| Speed Thrills
|
Month: January 2006
The Construction Institute at the University of Hartford is technically a networking group for those in the building trades — and also businesses with facilities management issues and concerns. But its directors say its mission goes well beyond the pressing of flesh and, as the name suggests, focuses on education.
Bob Gonyeau draws a clear distinction between education and intelligence.
“Education is learning how to do something,” he told BusinessWest. “Intelligence is learning about things that you need to know about, getting the information you need to do your business better.”
Both processes are at the heart of the mission of the 31-year-old Construction Institute, which Gonyeau serves as assistant executive director. Based at the University of Hartford, but now serving a membership base that stretches from New York City to Boston, the institute was created to serve businesses in what is known as the ‘built environment.’
This means general contractors, architects, and engineering firms, obviously, said Gonyeau, but it also includes companies — like MassMutual, Baystate Health, area colleges, and other businesses — that have vast operational facilities and need to know how to manage them efficiently and cost-effectively.
And, in a broad sense, it includes virtually any business that will be impacted by skyrocketing energy prices this winter and wants to develop strategies to minimize those costs.
“It appears that these higher energy costs will be here for a while — they’re becoming a fact of life,” he said. “In that environment, it just makes sense to build smart and find ways to conserve energy and control your costs; we want to help people understand how to do that.”
This is what Gonyeau means by intelligence, and he says the institute provides it through a number of formal and informal gatherings — meetings of the minds, as he called them, involving people from across the broad spectrum of the built environment.
Such programs include the ‘North-Central Conn. & Western Mass. Construction Forecast,’ set for Jan. 26 at the Basketball Hall of Fame. Titled Bridging the Borders … There’s Work for Everyone!, the program will explore the challenges and opportunities for design and construction in North Central Connecticut and Western Mass., or the I-91 corridor, as it’s called, said Gonyeau, noting that it is one of many regional forecasts staged by the institute to inform members and potential members of opportunities within both the public and private sectors and to provide a sense of what the future holds for the construction sector.
The forecasts are just some of the institute’s many attempts at outreach, said Gonyeau, noting that the most significant of such efforts is the upcoming, two-day ConstruCT 2006, the 9th Annual New England Construction & Facilities Management Conference & Exhibition. Set for March 21st and 22nd at the recently opened Connecticut Convention Center, the event will feature a number of educational sessions to, as organizers put it, “improve the process of construction.”
Such process-improvement efforts are at the very heart of the institute’s mission, said Gonyeau, adding that beyond its basic goal of bringing a diverse set of professionals together to discuss common issues and concerns, the institute wants to help enable those in this sector to do what they do better.
“When that happens, everyone benefits,” he said, noting that ConstruCT 2006 and the annual construction forecasts represent just some of the many ways the Construction Institute moves beyond the realm of the traditional networking group.
Another example is its extensive educational component, which includes continuing education programs in the form of half-day workshops offered by the University of Hartford. Workshops are conducted on a wide range of subjects, from construction management to building codes and regulations.
Designed to fill educational gaps within the industry, the workshops help individuals earn certificates and advance within the industry. It’s all part of the institute’s global efforts to inform, enlighten, and develop business leaders.
In two words, Gonyeau told BusinessWest, the institute is all about building relationships.
Solid Foundation
A look at the agenda for ConstruCT 2006 reveals both some of the issues facing the ‘built community’ and the overall mission of the institute.
Individual educational sessions are slated in such topics as:
-
Energy management, conservation, and sustainable design;
-
Emergency preparedness, safety, and critical response;
-
Design and construction issues in higher education, municipalities, and public schools;
-
Marketing, business development, and customer satisfaction;
-
Successful negotiations, construction claims, and dispute resolution; and
-
“How to Succeed in the Connecticut DPW Design and Construction Process.”
The last of those items is a nod to one of the institute’s original charges said Gonyeau — helping firms across the construction sector understand the rules of the road in the Nutmeg State and successfully attain business there. The others? Well, they speak to the seemingly constant change that defines the built environment, and how the institute has continuously evolved in response.
“The industry is constantly changing, and we want to help people keep pace,” he explained. “You can’t be stagnant in this business — if you do, you’ll be left behind.”
The institute was created in the mid-’70s, said Gonyeau, in response to an emerging need for a forum, in which people in businesses across the construction industry could share experiences and knowledge, stimulate growth within the industry, and, in many ways, create opportunities through relationship-building.
This is the essence of any networking group, he said, adding that the mission has grown and evolved over the years, and the institute, while still Connecticut-based and, in many ways, Connecticut-focused, has broadened its geographical reach.
The institute was created at a time of turmoil and challenge for the Connecticut construction community, said Gonyeau, noting that in the mid-’70s, the industry was fragmented and many projects became bogged down by logistical problems and tangled lines of communication. The institute, a non-profit, non-partisan professional organization and one of the few organizations of its kind in the country, was seen as a mechanism for streamlining and strengthening what was then an industry in disarray.
Within a few years of the institute’s creation, there was a deadly collapse of a section of highway bridge in Southern Connecticut and the nearly tragic collapse of the Hartford Civic Center’s roof, said Gonyeau, noting that these events and others helped inspire the many educational components of the institute.
“Those events helped give the institute a sense of purpose — and some credibility,” he explained. “They provided a sense of urgency within the industry to focus attention on issues and improving communication.”
In other words, the institute helped create a dialogue among professionals within the construction community that simply didn’t exist before. Today, that dialogue continues, shaped by emerging trends, economic conditions, and factors that impact builders and end-users alike.
Things like energy costs.
“They touch everyone who owns a building or is thinking about building one,” said Gonyeau, noting that the institute recently staged a seminar, in conjunction with Northeast Utilities, on soaring energy costs and what can be done about them.
“We addressed it from a design standpoint, a construction standpoint, and an operational standpoint,” he explained, “and discussed what people can do, from materials for building, sensible design, and sustainable building.
“When you make a capital investment in a property you intend on keeping, the life-cycle costing is very important,” he continued. “You need to address matters such as where your windows face, how well the building is insulated, how your connections are made in the construction process so you don’t have a lot of air loss; these are all issues to be considered.”
Shedding light on such issues is part of the institute’s broad efforts to educate and disseminate information, said Gonyeau, noting that the educational component continues to grow. Indeed, several hundred students enroll each year in the workshops, administered by the University of Hartford’s Office of Continuing & Professional Education.
Workshop subjects are designed to address specific industry needs, he explained, and involve a hands-on, learn-by-doing style of training. The list of offerings includes subjects that are broad — “Environmental Health and Safety for Facility Managers” is one example — and also quite specific — “Construction on Contaminated Land: How to Prepare and How to Respond.”
Concrete Examples
And while the institute strives to widen the scope of its educational and informational initiatives, it is also working to broaden its audience.
The institute now boasts roughly 375 members, which represent every facet of the built environment. More than two-thirds of those members are from Connecticut, said Gonyeau, but the number of those from out-of-state has grown steadily in recent years.
A number of firms based in Western Mass. or with regional offices there have joined, including Holyoke-based Daniel O’Connell’s Sons Inc., the Mount Vernon Group, a Chicopee-based architectural firm, Tighe & Bond, an environmental engineering firm with headquarters in Westfield, and B-G Mechanical Contractors, also in Chicopee.
Efforts to recruit more companies in this region continue on both a formal and informal basis, said Gonyeau, noting that the institute stages a number of programs over the course of the year during which attendees can learn about the many benefits it offers.
New members have been recruited from New York and Rhode Island, he said, but the natural direction for expansion is north, to the Pioneer Valley. This initiative parallels other efforts, such as the creation of the Hartford-Springfield Economic Partner-ship, to bridge the border between the states — or effectively erase it.
The economic partnership is a now five-year-old effort designed to market the region from Amherst to Storrs, Conn. as one economic region. By combining the demographics of the two major cities and the region between them, organizers believe they can create more economic development opportunities for businesses and residents in both states.
Gonyeau added that the institute takes has adopted a similar philosophy, noting that development in Connecticut could yield opportunities for construction-related businesses in Massachusetts, and vice versa.
“There will always be some measure of territoriality,” he explained, noting that construction and architecture firms in some cities and regions aren’t enamored with the thought of companies from other area codes taking work that could go to them. “But, as the name of our forecast suggests, we really believe there is enough work for everyone.”
Attendees at the Jan. 26 North-Central Conn. & Western Mass. Construction Forecast can find out about some of that work, said Gonyeau, adding that they will hear about opportunities on both sides of the border.
Indeed, among the speakers will be Oz Griebel, president & CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, and Sandra Johnson, vice president of Business Development for the alliance. They will address current revitalization efforts in Hartford, including the broad Andrien’s Landing initiative on the riverfront.
Meanwhile, Peter Pappas, an East Longmeadow-based real estate developer, one of two partners who have forwarded a $9 million proposal to renovate and expand the old Basketball of Fame Hall building into an integrated sports, fitness, and entertainment complex, is scheduled to talk about that specific project and also the broad subject of riverfront development in Springfield.
Also on the agenda is Westfield Community Development Director James Boardman, who will detail a series of public (a new bridge over the Westfield River, for example) and private construction projects slated in that community.
The institute stages a number of regional forecasts each year, said Gonyeau, all designed to keep members and potential members informed about what’s happening, and also foster the relationship-building efforts that make the group successful.
Hard Hat Area
As he talked about the construction sector, Gonyeau said that large projects, and even smaller initiatives, are marvels of coordination and communication.
| Fast Facts
Agency:The Construction Institute Address:University of Hartford, 312 Bloomfield Ave., West Hartford, Conn. 06117 Phone:(860) 768-4459 Web Site:www.construction.org |
Bringing a project to successful completion requires organization and a step-by-step approach to getting the job done, he explained. “It can be very complex … one hand has to know what the other is doing.”
Bringing together elements of the built environment can be equally complicated, he continued, but such efforts are vital to moving that sector forward and creating opportunities for companies and individuals.
The Construction Institute is succeeding in that mission because it has created a solid foundation and continues to build on it.
George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]
Edward Murphy, president of First American Insurance Agency in Chicopee, has a neat stack of poker chips sitting on the corner of his desk, ready for a friendly poker game.
But while Murphy might like to blow off some steam with a game of blackjack or Texas Hold ’Em every once in a while, in the ever-changing insurance industry, he never gambles with his own company. Instead, he has plotted a course for First American that, as the company celebrates its 20th anniversary, has allowed for steady growth, some national reach, stability in a difficult industry, and the creation of some community-focused business goals for the coming years.
And while the company remains ready for the current challenges within the industry – auto insurance reform and the trickle-down effects of Hurricane Katrina, which include price adjustments and an overall tightening of the types of policies that can be written, for instance – its specialty is anticipating the challenges ahead.
The company’s very reason for being, Murphy explained, is the need for services that didn’t exist in the mid-1980s.
“In 1986 when we first started, there were a lot of services that weren’t being offered in Western Mass.,” he said. “There was a need for new programs and new ideas, and it boiled down to providing the services that people needed most – insurance for life, as we know it.”
And that practice has become First American’s trump card. The company now enjoys a strong local presence as well as some reach into markets in other parts of the country, thanks to the niches created by addressing issues some other companies might have missed, and a growing strength within the small business community and industries such as manufacturing.
But despite that national success, Murphy said the company’s roots are in Western Mass., and that’s where they’ll stay.
“All companies, small or big, have to a part of their community,” he said. “And we’re not going anywhere.”
Movin’ On Up
First American’s first location was at the ‘X’ in Springfield, but as it grew, Murphy and his staff made a few moves to accommodate an expanding client base. The company moved from Springfield to West Springfield in 1990, and in 1994 moved again to Chicopee, where it has remained, having recently relocated to a new location on Front Street.
“We just kept growing beyond the space we had,” said Jim Lagodich, marketing director for First American. “We were continuously looking for buildings in which we could expand, that would remain customer-friendly and service-oriented.”
Lagodich added that First American has been a company that has worked to provide products that other agencies don’t offer in order to stand apart from the competition.
The company has been a front-runner, for example, in the areas of workers’ compensation and self-insurance, with programs such as COMPro, a workers’ compensation administrative service for stand-alone self-insureds, self-insurance groups, and large employers. Other specialties include bundled programs, which offer a number of insurance products within one package, claims administration, a service typically outsourced by agencies of First American’s size, and payroll deductible products for employers and the self-insured.
Dave Matosky, operations director at First American, said each of those products are good examples of initiatives that have led to increased flexibility when dealing with a diverse set of clients, and consequently growth within some specific areas, including small business.
“They allow us to react to market changes more quickly, “ he said, “and to serve clients more effectively. When working with larger employers, we can suggest programs and services they may not have known existed, or would be a good fit for them. And when working with smaller businesses or individuals, we can offer their core insurance needs in one package.”
That has made First American an attractive choice for many businesses, but also for municipalities, niche businesses, and, particularly, new start-ups.
“We get a lot of calls from people who are still just thinking about starting a business,” Matosky said. “Most have no idea what’s involved with things like workers’ compensation or group insurance at first, and they need a tailored approach and most importantly answers to those tough questions.
“The very fact that we don’t offer ‘the product off the shelf’ is what attracts those types of entrepreneurs to us,” he added, “and what helps us to retain them as clients and grow with them over the course of time.”
Soaring to New Heights
In fact, a greater push within First American to market itself through community outreach and educational programs has stemmed from that strength within the small business market. It began with seminars for managers and supervisors in a number of industries, addressing topics such as accident investigation, and the key points anyone in a supervisory capacity needs to know.
“We spend a lot of resources on education, for others and within the company,” Lagodich said. “That has allowed us to reach new audiences and has also expanded our boundaries – we’re not intimidated by new moves forward.”
One of the first educational seminars, that accident-investigation course, was open to new business owners and supervisors, and was held in Natick, Mass. But First American has also extended its reach into other locales, including New York, New Hampshire, and even Chicago, working with a large manufacturer.
“Educational outreach programs also contribute to retention of our employee base,” said Lagodich. “It fosters more contact with clients, helps build relationships, and keeps the job fresh, so overall, our employees are happier.”
But on the occasion of the company’s 20th anniversary, not all of the programs First American is rolling out are aimed solely at business growth. Currently, one of the most often-discussed initiatives within the agency’s offices is the S.O.A.R. program, a partnership with Chicopee’s Selser Memorial School that rewards students for good behavior.
The program – an acronym for staying Safe, Offering a helping hand, Aiming to achieve, and Respecting yourself, others, and your school – is a response to issues surrounding behavior, conduct and delinquency. The school originally solicited businesses in the community to sponsor the project in hopes of creating a turn-around within the young student body before the children reach high school age. But Corey Murphy, vice president at First American, said the company took the offer to partner with the school very seriously, and pledged support beyond financial assistance.
“Like most businesses, we’re constantly asked to help, but we really bought into this program,” he said. “It has become our one big, public program and has really helped to strengthen the ties between us and the community of Chicopee.
“As a business in this community, it is our responsibility to help the community, and we decided early on that our focus was going to be on the city’s kids,” Murphy continued.
And while programs like S.O.A.R. are sponsored by businesses across the region, First American has actually made community service one of its primary business goals for 2006, a move that Murphy said underscores the importance of such initiatives to the overall well-being of the region as well as to the business health of the company.
