LOWELL — The city of Lowell will soon have another 32 affordable housing units after officials cut the ribbon for the newly built, multiuse Acre Crossing at 652 Merrimack St. Outgoing Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union CEO Mark Cochran said at the ceremony Wednesday morning that the outcome of the partnership between the public and private sectors to make Acre Crossing happen was “perfectly beautiful.” “For us at the credit union, this is another level of commitment to the neighborhood,” said Cochran, who is set to retire from his role this summer.
The Acre Crossing building sits on the site of what was once a branch of Jeanne D’Arc’s operations center. That building was torn down after the credit union moved their headquarters to 1 Tremont Place, but with the new multiuse building in place, Jeanne D’Arc will move back to the site with a new operations center next to the residential units. Developer Will Soucy, who presented the initial Acre Crossing plan to the Lowell City Council in 2021 with Cochran, said about half of the units have already been sold, 80% of which were sold to homebuyers who are considered medium income.
The residential and business sides of the building are connected on the first floor, with each side being five stories tall. Cochran credited the city of Lowell and the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership for working with Jeanne D’Arc and Soucy to make this project happen. State Rep.
Rady Mom was also able to secure $5 million in funding throu.