The long awaited Harvard Graduate School of Design study for downtown Ipswich, in cooperation with the Ipswich Partnership, was presented to the Ipswich Select Board on April 18, 2023. Studying under Professor Rick Peiser, the class is about “field studies in urban planning, real estate, and design.” The final document can be downloaded from the Ipswich town site.
The Harvard graduate students divided into two groups, each developing a vision of how to revitalize downtown Ipswich and provide additional housing, business space, green space and parking. The students focused on five areas:
- The Hammatt St. parking lot
- The Elm St. police station and lot
- The commuter rail lot
- The front yard of Winthrop School adjoining the fire department building.
- Connecting and extending the two Riverwalks
There are substantial differences in the two student groups’ proposals, although they both addressed similar objectives. The image above is from the proposal by Team A. It would be best to read the document thoroughly before drawing any conclusions. The complete document has been compressed for download from this site.
Historic Ipswich 