“We hope to begin more community programs like this within the year,” he said, noting that one such partnership might be with the Chicopee Boys and Girls Club. “It’s something we’ve decided to focus on in an effort to strengthen our role as a good corporate citizen.”
High Rollers
In addition to those community-oriented projects, Matosky added that additional goals for 2006 will be to continue to expand the company’s ability to find solutions to emerging issues within the insurance sector — the game is constantly changing, he said, bringing a new meaning to the word ‘proactive’ for all insurance agents – and to continue to foster steady growth.
“We’re going to continue to focus our resources on education, and there are the inevitable technology upgrades to think about,” he said. “Like a lot of offices we’re moving forward with going paperless, in part because of the changes in the industry. Things are moving at such a rapid pace that books are becoming obsolete. Now, it’s necessary that our resources be accessed quickly in order to stay current and do research for our clients – only online resources and databases make that possible.”
So as the stakes grow, First American plans to hold strong. And that’s a bet Edward Murphy is willing to take.
Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]
It’s not uncommon for property owners to face significant capital gains (and the consequential tax) in the sale of real estate, either through accumulated depreciation or appreciating asset value, or the combination of both. Rather than pay the capital gain tax and reinvest the difference in another property, the 1031 Exchange allows the taxpayer to replace the property with an ‘exchange’ into another ‘like-kind’ property and essentially defer the payment of the capital gain tax by adjusting the basis of the newly acquired property.
Just over 15 years ago, the Internal Revenue Service instituted the long-awaited rules on deferred exchanges. Section 1.1031 of the Internal Revenue Code details the procedure for turning a sale/purchase transaction into an exchange. The opportunity to defer the payment of capital gains tax is available to owners of investment real estate if the owner intends to re-invest the equity of the sale of another real estate investment.
This deferment results in more equity to invest in the new property and allows the taxpayer to acquire a more substantial investment than had the original property been sold, and the capital gain tax paid.
How it Works
A properly structured 1031 exchange allows an investor (1) to sell a property; (2) reinvest the proceeds in another property; and (3) defer the capital gain taxes. This procedure allows for real estate portfolio growth while protecting the investor from capital gain taxes. Let’s say that an investor incurs $70,000 in combined taxes (depreciation recapture, federal capital gain tax) on a $200,000 capital gain. The investor has two choices:
• The investor incurs the $70,000 tax burden and reinvests the remaining $130,000. Assuming a 20% down payment and an 80% loan-to-value ratio the investor can purchase a property up to $650,000;
• With the 1031 exchange, the same investor can transfer all of the $200,000 in equity. Assuming the same loan constraints, the investor is able to purchase up to $1,000,000 in real estate.
When using this strategy, the taxpayer acquires the new property with a reduced basis, which results in the ‘deferred’ tax being due when the investor eventually cashes out. However, in estate planning, if the taxpayer/investor wills his property to his heirs, they will receive the property at the value at time of death and the deferred tax may be avoided altogether. Thus the 1031 Exchange can be a powerful tool in equity-building for the investor and his estate.
Of course, as with any investment strategy, the advice of tax attorneys, accountants, and real estate brokers familiar with these procedures is critical to compliance with the tax code and the enjoyment of the tax-deferral strategy.
Know When to Say ‘When’
Sound good? How do investors know if they are candidates for an exchange?
First, any investor completing a sale should have his or her tax advisors calculate the federal capital gains tax that would be due should the property be sold at the anticipated sale price to determine how much actual tax ‘savings’/ ‘deferment’ is at stake.
Then the investor must identify a ‘like-kind’ property to acquire. There are rules as to what is like kind, so be careful. The rovision for real property is broad and includes land, rental, and business property. Alas, no, you cannot exchange investment property for a personal residence for your retirement home.
Know Which Exchange is Best
There are various types of exchanges such as simultaneous, delayed, reverse, and an improvement exchange. Often, there is need for an ‘intermediary’ to hold title for either acquired property or the relinquished property to satisfy the rules. There are firms that specialize in providing such a service and can be thought of as an escrow agent for titles. They are known as ‘qualified intermediaries.’ They provide the safe harbor for title.
Various exchange arrangements call for different time limits for acquiring and relinquishing title to the involved properties. Also, the identification of the replacement property can be made several different ways.
Again, it is imperative to engage experienced professionals to ensure compliance and a valid transaction.
If an investor is facing a relatively significant capital gain tax in the sale of property, and desires to defer the tax burden, then it would be worthwhile to investigate and evaluate the 1031 Exchange opportunity.
Bob Greeley is owner of R.J. Greeley Company, LLC, a full-service real estate firm with extensive experience across the spectrum of commercial, industrial and telecommunication real estate transactions; (413) 734-7923
Curt Edgin gestured toward a photo of the old chapel at UMass-Amherst.
It’s one of many framed pictures that cover nearly every inch of wall space at the offices of Caolo & Bieniek and effectively tell of the story of this half-century-old architecture firm.
It’s one of many framed pictures that cover nearly every inch of wall space at the offices of Caolo & Bieniek and effectively tell of the story of this half-century-old architecture firm.
Indeed, the photos display the full range of the company’s work — from design of modern classroom buildings at Springfield Technical Community College, to libraries both new and renovated; from a large number of police, fire, and public safety complexes designed for communities across New England, to the old chapel, which illustrates some of the more unique work this firm does — duties that might seem to fall outside the realm of what some might expect from an architecture firm.
The oldest building on the UMass campus and perhaps the university’s most recognizable landmark, the stone chapel was earmarked in the mid-’90s for what university administrators thought would be minor repairs, what amounted to caulking work. Caolo & Bieniek, which was commissioned to assess the structure and design restoration efforts, quickly determined that the chapel was in far worse condition than previously believed.
“Essentially, the building was being held up by the forces of gravity,” Edgin, the company’s president, explained. “The lime mortar was gone — it was essentially sand between the stones. Any good tremor would have brought that building down.
“It ended up that the building was taken down to its base and reconstructed,” he continued, adding that individual stones had to carefully removed and numbered in order to reconstruct the building as it was originally built.
The old chapel work, which earned the firm accolades from the Mass. Historical Commission, is an example of how Caolo & Bieniek works imaginatively to meet client needs and address concerns — blending form and function, to borrow terms from the industry.
Such customer-focused efforts have enabled the company to survive the economic ups and downs that have a dramatic and often immediate impact on construction-related businesses — and provide a deep sense of optimism for the next 50 years in business.
BusinessWest looks this issue at Caolo & Bieniek’s rich history, the solid reputation it has built, and its prospects for the future.
Step by Step
As they talked with BusinessWest about their company and its recent milestone anniversry, Edgin and fellow principals Ken Jodrie and James Hannifan would use the photos on the walls to punctuate their remarks.
When talking about the public sector and the importance of cost-effective, low-maintenance building materials and design, Jodrie pointed to a sequence of shots of three classroom buildings built at STCC during the 1980s.
“These are durable materials, designed to last,” he explained, referring to the brick structures designed to blend in with the historical Springfield Armory complex that surrounds them. “That’s what the owner wants, something that can be easily maintained. That’s why they typically use masonry in buildings like this — because masonry is a product that once it’s installed the owner can ignore it for a long period of time; he won’t have to do anything to it for 50 years.”
Meanwhile, as they talked about diversity and specialties the company has developed over the years, the three pointed to public safety facilities built locally (Chicopee and Easthampton are just a few) and well beyond the 413 area code — Ashburnham, Mass., for example.
“Public safety is one of the areas we’ve moved into and developed quite a reputation for quality,” said Edgin, pointing to photos of complexes designed for Northampton, Lowell, and other cities and towns. “This is a highly specialized field, one where we’re achieved a good deal of success.”
As the walls attest, the company’s portfolio is extensive, and the process of building it began in 1955, when Vito Caolo (now deceased) and Victor Bieniek (retired since 2001) set up shop in a small office on Pearl Street in Springfield. As the company grew, it moved first to bigger quarters in the old Gilbarco complex in West Springfield and, later, to still-larger space on Cottage Street in Springfield.
Eventually, after the addition of several employees and the emergence of the next generation of ownership, the company moved once again, this time into the former Falls Provision market on East Street in Chicopee, which was renovated into a suite of offices.
As Bieniek was nearing retirement, he took steps to expand the staff and put succession plans in place, said Edgin, adding that he joined the firm in 1987 after working for architecture firms locally, and also in New Jersey and Kentucky. Meanwhile, Hannifan became part of the new leadership team in 1993, and Jodrie joined in 1995.
Over the years, the company has built its reputation largely in the public sector, with dozens of schools, libraries (including the new facility in Chicopee), police and fire stations, the Holyoke Soldiers Home, and even a parking garage or two in the portfolio — and on the walls. In addition to the buildings at STCC, for example, Caolo & Bieniek has designed new buildings and renovations at Westfield State College, Holyoke Community College, UMass, and a host of other schools.
But the public sector is easily impacted by swings in the economy and the flow of tax revenue to Boston and Washington, said Hannifan, citing, for example, the current stagnation (and growing backlog) of public school building projects — work is expected to start flowing again in 2007. This phenomenon necessitates diversity, he told BusinessWest, adding that the firm has handled work across a number of business sectors — from retail (including preliminary designs for a new Starbucks on East Columbus Avenue in Springfield) to physician offices.
And while new building projects comprise a good amount of the firm’s workload, renovations, restorations, and modernizations — at sites ranging from the old chapel at UMass to the central library in Springfield — have kept the company (and area frame shops) busy.
Edgin noted that schools built a century ago, or even 30 years ago — were not designed to accommodate today’s communications technology.
“Quite often the infrastructure and the electrical capacity isn’t there,” he explained. “As recent as the ’60s, there was one plug in the front of the classroom, for the overhead projector, and one in the back; now you need electrical supply everywhere, because everyone has a laptop.”
The qualities that have enabled Caolo & Bieniek to survive a half-century in the often-turbulent construction field, are the same ones that will propel it forward, said Edgin. Elaborating, he listed diversity as an obvious factor, but also, and perhaps more importantly, the firm’s ability to generate repeat business from satisfied customers.
Quality of work has much to do with this, but there is also the “comfort level,” as he described it, that the firm works to create.
“At many of the larger firms in Boston, New York, and elsewhere, you have people whose job it is to sell — and that’s what they do, sell,” he explained. “And after they’re done selling, those people probably won’t be involved with the project again.
“Here, it’s different,” he continued. “The three principals are involved in every project … we’re accessible, and we’re involved every step of the way. That’s the way we do things, and it has helped us generate a good deal of repeat business.”
Room to Grow
If a picture is really worth 1,000 words, then visitors to the offices of Caolo & Bieniek should allocate considerable time for ‘reading.’
The photos relate a 50-year success story, one with many chapters still to be written. The company that takes a highly personalized approach to doing business has no plans to deviate from that pattern.
If there’s an immediate challenge, it might be the need for more wall space.
George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]
The business cycle contains upturns and downturns. This is hardly news. Unfortunately, how your business weathers the bad times often dictates whether it will survive.
In such times, it may be necessary to enter into negotiations with your lenders to restructure your debt and get your business back on track to financial stability. This process is called a ‘workout.’ Each situation is unique and generalized observations concerning workouts are difficult to make. However, there are some elements that are commonly incorporated in workouts in various combinations. The following is an overview of those elements.
In a workout, both the lender and the borrower give up something to gain something. A lender must be prepared to give up some of its legal and contractual rights and provide some short-term relief for the borrower, with the long-term goal of enhancing the relationship and likelihood of repayment. The concessions made by the borrower in the workout vary on a case-by-case basis, but in broad terms, in order for a workout to be successful, the borrower must minimally reaffirm its obligations to repay the loan.
Before engaging in any workout discussions, a lender should assess the strength of its position under its existing agreements with the borrower. He should also assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of the borrower and its ability to perform its obligations under various workout scenarios.
As a borrower, you can expect the lender’s review of the loan documentation to be the first step in the lender’s assessment. Title reports and financing statement searches should be ordered and reviewed to determine any lien priority problems and to discover any other interests in the collateral of which the lender was unaware.
Problems are often discovered at this stage and include errors or other inadequacies in descriptions of collateral, improperly drafted or unrecorded extension agreements, and defective, aged, or unfiled Uniform Commercial Code financing statements. A savvy lender can use the workout as a means of curing defects discovered at this stage.
The lender should also assess the borrower’s total financial position and require the borrower to inform the lender of the status of its relations with other lenders as well as with keeping it updated on other workout negotiations. In certain instances, a lender may benefit by joining with other lenders to seek a comprehensive workout of the borrower’s financial affairs. The lender’s analysis of the borrower’s honesty and competence is as important as the analysis of the borrower’s financial condition. The lender should attempt to review as objectively as possible the borrower’s dealings with the lender in the past.
The lender’s representative should also take stock of his or her subjective feelings toward the borrower to determine if it will be possible to work together reasonably. Because a workout necessarily requires the borrower and the lender to work with each other after the optimism that accompanied the initial closing of a loan has faded, there may be feelings of mistrust on the lender’s side and feelings of persecution or harassment on the borrower’s side. It is unlikely that a workout can be successfully consummated if either party consistently feels that the other side is attempting to gain an unfair or unreasonable advantage or is untrust The business cycle contains upturns and downturns. This is hardly news. Unfortunately, how your business weathers the bad times often dictates whether it will survive.
In such times, it may be necessary to enter into negotiations with your lenders to restructure your debt and get your business back on track to financial stability. This process is called a ‘workout.’ Each situation is unique and generalized observations concerning workouts are difficult to make. However, there are some elements that are commonly incorporated in workouts in various combinations. The following is an overview of those elements.
In a workout, both the lender and the borrower give up something to gain something. A lender must be prepared to give up some of its legal and contractual rights and provide some short-term relief for the borrower, with the long-term goal of enhancing the relationship and likelihood of repayment. The concessions made by the borrower in the workout vary on a case-by-case basis, but in broad terms, in order for a workout to be successful, the borrower must minimally reaffirm its obligations to repay the loan.
Before engaging in any workout discussions, a lender should assess the strength of its position under its existing agreements with the borrower. He should also assess the relative strengths and weaknesses of the borrower and its ability to perform its obligations under various workout scenarios.
As a borrower, you can expect the lender’s review of the loan documentation to be the first step in the lender’s assessment. Title reports and financing statement searches should be ordered and reviewed to determine any lien priority problems and to discover any other interests in the collateral of which the lender was unaware.
Problems are often discovered at this stage and include errors or other inadequacies in descriptions of collateral, improperly drafted or unrecorded extension agreements, and defective, aged, or unfiled Uniform Commercial Code financing statements. A savvy lender can use the workout as a means of curing defects discovered at this stage.
The lender should also assess the borrower’s total financial position and require the borrower to inform the lender of the status of its relations with other lenders as well as with keeping it updated on other workout negotiations. In certain instances, a lender may benefit by joining with other lenders to seek a comprehensive workout of the borrower’s financial affairs. The lender’s analysis of the borrower’s honesty and competence is as important as the analysis of the borrower’s financial condition. The lender should attempt to review as objectively as possible the borrower’s dealings with the lender in the past.
