Bierbrier Dev. donates $10,000 to Haverhill High School sports program

Bierbrier Development, Inc., the owner and developer of Haverhill's Walgreens Plaza on Main St. at the junction of Rtes. 110 and 125, has made a $10,000 contribution to the city that will be used to help defray residents' costs for their children's participation in Haverhill High School's sports programs. Principal, Len Bierbrier made the donation to mayor James Fiorentini, superintendent of schools Dr. Raleigh Buchanan, and Peter Shanahan, Haverhill High School's athletic director on September 16th at the redeveloped and fully occupied Walgreens Plaza.   According to Dr. Buchanan, the contribution is "very significant and will enable 25% of incoming freshmen who want to play sports but otherwise would not be able to participate in school athletics due to the athletic fee of $275 - $300 per year that their families must pay."  There are approximately 500 freshmen at Haverhill High School and Bierbrier's contribution will enable about 280 - 300 students to join the program.  Athletic director Shanahan said, "It is our goal to make it possible for kids to participate in sports, and Bierbrier's contribution will go directly to reducing sports fees, and help out kids who can't afford to pay the athletic fee to play for free."   Mayor Fiorentini said, "The contribution is very generous and extremely important to our children. In addition to making it possible for students from lower income families to participate in athletics, it will help lower everyone's fee. Len Bierbrier has initiated an effort we hope other businesses and individuals will follow, as it is an important community effort." Bierbrier's Walgreens Plaza, which originally opened in 1990, underwent a $5.3 million redevelopment in 2006, which included the current expanded Walgreens store. The pharmacy store now features a double drive-through, an improvement that has positively assisted Haverhill's elderly, handicapped, and young mothers, allowing them to conveniently pick up prescriptions. Mayor Fiorentini said, "The redevelopment of Walgreens Plaza, with the new Walgreens, Aspen Dental, FedEx/Kinkos and the other tenants has been great both for our residents and for commerce in Haverhill, and Bierbrier deserves a great deal of credit." Walgreens Plaza, is fully occupied. Its tenants include Blockbuster, Aspen Dental, FedEx/Kinkos, Edible Arrangements, TMobile, KFC/Taco Bell, and Giovanni's Restaurant.