Hope for Lawrence? (Boston, Springfield, Lowell: section 8, sales, renters)

[Remy11]

I grew up about 20 minutes away from Lawrence, but have relatives who are from there. Most have moved out over time, but they all speak of the better days back in the '50s and '60s when the downtown was thriving and Essex St. was THE place to be for dinner, shopping, or just a night out.

Does anyone think all hope is gone for Lawerence or is there a chance for it to turn things around?

Yes, this is a serious question, BTW! I know it's probably something that won't happen soon but I'm curious if people feel things will ever improve in the near-ish future or even in our lifetimes?

[WestieWhitie]

There’s a lot less hope now that Boston has a mayor who has for all intents and purposes banned new residential construction which will result in existing section 8 rentals getting turned into condos and existing section 8 renters ending up in places like Brockton and Lawrence. Deathchester, murderpan and glocksbury will get yoga studios and artisanal cruelty-free kombucha, Lawrence will get death, murder and glocks.

[BostonBornMassMade]

No not really. It can be better than it is of course, but it's not returning to the 50s.

[johngolf]

No place will return to the 50's but it can get a new look. To see this, look at Moody St. in Waltham. Lawrence's problem is to many living below the poverty line and many reverting to crime. I do believe it is slowly improving but ever so slowly. Look at how far Lowell has come. Lowell is not there yet but is working on it.

[BosYuppie]

Essex Street today has some interesting shops, cafe's, restaurants, and bars. El Taller Cafe, Cafe Azteca etc are stellar.

The 1950's and 1960's are not walking through that door.

[Beachcomber4]

No and hell no.

[timberline742]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

The 1950's and 1960's are not walking through that door.

Nope, we will likely never have the unionization and progressive tax structure of the 1950s, sadly.

On the flip side, hopefully it doesn't mean that most of Europe is recovering from back to back huge scale wars and largely being in rubble, and that a large chunk of the globe (China/USSR) is isolated from the rest of the world economically.

[Boston Shudra]

Originally Posted by BosYuppie

Essex Street today has some interesting shops, cafe's, restaurants, and bars. El Taller Cafe, Cafe Azteca etc are stellar.

The 1950's and 1960's are not walking through that door.

I heard Cafe Azteca might be closing or at least being forced to find a new location?

[mdovell]

Well it depends. Lantinqua is long gone. The explosions years ago might have the same effect that the tornado did in Springfield in 2011.

The problem is frankly new Hampshire is just too attractive. Let me explain. Poorer people get hurt more on sales taxes. It's hard to build an economy if a 15 minute trip avoids that. The mills are long gone. Sure Healthcare is everywhere but still. The public school district is still one of the worst if not the worst in the state. I think things won't get worse but I can't see it getting that much better. Any other city will turn around faster than Lawrence.

Collaboration can be better than competion sometimes. Lowell is totally different vs 25 years ago. But you can't build a umass in Lawrence, it's only 14 miles away. But if things crowd out.

[cb2008]

Originally Posted by johngolf

No place will return to the 50's but it can get a new look. To see this, look at Moody St. in Waltham. Lawrence's problem is to many living below the poverty line and many reverting to crime. I do believe it is slowly improving but ever so slowly. Look at how far Lowell has come. Lowell is not there yet but is working on it.

Lowell ethnic population is very different from that of Lawrence. One is mostly Asian, Cambodians largely, abd a very engaged community and active in getting political and economic attention and investment. The UMass campus gives it a whole different texture from Lawrence. The two cannot be compared.