The lender’s representative should also take stock of his or her subjective feelings toward the borrower to determine if it will be possible to work together reasonably. Because a workout necessarily requires the borrower and the lender to work with each other after the optimism that accompanied the initial closing of a loan has faded, there may be feelings of mistrust on the lender’s side and feelings of persecution or harassment on the borrower’s side. It is unlikely that a workout can be successfully consummated if either party consistently feels that the other side is attempting to gain an unfair or unreasonable advantage or is untrustworthy. One of the most important aspects of this pre-workout analysis is a determination of the value of the collateral securing the loan. This information may be determinative of whether a workout is warranted at all.
The lender may also find it prudent to enter into a ‘pre-workout agreement’ as a condition to any further, substantive negotiations. The pre-workout agreement need not be extensive, but should include the borrower’s acknowledgment of the validity and amount of the loan, the existence of the borrower’s default under the loan documents, the lender’s reservation of all of its rights under the loan documents until a comprehensive settlement agreement is executed and delivered, and that nothing discussed in the course of the negotiations shall be binding upon the lender until it is reduced to a formal written, signed settlement agreement.
The lender will often require the borrower to make a principal reduction as a condition to making other modifications to the loan terms. The borrower may attempt to convince the lender that a source of funds for the pay down should be a sale of a property, in some cases financed by the lender. If a decision is made to provide additional funds for a project, the lender will likely require additional collateral to support the increase, which should be subjected to the same scrutiny and review as are called for by an initial loan funding.
From the borrower’s perspective, this additional funding presents a downside in that if the loan problems continue after the workout, he would find it more difficult to walk away from the project, since more assets would be encumbered. Generally, lenders must be careful during workout negotiations not to say, do, or write anything that may be used against them should negotiations fail and the borrower commences a lender liability action.
While it is often the case that the analysis and investigations described are being conducted as negotiations in progress, in no event should the workout be consummated until the lender has completed this due diligence.
Assuming that the lender has determined in principle that a workout of the loan is feasible and appropriate, decisions must be made as to the particular elements to be included in the workout package. At least some of the following elements typically are incorporated into most workouts:
• Extension of the payment term;
• Modification of the interest rate;
• Partial forgiveness of principal;
• Requirement of a partial payment of principal;
• Increase of the loan amount;
• Tying interest and principal payments to positive cash flow produced by collateral;
• Temporary deferment of some or all interest payments; and
• Requiring the borrower to ‘give back’ some collateral to the lender through deed-in-lieu of foreclosure or requiring the borrower to put up additional collateral, either because the original collateral’s value has declined to a degree that it no longer adequately secures the funds advanced or because additional funds are being advanced.
The workout process invariably occurs at a stressful time for all concerned. However, with some advance planning and cooperation on the part of the borrower and lender, the end result can be a win-win for both parties.
Martin C. Dunn, Esquire is an associate with Bacon & Wilson, P.C. He practice includes commercial finance and transactions, immigration law, real estate, and corporate law; (413) 781-0560;[email protected].
Open House
Feb. 1: The Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The new center was established to provide graduate business and law students with an opportunity to offer practical consultation to entrepreneurs starting new and building existing small businesses in the community. From 4 to 5 p.m. in the Teleconference Room, a panel of intellectual property experts will discuss how entrepreneurs can legally protect creative output and innovations. Also, they will review patents, trademarks, and copyrights of small businesses. To register or for more information, E-mail Aimee Munnings, Director, at [email protected] prior to Jan. 25.
Contractual Liability Seminar
Feb. 6: Geoffrey Smith, senior vice president, TD Banknorth Insurance Group, will be the featured speaker at a free luncheon hosted by TD Banknorth Insurance Agency Inc., from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2077 Roosevelt Ave., Springfield. His presentation during the Lunch & Learn session is titled “Contractual Liability?” and will explore what to look for and what to look out for in the risk-transfer provisions found in everyday contracts. To sign up, E-mail your request to [email protected]. Seating is limited.
Western Mass. Economic Review
Feb. 8: The Regional Technology Corporation will sponsor a presentation on the economic profile of the region from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. in the TD Banknorth Conference Center, 1441 Main St., Springfield. The profile is based on Western Massachusetts Electric Company’s annual report to its customers titled Western Massachusetts Economic Review. The free presentation will summarize key findings from the 2005 Review and provide a regional economic outlook for 2006. Seating is limited and advance registration is required. For more information, contact April Cloutier at (413) 755-1314 or [email protected].
‘Double Bottom Line’ Lecture
Feb. 9: Lisa Fairfax, an associate professor of Law at the University of Maryland Law School, will present “Achieving the Double Bottom Line: A Framework for Corporations Seeking To Deliver Profits and Public Services” at 5:30 p.m., hosted by the Western New England College Law and Business Center for Advancing Entrepreneurship. The lecture will take place in the S. Prestley Blake Law Center on WNEC’s main campus, 1215 Wilbraham Road, Springfield. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call (413) 736-8462 or visit www.law.wnec.edu/lawandbusiness.
Outlook 2006
Feb. 10: Howard Fineman, chief political correspondent for Newsweek magazine, will deliver the keynote address for Outlook 2006, hosted by the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield. The annual legislative event will be conducted from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Chez Josef in Agawam. In addition to Fineman’s presentation, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey will discuss the state outlook, and Northampton Mayor Claire Higgins will present remarks for the region. Higgins is also serving as this year’s president of the Mass Municipal Assoc. Tickets are $40 for Chamber members, $60 for nonmembers. Tables of 10 can be reserved. Deadline for reservations is Feb. 3. For more information, contact Diane Swanson, Events Manager, at (413) 787-1555.
Business Entity & Basic Contracts
Feb. 22: The Mass. Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network will present Business Entity & Basic Contracts from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. The workshop will look at ways a business can be run, the advantages and disadvantages of corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships. In addition, the workshop will look at income tax issues as well as the minimum needed to protect the business owner in writing when they enter into contracts with third parties. The cost of the workshop is $25. For more information or to register, contact Diane Randall at the MSBDC Network, (413) 737-6712.
Running A Successful Restaurant
March 14: The Mass. Small Business Development Center (MSBDC) Network will sponsor Food For Thought: Tips For Running A Successful Restaurant from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, 75 North St., Suite 360, Pittsfield. The program will discuss the key ingredients of successful restaurants and the pitfalls that can lead to failure, and will offer tips for improving a restaurant operation from the dining room to the kitchen. The cost is $25. For more information or to register, contact Diane Randall at the MSBDC Network, (413) 737-6712.
| The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Readers should confirm all information with the court. | |
| Carlson, Cindy A. Chaplin, Kathleen R. Haugaard, Paul A. Hernandez, Jorge S. Lee, William E LeSiege, Jeffrey O. | Parker, Tamaris Quinones, Trinidad Rancourt, David John Small, Camille M. Josephson, Keith A. |
| A.I.M. Creates HR Resource Center Planning Board Assistance Program Offered Lees Won’t Seek Re-election Developer Interested in Danaher Site State Moves Toward Stricter Emission Rules Firm Receives Grant For Engine Prototype State Economic Picture Flat |
| The following building permits were issued during the month of January 2006. | |
| AMHERST Amherst Cinema Theatre NORTHAMPTON Children’s Aid & Family Service Florence Congregational Church Hampden County PA LLC Silkmill Associates Smith College Smith College 293 Northampton Realty LLC Wal—Mart Stores East Inc.
| SPRINGFIELD Coffee Roaster Inc. Eastfield Management Laundry Capital Mercy Medical Center New Colony Court Picknelly Family Sovereign Bank WESTFIELD Joseph Flahive |
Mercy Receives Grant To Improve Access to Health Care
SPRINGFIELD — Mercy Medical Center recently was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation to improve access to health care for uninsured and low-income residents. The “Connecting Consumers To Care” grant will target services to the local homeless population and Vietnamese residents. The grant will support assistance with eligibility, enrollment, primary care provider selection, and post-enrollment services. The funds will also be used to provide case management for preventative, medical and behavioral health services. In administering the grant, Mercy Medical Center will collaborate with the Mental Health Association of Greater Springfield, Vietnamese American Civic Association, and Friends of the Homeless, Inc.
Hudson United Bancorp, TD Banknorth Shareholders Approve Merger
PORTLAND, Maine — TD Banknorth Inc. shareholders recently voted at a special meeting to approve the acquisition of Hudson United Bancorp. More than 99% of the votes cast were voted in favor of the transaction. In a separate meeting in Mahwah, N.J., the shareholders of Hudson United Bancorp also voted heavily in favor of sale to TD Banknorth. More than 98% of the votes cast by Hudson United shareholders were in favor of the transaction. Pending approval by the Federal Reserve, the transaction is expected to close later in the first quarter of 2006. On a pro forma basis, the transaction creates a regional financial services company with approximately 590 branches, 751 ATMs and more than $26 billion in deposits across eight northeastern states. In other TD Banknorth news, bank officials recently said that fourth-quarter earnings per share will be 62 cents, 2 cents lower than analysts’ projections. Company officials cited the lower earnings per share because of declining net interest margins. TD Banknorth will release its fourth-quarter and year-end earnings report on Jan. 23.
Virginia Police Purchase Smith & Wesson Pistol
SPRINGFIELD — The sheriff’s department of Patrick County, Va., recently signed a deal to purchase 32 of Smith & Wesson’s new M&P 40 pistol – the first sale for the new military firearm. The new gun’s safety features, low recoil, and ease of handling were reasons cited by Patrick County Sheriff David E. Hubbard regarding the purchase. The M&P models load .40-caliber ammunition. Smith & Wesson also recently announced that the company plans to add more versions of the gun in the coming weeks. For example, new models will fire .357-caliber SIG rounds as well as 9 mm ammunition. The new handgun, with a retail price of $695, will also be available to individual customers through retail outlets.
Center For Teaching Receives High Marks
AMHERST — The Center for Teaching at UMass, Amherst has been recognized in a national survey as one of the top faculty- development programs in the United States and Canada. Nearly 500 faculty developers at 300 higher education institutions responded to the survey, which is part of a recently published study, “Creating the Future of Faculty Development: Learning from the Past, Understanding the Present.” The survey identified faculty development programs at UMass, Amherst, University of Michigan, University of Delaware and Miami University of Ohio as the four best in the U.S. and Canada. The Center For Teaching also had the distinction of being named most often as a ‘model program’ that guided best practices by developers across every institutional type – from community colleges to research universities. The survey was sent to 1,000 members of the Professional and Organizational Development Network, the oldest and largest professional association of faculty development scholars and practitioners.
Schools Benefit From Civic Action Program
GREENFIELD — Greenfield Savings Bank’s Civic Action accounts raised $10,000 in its first nine months for 11 participating school districts, according to Joan Cramer, Vice President and Marketing Officer. Launched last March, the unique civic action bank accounts give back to schools in Franklin County and in Amherst. Bank customers participating in the program use their Greenfield Savings Bank card to swipe and sign – for everything from groceries to gas. “It all adds up,” said Cramer. All revenues are spent by school districts as they deem appropriate. Participating school districts include Amherst-Pelham, Franklin County Technical, Frontier Regional, Gill-Montague, Greenfield, Mahar Regional, Mohawk Trail Regional, Orange, Pioneer Valley Regional, Four Rivers Charter and Union 28. Union 28 serves the elementary schools of Erving, Leverett, New Salem, Shutesbury and Wendell.
Insurance, LLC Becomes Encharter Insurance Group
AMHERST — Neighborhood Insurance, LLC recently changed its name to Encharter Insurance Group. Blair, Cutting & Smith Insurance, the local office of Encharter Insurance Group, will continue to be known by its local name. As a member of Encharter’s group of agencies, Blair, Cutting & Smith Insurance will continue to improve its technology, and support its staff members’ increased involvement in community service projects. Both insurance agencies offer security against loss and financial services.
The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.
NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Competitive Kitchen Designs Inc. v. Deer Hill Builders Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $18,015.15
Date Filed: Dec. 5
HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
C & S Distributors Inc. v. Michelson Properties Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $40,692.98
Date Filed: Dec. 15
SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
New Penn Motor Express v. Randolph Products Co. a/k/a Randolph Products
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $9,954.35
Date Filed: Dec. 15
Thales Broadcast & Multimedia Inc. f/k/a Thomcast Communications Inc.
Ozark Wireless TV Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $24,233.25
Date Filed: Dec. 19
O.K. Baker Supply Co. Inc. v. Jean M. Gendreau d/b/a Home Town Bakery
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $14,577.13
Date Filed: Dec. 19
PFG Springfield Corp.
Michael Selicious d/b/a Michael’s Catering d/b/a Jitterz
Allegation: Breach of contract – Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $7,757.36
Date Filed: Dec. 28
| The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of January 2006. |
| AGAWAM Country Estates of Agawam D.A.M. Vending K.D.C. Landscaping & Snow Plowing R&M Distributors Inc. Twisty’s Old Fashion Restaurant Win Restaurant AMHERST The Acupuncture Works 1-800-Granola.com Tupotech CHICOPEE Dimson’s Siding Flynn’s Seamless Gutters Joy to the World Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen Northern Design EAST LONGMEADOW G & A Import Auto Repair Inc. Meadows Lawn Care HOLYOKE The Corner Store K & S Gifts & More Taylor Rental LONGMEADOW AZZ Hypnotherapy Woods Financial Group NORTHAMPTON Mike Florio Welding & Repair SPRINGFIELD All Stars Mechanical Andrew L. Hepburn Assoc. Barr Enterprises Colin Photography Craftman’s Corner F & L Oil Burners The Healthy Connection J.C. Services JXZ Productions KAT Transport Services Manilla Snach Machines Melissa’s Place Perfect Peace Ministry Precious Transport Sabor Hispano Super Auto Sales WEST SPRINGFIELD Ask for Success Advertising Bryant General Contracting & Construction C.H.I. Design Dependable Trustee Services Finishing Touch Home Improvements Good Dog University J.M. Snow Plowing LHQ Dance Force Unlimited M.G. Consultants Microtech Computer Services New Life Solutions Page One Productions LLC Rein’s New York Style Deli Welker’s Exxon WESTFIELD Axis Precision Inc. Cooper Excavating Gauntlet Games Inc. Starbucks Under Mountain Farm Trucking |
|
| Renaissance Manor in Holyoke announced the following: •••••
• William Steplar has joined the Investment Services Department of Easthampton Savings Bank. He will work out of the 21 Locust St., Northampton, office. ••••• Sonya Williams has joined the Agawam office of Carlson GMAC Real Estate as a Sales Agent. •••••
• Chicopee Savings Bank announced the following: •••••
• Jeanmarie Deliso, owner of Deliso Financial and Insurance Services in Springfield, has been elected to New York Life Insurance Co.’s Agents Advisory Council. She has been a New York Life agent for 10 years. •••••
• Gregory M. Schmidt has been named an Associate at Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy, P.C. in Springfield. Schmidt’s practice includes general bank, commercial and real estate law. ••••• The Mass. Association of Realtors in Waltham announced the following:
• Corinne Fitzgerald, a partner with Key 100 Real Estate in Greenfield, has been appointed Vice President of Business Development for the second consecutive term. Fitzgerald is responsible for coordinating the initiatives of the organization’s business plan relative to research and business development, standard forms, and electronic information services;
• Charles Sawyer, broker with Dayspring Inc. Realtors in Pittsfield, has been elected Western Region Vice President. Sawyer will coordinate objectives and activities within the Berkshire County Board of Realtors and Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley, and meet regularly with local and regional leadership to discuss real estate industry issues of statewide importance, and
• Susan Renfrew, broker and co-owner of Renfrew Real Estate in Greenfield, has been appointed Vice President of Professional Development. Renfrew is responsible for coordinating the association’s internal and external communications programs and its educational outreach efforts to realtors. | ••••• John B. Hesslein has been named Station Manager at WSHM, Springfield’s CBS affiliate. He will oversee the daily operations of the station. ••••• Mass. State Rep. Daniel F. Keenan has been named Vice President, Government Relations, for the Sisters of Providence Health System, based in Springfield. Keenan currently represents residents in the Third Hampden District. He assumes his new role in February. ••••• The Hotel Northampton in Northampton announced the following: ••••• Robert Cartelli, President of Fathers & Sons Inc. in West Springfield, has been named Chair of the American Heart Association’s 2006 Greater Pioneer Valley Heart Ball. The event is planned March 3 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke and raises funds to fight heart disease and stroke. •••••
PeoplesBank in Holyoke announced the following: ••••• Francis D. Dibble Jr., a Partner at Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, was recently inducted as a Fellow into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. ••••• Kimberly A. Andrews has been elected President and Chief Executive of the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Connecticut. ••••• William C. Jones, Executive Vice President of Berkshire Healthcare Systems in Springfield, has been elected Chairman of the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation. ••••• Dr. John Frangie of the NorthEast Laser Center in West Springfield is among the first physicians in Western Massachusetts to receive an IntraLase Luminary Award for his commitment in refining the surgical techniques used with IntraLase-initiated LASIK. ••••• Dr. William Smith recently opened an adult medicine practice at 170 University Dr., Amherst. He has practiced medicine in Hampshire County for 18 years. ••••• Bernadette Harrigan was named a Shareholder of Doherty, Wallace, Pillsbury and Murphy. ••••• David M. Clark has joined Berkshire Bank as Assistant Vice President and Mortgage Origination Officer in the Westfield and Springfield areas.
|
With cold and flu season upon us, some interesting challenges for employers and employees alike arise. ‘Presenteeism,’ a newly coined term which means being present at work while sick or for some other reason disengaged from your assigned work, can be extremely detrimental to organizations and their workforce.
