HAVERHILL — The head of the Merrimack Valley Regional Transit Authority says land near the downtown train station would make a great new home for the Washington Square bus station.
The decision to build a new bus station near the train station and the city's planned $10 million to $12 million parking garage/retail complex has not been made yet, but relocating the bus facility there would give Haverhill one of the most complete transportation hubs in the state, MVRTA Executive Director Joseph Costanzo said.
"It's very exciting and something not many other communities have," Costanzo said. "All three fit together very nicely."
The Merrimack Valley Regional Transportation Authority has been studying for more than a year the possibility of moving the bus station to the site commonly known as the Nofsker property on Essex Street.
The site, which is just west of the train bridge and the MBTA commuter rail station, actually consists of two parcels and two buildings ¬- one owned by William Nofsker's Kifor Development Co. and another owned by a nonprofit preservation group called Historic New England. The properties include parking for employees of each company. Each parcel is about 40,000 square feet, Costanzo said.
The Nofsker site is also next to the property where the city and MVRTA are planning to build a multi-level parking garage which may also includes retail stores at the corner of Moulton Way and Granite Street.
Costanzo said the authority is talking to representatives of Kifor Development and Historic New England about buying the Nofsker site, but that it is unclear whether an agreement can be reached.
"The new bus station would appear to fit on the site," Costanzo said, adding that he expects to receive a final report later this month on the feasibility of moving the bus station.
The new bus station would be a two-story facility that would include a parking lot on the top floor to accommodate employees of both Kifor Development and Historic New England, Costanzo said. The ground floor would include MVRTA offices, a booth for ticket sales and seven bus bays, three more than there are at the Washington Square station.
A final decision on moving the bus station is due within six months, Costanzo said.
"Our emphasis right now is on a final design and negotiating with the landowners," he said.
The new bus station would likely cost about $4 million, Costanzo said.
Until recently, the authority had $3.5 million to build a new bus station. It had to spend that money or risk losing it, however, Costanzo said.
The authority used the money to buy new buses, Costanzo said, but it is eligible for other federal transportation funding to build a new bus station.
The city is also making plans for the centrally located Washington Square property that runs along the Merrimack River and connects Merrimack Street to Washington Street.
Potential uses for the property, if and when the transit authority leaves, include a park with access to a proposed boardwalk along the river and leasing a portion of the land to a private owner for a restaurant or retail shops, Mayor James Fiorentini has said. The half-acre property is assessed at $478,000, according to city tax records.
Fiorentini has said redeveloping land along the river is a top priority for his third term. He hopes to use the river to attract people downtown and to spur the local economy, especially with hundreds of homes being built in old factory buildings within easy walking distance.
The transit authority signed a new lease with the city earlier this year to stay at 12 Washington Square for three more years, but Costanzo and the mayor said at the time the new lease was done to give both parties time to consider their options.
Prior to the authority's original lease, the city maintained a comfort station on the property. The city convinced the authority to take it over to save money during a former budget crisis, the mayor said.
No matter what happens in Washington Square, Fiorentini has said he wants to keep a bus stop there. The station is used by many senior citizens who live in the nearby Phoenix Row apartments and an elderly complex at 25 Washington St.
