Board continues Andover Street permit hearing to December

Other Committee · Meeting of October 19, 2026

LOWELL — The Lowell Historic Board voted unanimously to continue a contested hearing on a proposed Andover Street subdivision to December 14. Attorney John Geary presented plans to split a 54,659-square-foot lot at 675 Andover Street into two parcels for homeowners Kevin and Debbie Fernandez, adding a 3,160-square-foot home set roughly 180 feet back from the street. Resident Grant Garbach said "500-plus residents have signed a public petition opposing this project," citing city planning staff who called the proposed driveway "ridiculously long" and a Fire Department memo rejecting the plans as submitted.

Other neighbors, including engineer Dr. Cornelia Demersborov, argued the lot shows wetlands characteristics and raised drainage and flooding concerns. In other business, the board unanimously approved a $76 million, 205-unit redevelopment of the former district courthouse at 41 Hurd Street, approved repairs to a collapsed section of the Pawtucket Canal wall near 706 Broadway, and heard an informational presentation on a proposed Jack Kerouac museum funded partly by musician Zach Bryan, who purchased Kerouac's "On the Road" manuscript scroll for nearly $12 million.

In the full story:

• 353 Wilder Street facade rebuild
• 675 Andover Street subdivision and new home
• 41 Hurd Street former courthouse redevelopment
• 706 Broadway Pawtucket Canal wall repair
• 51 Thorndike Street informational session (10-story building)
• 71 Merrimack Street Kerouac Center informational presentation
• Other business
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,018 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of October 19, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.