Traditionally, the focus of most organizations has been on absenteeism and the opportunities lost when an employee isn’t at work. This focus, however, assumes that when people are at work they are productive. Unfortunately, many times, this is simply an illusion.
According to a recent survey by OfficeTeam, a staffing service based in Menlo Park, Calif., 80% of employees polled frequently show up to work while sick; with only a mere 8% of the respondents reporting they never come into the office when ill. Performance levels of sick individuals are rarely at peak or even at an acceptable level.
In fact, employees who come to work when they are ill may be costing employers more in lost productivity than their employers pay for sick days and other medical and disability benefits. In 2004, Cornell University cited in WebMD that presenteeism may account for up to 60% of employer health costs, and found that up to 60% of the total cost of employee illnesses come from people who continue to work despite illnesses that reduce their productivity.
Morale and contagion are also concerns associated with ‘presenteeism.’ Being in contact with contagious individuals jeopardizes the health and productivity of all employees. According to CCH Inc., a division of Wolters Kluwer, a provider of employment law information and software, organizations with already-low employee morale are at even greater risk of sick workers on the job, with 52% of companies with poor or fair morale reporting presenteeism as a problem.
But presenteeism isn’t just limited to physical illness such as allergies, headaches, colds, or flu. Burnout, stress, and depression from work/life or work-related conflicts also contribute to loss of productivity while on the job. These causes may include emotional problems, family issues, elder or child care concerns, employee vs. employer distrust, overwork, or workplace distractions ranging from heat, light, or air quality, communication breakdowns, lack of training, and many other variables.
Curing the Problem
Employers can take steps to discourage presenteeism and enhance productivity. During cold and flu season, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends individuals to stay home when they are sick. It also provides helpful tips and posters that can be displayed within the workplace. Employers can also create guidelines to help the workforce understand the conditions for staying home, when it is safe to return to work, and when to re-evaluate a company’s absenteeism policies.
The single most common absence-control program utilized by 91% of organizations surveyed by CCH is disciplinary action. This approach is counterproductive to helping sick workers stay home when they are ill, especially when one considers that most of these programs allow five sick days per year and one bad cold or flu can wipe an individual out for that same amount of time or longer.
An alternative to traditional sick day policies is paid leave banks, also known as Paid Time Off (PTO) programs. Under a PTO program, personal, sick, and vacation days are combined into a single bank of days that the employee can use in any way he or she needs; allowing the employee to have more control.
Employers can also work to foster a healthy work environment and set a good example. A 2005 Workplace Productivity Survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) states that poor management is the number-one factor hurting employee productivity. Therefore, managers need to be aware of how not only their words but their actions are being interpreted by employees. Are your employees comfortable in asking for time off when ill or for other necessary reasons?
What message are you sending when you come to work sick, injured, or distracted?
Employers should be sure to keep communication open with employees. With many companies experiencing lay-offs, relocation, and expecting employees to do more with less, job insecurity and overwork may compel employees to put in excessive work hours, many unproductive. This can then lead to stress, burnout, or illness.
Executive and business coaching programs can be very valuable in establishing effective communication throughout organizations and creating engaged and resilient workforces. Coaches work with management and staff to enhance performance, morale and productivity.
Besides coaching, employee assistance programs (EAPs), and other wellness or work/life balance programs offer employees assistance beyond cold and flu season by helping them maintain focus on work while at work. EAPs provide confidential 24/7 counseling to employees and their families helping them to manage both physical and emotional concerns ranging from addictions to loss and grief.
Wellness programs, such as flu clinics, blood drives with free cholesterol screenings, etc., create opportunities for workers to receive preventative health benefits while at work. Something they may not otherwise take the time to do on their own and thus maintaining their health and welfare. Because of busy schedules, many work/life balance programs have been initiated that make services and/or resources easily accessible to employees so they can spend their time on work while at work. Child care, elder care, and financial concerns are among the myriad of issues addressed through these programs. Many times these work/life balance offerings can be provided at no cost to the organization.
Multiple Remedies
Just as there are many causes for presenteeism, there is no one solution.
Each organization and its workforce has different needs and requirements. These needs may shift with time, so it is important to re-evaluate your programs periodically. Get employees involved and ask for their input. No one enjoys being unproductive. Adopt healthy, flexible, positive work environments that meet the multitude of personal and professional challenges faced by employees. Investing in your employees will help alleviate this drain on your people, profits, and productivity.
Lynn Turner is an executive coach and owner of Ironweed Business Alliance, a coaching and consulting firm specializing in leadership development, team building and work/life balance strategies. She is also the host and producer of a local radio talk show/Web site Business Link Radio (www.businesslinkradio.com); (413) 283-7091.
Springfield City Councilor Tim Rooke wants to impose a tax on people who commute to Springfield to go to work.
That’s right, Rooke, the chairman of the council’s Finance Commitee, is mulling several ways to reduce Springfield’s soaring budget deficit. His concepts include a tax — how much he’s not sure — on those who merely drive into the city to make a living. He’s also looking into cutting the salaries for city department heads, employing a strange formula whereby someone making $100,000 would take a 10% cut, those making $90,000 would get a 9% hit, and so on. He’s also looking at ways to tax neighboring communities for what he calls an overflow of services like halfway houses, subsidized housing, and homeless shelters.
This is what it has come down to in Springfield, where officials are seemingly grasping at straws trying to find some way to erase a deficit that could grow to $300 million within the next seven or eight years, according to some projections.
The ideas include everything from selling golf courses to charging fees for trash disposal; from asking nonprofit, nontaxable institutions, such as colleges and hospitals, for payments in lieu of taxes, to Rooke’s nonsensical tax on commuters, something the councilor has proposed before, without success. Indeed, we want to encourage people to work in Springfield, not punish them because the Albano administration continuously spent more money than it had.
These are nickel-and-dime proposals that are not going to solve Springfield’s desperate budget problems, and would seemingly only delay what a growing number of people now consider inevitable: bankruptcy.
So why not get it over with, and thus begin the process of getting Springfield back on its feet? Because bankruptcy would be considered a failure, and no one — from Control Board Executive Director Phillip Puccia to Gov. Mitt Romney — wants to admit to failure.
But, and this is sad to say, failure is reality. In 18 or so months of work, the Control Board hasn’t made any significant progress in balancing Springfield’s budget. In fact, by playing hardball with the unions and continuing a wage freeze for city teachers, it has probably made things worse. A superior court judge recently ordered the city to fund increases for teachers’ salaries, and if other unions prevail in similar court challenges, Springfield will see its deficit swell.
However, control board members don’t seem too worried about the teachers’ salary rulings, or others that may come down soon, because they know that they can’t pay a bill if they don’t have the money — and right now, Springfield doesn’t have the money.
And it won’t, no matter how many golf courses or parking garages it sells.
Like an individual swamped with credit card debt, Springfield is desperate to find a way out, but there really isn’t one, except for a miracle bailout from the state, which legislative leaders say simply won’t happen.
Which brings us back to bankruptcy.
As we said earlier, this is not an attractive option, and for a lot of reasons. For starters, it would be another huge psychological blow to a city that has had more than its fair share over the past few years. And the stigma would have a decidedly negative impact on business and economic development: who would want to start a business in, or relocate to, a bankrupt city?
Meanwhile, bankruptcy would leave deep political scars, and it might even have serious ramifications on a Romney bid for the White House. How can someone lead the country when he is seemingly powerless to save the third-largest city in his state from fiscal ruin?
But as unattractive as bankruptcy might be, it appears to be Springfield’s best option. There would be pain — unions would lose all power, elected officials would have virtually no control of the city’s finances, and there would be major layoffs in an effort to put the budget into balance.
But the process of getting Springfield back on its feet would be started, and the current practice of treading water and waiting for a rescue that isn’t going to come would be over.
Rooke’s idea to tax commuters makes no sense and it won’t happen — major employers rely on people from outside the city’s borders to operate their businesses. But even the other, more logical steps, such as trash-collection fees, won’t be enough to save the city from the fiscal abyss.
That’s why bankruptcy might make the most sense.
An historic neighborhood named for three streets that intersect to create a busy commercial district has seen highlights and lowlights over the past 50 years, but one organization is poised to shed new light on the X, through collaborative, arts-centered initiatives.
Springfield residents: try giving someone from out of town directions to Forest Park without using the term ‘the X.’
It’s not easy.
The historic landmark, which typically refers to the intersection of Sumner Ave., Dickinson, and Belmont streets and the surrounding area, has long been a center of commercial activity in Springfield and something of a source of pride for locals. We know why it has its distinctive name. We know to look both ways – twice – when driving through.
But there is a group of people who want the X to mean much more.
The X Main Street Corp., named as such due to its involvement in the federal ‘Main Street’ program for commercial district improvement and consisting of residents, business owners, and civic leaders, want the X to live up to its hip name, and are working to create a new hot spot in Western Mass.
The X, specifically, is a commercial district within the Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield, which some call a city within a city, due to its rich history, diverse ethnic and economic make-up, and its distinction as home to 25,000 of Springfield’s residents. But in the past, it has been known more for its flavor than its demographics.
Lyn Nolan, executive director of the X Main Street Corp., remembers a time when the area was bustling with shoppers, and the shops and restaurants were as unique as they were prosperous.
“Blake’s department store was a hub of activity,” she said, harkening back to her first year as a Springfield resident in 1980. “And there were specialty clothing stores, fantastic restaurants, a movie house where the Walgreens is now … it was definitely a ‘Northampton kind of place.’”
Even today, she continued, the X includes some of the city’s brightest gems – distinctive restaurants, unique clothiers, and a smattering of successful niche businesses.
It’s also home to a number of popular seasonal events, including the Farmer’s Market at the X, now entering its ninth year, and the annual Boar’s Head Festival, a medieval fair of sorts held at Trinity United Methodist Church. And year-round, several community organizations based at the X and within Forest Park work toward a number of goals, all aimed at bettering the neighborhood.
In addition to the non-profit X Main Street Corp., the Forest Park Partnership and Forest Park Civic Association are also active, as are neighborhood councils such as the La Broad and Avalon councils, centered on quality of life and crime-reduction issues, and the for-profit Concerned Citizens for Springfield, which focuses much of its time in the Forest Park neighborhood.
Still, the spark that once defined a crossroads has dimmed somewhat, now lacking many of those one-of-a-kind storefronts and the neighborly feel that Nolan remembers.
“There was some flight in terms of residents,” she said, “and malls happened. That had a huge impact on the commercial success of many small businesses that once thrived here.”
The X Main Street Corp. has been focused on re-lighting the fire at the X for the past decade. But one overriding theme has emerged within all of the X Main Street Corp.’s initiatives for 2006, which its members hope will help fan the flames: the creation and promotion of a cohesive arts and entertainment-based culture at the X – one that starts internally with X Main Street’s own efforts, and extends to other groups, residents, and, most importantly, other businesses.
They’ve Made a FoPa
The overall mission of the corporation, Nolan said, is to spearhead ongoing development projects within the X commercial district, and to promote those improvements in partnership with other community organizations and businesses in the Forest Park area.
“There is a lot of overlap between the different groups,” she said. “Some people work with all of them. We work with each other, not against.”
The renewed focus on arts and culture is one she also hopes will resonate within those other organizations, as one answer to many issues ranging from decreasing home ownership to lagging interest in commercial real estate.
Although Nolan said the commercial landscape at the X has seen some improvement in the past few years, and is showing signs of a continued climb, the business make-up has changed somewhat since its heyday.
“Economic development in the X commercial district is stable,” Nolan said. “We’re at a 92% capacity in the area. But, for example, we have four dollar stores. We definitely need some diversification.”
Essentially, the X Main Street Corp. hopes to cultivate a climate at the X that will ripple throughout its parent neighborhood of Forest Park. There’s business sense to it, Nolan said – the arts have been proven in other communities, including neighboring Northampton and Amherst, to serve as effective economic drivers – but there are also some intriguing marketing opportunities to be had.
Brian Hale, vice president of the X Main Street Corp. Board of Directors and Chair of the Bing Arts Center Committee (more on that later), said working toward a stronger arts and entertainment scene at the X could start with creating a buzz – a move that, among other things, is more economical than most.
“The X is the hub of Forest Park,” he said. “Or, as we’d like to start calling it, FoPa.”
Borrowed from similar nicknames such as New York’s Soho (‘south of Houston street’) neighborhood, or, more regionally, Noho, the abbreviation often given to Northampton, ‘FoPa’ is a small, simple way to start branding the neighborhood as well as its cultural attributes.
And the play on words isn’t an accident.
“A booming arts community in Springfield? Some might call the suggestion a faux pas,” Hale joked. “If there’s one thing we’ve learned as Springfield residents, it’s that you have to have a sense of humor.”
It’s important to note, though, that the X Main Street Corp. doesn’t just brainstorm catchy nicknames for the neighborhood. Rather, the organization is actively involved with a number of real estate improvement ventures, serves as an advocacy group for zoning, legislative, and public safety policies, and is one of the X’s primary grant-writing entities, forever in search of funds to keep various projects and business ventures going. The corporation is partially funded by a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant, but gleans much of its funding from local, state, and national grants and loans.
The organization also works with the city to enforce some code regulations at the X, which is designated an overlay district (a zoning change X Main Street kick-started), and as such, requires businesses to meet or exceed certain aesthetic requirements.
