The Union Crossing Committee is in the process of planning and fundraising for the construction of common areas in Building 9. The ideas for the spaces adjacent to the elevators on the residential floors they have come up with are listed below. Every person gets three votes that can be distributed to any or one of the ideas. If you have a new idea, write it in. Some ideas like a fitness center, business incubator space, and computer room, are being implemented through other fundraising sources and will be located in one of the many other common areas throughout the building. The goal of this brainstorming and voting exercise is to narrow the options down to a few that are popular and achievable with our Committee’s resources. On November 19th, the online votes will be tallied with the sticker-ballot votes in LCW’s Our House Center for Design and Technology.
Residential Floor Plan
Detail of Residential Floor Plan Highlighting Common Area
Please join us for a free screening of “The Greening of Southie” on September 24th at 6:00pm at 50 Island Street, Building 9. A tour of the buildings will occur beforehand at 5:30pm, and we’ll have a discussion after the film, which documents the construction of Boston’s first residential “green” building and the surprising way in which it brings together an entire community. We’ll also have a bake sale during the show as a fundraiser for the community spaces at Union Crossing. If you’d like to contribute something to the sale, please let us know. So come with your picnic blankets and chairs, and enjoy the show!
For more information, or to receive a copy of the flyer for distribution, please contact Dan Koff at dkoff@lcworks.org.
Representatives from the Lawrence History Center, Southwick, and Union Crossing enjoy the exhibit
Lawrence CommunityWorks has been working with our partners at the Lawrence History Center, the Heritage State Park, and Southwick (Brooks Brothers) to create a new exhibit that will be open throughout the summer at the Heritage State Park Visitors Center. June 25, 2009 was the Grand Opening of the Lawrence History Center ’s summer exhibit ~ Made in America. Curated by Leah and Claire Russell, “Made in America ~ Story of Southwick / Union Crossing ~ People, Place and Product” tracks the 100 plus year history of the Union Crossing site – from manufacturing textiles, shoes, clothing (Grieco and Southwick), to creating this vibrant new Lawrence community (Union Crossing). Focusing on themes of “People, Place and Product” the exhibit highlights transformations that took place in the complex and celebrates the spirit of community throughout the site’s history. The exhibit features materials from the manufacturing facility, photographs, historic maps, and quotes from the recent interviews that Movement City and Groundwork Green Team youth conducted with factory employees. Made in America will run through the last weekend in August at the Lawrence Heritage State Park, 1 Jackson Street, Lawrence, MA.
Curator Leah Russell is taught how to press a sleeve by a former Southwick employee
We are pleased to share the good news that the Union Crossing project recently received a $300,000 Historic Tax Credit award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission! This funding, in addition to the $800,000 awarded to the project by MHC in an earlier rounds, represents a vital piece of financing for the project and will support the creation of healthy, energy-efficient and affordable housing for working families as well as a new day care center and commercial space. Special thanks go out to Rep. William Lantigua, Senator Sue Tucker, Rep. David Torrisi and Rep. Barry Finegold for their steadfast support on this and so many other aspects of the Union Crossing project.
Danielle Martin, Teaching Assistant for the class, speaks at the Expo
Graduate students in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) will be giving their final presentation on their ideas for documenting and displaying the stories embedded in Union Crossing. The class is considering three interventions, or ways to tell the story: on-site displays, a web presence, and through events. The meeting will be held in Our House, Room 1, at 5:30pm. All are welcome to participate and partake in the provided yummy food.
Juan Yepez with Governor Patrick and State Representative Lantigua
“Their display of resilience and ingenuity as they rose above the challenge of overcoming a three-month shutdown [from the 2006 Lawrence floods], while still managing to flourish in the midst of an economic downturn have earned Juan and Luis Yepez the 2009 Phoenix Award for Small Business Disaster Recovery.”
Mr. Del Vecchio and the Governor at the Southwick Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Before making the announcement in Lawrence, Governor Patrick visited the new Southwick suit facility in Haverhill that replaced their old facility in the soon-to-be Union Crossing buildings. The Eagle Tribune wrote a story about the whole event. We, the UC team, including our partners at the Lawrence History Center and MIT have been working with students at Movement City and Groundwork Lawrence’s Green Team to document what it was like for these employees to manufacture textiles in the hundred year old buildings. The interviews will be available for this summer’s exhibition at the Heritage State Park: Made in America.
MIT@Lawrence celebrated 10 years of its partnership with a networking reception yesterday at the Heritage State Park. Serenated by a live jazz band, members of the community mingled with students to hear about their projects ranging from foreclosure mapping, youth programs, UC storytelling, and more. Visit their site to see an awesome short documentary on the partnership’s history: M@L Story Project
Maggie gives an encore speech in front of Building #9
The Honorable Governor Deval Patrick visited Union Crossing to announce a funding award to the City of Lawrence and other Gateway Cities for infrastructure improvements. This means that the new East Island Bridge over the canal is on its way! The story was written up in the Eagle-Tribune: click here
