(Photo Courtesy of UMass Lowell Magazine) “Gov. Maura Healey, right, and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll visited UMass Lowell to announce LINC.”
Tristin Henson
Connector Editor
Early last year, Governor Maura Healey announced that there would be a major transformative economic project coming to Lowell. Draper Laboratory, a research nonprofit, will be collaborating with UMass Lowell, UMass Building Authority, and the City of Lowell to become an anchor tenant in the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor (LINC). The Healey-Driscoll administration will also be supporting and overseeing the project.
LINC is said to generate over 3.7 billion dollars into the economy and create 2,000 permanent jobs in the next decade. The project will also create 1,300 construction jobs and 500 units of new housing in Lowell. As Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll put it, “The LINC will have significant impacts on Lowell’s economic competitiveness… It will create more housing so that students and workers can afford to live here, bring new jobs to the area, and make critical improvements to the UMass Lowell campus to support the cutting-edge, innovative work they are doing.”
In order to get started on this project, a new research building will be built on UMass Lowell’s East Campus. The building itself will be the home of Draper’s microelectronics division and will serve as an anchor to Massachusetts’ next regional innovation hub.
Julie Chen, Chancellor of UMass Lowell, said: “Thanks to the Healey-Driscoll administration and partners like Draper, UMass Lowell will be able to dramatically scale up research around aerospace, human performance, advanced textiles, robotics, sensors and many other sectors that will bring a diversity of education and job opportunities to Lowell.” In total, 1.2 million square feet of space is planned to be built across three construction phases, with the first phase predicted for completion in 2027. LINC will also include a pre-phase, which will allow industry partners to move into existing UMass Lowell space in Wannalancit Mills and 201 Cabot St. before construction.
In addition to all the new jobs, revenue, and new housing, this project will also incorporate green spaces, sustainable and inclusive design, and art that will co-exist with Lowell’s historic past as a Mill City. LINC will also be finding space for new retail and restaurants, and an effort is underway to find partners to build a second ice rink and utilize LeLacheur Park for more activities. Major improvements are also planned for roads, intersections, bridges, the electric grid, and wireless communication technology. Up to $6 million in new tax revenue is also estimated annually for Lowell with the development of this project.
LINC’s website states that Lowell was considered one of the best options for this huge economic project due to the fact that UMass Lowell is a Carnegie Research 1 (R1) university, or one of the nation’s top research institutions, and because of the proximity to Boston. There is also the fact that housing costs in the Merrimack Valley are about 50% more affordable than in Boston. A skilled workforce in the area was also said to have been a deciding factor, mentioning both UMass Lowell and Middlesex Community College, as well as UMass Lowell’s research and development centers.
To find out more about the ongoing project, please visit LINC’s website.