Signage must meet a certain quality threshold, for instance – backlit plastic signs are prohibited as are unframed, aluminum placards.
That aspect of the corporation’s duties can both help and hinder its relationship with X merchants, Nolan said. It allows for greater contact with businesses, but can also turn X Main Street into the “sign police.”
“We don’t want all the businesses to look the same,” she said, “but we want to achieve a certain level of quality, a certain look. The main goal of X Main Street is to increase arts and culture in the X commercial district, and the look of the businesses is one part of that. It’s what will make the most sense in terms of diversifying the area and bringing in more great businesses as well as visitors.”
Bought-A-Bing
As another part of that focus, the corporation soon hopes to make its new headquarters the historic Bing Theatre, which it purchased in 2003. The property, now known as the Bing Arts Center, has been vacant for years but is seeing some new activity: the X Main Street Corporation and the Bing Arts Center Committee, a group of concerned citizens and business owners committed to arts, culture, and entertainment endeavors in Springfield, are in the process of renovating the building to create a combination art gallery, community center, and, eventually, a movie theater and performance venue.
Hale said re-opening the cinema itself represents the last step in a long process, but he hopes to see the other components of the arts center fall into place within the next two years.
“The Bing represents exactly what we want to see more of at the X, in Forest Park, and across the city, and that is investing in the arts and culture as a primary economic driver,” he said, adding that he sees arts, culture, and entertainment investments as the logical choice in a city that is still struggling in most other sectors and is in dire need of some good news.
“Frankly, I think it’s the city’s only choice. Historically, Springfield has been a manufacturing center, but that’s long gone,” he told BusinessWest. “We need to face that, and work to get people into this city to spend their money, plain and simple. How do we do that? By having some cool things going on.”
The Bing actually sits on the periphery of the X, but Nolan agreed with Hale that it represents the heart and soul of the organization’s work.
“Creating an arts center at the Bing is a perfect example of how the arts can serve as a way to engage the entire community,” she said. “We want to see things going on constantly in that building, creating a buzz and at the same time opening up the arts to a whole new audience.”
Hale added that it’s important to sell that point, especially to X merchants, many of whom are struggling to make their ventures work.
“The arts might be one of the only economic drivers in which we can say you can put a little in, and gain a lot,” he said. “At the Bing Arts Center we’ll be able to hold art shows and performances, after school programs, fundraisers, sell artwork … the possibilities are endless. Merchants can do much of the same on many levels, and we want to work with them to increase their own profits for the overall good of the area.”
Blue Moon Coffee Roasters, Hale offered as an example, has already seen some success with just such an initiative. Located across the street from the Bing, the coffee, bean, and gift shop expanded its retail component recently to include an art glass gallery, and in December, owner Dan Higgins reported that sales of the artwork represented 30% of his total receipts.
“We need to reach a certain critical mass before people are going to notice this,” said Hale, “but we can start by marketing ourselves as an arts-oriented neighborhood, and a big part of the neighborhood is the businesses at the X.”
Turnip Turn-out
But it’s not just the Bing that’s getting attention from X Main Street, and the other organizations at the X and in Forest Park. The annual Farmers’ Market at the X, a Forest Park staple for nearly a decade, will be expanding its scope in 2006, welcoming artisans to the ranks of fresh produce, meat, whole foods, plant, and flower businesses, in order to add a new dimension to the event as well as a venue for artists and craftspeople.
“We want to work closely with artisans to give them a unique venue to show their work, but we’re also trying to move with the times,” Nolan explained, adding that the event is also moving from its spot near the Goodwill Shoppes to the Trinity church parking lot, visible from Sumner Ave. “Farmers’ markets in general are starting to suffer in New England – in the past, they were held specifically for farmers.”
But with a changing landscape must come a change in the event, she said.
“Adding arts and crafts to the market will add to the overall arts and culture thrust in the X commercial district, and give the market a shot in the arm.”
It’s also another way to capitalize on an already well-known event at the X for the benefit of local businesses.
Belle Rita Novak, manager of the Farmers’ Market at the X and a member of the Forest Park Civic Association and the X Main Street Corp. Board of Directors, said she has already seen the positive effect the market can have on surrounding merchants.
“Many patrons shop at the X while they are in the area for the market,” she said. “Throughout the country, farmers’ markets in urban areas are economic engines for the businesses nearby.”
Novak added that increased cooperation with X business owners would likely create a positive ripple effect in the district.
“I think that we have a strong X Main Street board now, but we need more input from the business and property owners at the X,” she said. “After all, if the X improves, it benefits everyone, including residents in the neighborhood.
“The X looks much better than it did 10 years ago,” she continued, “but if it doesn’t continue to improve I fear that it could backslide very easily. We are in this together, merchants, property owners, and residents. If we want a nice, clean business district then we all have to do our part.”
New Direction Home
Hale agreed with Novak that continued partnerships are the keys to spurring further arts-related initiatives, as well as projects aimed at the overall health of the commercial district.
“In order to revitalize any commercial district, there needs to be a certain camaraderie,” he said. “We can’t just start walking into stores and asking for money. We need to sell them on the arts and culture premise, and show them how it can benefit their businesses … and in turn, their businesses will benefit the entire area.”
And the members of the X Main Street Corp. will be keeping an ear close to the ground, listening for the sound of success – someone asking for directions to FoPa.
It’s easy to find – just start at the X.
Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]
It’s a little like that joke George Carlin told years ago, the one where he speculates about what John F. Kennedy Jr. would think or say when asking a cab driver to take him to J.F.K. Airport in New York.
When Andy Scibelli heads to the office now, he goes to a building with his name on it — the Andrew M. Scibelli Enterprise Center. Like other tenants, the former president of Springfield Technical Community College is trying to get a fledgling business off the ground.
In this case, it’s Scibelli & Associates, a consulting venture he started soon after retiring 18 months ago to help other colleges do as the team at STCC did — think entrepreneurially. By that, he meant creation of programs to help spur entrepreneurship, or E-ship, as he calls it, and, if possible, create incubator facilities to help new businesses get a solid start. To do that, colleges would themselves have to become entrepreneurs in the sense that they would have to take risks and think outside the box.
STCC did all that in the creation of its enterprise center, which includes two incubators — one for area high school and college students and the other for more-established businesses — and also houses the college’s Entrepreneurial Institute and a number of agencies that support small businesses. Scibelli led the team that acquired the funding and assembled the various components that comprise one of the most comprehensive programs of its kind in the country.
That’s why his name is on a sign over the front entrance, and also why he feels eminently qualified to help other colleges and universities undertake similar initiatives.
In an interview with BusinessWest, Scibelli said he has worked with a few public colleges in the Northeast that are exploring entrepreneurship programs, while also handling a few interim-president assignments — at Massachusetts Bay Community College and, more recently, Berkshire Community College.
He said Scibelli & Associates is still mostly a part-time pursuit, one that he looks to grow through word-of-mouth referrals, marketing, and networking. Those are some of the skills that, like other business owners in the SEC, he is still acquiring.
Actually, there have been several adjustments for Scibelli, who served as STCC’s president for 22 years.
“Before, when I wanted a PowerPoint presentation, I just called some people and a few days later, it was there,” he explained. “Now, when I order a PowerPoint, I’m ordering me to take care of it.”
Name of the Game
Learning PowerPoint has actually been one of the simpler challenges for Scibelli to wrestle with since retiring in the summer of 2004 — that and getting accustomed to the notion that his name is also his business address.
“That took a little getting used to … it’s cool seeing your name on the building,” he said. “A few times, I’ve been introduced to some people here who don’t know who I am; they hear the name and ask, ‘is this your building?’”
It’s not, but it came to be a part of Scibelli’s vision to make the portion of the old Springfield Armory located on the east side of Federal Street into a unique economic development initiative. It started with the creation of the STCC Technology Park in 1996, which currently houses more than a dozen technology related businesses that employ nearly 800 people, and continued with the conversion of one of the oldest Armory buildings into what was then known as the Springfield Enterprise Center.
The SEC was designed to promote entrepreneurship in a number of ways — through its incubators, which currently house a number of small businesses, support organizations based there, such as SCORE and the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network, and the Entrepreneurial Institute, which promotes programs for students at all levels.
When Scibelli retired, administrators at the college moved to rename the facility in his honor. He now occupies a suite on the ground floor, next door to former radio and television sales executive Fred Steinman, who last year bought the local franchise for the direct mail company Valpack.
In many ways, the SEC is not only Scibelli’s business home, it’s also a selling tool as he acts as consultant for colleges and universities mulling entrepreneurship. In other words, it’s a working model of an effective E-ship program, and it displays the many benefits that may come to a school — everything from closer ties to the business community, to a hands-on link to K-12 students, to strong media attention.
This is the message Scibelli has brought to several schools, including Broome Community College (BCC) in Binghamton, N.Y. An old industrial center, Binghamton is in many ways like Springfield in that it is looking for new economic development opportunities and has an inventory of older, mostly vacant mills that could be converted into incubators.
“They want to look at the full menu of opportunities when it comes to entrepreneurship,” said Scibelli. “They wanted to find out more about the subject, including incubators.”
BCC’s motivations are many, he continued, adding that the school wants to explore ways to expand its role in the community while also help in bringing new jobs to the region; there are currently 17 businesses in the Technology Park at STCC, and another nine in the SEC, said Scibelli.
“In Binghamton, as in most communities that are experiencing a downside, the Chamber and other business groups are saying, ‘who can come to the rescue?’” he explained. “For colleges to jump in and create businesses and jobs, that’s wonderful and everyone wants to cooperate.”
BCC is still in the early stages of creating an E-ship program, said Scibelli, noting that he is also working with Worcester State College in the preliminary steps toward a venture that may involve the school in new economic development initiatives there.
“That’s a city that’s re-inventing itself,” said Scibelli, referring to a shift within the state’s second-largest community from manufacturing to the biosciences and other technology-related fields. “And the city wants the colleges to play a role in that.”
To generate interest in E-ship programs and the opportunities they present for both two- and four-year colleges, Scibelli has staged a few seminars on the broad subject, including one early last year at Cornell University, and has another planned for next month in Florida. His goal is to get the schools’ presidents involved early on, because this is how to get the ball rolling.
“Without the commitment from the CEO, the president, a lot of this stuff never flies,” he explained. “It doesn’t matter what the level of commitment is from everyone else; if the CEO isn’t on board, it’s not going to happen.”
What he tells school presidents, and everyone else who’s interested, is that while entrepreneurship programs help the community, they can also bring a return on investment, or ROI, for the colleges themselves.
This can take a number of forms, he said, noting that some incubator ventures can actually become profit-making ventures. But in the meantime, schools can, and often do, increase enrollment, develop a broader donor base, add certificate and degree programs, and establish niche identification.
“If you fold it into the mission of the college, it has nothing to do with making a profit; it has to do with service,” he explained. “It’s another arm of an educational resource for the community — one that happens to grow new businesses.”
Culture Shock
As for his new business, Scibelli said he wants to achieve controlled growth. Elaborating, he told BusinessWest he wants it to be a successful venture, but not one that will become all-consuming.
He currently averages a few hours each day at the SEC, but generally works when and as long as he wants, and keeps his eyes (and schedule) open to other interim assignments or consulting projects. Meanwhile, he’s traded designer suits for designer sweatshirts and jeans, and is getting used to the notion of having no one to supervise but himself.
“I’ve had to learn how to do a lot of things,” he said, referring back to his adventures in PowerPoint. “Overall, I’ve really enjoyed the transition and being entrepreneurial.”
And he wants to show colleges and universities how to do the same.
George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]
Two Springfield natives recently received word that their development proposal for the former Basketball Hall of Fame site — the Old Hall — had been accepted. Now, with visions of riverfront revitalization, an integrated sports, fitness, and entertainment complex, and a new dawn for the city they call home, the childhood friends are off and running.
Historically, scaling the wall of a building in downtown Springfield has been frowned upon.
Until now. Two developers are hoping to make just such a daredevil feat a common occurrence in the city, at the former Basketball Hall of Fame, where their proposal for the building was recently approved.
Slated to carry the name River’s Landing by the beginning of next year, the building now simply referred to as ‘the Old Hall’ on West Columbus Avenue will soon serve as a combination health and fitness center, restaurant, café, and medical offices … and home to a three-story climbing wall already dubbed ‘K2,’ after the 28,250-foot peak in the Himalayas.
The multi-faceted project is the brainchild of Peter Pappas and Mike Spagnoli, two Springfield natives with already lengthy résumés.
Pappas is an East Longmeadow-based real estate developer and importer/exporter, and Spagnoli, a chiropractor, owns a number of medical offices scattered across the country, including several in California where he now resides. The pair has pledged $9 million to transform the Old Hall into a one-stop shop for sports, fitness, health, and entertainment – a concept they say will complement the existing attractions along the West Columbus strip: the new Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the Hilton Garden Inn, and three popular eateries – Max’s Tavern, Coldstone Creamery, and Pizzeria Uno (a fourth, Pazzo, formerly known as Carmela’s, will move into a vacant space at the new hall later this year).
“This site is tremendous because of its accessibility, visibility, and the opportunity for cross-promotion,” said Pappas. “We absolutely believe that our proposal is the best use for this site, and are committed to making the dream a reality.”
In short, Pappas said, “We’re good to go.”
Pacing Themselves
He and Spagnoli entered the ring early when the Springfield Riverfront Development Corp. (SRDC) issued a request for proposals for the Old Hall over a year ago. Since then, they’ve competed against other proposals for the site, including one for a public market, but have spent the bulk of their time refining the many facets of their own plan and how to best integrate them under one roof.
“An idea can be a great one, but it has to make business sense as well,” Pappas said.
And the two believe that their planned state-of-the-art fitness facility complete with medical and wellness offices, proposed bar and grill, and the climbing wall that will link the two, does just that.
Capitalizing on the riverfront itself is also a long-term goal for the pair, who hope to spur more frequent, safer use of the bike trail that runs along the river behind the site, starting with an inaugural mini-marathon when River’s Landing opens.
“Making a connection with the river is big, no one has really done it,” Pappas noted, adding that a boat landing might even be in the cards further down the road. “Inside, the space is going to be bright and open, but the best part will be the view – huge windows overlooking the riverfront.”
Spagnoli added that, when their venture is completed, the pair might have invested far more than the $9 million currently earmarked – he estimated the figure could rise to $13 million. But he said they are more focused on the sustained success of the project than the initial investment.
“We’re looking at employing 100 people, maybe more,” he said. “And we’re talking about good, specialized jobs in sports, health care, and management. It’s all about building a better tax base … and just having some activity in the building is going to be huge.”
The Tenant Race
Indeed, the basketball-orange building with its massive red panels depicting players making jump shots has been vacant for about three years now, and a large part of the River’s Landing project is going to be “bringing the building into the 21st century,” as Pappas puts it.
As architectural renderings depict, the building will include one new addition – a sloped-roof entryway leading into the lobby that will house K2 – as well as a new color scheme using blue hues that will match those used by the Hall of Fame, but lacking the Hall’s trademark orange. Those panels that now adorn the front of the building will be converted into signage for the attractions inside.
Pappas and Spagnoli have engaged the services of the architectural firm of Kuhn-Riddle in Amherst to design the new complex, while Solemi Construction is expected to handle the renovation and reconfiguration of the building.
