South Hadley Says It’s Open for Business

Community Spotlight

Sean Fitzgerald says SHELD’s fiber business, Fiberspring, continues to expand beyond its South Hadley roots.

Lisa Wong says she was following a trend of sorts. But this was also a no-brainer.

She was referring to her move to follow up four terms as mayor of Fitchburg, in Central Mass., with a new assignment as town manager of South Hadley.

Her immediate predecessor in that role, Mike Sullivan, did essentially the same thing, moving from the corner office in Holyoke, so there’s precedent for taking that career path. As for Wong, who has also been town manager in Winchester, she has many deep connections to South Hadley, including family — and her marriage certificate.

So when Sullivan, whom she knew from when they were both mayors, talked up the job, she threw her hat in the ring and was eventually chosen, coming aboard nearly four years ago.

When asked to compare and contrast the mayor and town manager roles, Wong said that, other than dealing with the press less frequently, the jobs are very similar, and involve managing for today and planning for tomorrow, in equal parts.

In South Hadley, that means everything from ongoing work to reimagine a section of Main Street to early-stage work to build a new elementary school; from a new housing project, called the Clover, to a town meeting vote to approve six additional liquor licenses (there are 19 at present), a nod to a growing restaurant and hospitality sector.

Now under construction near the Rocky’s plaza on Route 116, the Clover project, being undertaken by Way Finders, will include 60 units of mixed-income housing, said Wong, adding that this will help close the gap in the town’s housing needs, but more work is needed.

“We’re looking at places like the Falls and the Route 202 and 33 corridor as additional places for our businesses to grow, but also to bring in new businesses, especially small businesses, to create more vibrancy.”

“We have a bigger dent to make,” she said, adding that the town recently created an affordable housing trust, tasked with creating more housing options.

These are some of the many intriguing storylines in South Hadley. Others include continued growth of the South Hadley Electric Light Department’s (SHELD) fiber internet business, called Fiberspring, which has now expanded beyond the town, as well as plans for a new, $25 million headquarters building for the utility.

SHELD is now an internet provider in the towns of Leverett and Shutesbury, both in nearby Franklin County, and recently won a contract to provide fiber for customers in Longmeadow.

“We won a unanimous vote from the Select Board in Longmeadow, and we’ve done their engineering and design, so that’s pretty exciting,” SHELD General Manager Sean Fitzgerald told BusinessWest. “We’ve delivered to them a full, town-wide design engineering package, and in the spring, we’ll believe they’ll take a vote to finance either a partial launch or an entire town launch of fiber; they have a huge appetite for this.”

As for the new headquarters facility, SHELD has chosen a site across from the Big Y on Willimansett Street for a construction of a facility will replace a more than 100-year-old structure and provide the utility with room to grow, especially on the fiber side, and an opportunity to move out of a flood zone.

There’s also the community’s large and diverse business community, which includes those that have been around for decades — like Carey’s Flowers and Chap de Laine’s Interiors, and relative newcomers such as a Delaney’s Market.

Located in a small church salvaged by one of the towns flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir, the South Hadley Delaney’s Market also includes the kitchen that makes the grab-and-go offerings now available at five locations across the region — South Hadley, Longmeadow, Westfield, Wilbraham, and the latest addition in West Springfield, with plans to expand in Holyoke.

Founder Peter Rosskothen, a serial entrepreneur who revitalized the Log Cabin banquet facility in Holyoke, said the Delaney’s Market concept, launched a decade ago with the Longmeadow store, is catching on, with the chain amassing a growing roster of steady, repeat customers.

“We’re feeling the economy a little bit this year, but it’s a very steady concept, with loyal, regular customers,” he said. “So I feel good about the concept.”

As for Chap de Laine’s, the landmark business, opened in 1957, is preparing to mark 50 years in business, said second-generation owner Lisanne Chapdelaine, who took the helm in 1997. It has celebrated more milestones since, she noted, by being faithful to the mission set in place by her father, while also becoming a one-stop shop, handling everything from residential and commercial furnishings to flooring coverings to window treatments.

Peter Rosskothen says his chain of Delaney’s Markets continues to grow, evolve, and draw repeat customers.

“We’re still in all the categories we have been historically,” she said. “And our design services go beyond our product offerings, providing the end users with paint and wallpaper. It’s all part of being a one-stop shop.”

Current Events

Wong said she considers South Hadley to be a destination community, complete with restaurants and shops (at Village Commons, for example), parks, the arts, recreation facilities, and Mount Holyoke College.

Among her many goals is to promote these various assets and draw more visitors, while also providing quality services to those who call the community home.

“I’m led by my love of the town,” she said, adding that there are several developing stories, including some infrastructure projects, topped by a major reconstruction of what’s known as the Falls Quarter, the historic South Hadley Falls neighborhood, which sits along the Connecticut River.

