Smith Baker Center

Please try to attend the community meeting tomorrow night about the future of the Smith Baker Center.  Organized by the Coalition for a Better Acre, the meeting will be held at the Lowell Senior Center, 276 Broadway, from 530pm until 730pm.  There is a Facebook event for the meeting but you can just show up if you are able to.

Done correctly, the Smith Baker center could become a thriving entertainment, cultural and retail center in a key part of Lowell.  Located just a block from Dutton Street, it is one of the many entities that are connected (and for now, condemned) by the poor pedestrian facilities afforded by that street.

A great example of the 1960s era thinking this project is up against occurred at a recent city council meeting.  When the topic of the Smith Baker Center came up, one councilor moaned “but there’s no parking.”  The Director of the Division of Planning and Development spoke up to say that there are 3500 parking spots within a half mile of the building.  The councilor responded, “But people don’t like to walk that far.”

Please attend the meeting.  A lot has to go right for this project to work.  One key ingredient is making people comfortable walking to it.