By Katie Farrell
Sure, the Greater Newburyport area saw its fair share of movie stars in 2008.
Mel Gibson spent a few days in September filming a new movie in Merrimac. And Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock and Michael Douglas were also filming movies nearby over the summer, while former "American Idol" star Kelly Clarkson made a shopping trip downtown. Gov. Deval Patrick even hosted a public forum in Amesbury in July.
But, for most Newburyporters, the most exciting visit of the year was from Stephen Karp.
The billionaire developer made his first public visit to the city in March, drawing a crowd of almost 700 people at Nock Middle School's auditorium. Karp, the city's largest landowner, used the evening to publicly share his vision for the city's central waterfront.
The crowd was a mix of community residents and a "who's who" of Newburyport: city councilors, the mayor, the school superintendent, members of city boards and commissions, the chairman of the board for Anna Jaques Hospital and the city's director of public services. There were former mayors, former city councilors and members of the business community.
Karp, the CEO and chairman of New England Development, owns the land dubbed Waterfront West, the 8-acre plot of land along the Merrimack River from Michael's Harborside to the Black Cow restaurant. During his speech to Newburyporters, he said he would build a mixed-use development that would incorporate retail, restaurant, residential and hotel space at the site.
Two months later, in March, Karp again visited the area, to speak before the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce's annual meeting at the Georgetown Country Club. He suggested his company was moving forward with plans for a hotel, and his company, Newburyport Development, had "become more aggressive" in that area since his March visit.
Karp first bought much of the downtown property about four years ago. In his first public appearance since that time, he stated he has no secret plan for the area, but the plan still needs completing before it can be presented.
Following Karp's March visit, city leaders praised the evening, and many were impressed with Karp's presentation and the information he gave during the entire three-hour event.
At the same time, officials agreed there is much work to be done and that exactly what happens to Karp's developments was yet to be seen.
And by year's end, it became clear those plans won't be arriving soon.
Early in December, Karp officially notified city officials that his development of Waterfront West has been put on hold due to the economic downturn.
The mayor said the announcement wasn't unexpected after discussions over the last several months.
"I don't consider it a blow," he said. "It's (just) the time right now."
