Culinary Arts director Denis Boucher, NECC President Lane Glenn, and businessman Sal Lupoli led a tour of The Heights at Haverhill.

Declaring it is home to one of the best views in “all of the Merrimack Valley” restaurateur and local businessman Sal Lupoli welcomed Northern Essex Community College President Lane Glenn as well as other NECC representatives to The Heights at Haverhill, a 10-story, mixed-use building development under construction at 160 Merrimack St., Haverhill on the banks of the Merrimack River.

In March, NECC will begin offering community education culinary courses on the second and third floors. In the Fall of 2020, a new, Culinary Arts Certificate Program will be taught there. A section of the third floor will also be home to the MassHire Merrimack Valley Career Center, which is managed by NECC.

Lupoli said it is nearly unprecedented how quickly the building was erected. It has been seven months since they “broke ground” and he expects the second and third floors, which will house NECC, to be “released” within months.

culinary Arts director Denis Boucher outlines the locations of commercial cooking equipment.

“This is such an opportunity for the school,” Lupoli said. “As an industry expert with more than 30 years of experience I’m telling you there will be a line of restaurants ready to hire these students.”

The two first floor restaurants and 10th floor sky bar could possibly hire the students, he said.

Aesthetically, he said, the floors, which will be fitted with state-of-the-art commercial kitchen equipment and appliances, will offer a “peaceful and tranquil environment” for students to work and train in, he said.

“This is without question one of the most unique projects I’ve worked on and I’ve worked on a lot of projects,” Lupoli said.

The Heights at Haverhill under construction.

President Glenn said NECC is excited to start offering a variety of community education classes, taught by industry professionals, beginning in March of 2020. These classes will include Food & Wine Pairing, Crowd Pleasing Appetizers, Asian Fare, Introduction to beekeeping, Plant Based Cooking for Health and Vitality, Chocolate and CBD: Food that Heals; Cupcake Design; Fresh pasta, Sausage Making, Gluten & Celiac Sensitivity Cooking, and Couples Cooking Classes.

Denis Boucher, who is the coordinator of the new Culinary Arts Certificate Program, he intends to use as many local suppliers as possible and that the food is “always about seasons”. While root vegetables will be plentiful in the fall cooking, tomatoes will be used in many ways in the summer and later the students will can them.

Boucher has extensive experience as a chef, restaurant manager, and culinary educator. As director of Tompkins Cortland Community College’s Coltivare in Ithaca, NY, he oversaw a similar project, successfully developing a sustainable culinary lab, restaurant, and event space.

“This is a rigorous program,” Boucher said of the NECC Certificate Program. “We are preparing students to work in a commercial kitchen. Through our community education classes individuals may find their passion or even a career change.”

“We will graduate students who will be ready to work in many facets of the food industry,” Boucher said.

The remaining floors will open at a later date. Floors four through nine will hold 42, one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments with river views through floor to ceiling windows.

Here is a complete list and contact information on the community education courses.

Here is additional information, on the Culinary Arts Certificate program.