As for the tenants, a number of options are on the table, and the two partners say their goal is to create the most effective mix of businesses and attractions.
“We want to create something that Springfield has never seen, because we believe that’s what is necessary,” said Spagnoli. “The city needs a spark and excitement, and the best tenants will bring that as well as the stability to thrive for years.”
The fitness center, which will encompass the largest area within the building, is expected to accommodate as many as 10,000 members and include a pool, basketball court, cardio or spinning room, weight training room, a Pilates or yoga studio, locker rooms, and a racquetball court, regardless of the chosen vendor.
L.A. Fitness, Healthtrax, and the Springfield YMCA-based Valley Athletic Club have all expressed interest in the site, Pappas said.
In addition, the proposed restaurant is planned to be sports-themed and family-oriented, and several national chains have also shown interest, including Buffalo Wild Wings and the Cheesecake Factory and rocker Alice Cooper’s ‘rock and jock’ restaurant, Alice Cooper’stown.
The climbing wall lobby will also include a café for coffee or smoothies (but no beer, Pappas joked – beer and climbing walls just don’t mix) while integrated health and wellness offices, from medical suites to massage therapy studios, will fill the remaining spaces.
“What we’re looking for is a place people can go to do something besides just eat and drink,” Pappas said, to which Spagnoli added that inquiries from possible tenants have already been brisk across the board, hailing from both national and regional entities.
“The point is there are a lot of interested people,” he said. “We’ve actually been pretty blown away by the response and the variety of the offers.”
Regardless of which businesses finally end up in River’s Landing, the partners agreed that one major deciding factor in the tenant make-up will be a willingness to work together to market the site as well as the city.
“Springfield has been under-marketed for years,” Pappas said. “And it’s no secret that the city has had some bad, bad PR lately. We want to show the nation all the good that is here, and really start to give the city its due. Marketing and positioning are both going to be strong aspects of this project, for the building as well as the riverfront and the city.”
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
As they walked the perimeter of the building they now oversee, Pappas and Spagnoli, who have known each other since grade school, resembled childhood friends more than they did business partners about to take on a massive project in their hometown.
They frequently elbowed each other and conspiratorially whispered things like ‘It’s gonna be huge, just you wait!”
And neither man is shy about identifying themselves as hometown boys. In fact, they frequently bring up their reasons for returning home to invest – Spagnoli in particular, who will now be flying across the country every few weeks – citing the businesses their fathers started in Springfield, their Springfield educations, and their existing ties to the community.
And as soon at the K2 climbing wall is erected, Pappas and Spagnoli will undoubtedly be the first to climb to the top, with a crowd below rooting them on.
Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]
|
DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION Year Founded: ————————————————————– 1848 |
|
KEY ELECTED/APPOINTED OFFICIALS Mayor: ———————————————————————– Michael Sullivan |
|
TELEPHONE DIRECTORY (area code 413) Mayor’s Office: —————————————————————————– 539-9399 |
|
MAJOR EMPLOYERS* Holyoke Public Schools ——————————————————- 1,953 |
Almost anyone who has sought medical services in Western Mass. lately can attest in many instances to waiting months for even the most routine appointments. While this can, to a certain degree, be attributed to the desirability of the particular physician, it is more often than not due to the general shortage of doctors in our region.
Organizations such as the Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS), which keeps a close eye on the physician labor market, have long since identified a severe and critical shortage in the Massachusetts physician labor market, and the situation is predicted to worsen in Massachusetts over the next 20 years.
Fingers are often pointed at the legal community with its naturally litigious nature as one reason why physicians are dissuaded from practicing in the state. High malpractice insurance premiums are the byproduct of such litigation. Alternatively, the legal community argues that if not for physician carelessness, malpractice insurance would not be so frequently utilized, and that the threat of litigation may have the effect of improving the quality of care.
Regardless of which side of the argument come down on, the physician shortage affects us all. Hospitals, large private practice groups and clinics must therefore have ongoing physician-recruitment programs in order to meet patient demand and to ensure the continuity and existence of the organization. Before embarking on any such recruitment effort, organizations need to establish a common sense recruitment approach that includes determining the organization’s recruitment objectives, employs various recruiting sources, assesses whether the candidate is a good fit for the organization, and has personnel in place to clearly explain employee benefits to candidates.
Incentive packages are often successful tools that may be utilized in physician recruiting. Reimbursement for relocation expenses, payable if the physician stays for a predetermined amount of time, may be an attractive incentive. Another option may be a bonus, also to be paid if the physician remains for a certain period of time. A third attractive incentive is the extension, by the employer, of a low-interest loan to assist the physician’s purchase of a home by providing a down payment. These and other packages have been used successfully by many organizations.
While legal problems often arise due to questionable hiring decisions, organizations can sometimes find themselves in hot water from the outset by asking the wrong types of questions of potential employees. If your hiring staff is not familiar with the law, they are strongly encouraged to review the information provided by the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) and found at its website, prior to posing what may be an improper battery of questions to candidates in an interview or on an application.
(Seewww.mass.gov/mcad/preemployfactsht.html)
Before starting the recruitment process, your organization needs to identify what type of physician it is seeking; i.e. a staff physician, physician partner, or potential partner. The methods you utilize to find your next employee could vary depending on the role he or she will be playing in your organization. In addition, the new employee’s effect on your budget needs to be identified early on. A new doctor often means additional professional and administrative staff support as well as extra burdens on space and equipment.
The best way to ensure hiring the best possible employee for your organization is to have a well-thought-out hiring program in place. Your organization needs to have a manpower plan that identifies the number and types of doctors it requires, now and in the future, broken down by specialty if necessary.
Your organization also needs to mobilize adequate resources for the recruitment process. This means having enough money set aside to fund the effort and also to hire competent, experienced internal or external recruiters. Organizations sometimes make the mistake of delegating this task, at least at the earliest stage, to a lower level administrative employee. Unfortunately, you run the risk of missing out on a good potential candidate due to lack of proper knowledge on the part of the screener. You may also lose a great candidate for lack of a timely response from your staff.
Like any good marketing campaign, your efforts should employ a variety of tactics. Networking among colleagues and physician groups is one of the most effective ways to attract new physicians and obtain leads as to out-of-area candidates. Organizations frequently look outside the United States for potential candidates, or attempt to recruit foreign physicians completing programs in the United States. If you are considering such an applicant, you need to be aware of the immigration procedures necessary to put someone on your payroll.
Generally speaking, due to the physician shortage, organizations do not need to go through the extensive ‘labor certification process.’ This is the procedure in which an employer proves to federal and state authorities that there are no suitable candidates who are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents. However, although sidestepping this lengthy procedure is an ironic benefit of the physician shortage, not all foreign candidates can be easily and quickly hired because of their individual immigration status. You should consult with an experienced immigration lawyer before making an offer to a foreign candidate.
Once you have spent the time and money to attract and hire your chosen candidate, you should monitor them during an initial two- or three-year period. Professional and, to the extent possible, personal issues that may result in their leaving the practice, should be identified and addressed.
When physician recruitment programs are properly developed and managed, organizations can achieve outstanding results. Successful programs can enable employers to recruit the desired number and quality of physicians, while retaining those physicians for years to come and perhaps avoiding costly litigation in the future due to a bad hiring decision.
Gary L. Fialky is chairman of Bacon & Wilson’s P.C. Corporate Department. His practice is concentrated in Business and Banking Law, with an emphasis on business formations, as well as the purchase and sale of businesses and the representation of physicians, medical groups and financial lending institutions; (413) 781-0560 or[email protected]
Martin C. Dunn, Esquire is an associate with Bacon & Wilson, P.C. He is a general practitioner who possesses expertise in the areas of immigration law, real estate, commercial business transactions, contracts and agreements; (413) 781-0560;[email protected]
The health care industry faces unique challenges when beginning new marketing initiatives, brought on by the service-related qualities of the sector and a culture shift that has many organizations struggling to define their very identities.
Often, an attempt with good intentions is effective when unrolling a new business practice.
But when it comes to the complicated topic of branding a health care entity, some say the old college try could do more harm than good.
Branding, or brand development, is an increasingly prevalent aspect of many marketing initiatives across several industries. Once utilized primarily by those in the retail, financial and legal sectors, branding attempts to define a business by illustrating and calling attention to specific services, strengths, and attributes through a number of initiatives. Those can include advertising, logo design, mission statement and tag line development, sales or event promotions, publicity, internal training, and much more, but all draw from a common, sustainable theme.
Several industries are now treating branding and rebranding as the most important aspect of their marketing endeavors, and the health care industry is no exception.
Many marketing professionals contend, however, that health care is following the lead of many other industries when it comes to brand development, and still has a long way to go in terms of understanding effective branding initiatives that resonate within a large audience.
There is the issue of marketing within health care in general, for one; some, including John Bidwell, president of Bidwell ID in Florence, say that in the past, providers have shunned the practice of marketing health care services.
“The uncertainty of health care plus the explosion of information on the Web has made for well-informed patients,” he said. “Marketing has traditionally been looked down upon, but now providers are realizing that the better-informed patients are making choices on where to go, and that they have to work to retain and attract those patients.”
There’s also the time and money required to roll out a new branding initiative, and the already lean resources of many health care facilities can be prohibitive. Plus, according to Suzanne Hendery, corporate director of Marketing and Creative Services for Baystate Health, the very nature of health care as a service-related industry can make pinpointing those tangible aspects of the business difficult.
“Branding for health care entities differs from product-related businesses,” she said. “In a service business, outstanding people are your key to success, and recruiting and retaining the best of the best can be a challenge, especially when there are national shortages in many health care professions.”
And finally, with health care still bringing up the rear when it comes to branding and marketing in general, there is the problem of the learning curve – knowing what branding is, what it will entail, and how to best implement it within a given facility and, for that matter, a unique region like Western Mass.
John Garvey, president of Garvey Communications in Springfield, said effective branding could, indeed, enhance the overall quality of health care itself.
“But attempting to brand … that can create more dangers than opportunities,” he said.
The Product of Wellness
That’s true on the national level, but even more so on the regional level, where a facility’s competition could be quite literally across the street, and budget pressures are felt that much more.
As Bidwell noted, the national health care industry is one that has historically shied away from big marketing blitzes. He said that was because, for a long time, the work spoke for itself. Patients didn’t travel far for their care, they didn’t shop around for the best possible physician or program, and they stuck with one doctor – their doctor – often for their entire lives.
But all of that has changed. “My general feeling is that health care is going through a huge cultural shift,” Bidwell said. “In the past, the medical industry was looked at sort of like a religion – people stayed with one doctor and did what they were told. Patients weren’t really proactive, but they’re becoming increasingly so. They don’t mind traveling so much, and locally there are many choices to pick from.
“Also, the rising uncertainty of health care costs is spurring much more shopping around,” he continued. “So overall there have been huge changes across the board in health care, and branding is becoming a response to that. What health care businesses are having to do now is recognize that they need to pay attention to their brand in order to stay competitive.”
And when it comes to defining branding, Bidwell noted that the term does indeed extend across several aspects of marketing and development within a given company or facility, and that will likely prove to be the biggest challenge for health care providers.
“It’s not just designing a new logo,” he said. “Branding begins as an exercise in finding out who you are and where you want to go. Businesses have to be brutally honest with themselves in regard to what they have been.
“My feeling is that health care in general is not on the cutting edge of branding,” he continued. “That is changing, though, and I think health care professionals will catch up fast. They are a smart group, and once they recognize the importance of branding and put in the resources, they could do very well.”
A See-through Message
Garvey added that branding can be defined as a promise, which focuses on specific attributes of a company or a particular service. Health care businesses typically want to pledge the best care to their patients and clients, and that is where branding usually begins for them.
But beyond that, he agreed with Bidwell that branding signals a major shift in marketing, which creates the need to place the most value on concrete, objective aspects of a business, not vague sentiments, and also an added challenge for all health care providers.
“The value a facility is trying to convey can’t be superficial,” he said. “A branding initiative can’t focus on something like, ‘We Appreciate You.’ It has to center on bringing out core attributes of a company that are unique.
“But,” Garvey continued, “the message also needs to be sustainable, and that’s where it gets more complex for businesses in health care.”
The reasons why are varied. First, a message that is sustainable must also keep an audience’s interest for a long period of time, and not mirror the messages of competitors too closely. It must be comprehensive, with all aspects tailored to share some common bond – a logo, use of the same, yet still fresh, fonts and design within ads, and the constant use of a tag line or mission statement are just a few examples. In addition, a company’s brand must also help to describe current advances at a given health care facility, thus proving that a business is, indeed, ‘keeping up with the Jones’.’
But those reasons are complicated, Garvey said, by the increased importance placed on transparency in health care – the release of information to the public regarding internal practices or a facility’s financial and patient-related statistics.
“If branding is a promise of something real and definable, then what happens if somehow that promise is broken?” he mused. “That danger, in relation to branding an institution, is that much more real as more information regarding quality in health care is made available to the public. The accountability becomes that much more important to marketing initiatives. It makes branding in and of itself risky.”
Bidwell agreed, adding that failure to address increased transparency within a given health care providers’ marketing messages could have a detrimental effect on a provider’s bottom line.
“Health care (providers) must left their actions like never before, and can’t hoard information,” he said. “The industry must explain what it does and be forthcoming with data. If not, the information will get out anyhow and the provider will simply get a reputation as a stonewaller. ‘What are they hiding?’ people may ask.”
Branding a Region
Still, there are some national health care entities that represent the best examples of effective brand development; Garvey cited Dana Farber and the Boston Children’s Hospital as two examples, based in part on their strong ties to nationally-renowned programs. But he added that local institutions face unique hurdles, created by increased competition within one of the region’s largest sectors. It’s important to remember, he said, that no one branding strategy is a cure-all for a health care provider’s marketing ills, and moreover, national standards for brand development differ greatly from those specific to Western Mass.
“Institutions like Dana Farber can lean on one major strength, like the Dana Farber Cancer Program, and create incredibly effective brand recognition based on that aspect,” Garvey explained. “But on the local level, health care providers are still facing the challenge of translating to the public that they can be all things to all people. Currently, what we’re seeing a lot of regionally is ‘We Got,’ and ‘We Have,’ in reference to new staff, programs, equipment … that’s the big branding message that providers are using now, and it can be effective as long as providers are consistent, clear, and able to cut through clutter with the message they’re sending.”
Garvey noted further that many institutions and smaller health care providers and businesses are quick to make their staff, including physicians, nurses, and others, a core piece of their materials, and that has proven to be an effective route.
“There are rock stars in the health care world, especially when it comes to cancer care, surgical technology, or cardiology, for example,” he said. “Those are the people that are famous for breakthroughs or for treating celebrities, and some national providers have used them as part of their brand with good results. We might not have those types of physicians here, but calling attention to familiar faces still works for us on a different level.”
Bidwell added that Western Mass. also excels in touting the benefits of a more holistic approach to medicine, and that includes spotlighting health care professionals in addition to physicians, as well as programs that draw from many different disciplines. He said that could stem from the unique history of the region.
“Many utopian societies were established here,” he said. “My gut feeling is that legacy is still here on some level – marketing of a more holistic approach to wellness is appearing here more than elsewhere.”
Regardless of the message, however, it must also be filtered through diverse media and means of communication, and touch every aspect of a business, reflecting a facility’s overall mission statement while remaining rooted in the tangible.
