The following free items are available now:

Lamp:

Metal and glass coffee table:

Multi-panel folding screen/room divider:

Metolius hang board, perfect for those wood beams:

Vintage/kitsch leather weightlifting belt:

Not pictured: 28 quart rolling Tupperware, perfect for pet food container or other bulk goods.

Email Lillian at lillian.bertram@gmail.com

These items still remain from several listed awhile ago:

Ikea Sofa Bed: Selling this workhorse of a sofa bed with storage! Lightly used for guests. Originally 900.00, selling for best offer, you take away. Can be disassembled. This model is gray, just as in the link. Comes from a household with pets, but has been covered with blankets etc.

Ikea Nordli Storage Bed Frame (King): Originally 650, selling for best offer. Can be disassembled, you take away, available second or third week of August. 

For more information or to claim, email Lillian.

This weekend is the annual Lowell Folk Festival—four stages of free music, a dance tent, craft displays, international food booths, street performers, and a certain energy all its own. It does, however, mean a few challenges for downtown residents, including street closures all around the neighborhood.

There is a long list of street closings available at the likelowell.com site. Even better, is a wonderful interactive map where one can see road closures by day and time.

The block of Market Street directly in front of our complex will be closed from noon tomorrow until late Sunday. What this has meant in past years is sawhorses on the side of our lot entrance closer to the Leo Roy Garage and jersey barriers on the other side. The sawhorses can be moved or circumvented to allow residents to come and go from the surface lot. Access to the Leo Roy Garage should not be affected by the closure.

A reminder that coming and going from the surface lot by driving over the curb next to Canal Place 3 is illegal since it means driving over the adjacent sidewalk.

A final word: The weather this weekend is supposed to be HOT. The Festival usually has “cooling stations” in the form of sprinklers set up in various spots, but everyone should think about having hats and water bottles with them while they’re out and about. Have fun and keep safe!

Ikea Sofa Bed: Selling this workhorse of a sofa bed with storage! Lightly used for guests. Originally 900.00, selling for 400 or best offer, you take away! This model is gray, just as in the link. Comes from a household with pets, but has been covered with blankets etc.

Ikea PS Cabinet in Red: Comes with locking key. $100 or best offer. You take away. 

Green metal Ikea Lixhult cabinet: I didn’t attach the legs to this, but legs are included. It is a bright kelly green, not black like the link. $25.

Also for sale but not available for take away until mid-August: Kona extendable table and chairs, similar to the one seen here. It is the same as this but the table and chairs are just higher, between regular chairs and barstool chairs. It extends into a square as opposed to a rectangle; seats are leather. It’s a beautiful table! $500 or best offer. 

Also ready in mid August, this rug, 8×10. Has signs of wear but is still nice. $75, you take away. 

For more information or to claim, email Lillian.

I’m trying to answer a question about which walls are expendable and which walls are load-bearing. I know some owners have opened up their kitchen side and/or end walls but who determines that those walls can safely go? Is it up to the owner to hire an engineer to get confirmation or is there some official repository of this information somewhere?

I found lots of claims in old comments here that those walls can be removed; what I’m trying to do right now is learn how one verifies that for project approval purposes. Thanks in advance for any info anyone can offer in the comments!

Here are the office hours for July.

Sorry I’m a bit late with this, but it has been confirmed with the City Clerk that the Public Hearings this evening at City Hall start at 7:00.

Just a heads up that the Central Street bridge is closed from today through the 21st, so don’t take a right out of our lot or the garage thinking you can get to the Connector that way.

And, in case you didn’t get the notice from management this morning, there’s a hearing tomorrow evening at City Hall regarding city parking rates that concerned citizens are encouraged to attend. Please note, the email from management stated 7:00 since that’s what we were told but the agenda says 6:30. I’m currently trying to get a clarification.

The agenda for that hearing can be found here, and specifics about the proposed parking fee raise can be found here. Even if your space in the Leo Roy Garage is paid for by the Association, a significant raise like this affects the Association’s bottom line, and that affects everyone’s condo fees.

If the proposal passes as is, the rate changes would be as follows:

• Seniors(65+)/handicapped: From $43 to $46.50 
• Residents: From $78 to $100 
• Groups: From $84 to $112.50 
• Market Rate: From $104 to $125 

Note that the qualifying age for seniors will increase from 62 to 65, creating an increase of $57/monthly for residents 62-64. 

A gray striped tiger/tabby cat has been seen hanging around in the area between our building, Canal Place 3, and the abandoned shell of the coal storage building. There were signs up on some trees about a lost cat last fall, so this may be the one. If you know anyone missing a cat, it might not be a bad idea for them to lurk around that area for a bit in hopes of finding it.

Also, we’re considering replacing our 23-year-old refrigerator and not seeing a lot of options that will fit in that space. Our current Kenmore is 33″ wide by 31″ deep (known as “counter depth”) by 66″ high. And, while it could be an inch or two taller, the other dimensions are a tight fit, with the open door just barely clearing the breakfast bar. I remember someone saying years ago that a side by side fridge/freezer in that corner was a nuisance because of the fridge door opening only to the right, so I’m trying to avoid that configuration. But I love my in-freezer ice-maker so I don’t want to go for a totally stripped down fridge! Does anyone have any suggestions from their own experience?

This Frigidaire is the best one I’ve found so far. I figure that with two fridge doors and the freezer on the bottom we can keep all the frequently used stuff on the left of the fridge and use the right door as little as possible.