“There will be a major reconstruction of Main Street from the Chicopee line to the library,” said Wong, adding that plans call for creation of multi-purpose trails, beautification efforts, and other initiatives. “It will really revitalize that area.”

As she explained, “we’re looking at places like the Falls and the Route 202 and 33 corridor as additional places for our businesses to grow, but also to bring in new businesses, especially small businesses, to create more vibrancy. We have a lot of rezoning of quarters to create a more walkable neighborhood feel that can also accommodate quality commercial spaces.

“We’re opening ourselves up for business,” she went on. “We want people to thrive here, but we also want to create new opportunities to be part of our vibrancy.”

Meanwhile, the town is looking to replace Mosier School, currently grades 2-4, and expand it to grades 1-5.

“This would be a major undertaking and a major asset for the community,” Wong said, adding that the town is looking at design options and anticipates building by 2030 or 2031.

While South Hadley is progressing on many fronts, so too is SHELD. Indeed, Fitzgerald told BusinessWest that the fiber project in town has mostly exceeded expectations, with the utility now boasting a 53% market share.

“And it’s still growing — we’re approaching 3,000 customers in South Hadley alone,” he noted. “People are jumping on the fiber every day. We’re adding nine to 12 customers every week — it’s the best case that we could have hoped for.”

Looking ahead to the Longmeadow project, Fitzgerald said it will be handled in much the same way that South Hadley (which is similar in size) was, meaning it will be phased in through creation of fiber service areas (FSAs), or fiberhoods, as SHELD likes to call them.

“Each fiberhood has 250 to 300 customers, so if we start out with three or four of those, you’re looking at close to 1,000 customers,” he said, adding that Longmeadow will eventually have about 6,000 customers. “You build the town out in sections.”

And the expectations are similar in South Hadley, he went on, adding that projections call for at least a 50% market share and likely much higher, as the need for reliable internet service continues to grow.

“Co-ax cable doesn’t have the capability of the fiber, and also, the industry has changed; people watch their television differently now,” he explained. “Those factors will drive us probably over 60% to 70% over the next three years.”

Meanwhile, SHELD continues to explore further expansion opportunities, such as in Southampton, where the town has made a proposal, and Hadley, one of several communities “kicking the tires,” said Fitzgerald, adding that further expansion, which could include going into neighboring states, will be challenged by the number of private equity companies getting into the fiber business, such as Gateway Fiber and GoNetSpeed.

“They’re coming in and slapping fiber up,” he added. “And if you have too many competitors on the pole, it waters down your ability to be successful.”

As for the new headquarters building, SHELD hopes to be in construction of that facility by the second quarter of 2026, Fitzgerald noted, adding that, to pay for it, the utility will likely impose a 2.5-cent rate increase on the electric side (roughly $200 per year for the average customer), a cost that will likely be reduced as revenues grow on the fiber side.

Food for Thought

Rosskothen told BusinessWest that, beyond convenience, the main thrust at Delaney’s Market is on ‘fresh.’

Made in South Hadley with local ingredients, the meals are brought to the four other locations daily to ensure freshness, he explained, adding that the concept has caught on with many different constituencies.

“Most of those who use it are young people, busy people, seniors … it’s a wide variety of customers that come regularly,” he said, adding that these groups are attracted by a combination of convenience, quality, and variety. “Hopefully, they come once a week, and many of our customers come at least two and half times a month.”

They have a wide variety of options to consider, from chicken francaise to shepherd’s pie; blackened salmon to stuffed peppers; chicken pot pie to lobster pie (Tuesday only).

“At this time of year, the comfort foods seem to do really well — the pot pies, the chicken parm, the shepherd’s pie,” he noted, adding that the stores to very well around the holidays, both for those entertaining and those too busy to cook.

In the new year, the company will add calorie-smart offerings that will coincide with those New Year’s resolutions to eat smarter and healthier, said Rosskothen, adding that, while the concept was launched a decade ago, it has been continually tweaked to generate new customers — and more repeat customers.

In many ways, that has been the same blueprint at Chap de Laine’s.

Indeed, the landmark store, first located in South Hadley Falls and then moved to its current location on College Street in 1970, has been welcoming different generations of the same family, said Chapdelaine, adding that the store has adapted to changing times while remaining true to its roots.

For example, people can do research on the internet, she explained — which, if used properly, can be a useful tool and a vehicle for bringing people to the store.

Most of the products sold in the store are made in the U.S., which reduces the broad impact from tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, she noted, adding quickly that even products made in the country will likely have components made overseas that are subject to tariffs.

“We have one or two small brands that are subject to tariffs,” she explained. “We have two big lines for which we’re paying 20% more, overnight, and that’s a biggie.”

But Chap de Laine’s has successfully navigated plenty of change as it approaches 50 years, in a town where change — and, hopefully, business momentum — promise to be constant as well.