to build a two-family home with four off-street parking spaces.

r 182 to 184 Prospect St. Michael Coutris is purchasing the 5,375-square-foot vacant lot for $25,000 to build a single-family home.

r 165 to 167 West St. Lawrence Family Development and Education Fund is seeking the 4,500-square-foot vacant lot. Youth Build Lawrence wants to construct an affordable single family home there.

r 189 to 195 West St. This 4,500-square-foot vacant lot, with a $9,000 sale price, will become an energy-efficient, affordable home built by Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity.

r 6 to 8 Perkins Ct. Lumbini Buddhist Association Inc. wants this vacant lot, which measures 3,960 square feet, for $10,501. The lot will become parking and green space for a nearby religious temple on Margin Street.

r 141 to 143 Melvin St. Lumbini Buddhist Association Inc. also wants to buy this 4,162-square-foot lot for $16,501. The area will be used for parking and green space.

r 7 to 21 Archer St. Archer Auto Co. (Dale E. Brasseur, president) wants this 15,682-square-foot vacant lot for $75,000. The area will be used for parking and to load and unload vehicles.

r 23 to 27 Hall St. Daher Group Inc. is purchasing this 7,217-square-foot lot for $24,000 to build a two-family duplex.

r 22 to 24 Mason St. Ercilio Joaquin, who already owns property at 18 to 20 Mason St., will buy the 4,163-square-foot lot for $9,000. The area will be used for parking and green space.

— Source: Lawrence Planning Department

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.