Indeed, a rebranding initiative doesn’t stop at a new logo design or a print ad campaign. Rather, it extends into television, radio, and Web advertising; sales strategies; internal and external publications; public relations initiatives; narrow-casting, or reaching niche audiences through various means, and other marketing tools.
The Sum of All Parts
Hendery told BusinessWest that increased attention to branding within the health care sector signals acceptance of a larger marketing shift, both nationally and regionally. But she stressed that an innate understanding of what is involved in brand development beyond marketing is necessary before any business or facility can launch a branding campaign.
“Because the term ‘branding’ is used so often, some don’t understand all that it means,” she said. “Branding is not advertising, and not just marketing and PR. It is the job of everyone in the organization, because when branding is done right it is fundamental to all you do, tied to your mission, vision and measurable goals – linked to every action you take, internally and externally.”
She said brand development extends across an entire business, affecting everything from employee involvement to quality control.
“For any business, before a brand is developed, the organization must have a number of solid business principles in place, a strong vision, identified values, service standards and operating principles that employees are accountable for, and measurable goals for the future based on a sound strategic plan,” Hendery explained. “Also key is a service-recovery program – because the way you treat a customer when a problem has occurred is where you gain or lose their loyalty and confidence – and a reward and recognition program for those employees who go above and beyond in exceeding the service standards. You also need a strong senior management team who easily lives and defines the best of the brand, and communicates often with employees and the community.”
Bidwell added that, to meet those needs, a healthy amount of research is required – of a facility’s strengths and weaknesses, of the population it serves, and of the practices of its competitors, to name a few.
“Of course, the amount of research will depend on your budget and size, but you need enough to get a realistic understanding of how you are perceived so that you can better align your communications with where you want to go,” he said.
And all of those issues must be addressed before any ad copy is drafted, or a new logo is even considered. But despite challenges, more health care businesses are creating a brand as one way to stay viable in an increasingly competitive industry.
Patients and Prospects
“There is a whole debate over whether or not branding is even the way to go for the health care industry,” Bidwell said. “ But I would contend that when it comes to an increasingly educated public making choices as to where they’re going to go for their care, marketing who you are and what you’re about is something a health care provider simply can’t ignore.”
When dealing with a more educated public, though, the health care industry is well served to keep in mind that in terms of branding, most are still students.
Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]
When Mike Sullivan became Holyoke’s mayor in January, 2000, he vowed to be diligent in pursuit in new businesses and jobs for this historic industrial city.
“There were a lot of mayors complaining about jobs leaving this area and going to other places,” Sullivan told BusinessWest. “What I discovered quickly is that you have to learn how to fight back and be aggressive in getting people to come to your city or stay there when they could go somewhere else.”
And aggressive is just what Sullivan and Jeff Hayden, director of the Holyoke Office of Economic and Industrial Development, have been. Together, they have helped inspire and facilitate a number of new development initiatives and a building boom of sorts in the city’s Ingleside section. This growth spurt has included everything from a new Dunkin Donuts to a new Hilton Homewood Suites hotel — and most everything in between.
“We’ve worked hard to sell Holyoke,” said Sullivan, re-elected in November to a fourth term. “We’ve let people know that we’re open to ideas and would welcome anything that makes sense for this city and this region.”
Sullivan would the first to admit that he wasn’t thinking about minor league baseball when he first started selling the Paper City — or considering things that made sense — but that is one of the many projects that have come to the forefront.
Actually, baseball is only one component of what is now projected to be a $120 million project that could significantly alter the landscape of the Ingleside area and bring hundreds of new jobs to the city.
Mandalay Sports Entertainment Group of California has put on the table plans for a multi-faceted development that includes a Double-A baseball team and a 6,500-seat stadium, a 133-room hotel, 75,000 square feet of office and retail space, 73 high-density single-family homes, 255 market-rate apartments, and three acres of surface parking.
Mandalay and the city are hammering out a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, on the project, but much remains to be done to bring it from the drawing board to reality — everything from asssembling a site to receiving the requisite approvals to move the Eastern Division’s Erie (Pa.) Seawolves to Holyoke for the start of the 2008 season.
But the venture is moving forward — as are several other projects in the city, from a comprehensive new health center in the downtown to an expansion of the power-grid management company ISO New England.
“What we’re sending out is a broad message: ‘come on in and take a look at Holyoke,’” said Hayden, “and we’re sending it to everyone. Baseball is just one of the byproducts of that effort.”
BusinessWest looks this issue at the many facets of Holyoke’s baseball project, and how the initiative reflects the city’s aggressive efforts to expand and diversify its jobs base.
Covering their Bases
As he talked about ongoing efforts to promote Holyoke, Hayden said city officials have plenty to sell.
First, there’s ample land, much of permitted, and also hundreds of thousands of square feet of former mill space available, most of it at attractive lease rates — at least when compared to what’s available in other cities. There’s also comparatively low utility costs, thanks to some imaginative programs created by the city’s municipal utility, a location just off I-91 and near the Turnpike, and even the Holyoke Mall, which attracts an estimated 17 million visitors a year.
“Think about it,” said Sullivan. “Yankee Candle attracts maybe 2 million people a year; the mall draws 17 million! And those license plates are from all over — Connecticut, New York, even New Jersey. People are driving over 100 miles to come to Holyoke. That’s quite a drawng card.”
It was the sum of these various parts that attracted Mandalay, the Los Angeles-based corporation that has emerged as one of the premiere national sports entertainment companies, owning and building professional sports franchises and venues across the country.
The portfolio includes the Las Vegas 51s, Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers; the Daytona Dragons, Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, which counts among its ownership partners NBA legend Erving “Magic” Johnson, and the Double-A Frisco (Texas) RoughRiders, a joint venture with Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks’ Southwest Sports Group. Also, the Haggarstown Suns, the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, and the Erie Seawolves.
It was a desire at Mandalay to find a less climatalogically challenged location for the Seawolves — Erie is visited by significant rainfall and early-spring snow that results in numerous postponements — that prompted the company to consider other locations, said Sullivan, noting that a number of factors contributed to Holyoke eventually working its way onto the radar screen.
Indeed, the city has many of the necessary ingredients for the multi-faceted projects Mandalay likes to build, said the mayor, listing everything from a minor league baseball tradition — the city has played host to several teams over the years, most recently the Holyoke Millers, an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers — to strong markets for housing and retail.
Meanwhile, the city actively pursued the venture, meeting several times with Mandalay officials over the past two years to keep the city in the mix.
“We looked at this as a piece, but a very important piece, of a broad development strategy,” said Hayden. “Baseball is at the core of the project, but there is much more to it than that — it presents a number of opportunities for Holyoke, including jobs and property tax revenue.”
To use industry language, the effort to bring the project to fruition is still in the early innings. Work continues on several fronts; Mandalay must receive approval to move the Seawolves from a number of minor league baseball organizations, and also from teams currently in this market, including the Boston Red Sox. Meanwhile, the city is exploring the use of a relatively new state financing program — “District Increment Financing” — to help pay for needed infrastructure work. The low-interest loans could be used for parking, access roads, traffic lights, and other improvements.
At the same time, work continues to find a site — four locations in the Ingleside section are currently being explored — while Mandalay officials prepare to meet with executives at the Holyoke Mall to examine mutual development interests in that area.
There is also ongoing talk about how to package the new baseball venture with an existing team in Holyoke, the Giants, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Now under new management — local business owner Phillip Rosensfield acquired the team last fall — the Giants are preparing for their third season at MacKenzie Stadium.
Two minor league franchises have co-existed in several markets, including Lowell and Manchester, N.H., said Sullivan, adding that if Holyoke should add the Seawolves, they and the Giants could feed off one another.
Fielding Opportunities
The baseball project and its related components fit nicely into a broad blueprint for economic development in Holyoke that was drafted by Sullivan, Hayden, and other city officials.
Essentially, the plan calls for economic diversity — the city suffered greatly when large segments of the paper industry that gave the city its name moved out or shut down — but also the creation and retention of service and entry-level jobs.
This might run counter to the goals of some major metropolitan areas, which are instead focused on high-tech or bioscience jobs, said Sullivan, but in Holyoke it is the key to continued, sustained growth.
“Some people have scoffed at the notion of entry level or service jobs, but they are the backbone of every economy,” said Sullivan, adding that they are especially needed in a community like Holyoke, a blue collar city with a large immigrant population. “These are bread-and-butter jobs, and they’ll be there when the economy changes or declines.”
The resiliency of service jobs is why Holyoke is actively pursuing the baseball project, which will bring some white-collar positions but mostly entry-level jobs, said Hayden, and it’s also why the city would consider further expansion of the sprawling mall.
“These are the kinds of jobs that
Holyoke and this region need,” he said, noting that an estimated 16,000 of the 24,000 jobs in the city are filled by those who live outside the community. “These are solid opportunities for area residents who need jobs or second jobs.”
Sullivan concurred.
“People can say that retail stinks, but they should take a closer look,” he explained. “Look at the mall; there are hundreds of stores there, and each one has a manager and most have an assistant manager; those are attractive jobs.
“People say we need to attract more nanotechnology jobs,” he continued. “Maybe we do, but every city needs more of those bread-and-butter jobs.”
And this has been the focus of many recent initiatives in Holyoke, from creation and recent expansion of the Holyoke Health Center, located in the former Steiger’s building on High Street to efforts to fill the former Ampad building on Jackson Street with an array of smaller manufacturers.
“There are a number of things coming together,” said Hayden, “that are part of a vision to stabilize our tax base, bring new jobs here, and make Holyoke a more vibrant city.”
Home Run
Sullivan recounted for BusinessWest a recent visit he made to the Homewood Suites facility, which has quickly taken shape over the past few months.
He stopped in unannounced, and was not recognized by the on-site manager.
“I told her I was the mayor of the city and I was checking in to see of they needed anything or if I could help with any matters,” he recalled. “She couldn’t think of anything, but seemed a little surprised that the mayor would be taking an interest like that.”
But this has been Sullivan’s style since he took office. He says it’s part of being aggressive, part of his efforts to “fight back,” as he put it. They have paid off with new businesses and new jobs — and the promise of many more.
Indeed, if the current baseball proposal becomes reality, then the city would really have a reason to cheer.
George O’Brien can be reached at[email protected]
ISO New England was created to manage the region’s electrical grid so power will always be available to consumers. In doing so, the Holyoke-based company has also made the electricity marketplace more competitive, reducing power costs and spurring the development of more innovative, efficient technologies. Now the non-profit firm looks to a future charged with promise.
When it comes to the role played by his company, ISO New England, Steve Whitley thinks in big terms.
“We keep the lights on in New England,” said Whitley, the company’s chief operations officer.
It’s an accurate job description. As a regional transmission organization (RTO), Holyoke-based ISO New England manages the six-state region’s bulk electric power system, directing the generation and flow of electricity across its interstate high-voltage transmission lines. The company also oversees New England’s wholesale electricity marketplace, where power is bought, sold, and traded on a daily basis.
It’s a niche that does indeed keep the power flowing – a scenario that wasn’t always guaranteed in years past.
In November of 1965, some 30 million people lost power across the Northeast in one of the nation’s worst blackouts. Concerned about the possibility of another such incident, the region’s power companies formed a series of “power pools” to boost the reliability and connectedness of the electrical grid – and the seeds of independent system operators, like ISO New England, were planted. What would bloom was a completely different way of doing business in electricity.
Today, the non-profit company, which is funded by a tariff on power sales, manages the electrical supply of 6.5 million households and businesses across its six states, all from its headquarters in Holyoke – which are currently being expanded.
This issue, BusinessWest takes a tour of the past 40 years of electrical history in New England, and delves into the crucial role of ISO New England in brightening people’s lives.
Seeing the Light
ISO New England has its roots in one of the original power pools formed in the years following the blackout. The New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) was created in 1971 to foster cooperation among utilities in the six-state region.
In 1965, the regional electrical system was weakly networked compared to what it is today. In fact, Maine largely avoided the historic blackout because its ties to the rest of New England were so unstructured.
During the next three decades, NEPOOL created a regional power grid that has grown to include more than 350 separate generating plants and more than 8,000 miles of transmission lines today, all interconnected to ensure that New England never again endures a region-wide power failure.
“In 1965, you had a loosely connected set of individual utility companies supplying their local customers, and interconnections between these facilities were primarily a matter of convenience and resource sharing,” said Gordon Van Welie, CEO of ISO New England. “Today, the transmission structure is like an interstate highway system moving this commodity called electricity across state borders, and connected to that highway system are producers shipping electricity to those willing to pay for it.”
But at the same time, power costs remained high and generators had little incentive to improve service or develop new technologies under the electric power industry’s system of regulated monopolies. In fact, by the 1990s, New England’s electric rates ranked among the nation’s highest, and the region’s power infrastructure was becoming increasingly antiquated.
As a result, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), on orders from the U.S. Congress, began to allow the deregulation of wholesale electric power, believing that competition would provide a lift to the industry, much as it had in the transportation, telecommunications, and financial services industries.
FERC essentially created a level playing field for competitive markets, encouraging states to force utilities to sell off power plants and ensuring equal access to transmission grids. The shift also aimed to eliminate regulator-set prices in favor of market-driven prices.
It accomplished this through the creation of ISOs, which were given the responsibility of overseeing the wholesale electricity market through a daily competitive bid process – a stock market for power, as it were.
“We had to have an ISO, so that generators of power would compete with each other,” Whitley explained, emphasizing that these generators can no longer be owned by the utility companies.
Working with the generators, utilities, and public power companies that make up NEPOOL, ISO New England implemented wholesale markets in 1999. Each day, generators of electricity essentially bid for the right to sell power. ISO New England examines the bids and accepts or denies them based on how much power is being offered at what price. Then it coordinates the distribution of power.
Since its creation in 1997, ISO New England has led the nation’s most extensive restructuring effort of electricity markets. Today, 88% of the power generation in the six states is unregulated, the most of any region in the United States. As a result, more than 260 market participants complete more than $7 billion in wholesale electricity transactions annually, about a quarter of all power sold in the region; the rest is sold through negotiated, long-term contracts.
Price and Service
Obviously, any market that shifts from regulation to competition will offer benefits to the end consumer – particularly in the area of price. Indeed, electricity prices have declined by 11%, on average, in New England since 2001.
“One of the primary purposes of introducing wholesale electrical markets was to shift the investment risk from consumers to investors,” Van Welie told BusinessWest. In the past, he explained, when utility companies owned both the transmission and generation sides of the power business, consumers bore the full risk of their investments, which was reflected in rising electric rates.
“There was dissatisfaction with that over the years, especially with cost overruns on large projects. So we moved to a system based on wholesale markets and competition,” Van Welie said, adding that the competition resulted in much more efficient allocation of resources, in addition to price breaks for consumers.
The other benefit of open markets has been a renewed investment in power-generation across New England. Since opening the wholesale markets in 1999, the region’s generation capacity has increased by 40%, which in turn boosts the reliability of the grid – the reason ISOs were created to begin with.
“We’ve added more infrastructure than any other region of the country because we have a good plan in place and great input from the states and our partners,” said Whitley. “New England is traditionally the most difficult place in the country to get anything built – but we’re getting it done.”
As a further benefit, the new power plants typically use more efficient and cleaner-burning natural gas technology – and produce fewer pollutants – than older plants. This, in turn, has reduced emissions of nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide, which can be health or environmental hazards.
This is an example of the long-term thinking made possible by the ISO framework, Whitley said. In fact, planning ahead is one of the company’s main responsibilities.
“Our mission is the reliable dispatch of the power system and ensuring its long-term reliability,” Van Welie said. “In order to do that, we produce a regional system plan every year. This plan looks 10 years into the future and forecasts where we think our electrical function will be and also illuminates where we need to strengthen the underlying infrastructure and increase generation.”
For example, Whitley explained, the metropolitan Boston area and Fairfield County on the southwest corner of Connecticut have increased electrical usage the most and required the most infrastructure growth among all regions of New England.
oreseeing areas of need and encouraging capital investment in those areas is crucial to the company’s success.
ISO New England makes all these decisions free of conflicts of interest, as all its officers, board members, and employees must be free of any ties to utility companies, said Ken McDonnell, corporate communications officer. “That allows us to be completely independent in our decision-making.”
High-powered Growth
The electrical market in New England isn’t the only thing that’s expanding, however.
ISO New England has itself embarked on a building project that will house all its operations in two buildings on one Sullivan Road property. Three years ago, the company was forced to separate its administrative and operational divisions in two separate locations in Holyoke, but they will be combined once again at the completion of the $45.5 million building project, which is funded by a bond that will be paid back by the companies that do business in the wholesale electricity marketplace.
The project adds 100,000 square feet of space adjacent to one of the company’s two current locations. Not only will it streamline ISO New England’s operations and house all 400 employees in the two buildings, but it will cost, in the long run, about the same as leasing two properties today, McDonnell said. The new building is set to open in the spring.
Taking a cue from the cleaner technology ISO New England has promoted, the new building will be a ‘green’ facility, McDonnell added. “We have taken steps to make the building both environmentally friendly and energy-efficient.” The company is also reusing as much material as possible, including furniture and building materials, he said.
The move reflects both the company’s growing reach in managing electrical power for the region and its eye for innovation. When it comes to new ideas to streamline the busy electricity marketplace, the lights are on at ISO New England.
| The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court. | |
| Angy’s Food Products Inc. | Laureano, Maria D. |
Lenox Recertified With OSHA ‘Star’
EAST LONGMEADOW — Lenox’s American Saw & Manufacturing Co. has been recertified for an additional five-year membership in the prestigious ‘Star’ Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) of the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The plant, which employs 646 workers, manufactures saw blades and hand tools, including band saws, hack saws, tubing cutters, and utility knives. With its “Star” recertification, it continues as part of an elite corps of about 1,370 workplaces nationwide that have earned VPP recognition. The latest recertification came after an OSHA team’s thorough on-site review of the plant’s safety and health programs, interviews with employees, and a tour of the work site. The plant was first certified as a ‘Star’ site in June 1997 and re-certified in September 2000. The latest review of the plant’s safety and health management programs found that Lenox remains consistent with the high quality of VPP programs, according to Marthe Kent, OSHA’s New England regional administrator. In addition, the plant’s illness and injury rates remain well below the industry average for saw blade manufacturing, added Kent.
Firm Adds Three Clients at Year’s End
HOLYOKE — Bauzá & Associates closed out the year by landing three major accounts – Manny’s TV & Appliances, Williams Distributing, and Economy Insurance, Inc. Hector Bauzá, founder and CEO, said the firm had a “stellar year in 2005” by adding three clients who understand the importance of marketing to Hispanics as a prudent business objective. The firm’s main focus for these companies will be to develop strategic marketing platforms and media campaigns aimed at the Hispanic market, according to Bauzá.
TD Banknorth Massachusetts Ranked #2 in Small Business Lending
WORCESTER — TD Banknorth Massachusetts, a division of TD Banknorth, N.A., recently announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has ranked it the state’s second-largest lender in terms of dollar volume of SBA-backed loans, and fifth in terms of the number of loans made. For the year ending Sept. 30, TD Banknorth Massachusetts made 131 7 (a) SBA loans for more than $19 million, marking the fourth year in which the bank has ranked among the state’s top- 10 small business lenders. SBA loans, which are guaranteed by the SBA, help banks lend to small businesses that might not otherwise qualify for a loan. TD Banknorth, which is an SBA Preferred Lender, works in partnership with small business clients and supports them with loan decisions that are made locally.
Yankee Candle Exec Assumes New Duties
DEERFIELD — Harlan M. Kent, President of Yankee Candle Co., recently added the title of chief operating officer to his role. The COO position did not exist prior to Kent’s promotion. With his new duties, Kent will also oversee the company’s manufacturing and finance areas. He joined Yankee Candle in 2001 as senior vice president for the wholesale division, and was promoted to president in 2004.
Maryland Company Purchases Computer Services Firm
SPRINGFIELD — TEKsystems of Hanover, Md., recently purchased CSA-Tobin, a computer services company, for an undisclosed price. CSA-Tobin was created in 2004 by a merger of Tobin Systems, based in Springfield, and Computer Staffing Associates, based in Connecticut. Approximately 200 technical professionals are employed at the company, which specializes in creating custom programming and offering contract programmers for companies. The Farmington, Conn.-based firm has offices in Springfield, Stamford, Conn., and Tampa, Fla. TEKsystems offers temporary staffing for the computer industry, as well as provides project services to information technology companies.
Big Y Education Express Program Extended
SPRINGFIELD — Due to an overwhelming response from almost 2,000 participating schools, Big Y Foods has extended the fourth round of its Education Express Program to June 28. Education Express is a program in which Big Y shoppers purchase money saving products featured with the Big Y Express Savings Club electronic discount card to earn merchandise points for the school of their choice. Schools redeem these points for free equipment and supplies including computers, software, textbooks and sports equipment. Since the program started in 1994, Big Y has awarded more than $7.5 million in free teaching materials and classroom equipment to more than 1,900 schools in its market area. In this fourth round alone, schools have accumulated more than $2 million in Education Express points.
Bay Path to Offer Criminal Justice Major on Saturdays
LONGMEADOW — Bay Path College will expand the degree offerings available in its accelerated One-Day-A-Week Saturday College for women by adding a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice to its curriculum in January. The B.S. degree for One-Day students, with specializations in either fraud investigation or counseling, will prepare them for a career in the criminal justice field. For more information, call (413) 565-1273, (800) 782-7284, ext. 273, or visit www.baypath.edu.
The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.
NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
The Binding Source LLC v. Etchell’s Technology Corp.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $25,000
Date Filed: Dec. 5
HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
C & S Distributors Inc. v. Michelson Properties Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $40,692.98
Date Filed: Dec. 15
HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
Broadcast Music Inc. v. Pearl St. Night Club Inc. a/k/a-d/b/a Pearl Street
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $10,333.92
Date Filed: Nov. 25
SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Valley Industries Inc. v. Todd Hanks d/b/a New England Cap & Hitch
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $8,880.91
Date Filed: Dec. 6
Project Graphics Inc. v. Prodigy Sign Innovations LLC
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for goods sold and delivered: $5,970.15
Date Filed: Dec. 12
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. v. Autumn Rose Corp.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for workers’ comp insurance: $5,139
Date Filed: Dec. 12
WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Industrial Technical Services Inc. v. Delray Contracting Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract — Failure to pay for services: $8,319.91
Date Filed: Nov. 21
| The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of November and December 2005. | |
| AGAWAM Gemini Massage Mason & More Mortgage Processing Services Suspension Shack Wicked Teez AMHERST A.R.M. Chao’s Consultant Supply from China CHICOPEE Arbour Cuts Family Chiropractic Jack’s Styling Salon Knoller Translation Services Mook Media EAST LONGMEADOW Charter Communications J & B Landscape Polish American Memorial HADLEY HOLYOKE Sunglass Hut LONGMEADOW Footcare Zone NORTHAMPTON Never Another Death SPRINGFIELD Ambassador Auto Sales BM Home Improvements Blades of Steel Remodeling | Edwin Auto Repair Full Service Real Estate Indu Streetz Magazine Inc. JC Xpressions Johnyna’s Creations Loving Care Kennels Mario Cosentini Landscaping Paint’n the Town Pioneer Valley Plantscapes Quick Stop Food Mart Signs by Bob Smith Vincent’s Beauty Salon WEST SPRINGFIELD ATC Systems B’Shara’s Restaurant Connecticut Valley Block Elm Market & Package Store Five Star Towing and Hardy’s Home Décor J.M.S. Towing Liberty’s Shell Magnolias Miguel Coamo Barber Shop Olde English Style Chimney River Inn Motel WESTFIELD Blackberry Lane Fantasy Frogs.com P & M Detailing Top Gunz Paintball |
| The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden and Hampshire counties, and are the latest available. They are listed by community. |
| AMHERST BELCHERTOWN Belchertown Family Center Inc. CHICOPEE FEEDING HILLS HOLYOKE LUDLOW NORTHAMPTON SOUTH HADLEY SPRINGFIELD Cotanak Inc., Rukmini S. Kenia, M.D., P.C., WESTFIELD H.F.P., Fire Sprinkler Inc., K’s Restaurant Inc., WEST SPRINGFIELD |
| Dr. William P. Ferris, Western New England College Professor of Management, has been appointed Associate Editor of the Journal of Management Education. Ferris is an expert in teambuilding, leadership, and management education. In addition to his appointment as an associate editor, Ferris was recently named the Editorial Board Member of the Year for the Academy of Management and Learning, the educational journal of the national Academy of Management. ••••• The Spirit of Springfield announced that Lawrence Goldberg, President and General Manager for Springfield Rock Radio Group, has accepted the position as Chairman, and Arlene Putnam, General Manager, Eastfield Mall, Springfield, will serve as Vice Chair. Board members also include Treasurer, Kristina Houghton, Meyers Brothers Kalicka, PC; Clerk, Attorney Charles Casartello, Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley, PC, and Directors, Romola Rigali, The Republican; Douglas McKell, Connecticut Surgical Group, and Daniel M. Glanville, Director of Government and Community Affairs for Comcast. ••••• PeoplesBank in Holyoke announced the following:
••••• Arthur M. Haselkorn, a commercial loan officer for Berkshire Bank, recently relocated to the 31 Court St., Westfield branch office. •••••
•••••
| ••••• Beth Larrow has been named Executive Administrative Assistant at the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce in Pittsfield. ••••• Denise M. Beaulieu has been named Marketing Manager for the Loomis Village in South Hadley. Loomis Village is a part of the Loomis Communities. ••••• Christopher C. Desmarais, Senior Vice President of Gamco Asset Management Co., has been appointed to the Dolan Advisory Council for Fairfield University’s Charles F. Dolan School of Business. ••••• Rich Mathews has been named Vice President of Marketing for Lenox in East Longmeadow. ••••• Katherine K. Coolidge, a Law Librarian at Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas in Springfield, will serve on the Board of Directors of Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers in Palmer. ••••• Trinidad Andino has been named a Mortgage Loan Officer at TD Banknorth Mortgage Group in Springfield. ••••• Julie Makris has joined Carlson GMAC Real Estate as a Sales Agent in the Longmeadow office. ••••• Suzanne Smith has been named Director of Health Services of Tapestry Health in Florence. She will direct the agency’s 11 family planning and community health services offices. ••••• Gretchen O’Neil has joined the Belchertown office of ERA Laplante Real Estate as a Sales Associate. ••••• Former Springfield Mayor Theodore DiMauro has joined the Springfield-based law firm Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley. ••••• Bacon & Wilson, PC of Springfield announced the following: Other Bacon & Wilson attorneys named Super Lawyers were: ••••• Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, LLP in Springfield announced that Francis D. Dibble, Jr., Commercial Litigation, has been inducted as a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. ••••• North Brookfield Savings Bank announced the following: ••••• The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission in West Springfield announced the following: ••••• Andrew E. Markowski was named Counsel at Elizabeth Gara & Associates, a lobbying firm based in Hartford, Conn. He will focus on energy law and legislation as well as consumer protection issues. ••••• Kent Pecoy Construction announced the following: |
Holyoke Mayor Michael Sullivan has the right idea.
When it comes to economic development, he keeps an open mind — a very open mind. And he isn’t what you would call discriminating. While other area officials talk of wooing high-tech companies and white-collar salaries, Sullivan keeps his focus simple: jobs.
As he told BusinessWest in a recent interview, Sullivan considers service and entry-level jobs to be the backbone of every community’s economy, and he hasn’t been shy about going after jobs like that or keeping them within his community. In fact, he has been quite aggressive in that assignment — “fighting back,” as he put it, against other cities and regions of the country.
This aggressive nature has helped trigger what amounts to an economic revival in Holyoke. The industrial city that had struggled in recent years has seen a slew of recent developments across a wide spectrum of business sectors. The projects range from the creation of the Holyoke Health Center in the city’s downtown to a building boom in the Ingleside section, capped by the construction of a new hotel that is set to open its doors only a few hundred yards from the Holyoke Mall.
And while the present tense is intriguing enough, the future looks inviting with continued progress in talks for a $120 million development that would blend minor league baseball — a Double-A franchise currently located in Erie, Pa. — with other components including retail, offices, and a mix of housing.
The surge in development and the promise of more results from a number of factors. First and foremost, the city has an inventory of developable land that most communities would envy. It also has a location, just off I-91 and 391 and near the Turnpike, which make it attractive to retail, distribution, hospitality, and manufacturing-related businesses. And the city also boasts hundreds of thousands of square feet of old mill space, some of it going at very low rates, that provide a perfect environment in which small businesses can get a start and emerging businesses can attain the space to grow.
But perhaps the most important ingredient in this recipe has been a decidedly pro-business attitude, a ‘get-it-done — somehow’ approach that has brought many new employers to the Paper City and given most existing ventures an opportunity to stay.
Contrast this with some other area communities – and one can definitely put Springfield in this category – where obstacles are put in the way of progress, not cleared from the path. If bureaucracy and politics have been the watchwords in Springfield, cooperation has been the mantra in Holyoke.
As we’ve talked with business owners who have moved to Holyoke or were in the process of doing so, we’ve heard what seems like one voice talking about surprisingly strong levels of support and the willingness to go the extra mile and beyond.
We hear such talk elsewhere, certainly, but in Holyoke, the voices seem strongest.
And what they talk about most is teamwork.
It often starts in the mayor’s office, they say, and but it also involves the City Council, other boards and commissions, the Holyoke Office of Economic and Industrial Development, and, usually, the municipally owned utility.
Indeed, the Holyoke Gas & Electric has, through a series of initiatives, from a fiber optic network available throughout the city to a variety of low-cost energy alternatives, from steam to hydroelectric power, become an effective tool in ongoing economic development efforts.
The results can be seen everywhere — from new businesses like the Homewood Suites hotel to mill-restoration projects like the dramatic Open Square project, which has succeeded in giving a wide array of businesses a downtown Holyoke mailing address. The Holyoke Health Center, an ambitious venture that has brought hundreds of jobs to a one-stagnant section of downtown, is another prime example.
The new developments have succeeded in broadening the city’s tax base, giving the city the kind of fiscal stability that is only a vague memory in Springfield.
Holyoke still has a ways to go, to be sure. But the city appears well on its way to full recovery, if not renaissance. Whether the baseball project and its related components will become a reality remains to be seen, but Holyoke seems destined for a bright future because its leaders have already stepped up to the plate.
