The Heights in Haverhill will be the site of Northern Essex Community College’s Culinary Arts & Hospitality Center.

If all goes as planned, Northern Essex Community College’s new Culinary Arts & Hospitality Center will be located in “The Heights at Haverhill”, a 10-story, 65,000 square-foot luxury mixed-use development that Lupoli Companies is building at 192 Merrimack St in downtown Haverhill.

The state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) recently selected this site from three proposals submitted, and the next step will be to negotiate a lease.  The college plans to open the center in 2019.

“We are very excited about this news,” said Lane Glenn, president of Northern Essex.  “This site has everything we need, and we are looking forward to partnering with Lupoli Companies and contributing to the exciting revitalization of downtown Haverhill.”

Northern Essex would lease space on the second and third floors of the building and that space will include culinary labs, a computer lab, and classroom space.  The building will also have a first-floor restaurant and a 10th floor function facility, which would provide internship opportunities for Northern Essex students.

“Lupoli Companies is proud to be developing an innovative mixed-use project in the city of Haverhill”, said Sal Lupoli, CEO of Lupoli Companies. “It is through a collaboration with city officials and local businesses that Lupoli Companies can support cutting-edge education and entrepreneurship programs that fuel economic growth and job creation in Haverhill and throughout the Merrimack Valley.”

NECC currently offers an Associate of Science Degree in Business Management: Hospitality Option and is planning to offer a Culinary Arts Certificate program.

The college has been planning the center in partnership with Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School and Merrimack Valley employers, and anticipates sharing classroom space with a university partner who will offer bachelors level degrees as well.

Voc-tech students can take courses at Whittier or at NECC and receive concurrent credit enabling students to enter the program with 9 to 12 college credits, which puts them ahead academically with a tuition savings, too.

An advisory board of local restaurant owners and managers is helping shape decisions regarding the new center, providing input on equipment, curriculum, and careers.  Andreas Fleckenstein, an executive chef with years of experience in culinary education, has been hired to coordinate the culinary and hospitality programs.  Fleckenstein was most recently executive chef/continuing lecturer at Purdue University in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

The project has received $3 million in state support for the facility and $150,000 in Workforce Skills Capital Grants to purchase equipment.  The college is also seeking private funding for the center which will have an approximate cost of $5 million.

For more information, contact George Moriarty, executive director, Center for Corporate & Community Education,gmoriarty@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3061.

With campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence, Northern Essex Community College offers over 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  Nearly 6,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 3,000 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus and at the Opportunity Works building at 671 Kenoza St., located next to the Haverhill campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley. For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu.