FRANKLIN COUNTY
ASHFIELD
339 Norton Hill Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Brian Farrell
Seller: Michael S. Noetzel
Date: 02/04/16
BERNARDSTON
132 Merrifield Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $186,500
Buyer: Joseph J. Morin
Seller: Pollard, Gertrude E., (Estate)
Date: 02/19/16
BUCKLAND
124 North St.
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Elijah L. Gwynn
Seller: Mauricia Alvarez RET
Date: 02/12/16
DEERFIELD
365 River Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Joseph W. Bysiewski
Seller: Kathleen N. Belanger
Date: 02/12/16
GREENFIELD
16 Arnold Lane
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Bank New York Mellon
Seller: John Marchefka
Date: 02/12/16
96 Columbus Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $152,000
Buyer: Chelsea A. Ratta
Seller: Randy W. Magin
Date: 02/05/16
29 Highland Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Carl G. Burwick
Seller: Capilano LLC
Date: 02/19/16
83 Lunt Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Ralph P. Mroz
Seller: Donald P. Tarr
Date: 02/17/16
64 Silver St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Amy S. Penna
Seller: Pamela Ossorio
Date: 02/19/16
HEATH
77 Route 8A S.
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Jacob A. Churchill
Seller: Blackmore FT
Date: 02/09/16
LEVERETT
33 Lead Mine Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: John Klier
Seller: Norman D. Aitken
Date: 02/19/16
LEYDEN
240 Eden Trail
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $137,000
Buyer: Pedro J. Borgos
Seller: Robert T. Henry
Date: 02/12/16
MONTAGUE
69 5th St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Pamela A. Gilmore
Seller: Pioneer Coop
Date: 02/04/16
88 East Taylor Hill Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $176,900
Buyer: Nathan R. Aldrich
Seller: Niels W. Cudnohufsky
Date: 02/05/16
1 Kingsley Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Kelly A. Thayer
Seller: Thomas Shiner
Date: 02/09/16
61 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Adam T. English
Seller: Jane R. Drury
Date: 02/05/16
316 Wendell Road
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Randy W. Magin
Seller: Neill L. Bovaird
Date: 02/05/16
NORTHFIELD
32 Aldrich St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $244,242
Buyer: Pamela T. Hodgkins
Seller: Julie A. Craig
Date: 02/16/16
ORANGE
27 Riverside Dr.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Ryan W. Mailloux
Seller: Pamela J. Kingsbury
Date: 02/19/16
SHELBURNE
1000 Mohawk Trail
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Anna C. Foster
Seller: Gordon E. Taylor
Date: 02/19/16
SHUTESBURY
235 Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $191,000
Buyer: Lincoln B. Allen
Seller: Charles D. Santos
Date: 02/08/16
33 Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $278,300
Buyer: Herbert L. Hoyack
Seller: Gail P. Nelson
Date: 02/12/16
SUNDERLAND
59 Howard Hepburn Dr.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Brian J. Misterka
Seller: Paul M. Curran
Date: 02/17/16
414 Russell St.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $259,900
Buyer: Kipa Realty Inc.
Seller: Valley Building Co. Inc.
Date: 02/17/16
332 South Silver Lane
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $364,000
Buyer: Kipa Realty Inc.
Seller: Valley Building Co. Inc.
Date: 02/17/16
|
HAMPDEN COUNTY
AGAWAM
4 Alfred Court
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $123,700
Buyer: Sabrina M. Brizzolari
Seller: Michael F. Diroma
Date: 02/16/16
35 Arbor Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Jeremy M. Cleveland
Seller: Moore Thomas A., (Estate)
Date: 02/17/16
579 Cooper St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Daniel A. Arventos
Seller: David J. Brown
Date: 02/09/16
11 Hendom Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $280,000
Seller: Kathleen J. Hanson
Date: 02/12/16
69 Kensington St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Jeannette T. Dupuis
Date: 02/05/16
717 River Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $185,324
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Thomas M. Wiater
Date: 02/12/16
143 South St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Steven M. Ferrisi
Seller: South Street Holdings LLC
Date: 02/12/16
12 Stanley Place
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $176,000
Buyer: Shannon L. Ondras
Seller: Tracey A. Stanlewicz
Date: 02/17/16
23 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Route 75 Main St. AGA LLC
Seller: CH Corp
Date: 02/10/16
344 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Walz Realty LLC
Seller: Ilmie I. Preniqi
Date: 02/12/16
955 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Randall S. Housman
Seller: Cleveland, Redwing, (Estate)
Date: 02/12/16
36 Vadnais St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Carrington
Seller: Nancy Malone
Date: 02/19/16
57 Valentine St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Adam Desmarais
Seller: John E. Morse
BRIMFIELD
64 Champeaux Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Thomas M. Stewart
Seller: Kevin P. Kirrane
Date: 02/16/16
66 Champeaux Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: James P. Chew
Seller: John P. McCarthy
Date: 02/05/16
13 Saint Clair Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Heather J. Archambault
Seller: Debra A. Lamoureux
Date: 02/10/16
CHICOPEE
23 Ashgrove St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $134,000
Buyer: Antonio Colon
Seller: Antoinette Keily
Date: 02/09/16
125 Beaudry Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $186,109
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Melissa Vachon
Date: 02/18/16
100 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Denis Jotham-Khamasi
Seller: Otilia Lopes
Date: 02/12/16
338 Casey Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Karl E. Zimmerman
Seller: Frieda C. Ingham
Date: 02/12/16
71 Clairmont Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Cheryl A. Wright
Seller: Gloria M. Maxwell
Date: 02/04/16
47 Granville Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $142,320
Buyer: Nicole C. Breton
Seller: Levesque, Gaelon, (Estate)
Date: 02/16/16
70 Hillcrest St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $183,900
Buyer: Alicia M. Germain
Seller: Nicholas A. Breton
Date: 02/12/16
425 Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Salmar Realty LLC
Seller: 425-521 Meadow Chicopee LLC
Date: 02/05/16
142 Mountainview St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Nfamara Taal
Seller: Daniel Garrity
Date: 02/05/16
N/A
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $183,250
Buyer: Peter N. Soillis
Seller: Dianne A. Copeland
Date: 02/05/16
88 Saint Jacques Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Jean Foti
Seller: Larry G. Scarbrough
Date: 02/05/16
163 South St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Juana M. Alicea
Date: 02/12/16
402 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: Nichelle D. Carrington
Seller: Cynthia A. Cable
Date: 02/11/16
57 White Birch Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Mary B. Mercier
Seller: DGL Properties LLC
Date: 02/12/16
EAST LONGMEADOW
71 Bayne St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $160,184
Buyer: Olive Pro LLC
Seller: Deutsche Bank
Date: 02/11/16
22 Bettswood Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Joshua J. Eldridge
Seller: Thomas Anthony
Date: 02/12/16
26 Kingman Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: James Farrell
Seller: Molinari, Patricia J., (Estate)
Date: 02/18/16
25 Mapleshade Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Cynthia Palmer
Seller: US Bank
Date: 02/18/16
299 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: James A. Fiorentino
Seller: Minor, Marion J., (Estate)
Date: 02/05/16
466 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $164,900
Buyer: Steven C. Wheeler
Seller: Mark E. Wing
Date: 02/19/16
71 South Brook Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $412,000
Buyer: Sean F. Coughlin
Seller: George N. Joseph
Date: 02/09/16
9 Wisteria Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Jarrod M. Libel
Seller: Timothy E. Poole
Date: 02/12/16
HAMPDEN
Chapin Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: AJN 1 LLC
Date: 02/05/16
252 East Longmeadow Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $142,500
Buyer: Russell Diederich
Seller: Stanley V. Pawlowicz
Date: 02/17/16
72 Highland Circle
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Christopher Ruscio
Seller: Robert W. Dugre
Date: 02/12/16
118 Raymond Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $142,259
Buyer: Fletcher & Maple LLC
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 02/08/16
27 Steepleview Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Michael L. Rainwater
Seller: Timothy J. Marini
Date: 02/08/16
HOLLAND
150 Sturbridge Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Sareena Gagner
Seller: Caouette, Gerard A., (Estate)
Date: 02/10/16
HOLYOKE
54 Bay State Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $189,500
Buyer: Mark A. Staples
Date: 02/17/16
50 Beacon Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $184,386
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Angel Otero
Date: 02/04/16
31 Carlton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $146,500
Buyer: Megan E. McGrath
Seller: Jodine J. Powers
Date: 02/19/16
33 Carol Lane
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $277,500
Buyer: Richard C. Lovely
Seller: Brett R. Normandeau
Date: 02/16/16
19 Dillon Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Frederick G. Destromp
Seller: Margaret T. Nadeau
Date: 02/08/16
1 Green Willow Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Pedro A. Perez
Seller: Kristopher B. Mercier
Date: 02/09/16
216 Pine St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Seller: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Date: 02/11/16
61 Sterling Road
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Jay B. Judge
Seller: Kathleen F. Winters
Date: 02/08/16
13 Woodland St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $174,000
Buyer: Zydalis Bauer
Seller: Ellis, Ann D., (Estate)
Date: 02/05/16
LONGMEADOW
41 Belleclaire Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Francis Ott
Seller: Michael J. O’Connor
Date: 02/12/16
125 Cooley Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Greg N. Link
Seller: Elizabeth H. Rochford
Date: 02/05/16
43 Hillside Terrace
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Costello
Seller: Thomas J. Costello
Date: 02/12/16
75 Pioneer Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Brittany Plaus
Seller: David G. Chapdelaine
Date: 02/17/16
LUDLOW
22 Barrett St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $156,468
Buyer: Pennymac PMT NPL Financing
Seller: Ty J. Mackie
Date: 02/19/16
70 Crest St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Dana M. Royce
Seller: David A. Dube
Date: 02/08/16
60 Fern St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $138,000
Buyer: Michael Harding
Seller: Dorothy E. Beauregard
Date: 02/11/16
97 Kirkland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $165,300
Buyer: Stanley Boszko
Seller: Antonio Cacela
Date: 02/04/16
39 Parkview St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $266,500
Buyer: Meagan Lampron
Seller: Donna M. Queiros
133 Shawinigan Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Yellowbrick Property LLC
Seller: Laura M. Castoe
Date: 02/08/16
9 Sunset Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $149,999
Buyer: Donna M. Queiros
Seller: Robert L. Duval
Date: 02/05/16
334 Woodland Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: David A. Dasilva
Seller: Sergio A. Bernardes
Date: 02/12/16
MONSON
134 Brimfield Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Donald L. Morrison
Seller: David A. Degon
Date: 02/19/16
11 Cushman St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $121,190
Buyer: Thrivent FCU
Seller: Alan R. Druckenmiller
Date: 02/16/16
PALMER
135 Griffin St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $148,143
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Robert L. Campurciani
Date: 02/17/16
3094 Pine St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $157,000
Buyer: Alan P. Fauteux
Seller: Roy, Edward R., (Estate)
Date: 02/17/16
SOUTHWICK
21 Gargon Terrace
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $177,875
Buyer: Leroy B. Cook
Seller: Rutka, Fredrick W., (Estate)
Date: 02/05/16
196 Klaus Anderson Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Jonathan D. Youens
Seller: Yvonne A. Welch
Date: 02/19/16
346 North Loomis St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Karetka
Seller: Robert A. Pinard
Date: 02/12/16
31 Ranch Club Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Davyn McGuire
Seller: Peter J. Pappas
Date: 02/11/16
145 South Longyard Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Marilyn Racine
Seller: Jonathan Youens
Date: 02/19/16
SPRINGFIELD
54 Alvin St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Grace A. Santiago
Seller: Badran M. Khatib-Colon
Date: 02/19/16
14 Bacon Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $118,750
Buyer: Arnold D. Cox
Seller: Richard E. Holmes
Date: 02/12/16
1112 Bay St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: BZGJJ Inc.
Seller: Macs Convenience Stores
Date: 02/10/16
453 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Liang M. Hsu
Seller: Ben Thanh Market LLC
Date: 02/10/16
15-17 Biltmore St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Maria L. Diaz
Seller: Shaun K. Allen
Date: 02/17/16
52 Brentwood St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Jezenia Delgado
Seller: JJS Capital Investment
Date: 02/16/16
100 Brianna Lane
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Andrea Piche
Seller: Roger P. Harpin
Date: 02/19/16
Calhoun St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Memorial Square Apt. LP
Seller: New England Farm Workers
Date: 02/12/16
55 Cambridge St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $164,058
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Tamika K. Walter
Date: 02/16/16
15 Copeland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $116,000
Buyer: Nicholas E. Sergentanis
Seller: Anabela Basile
Date: 02/11/16
36 Deepfield Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Seller: Thomas E. Labonte
Date: 02/05/16
17 East Hooker St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Memorial Square Apt. LP
Seller: New England Farm Workers
Date: 02/12/16
146 Garland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $129,000
Buyer: Daniel E. Diaz
Seller: Michael F. Minahan
Date: 02/05/16
57 Grandview St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $127,000
Buyer: Lia M. Girhiny
Seller: Marcus, Joan B., (Estate)
Date: 02/12/16
108 Jerilis Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $138,600
Buyer: Freedom Mortgage Corp.
Seller: Maria Fermandez
Date: 02/17/16
17 Kenwood Terrace
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: Leon L. Woods
Seller: JJJ 17 LLC
Date: 02/16/16
25 Kipling St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: William E. Oakes
Seller: Katherine M. Kelly
Date: 02/19/16
71 Loretta St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $146,000
Buyer: Miraida Infante
Seller: Joanne F. Fennell
Date: 02/10/16
2295 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $1,427,342
Buyer: Memorial Square Apt. LP
Seller: Brightwood Development Corp.
Date: 02/12/16
2718 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Memorial Square Apt. LP
Seller: New England Farm Workers
Date: 02/12/16
14 Marchioness Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $289,545
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Ian K. Barnett
Date: 02/10/16
117 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $128,000
Buyer: Diogo R. Blanco
Seller: Daniel R. Dias
Date: 02/16/16
40 Pecousic St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $142,000
Buyer: Gabriel Marin
Seller: Ellen M. Cote
Date: 02/12/16
687 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Michael D. Arnold
Seller: Catherine M. Edwall
Date: 02/04/16
52-54 Reed St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $158,500
Buyer: Eduard Tsikhotskiy
Seller: James Donovan
Date: 02/16/16
100 Signal Hill Circle
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Michael Carabetta
Seller: Brittany Plaus
Date: 02/17/16
177 Starling Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $207,472
Buyer: Bank New York Mellon
Seller: Lazare N. Kouabran
Date: 02/12/16
18-20 Sullivan St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $129,900
Buyer: Danielle Cuffie
Seller: Home Equity Assets Realty
Date: 02/17/16
145-151 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,600,000
Buyer: Forest Park Rentals LLC
Seller: 145 Sumner LP
Date: 02/09/16
290-294 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Forest Park Rentals LLC
Seller: Russell L. Selig RET
Date: 02/09/16
1500 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: James Santaniello
Seller: Robert J. Stephen
Date: 02/11/16
2020 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Anthony Sanabria
Seller: Richard C. Lovely
Date: 02/16/16
18 Wilmont St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $166,142
Buyer: US Bank
Seller: Kathy Holmes
Date: 02/19/16
1083 Worthington St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Driftwood LLC
Seller: TAJ Investments LLC
Date: 02/04/16
TOLLAND
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Kasondra Sporbert
Seller: Dana Platt
Date: 02/05/16
WESTFIELD
37 Cabot Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $167,491
Buyer: Deutsche Bank
Seller: Thomas J. Gallo
Date: 02/17/16
20 Castle Hill Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Michael J. Killips
Seller: Richard M. Buzzee
Date: 02/12/16
16 Christopher Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $255,835
Buyer: Bayview Loan Servicing LLC
Seller: Eduardo Velez
Date: 02/04/16
24 East Silver St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Antonio Sanchez
Seller: Benjamin Sanchez
Date: 02/11/16
22 Highland Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $205,500
Buyer: James B. Vansickle
Seller: Griffin, Catherine A., (Estate)
Date: 02/12/16
56 Maple Terrace
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Layah S. Chham
Seller: Morris, Michael J., (Estate)
Date: 02/12/16
70 Moseley Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Steve G. Aube
Seller: Judy A. McGrath
Date: 02/10/16
83 Ridge Trail Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Jorge Alvarado-Morales
Seller: Tianyi Zhou
Date: 02/18/16
245 Russellville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Christopher M. Weingart
Seller: Jenna Marotte
Date: 02/18/16
37 Saint Dennis St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Ricci Tomassetti
Seller: John J. Hartford
Date: 02/19/16
101 Shaker Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Molly P. Moody
Seller: Steven L. Marsh
Date: 02/10/16
75 Shannon Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Alexander D. Girard
Seller: Michael P. Desabrais
Date: 02/12/16
136 Western Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Kyle M. Theriault
Seller: Lisa M. Killips
Date: 02/12/16
WILBRAHAM
12 Chapin Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Robert T. Rudolph
Seller: Porter, Jean S., (Estate)
Date: 02/12/16
47 Decorie Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $302,000
Buyer: Joseph M. Jolicoeur
Seller: Steven P. Merhar
Date: 02/04/16
967 Main St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Robert Zanolli
Seller: Keith T. Johnson
Date: 02/17/16
22 Red Gap Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: David Pierangelo
Seller: Brian J. Weeks
Date: 02/11/16
735 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Matthew T. Kissane
Seller: David Pierangelo
Date: 02/11/16
9 Walter St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $132,500
Buyer: Bruce A. Chelkonas
Seller: Theresa J. Mitus
Date: 02/12/16
WEST SPRINGFIELD
1059 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Ion Drucioc
Seller: US Bank
Date: 02/09/16
366 Birnie Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $178,000
Buyer: Philip Gaylor
Seller: Carolyn J. Pingree
Date: 02/19/16
502 Birnie Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $199,500
Buyer: Ziad Hannoush
Seller: Thomas J. Dingman
Date: 02/08/16
40 Boulevard Place
West Springfield, MA 01089
Buyer: Robert E. Nazzaro
Seller: Harry Kalamarakis
Date: 02/10/16
472 Brush Hill Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $349,900
Buyer: CIL Realty Of Mass Inc.
Seller: Daniel J. Garrity
Date: 02/12/16
175 Circuit Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: MJD Realty LLC
Seller: CK Realty LLP
Date: 02/19/16
34 City View Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $152,450
Buyer: Bank New York Mellon
Seller: Ann M. Henderson
Date: 02/12/16
39 Connecticut Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Afshin Rastegar
Seller: Ashley R. Crane
Date: 02/10/16
50 East Gooseberry Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $143,775
Buyer: James Conway
Seller: Douglas H. Dreyer
Date: 02/17/16
25 Hillside Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: JDK Properties LLC
Seller: Karl F. Schwarzkopf
Date: 02/04/16
171 Interstate Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $1,500,000
Buyer: CLCW Realty Group LLC
Seller: West Springfield Realty
Date: 02/10/16
28 Kent St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: John M. McCarthy
Seller: John M. McCarthy
Date: 02/12/16
|
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY
AMHERST
35 Elf Hill Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $357,500
Buyer: Leah Hirshberg
Seller: Hanna Spinosa
Date: 02/08/16
BELCHERTOWN
281 Boardman St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Dana R. Vigneault
Seller: Pepin, Marie T., (Estate)
322 Cold Spring Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $244,500
Buyer: Christopher J. Lachendro
Seller: Alan Fisher
Date: 02/12/16
586 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $330,771
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: Walter R. Woychuk
Date: 02/11/16
700 Franklin St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Tianyi Zhou
Seller: Mary A. Scarcliff
Date: 02/18/16
28 Grenwich Hill
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Andrew J. Fleischer
Seller: David A. Funk
Date: 02/11/16
273 Michael Sears Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Stephen L. Rock
Seller: Loretta W. Lyons
Date: 02/19/16
CHESTERFIELD
20 Old Chesterfield Road
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $328,000
Buyer: Richard D. Zane
Seller: Denise M. Kellogg
Date: 02/05/16
EASTHAMPTON
3 Boylston St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $202,500
Buyer: Simone N. Rainaud
Seller: Troy E. Chilson
Date: 02/11/16
20 Everett St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Willow E. Volante
Seller: Steven Ainsworth
Date: 02/08/16
8-A&B Lincoln St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Arlene B. Obara
Seller: Richard J. Truehart Jr. LT
Date: 02/16/16
17 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Anne L. Carson
Seller: Chad King
Date: 02/11/16
GRANBY
7 Ferry Hill Road
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $117,500
Buyer: Margaret A. Gifford
Seller: Gifford, William M., (Estate)
Date: 02/04/16
Pleasant St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $270,050
Buyer: Mountain Stream Inc.
Seller: Dorothy B. Allen NT
Date: 02/04/16
38 Pleasant St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Children First Ent. Inc.
Seller: William Pead
Date: 02/17/16
138 West St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $206,100
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Maria C. Racca
Date: 02/18/16
HADLEY
282 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $2,425,000
Buyer: Napoli Hadley LLC
Seller: Russell LLC
Date: 02/12/16
HUNTINGTON
33 Basket St.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $167,900
Buyer: Ariel L. Behler
Seller: Brian M. Domina
Date: 02/12/16
NORTHAMPTON
10 Bright Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Mark C. Pachucki
Seller: Joseph D. Squires
Date: 02/11/16
731 Florence Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $202,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Grant-Brynn
Seller: Mark W. Grabiec
Date: 02/04/16
26 Hinckley St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Deborah A. Martin
Seller: Alberta Tabony
Date: 02/12/16
32 Main St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $649,000
Buyer: Michael R. Banas
Seller: Renray Realty LLC
Date: 02/09/16
107 Moser St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $469,900
Buyer: Sunny Chernly
Seller: Kent Pecoy & Sons Constr
Date: 02/10/16
15 Ryan Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $219,900
Buyer: Robert Farr-Bayliss
Seller: Konstantinos N. Sierros
Date: 02/19/16
122 State St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Vikram Budhraja
Seller: Benjamin J. Jenkins
Date: 02/16/16
SOUTH HADLEY
98 College St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Mark D. Cormier
Seller: James P. Proulx
Date: 02/05/16
49 Dartmouth St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Bethany M. Lisi
Seller: Mark D. Cormier
Date: 02/04/16
24 Haig Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: ZCG Properties LLC
Seller: Michael D. Lachapelle
Date: 02/18/16
52 Hillside Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Matthew A. Depin
Seller: Gwozdz, Michael J. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 02/19/16
2 Industrial Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: 809 College Highway LLC
Seller: Petes RT
Date: 02/12/16
194 Lathrop St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $285,500
Buyer: Marcil J. Boucher
Seller: Tammy J. O’Neill
Date: 02/19/16
105 Lyman St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Patrick J. Spring
Seller: Michael F. Brainard
Date: 02/11/16
SOUTHAMPTON
110 Brickyard Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $267,900
Buyer: Brian M. Domina
Seller: Shivani P. Baker
Date: 02/12/16
369 College Hwy.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $383,000
Buyer: John J. Hartford
Seller: Shawn Shea
Date: 02/19/16
5 Katelyn Way
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Paul R. Gallagher
Seller: Anthony F. Gleason
Date: 02/04/16
12 Katelyn Way
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: Jason W. Hickox
Seller: Adam J. Dutkiewicz
Date: 02/19/16
WARE
355 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $288,000
Buyer: Gregory A. Metcalf
Seller: Mark E. Jolin
Date: 02/16/16
5 Parkhill Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Jeannette M. Rivest
Seller: Barbara A. Seymour
Date: 02/11/16
152 Upper Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $139,500
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Dean Johnson
Date: 02/11/16
WESTHAMPTON
67 Chesterfield Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: George M. Shafer
Seller: Jonathan E. Montague
Date: 02/05/16
WILLIAMSBURG
204 Main St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Sour Dough LLC
Seller: Andrew Quient Inc.
Date: 02/12/16
206 Main St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Bread Euphoria LLC
Seller: Andrew Quient
Date: 02/12/16
Community Spotlight
Marcos Marrero stands across the lower canal from a planned condo project that he says will offer “beachfront property.”
As he talked about Holyoke and the broad economic-development plan he put in place for it when he became mayor just over four years ago, Alex Morse listed a number of key strategic planks in that platform.
They include everything from improving and broadening the housing stock, especially with market-rate options that would attract young professionals, to programs that would encourage entrepreneurship; from public investments aimed at spurring private development to a focus on expanding the creative economy; from public-private partnerships to bolstering the hospitality industry.
And for evidence of progress in all those realms, he pointed (figuratively, although he could also have done so literally from a window in his office in City Hall) to the many developments taking place on — or that can been seen from — Race Street.
Indeed, that north-south artery that runs along what’s known as the lower canal in this gateway city, famous for its legacy of paper making, represents a microcosm of the progress Holyoke has seen in recent years, said Morse, and the promise it holds for the future.
Along a three-block stretch, one can see perhaps the best example of the creative economy in motion in the Gateway City Arts venture, a mixed-use property that will soon feature a new restaurant. Moving south, one encounters the aptly named Cubit building (that’s the shape it takes), which will soon house Holyoke Community College’s Culinary Arts program on the first and second floors and residential space on the third and fourth floors, in an ambitious public-private partnership.
In between those properties is a vacant lot that will become home to the latest expansion effort involving Bueno Y Sano, the Mexican-food chain launched in Amherst two decades ago that now has six locations in Massachusetts and Vermont. The Holyoke facility will be a site for manufacturing some of the food items, but it will also have an eatery.
Across the street, and then across the canal, one can see the sprawling Canal Gallery complex. Once a home to artists and vacant for several years, it is the site of a planned 50-unit condominium complex, one with dozens of windows facing the canal, thus becoming what Marcos Marrero, Holyoke’s economic-development director, affectionately calls “beachfront property.”
From Race Street, one can see the city’s new railway platform, built on the site of Holyoke’s original train station, which is being hailed as one instrument in the city’s efforts to attract new businesses and residents. And one can also see the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, touted as a spark for more technology-related ventures.
Mayor Alex Morse says the developments on — and that can be seen from — Race Street are a microcosm of the progress Holyoke is experiencing.
Also visible, but much further south, is the property at 216 Appleton St., a former mill being repurposed into housing, and still farther south is the former Parsons Paper building, which will soon be razed for a much-needed expansion of Aegis Energy Services, a provider of modular combined heat and power (CHP) systems for a variety of applications.
There are dozens of other developments in various stages of progress across the city, but the view of and from Race Street explains why there is a good deal of optimism and momentum in Holyoke, said Marrero, as well as some challenges that probably couldn’t have been envisioned a half-decade ago, but definitely fall in the ‘good-problem-to-have’ category.
“The progress over the past several years is quite dramatic, and we’re running into problems of success,” he explained. “Four years ago, very few people were saying, ‘our problem is we have too many people who want to be downtown, and we don’t have enough parking for everyone.’
“Four years ago, most people, not just in Holyoke, but across the region, would not have given this city a second glance or perceived it as a place they wanted to be,” he went on. “Now, that’s not the case; there’s a lot of momentum happening.”
For this, the latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the many forms of progress in the Paper City, and at what the future holds for this historic city on the comeback trail.
It Looks Good on Paper
As he gave BusinessWest a walking tour of the area east of City Hall down to Race Street, Marrero stopped at one point to admire the view as the limited amount of sun light on that warm March afternoon danced on the water in the upper canal near the city’s acclaimed children’s museum in Heritage Park.
Soon — and ‘soon’ is admittedly a relative term — there will be many more people enjoying similar views as residents of the city.
By Marrero’s count, there are approximately 450 units of housing — condos and apartments across a wide mix of price ranges — that are already planned or in the proverbial pipeline.
“There’s more housing in the downtown to be constructed or rehabbed than at any time since the city was first built,” he explained, while listing several projects within a few blocks of one another.
And housing represents a key component of the city’s broad development strategy, said the mayor, adding that Holyoke’s population, which was once at or near 60,000, sank below 40,000 in the ’90s, but is now back above 40,000, with hopes that it will continue to rise.
There are many reasons why the population decreased, said Morse, and, coincidentally, they mirror those economic-development platforms listed earlier, and range from a shortage or jobs to a dearth of attractive housing, to a distinct lack of incentive on the part of the development community to build such housing.
Indeed, until recently, the prevailing sentiment in Holyoke was, ‘you can built it, but will anyone come?’ with enough accent on the question mark to dissuade developers.
Recent interest in those properties on or near Race Street would seem to indicate a more positive attitude, which was effectively expressed by Denis Luzuriaga, who, with his brother, Marco, acquired the Cubit building and blueprinted its mixed-use plans (more on those in a bit).
“I see Holyoke as being not only a great place to live,” said Luzuriaga, who has called the city home for nearly 11 years, “but a place for potentially good returns on real estate as well.”
The basic development strategy for Holyoke is similar to the ones being blueprinted for other Gateway cities, said Morse, noting that, in simple terms, it involves making the community a more attractive place to live, work, and start a business — which Holyoke was until fairly recently.
There are many moving parts within this strategy, he went on, listing everything from job creation to new housing options; from incubator space in which new businesses can take root to rail service that can connect residents to jobs and clients, and connect others with Holyoke.
It will take years, perhaps even decades, for the canvas to fill in completely, but pieces to the puzzle are falling into place. And to see this — although in many cases the assignment requires imagination because projects haven’t started yet — we return to Race Street.
This artery certainly speaks to Holyoke’s past — it is dotted with old mills that manufactured everything from paper to wire, with emphasis on the past tense — but also its present and future.
Regarding the former, many of those properties have been vacant or underutilized for years, if not decades. As for the latter, the projects on the drawing board reflect broad optimism for a more vibrant city.
The Shape of Things to Come
The Luzuriaga brothers are in many ways typical of what could be considered a new generation of investors in Holyoke, lured by attractively priced but structurally sound real estate, but moreso by the city’s potential to reverse its fortunes.
Denis Luzuriaga told BusinessWest that he was a dabbler in commercial real estate, focusing on multi-family homes, when he decided to takes things up a notch — or two. And when deciding where to scale up his activities, he focused on the Paper City because of its attractive opportunities and recognizable momentum.
The Luzuriagas hadn’t officially closed on the 50,000-square-foot Cubit building (purchase price $350,000) when Holyoke Community College put out a request for proposals for a location in the city’s downtown in which to relocate its Culinary Arts program, but they submitted a proposal anyway.
It wasn’t chosen by the school (none of the bids in that round were), but it did garner some attention. And when the winner of the next round of submissions couldn’t make that plan materialize, the school went back to the Cubit building.
Denis Luzuriaga, who, with his brother, Marco, is rehabbing the Cubit building, is among a new generation of investors in Holyoke.
Work on that project is slated to begin in a few months, said Luzuriaga, adding that roughly the same timetable applies to the residential component of the property — 18 units of market-rate apartments. At present, work is ongoing to replace the large windows that pour natural light into the property, which has housed operations manufacturing everything from shoelaces to corsets to wire.
Looking back to when he arrived in Holyoke, Luzuriaga said he liked what he saw — an old mill city with history, character, and potential. And now, he likes the picture that much more.
“There was something about this city, beyond the people and the way it looked, especially in the downtown area, that was very attractive to me,” he said. “I could see the potential for all kinds of positive change.”
So could Lori Divine, when she and fellow artist Vitek Kruta created Gateway City Arts in 2012. The venture has grown over the years, and now puts under one roof everything from learning areas to co-working space; from an event facility to incubator facilities for food-service businesses.
Actually, it’s two roofs (there are adjoining buildings along Race Street), and the expansion process is ongoing.
Indeed, the venture now includes Gateway City Live, which, as that name suggests, hosts a wide variety of live entertainment and events ranging from ‘tango nights’ to weddings. Coming next is the Gateway City Bistro, set to open in June, which will bring another much-needed eatery to the downtown area.
Divine and Kruta were so intrigued by the possibilities downtown that they acquired the Steam Building further down Race Street, so called because it once housed a steam-equipment manufacturer, and renamed it the STEAM (Sustainability Technology Entrepreneurship Art Media) building, with intentions for more mixed-use activity. It currently hosts a few businesses, including a web-design company and an alternative education program called Lighthouse, and will soon be home to a karate studio.
Assessing the scene along Race Street, and Holyoke in general, Divine sees momentum accumulating at a solid pace.
“It’s really exciting,” she said. “The Canal Walk is beautiful, the area is safe — and I know safety is a big issue for people — and it’s fun. It’s just a great place to be.”
Looking forward, the obvious goal is to prompt more residents and business owners to say just that, said Morse, adding that there is progress on both fronts.
The Parsons Paper demolition and cleanup, a long-awaited development after fire extensively damaged the site two years ago, will enable Aegis Energy Services, one of Holyoke’s fastest-growing companies, to expand in the city, he said.
Meanwhile, programs such as the SPARK (Stimulating Potential, Assessing Resource Knowledge) initiative, launched by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce, helps residents develop ideas into businesses.
“We want to encourage entrepreneurship, and we’re been recognized as one of the leading cities in that regard,” he explained, citing the city’s presence on a listing in Popular Mechanics. “This is a city with a history of entrepreneurship and innovation, and it continues today.”
Building Momentum
Luzuriaga believes Holyoke can and will attract more investors, turn its fortunes around, and become a true destination. And that optimism stems from the fact that he’s seen such a reversal of fortune up close and personal.
That was in Jersey City, N.J., a community across the Hudson River from Manhattan that had fallen on hard times and was making progress with the hard work of getting back on its feet while Luzuriaga lived and worked there.
“When I moved there 20 years ago, you could see that it had seen better days,” he explained. “It took a lot of effort by developers and city officials to get a steady pace of growth going, and I see the same type of thing happening in Holyoke; all the indicators are there.”
Luzuriaga says Jersey City was just starting to hit its stride by the time he relocated to Holyoke nearly 11 years ago. But he visits friends there often and marvels at the turnaround.
In Holyoke, he expects to not only witness the turnaround, but be a real part it. And he’ll have a front-row seat — right there on Race Street, at his beachfront property.
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
Holyoke at a glance
Year Incorporated: 1850
Population: 40.135 (2012)
Area: 22.8 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: 19.12
Commercial Tax Rate: 39.86
Median Household Income: $33,242
Family Household Income: $39,130
Type of government: Mayor, City Council
Largest employers: Holyoke Medical Center, Holyoke Community College, ISO New England, Universal Plastics, Marox Corp.
* Latest information available
Editorial
In many ways, it’s easy to see why a relationship most often described with the word ‘adversarial’ — and usually with an adverb in front of it for good measure — developed between Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College.
After all, when the latter was established in the mid-’60s, there were many people, including most everyone associated with HCC, which was established 20 years earlier, who wondered out loud if another community college was needed just seven miles away from HCC.
Actually, they did more than wonder. They answered that question with a definitive ‘no.’
But STCC was created anyway, and it’s fair to say that it began its life with a sizable chip on its shoulder. It had to prove it was not only needed, but that it could deliver a high-quality education and effectively serve the region.
It took a while, but this was accomplished. And during the lengthy tenure of President Andy Scibelli, the school rose to national and even international prominence, especially through the emergence of its technology park.
Through all of that, the adversarial relationship prevailed as the schools competed fiercely for students across a number of common programs, but also for funding, capital projects, and recognition.
To their credit, Ira Rubenzahl, who succeeded Scibelli, and Bill Messner, who followed David Bartley as president of HCC, saw that, while the schools would always compete, and that such a rivalry was good for both schools because it helps promote continuous improvement, the animosity between the institutions was unnecessary and, indeed, counterproductive for the region.
‘Counterproductive’ is a strong word, but it’s applicable here because, while both HCC and STCC are fine schools, there are many things they can do if they work together, but not if they remain islands unto themselves.
The best example of this, of course, is that nagging and ongoing challenge known to all as the skills gap. We’ve said it many times before, but it bears repeating: this is probably the most pressing problem facing the business community at present and the largest single impediment to growth for companies, business sectors, and the region as a whole.
Businesses cannot flourish if they don’t have a reliable pipeline of quality workers. Working independently, neither STCC not HCC could create such pipelines. But by working together collaboratively, they can address the problem much more effectively, and they have, through the TWO (Training & Workforce Options) initiative (see story, page 15). It has assisted a number of individual businesses and sectors through creation of programs to provide individuals with the specific skills needed to meet recognized workforce challenges.
And while both schools and both presidents (each set to retire in a few months) are very proud of the Deval Patrick Award for Workforce Development, awarded by the Boston Foundation, which they won together for TWO, they’re far more proud of the way the program has provided answers for the business community.
There are many other examples of how the schools have worked collaboratively in recent years, and together they make a statement — one powerful enough for us to note that, while Messner and Rubenzahl will be recognized for all they did for their individual schools, they may be best remembered for what they, and their institutions, did together.
Opinion
By DAN DOLAN
When the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant closed in 2014, 620 megawatts of power generation went offline. Over the next few years, that closure will be followed by Somerset’s Brayton Point Power Station and Plymouth’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station, taking more than 2,100 megawatts with them.
At first, it might seem concerning for the region’s power grid to lose three major power plants. But the responses to the retirements are signs of a strong energy future for Massachusetts — a path that should be allowed to continue without the intrusion of subsidized Canadian hydro power.
Just a few weeks ago, an auction to commit to be online three years from now saw a record amount of competition. Billions of dollars in new, local investments are being made today to develop the next wave of plants and hire workers to provide reliable and competitively priced electricity supplies. By mid-2019, three new plants are slated to open in Massachusetts alone. New plants being developed in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island will be some of the most efficient in the country, helping us continue to serve as leaders on environmental responsibility.
And this isn’t the beginning, either. The electricity sector has outpaced every other sector of our state’s economy in reducing carbon emissions over the past 25 years. Between 1990 and 2013, carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants dropped 51%, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Because of that, Massachusetts today has one of the cleanest and lowest-carbon-producing power-generation systems in the nation. In fact, electricity is the primary reason Massachusetts is on pace to meet its economy-wide mandate for a 25% reduction in emissions by 2020.
Unfortunately, relatively little has been done to curtail carbon emissions from the largest source — transportation. The transportation industry in New England has actually increased its carbon emissions and now emits more than double that of power plants. The next step toward a cleaner environment must be a comprehensive plan to address transportation as the main hurdle to meeting long-term Global Warming Solutions Act mandates.
The great progress made on electricity in Massachusetts should be allowed to continue, ensuring a strong energy future. Power plants are being retired and replaced without the need for state government to step in to subsidize new, cleaner investments. Canadian hydro is already part of our system, competing with all other power-generation sources to deliver the lowest price possible to consumers. But the radical plan to enter into expensive, decades-long contracts with Eversource and Hydro-Quebec will jeopardize that future.
If the Massachusetts hydro power plan is approved, energy bills are estimated to increase by up to $777 million each year for Massachusetts residents and businesses, according to a recent study by the Analysis Group, one of the most respected economics consulting firms in North America. That’s more than $20 billion over the life of the contract.
These costs are primarily driven by two factors. First, Commonwealth ratepayers would be on the hook for the construction of expensive, controversial high-voltage transmission lines, currently proposed through places like the White Mountain National Forest. Second, government-owned Hydro-Quebec, which has its own interests to consider, will not sell power to Massachusetts at a below-market price.
So why make this risky bet? A major concern for this plan is that it will enrich two utilities without a clear analysis of how Massachusetts ratepayers stand to benefit. Eversource is partnering with Hydro-Quebec in pushing to build the hundreds of miles of transmission lines, and the two are the strongest proponents of the subsidies proposal. They stand to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in profits for building these lines if they receive the subsidy from Massachusetts consumers. However, they have yet to produce an economic analysis of the cost of the proposed decades-long contracts. The Analysis Group report, which shows shocking rate increases for consumers, is publicly available and was presented at the legislative hearing on the bill.
Massachusetts is on the right path for a strong energy future. But, while new power plants are being built here through market demand, supporting jobs and contributing much-needed tax revenue to cities and towns, Eversource and Hydro-Quebec want to avoid having to compete. They shouldn’t be allowed to receive a carve-out worth billions of dollars.
This hydro bill is a bad bet for Massachusetts consumers. The Legislature should reject the bill and focus on better ways to reduce carbon emissions. The utilities don’t deserve the subsidy.
Dan Dolan is president of the New England Power Generators Assoc.
Now Friendly Rivals
Bill Messner, right, and Ira Rubenzahl.
Located just seven miles apart as the crow flies, Holyoke Community College and Springfield Technical Community College have always competed, and in vigorous fashion, for everything from students to press coverage to state funding for capital projects. But when they arrived at their respective campuses in 2004, Presidents Bill Messner and Ira Rubenzahl found the relationship between the schools to be a case not of healthy competition, but unhealthy animosity. So they set about changing that equation. And as both men prepare to retire, they talked about what would have to be considered a stunning new attitude that prevails at both schools.
Neither man recalls which one of them actually picked up the phone and called the other.
What they clearly remember, though, is that a call, the first of many, was made. And, considering all that’s happened since the conversation ended, it could only be described with the adjective ‘historic.’
Ira Rubenzahl and Bill Messner had been at their new positions, as president of Springfield Technical Community College and Holyoke Community College, respectively, for just a few months (Rubenzahl arrived a few weeks earlier) in that summer of 2004. And while they hadn’t learned everything about the challenges that lay ahead, they did know one thing — that the relationship between the two schools, located just seven miles apart, had to change, and soon.
“Let’s just say that the institutions had not been working well together,” said Messner, his tone blending understatement with a dose of sarcasm as he described what he found upon his arrival. “And that was really not productive.”
Added Rubenzahl, “it didn’t take long to figure out that there was this problem. And we basically said, together, ‘we have to stop competing and start working together.’”
Actually, the competition hasn’t stopped, and both presidents agree that it can’t and won’t because, as the old saying goes, it’s good for the parties involved. But the animosity that prevailed a dozen years ago is mostly gone. And it hasn’t been missed.
For evidence of this, Rubenzahl and Messner pointed to a number of initiatives involving everything from workforce development to adult basic education; from legislative get-togethers to initiatives to train workers for MGM’s planned $900 million casino in Springfield’s South End.
They even listed the fact that the two travel together to meetings in Boston and elsewhere, and did so with a note of wonder in their tone that speaks volumes about just how bad things were.
Perhaps the very best piece of evidence, though, is the Deval Patrick Award for Workforce Development, presented by the Boston Foundation, which the schools earned together in 2014 for their collaborative effort known as TWO (Training & Workforce Options); more on that later.
Getting from where relations (if one could call them that) were in 2004 to where they are now didn’t happen overnight and would never be described as easy, both men noted.
“There are areas in which we’re much better off collaborating than we are competing,” said Messner. “But it took us a couple of years to get our arms around what those areas were, and how we could collaborate effectively.”
Also, the mountain to climb in terms of the level of animosity to be overcome was high and steep, said Rubenzahl.
“Bill and I got comfortable very quickly,” he noted. “But it took a while for the troops to line up because it was so inbred.”
Eventually, the troops did fall in line, both men noted, but the movement clearly started at the top.
Which is exactly why BusinessWest met with both presidents in Messner’s office in Frost Hall earlier this month. They’ve both announced that they’re retiring, with Rubenzahl due to exit stage left in June, and Messner a month or two later.
Yes, the presidents who arrived in the Pioneer Valley together will be leaving it together. And they’re leaving behind a track record of collaboration that couldn’t have been imagined a decade and a half ago.
Perhaps the best news is that both believe this pattern of cooperation has become so ingrained — and so welcomed by the schools’ respective boards — that they find it difficult to imagine a scenario in which it won’t continue after they’ve left their respective campuses.
“It will probably change in some ways to reflect the personalities of the two folks who are going to be following us,” said Messner. “But I think it’s grounded enough that it will continue. And my sense is that, if those two folks don’t choose to continue to collaborate, they’ll pay a price of some sort.”
New Course of Action
To put the dramatic change in the relationship between the two colleges in perspective, both Rubenzahl and Messner took a quick trip back to last summer and a press event that was significant on a number of levels.
Gov. Charlie Baker was coming to Western Mass. to deliver good news for both schools: HCC was getting $2.5 million for much-needed renovations of its cramped, antiquated, and leaky campus center, and STCC was getting $3 million for design work on a planned $50 million project to convert the historic structure known as Building 19 — one of the oldest buildings on the Springfield Armory complex later repurposed into the community college — into a new campus center.
He would announce both awards in a single ceremony at HCC, an arrangement STCC quickly signed off on.
“Before we came, they would never have dared to do that,” said Rubenzahl, saying those words slowly for additional emphasis and using the word ‘they’ to mean both the institutions and their presidents. “There would have been huge objections to doing that.”
Messner agreed, and, like his counterpart, treaded lightly, and diplomatically, when asked about the root causes of the sentiments that prevailed when he arrived.
The opening of HCC’s Kittredge Center is one of the highlights of Bill Messner’s tenure, which was defined by improved relations with STCC.
However, it was well-known across the region, and even across the state, that the leaders’ predecessors — David Bartley, previously speaker of the Massachusetts House, at HCC, and Andy Scibelli, former Springfield city official and nephew of powerful state Rep. Anthony Scibelli, at STCC — didn’t exactly get along and were ferociously competitive, to put it mildly. And their institutions followed their lead — with a passion.
To explain the mood, Rubenzahl recalled some dialogue at a meeting he convened with several senior staff members at STCC not long after arriving.
“Someone referred to the ‘enemy,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘what enemy? Do you mean Holyoke?’ And he said, ‘yes, Holyoke.’ I was really taken aback by that, and said, ‘they’re not the enemy.’”
Rubenzahl believes that aforementioned phone conversation with Messner had already occurred by that point, but the chosen terminology cemented in his mind — actually both men’s minds, because similar language was being used in the campus off Homestead Avenue in Holyoke — that change was necessary.
And it came about, they said, partly due to those changes at the top, but also because it simply made sense.
Indeed, both presidents and their staffs had concluded that, while the schools would go on competing — “like Ford and Chevy do,” said Messner — they could also collaborate in many ways and, while doing so, achieve much more together than they ever could separately.
Examples abound, but TWO is clearly the most visible and perhaps the most impactful.
Messner described it as a “mechanism” for collaboration, the initiative that resulted from that somewhat time-consuming process he described earlier of determining in which realms the schools could collaborate, and how.
As the name suggests, the program involves creation of individually tailored programs to help solve workforce problems, specifically those related to the skills gap that has impacted virtually every sector of the economy.
Since its creation five years ago, TWO has assisted large corporations, small businesses, and broad economic sectors, said Rubenzahl, and it’s an example of something the schools could do with some success independent of one another, but to a much greater level of achievement together.
School of Thought
While TWO is the most visible manifestation of the new climate of cooperation between the two schools, there are many others, said the two presidents — starting with the meeting they were at just before sitting down with BusinessWest.
This was a gathering of state legislators to discuss matters involving public higher education, especially funding for the schools and individual initiatives. Years ago, there would have been two of these sessions, said Rubenzahl, one for HCC and one for STCC, because, well, that’s how it was done. (Actually, Greenfield Community College and Berkshire Community College had their own sessions as well.)
Now, there’s a single gathering — a practice that began the spring after the two presidents arrived — and it involves not only those two schools, but all seven public colleges and universities in Western Mass. Thus, the sessions are usually more productive because there are more people in the room, and far more convenient for legislators.
“I called Bill and said, ‘doesn’t it make sense to just have one?’” Rubenzahl recalled. “And for a lot of reasons; you’re more likely to get more legislators, and you can be more effective if you have several colleges saying the same thing as opposed to each one stating their individual needs.”
The legislative get-together is a simple yet effective example of collaboration, said Messner, adding that many others share its basic reason for being: common sense.
STCC President Ira Rubenzahl says his campus now looks for ways to collaborate with its competitor in Holyoke.
That list includes everything from faculty-development programs to the joint hiring of a consultant to create so-called wage grids; from adult basic education — something STCC has become more proficient at thanks to assistance from HCC — to the somewhat daunting task of training hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of the individuals MGM will eventually hire.
When looking back at how the current partnership on casino training came about, both presidents said this is another example of something that wouldn’t have materialized 13 years ago because of the animosity between the schools.
“We have this trust … we have this agreement — we don’t do things separately,” said Rubenzahl, adding that, years ago, the two schools probably would have fought tooth and nail for the entire pie. In this new era of cooperation, they agreed to split the pie long before the Gaming Commission determined the winner of the Western Mass. license.
“It wasn’t clear where the casino was going. Was it going to go to Palmer? Was it going to Springfield? Was it going to go to Holyoke?” he recalled. “But before we knew where it was going, we said, ‘an individual campus is not going to get involved in the training; we’re going to do it together.
“It winds up going in Springfield, but instead of fighting over it, we had already lined up our ducks,” he went on. “We had already figured out that, because Holyoke is really strong in culinary arts, if there’s culinary training, they’re going to get it. They can do it; we can’t do it. And we’re going to do some of the IT training, perhaps.”
Whenever there’s a meeting with MGM officials, the schools go together, said Messner, adding that the casino project is a good example of how the schools work together to meet the workforce needs of the five major sectors of the economy — manufacturing, healthcare, technology, hospitality, and financial services — because neither school can do all that alone.
As still another example of something happening now that wouldn’t have happened years ago — this one involving geography, or territory, as much as anything else — Messner cited initiatives blueprinted by Holyoke schools’ receiver Stephen Zrike for Dean Technical High School.
“He wants two programs connected to college work,” Messner explained. “One is going to be in healthcare, and we’ll do that one, and the other is manufacturing, and we’re going to do that in conjunction with STCC; we’re not going to try to do that alone.”
Added Rubenzahl, “because of this [new relationship], we can do things we couldn’t do otherwise. Before, you couldn’t do that — you couldn’t go into the other college’s hometown and run a public-school program.”
Class Act
As for those shared rides to Boston and other destinations for gatherings of public-school leaders, both men laughed as they talked about how the practice has evolved and how it never would have happened with their predecessors.
“I drive, and he talks,” said Messner, referring to how a typical journey unfolds.
But while they carpool to such meetings, they usually don’t sit together once they arrive — a tradition that is more strategic than any kind of statement about how the schools, and presidents, get along.
“We don’t want to look like a two-headed monster,” said Rubenzahl, adding that the two are usually of a similar mind on most matters and don’t want to appear to be delivering comments in stereo.
Messner agreed. “You can’t cluster your strength all in one part of the room — you have to spread it out.”
In truth, and despite those seating arrangements, the schools have indeed become a two-headed monster — of collaboration.
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
The Language of Business
At the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School, puppets and other props help young students master the Chinese language.
Richard Alcorn has not forgotten the frustration he felt when he owned a business that imported goods from China and had to communicate with non-English-speaking customers on the other side of the globe.
“There were times when I spent 45 minutes or an hour with an interpreter only to realize they had absolutely no idea what I was talking about,” he told BusinessWest.
That experience, combined with the fact that Alcorn’s wife, Kathleen Wang, wanted their children and others to be prepared to work in a changing, global economy, led the couple to establish Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (PVCICS) in Hadley. It was important to them because both Alcorn and Wang were involved in the Massachusetts Initiative for International Studies, a statewide initiative to instill more international focus into K-12 education.
The school opened its doors in 2007 to kindergartners and first-graders, and today boasts roughly 440 students from 39 communities in kindergarten through grade 11. The continued expansion led the couple to outgrow their space, and last year the school was enlarged with a 40,000-square-foot addition.
Next year, PVCICS will add grade 12, and the first class that will matriculate will receive international baccalaureate diplomas that will open the door to continuing-education opportunities in other countries, while providing students with skills needed to work for Chinese employers or companies that do business in that country.
Through dedication and hard work, Alcorn, Wang, and others who are passionate about their mission have established a new model for education: PVCICS is the first fully articulated K-12 Chinese-language and cultural-immersion public charter school in the country.
“In addition to learning the language, our students learn about cultural differences,” said Wang, the school’s principal, as she explained that small things make a difference; for example, in China, the proper way to hand someone a business card is with two hands, rather than one.
Knowledge of such customs is important to engender respect and good relationships while communicating with Chinese customers, suppliers, and business owners.
“The State Department has deemed Chinese as a language critical to the future of the country’s economic and national security,” Wang said, noting that more employers are looking for people proficient in this language and the country’s cultural norms.
Tricia Canavan, president of United Personnel, a temporary and full-time staffing agency in Springfield, agreed.
“We’re starting to see a demand for employees who speak Mandarin Chinese, and we are recruiting them for jobs,” she said. “It speaks to the global nature of commerce; China is the world’s second-largest economy, and there is a need for fluency in the language.”
Alcorn, executive director of PVCICS, pointed to Chinese-owned CRRC USA Rail Corp., which broke ground in September on a new, $95 million subway-car factory in Springfield, as an example of the presence Chinese companies are establishing in the U.S.
Richard Alcorn and Kathleen Wang, founders of the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School.
“From the time we started this school, it was clear to us that, if local companies want to conduct business with China and local communities want to encourage Chinese companies to make local investments, we need people who know the language,” he told BusinessWest.
“Massachusetts, like all of New England, is trailing the nation in developing language and cultural-immersion programs that offer students the opportunity to develop skills needed to compete globally,” he went on. “When we first opened, there were only 15 Chinese-immersion programs in the U.S., and now there are over 150 public-school programs like this.”
The vast majority of the student body at PVCICS knew no Chinese when they entered, which reflects the growing movement to make students who speak English at home bilingual.
New York City has about 180 dual-language programs where students are learning Arabic, Chinese, French, Haitian-Creole, Hebrew, Korean, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. Delaware and North Carolina have joined their ranks, while 9% of public elementary-school students in Utah are enrolled in dual-language programs, and one in every five kindergartners in Portland, Ore. are in a dual-language program.
“These programs are economic-development initiatives,” said Alcorn. “People in the workforce who are employed in global businesses really need to be bilingual.”
Rapid Growth
PVCICS opened in 2007 with 42 students. Classes were held in a strip mall in South Amherst, and as the student body grew and grade levels were added, the school moved into a 26,000-square-foot former health club in Hadley. The space was completely renovated, and last year the building underwent that 40,000-square-foot expansion to keep pace with the growing number of students.
Growth continues, and demand for seats in this free public charter school is high. Students are chosen by lottery, and more than 100 applications pour in every year for 44 kindergarten slots.
Students can also enter in sixth or ninth grades, and those who do start in introductory Mandarin Chinese, while those who entered in elementary school are in a higher-level Mandarin class.
In grades kindergarten and grade 1, 75% of daily instruction is in Chinese, and 25% is in English. In grades 2 through 5, 50% of instruction is in Chinese, and 50% is in English. As the need for an expanded vocabulary and skills in English grow, the time spent in Chinese classes is decreased. Starting in sixth grade, 25% of daily instruction is in Chinese, and 75% is in English.
Research shows that early immersion in a foreign-language program makes it easier to become fluent. Mandarin Chinese can be especially difficult for adults to learn because the language is tonal and doesn’t have an alphabet.
And PVCICS ninth-graders are proud of their language skills.
Talia O’Shea entered the school in first grade and didn’t really understand what her teachers were saying until the middle of the school year, despite the use of drawings, puppets, and other props. But by the middle of second grade, she was speaking in Chinese.
Today, she does math in the language because she learned it initially in Chinese and says she sometimes finds herself thinking in the language, rather than in her native English.
But she regards the ability to do so as a bonus.
Ninth graders Talia O’Shea, Gabe Crivelli, and Amanda Doe enjoy learning subject matter in two languages.
“China is a very significant nation in terms of politics and economics on the world stage, so being fluent in both English and Chinese will be a benefit when I get a job,” the 14-year-old told BusinessWest, adding that her proficiency could help prepare her for a government career or allow her to work as a translator.
Amanda Dee also entered PVCICS in first grade, and although she had heard Chinese spoken at home, the language really didn’t take hold until she began conversing with her peers and interacting at school.
“When you learn to speak Chinese at a really young age, it gives you a deeper understanding of the language,” she said.
Ninth-grader Gabe Crivelli entered the charter school in sixth grade because he was seeking a challenging course of academics. He found it at PVCICS, and said the combination of rigorous standards and the challenge of learning a new language exceeded his expectations. He is glad he changed schools, and believes his bilingual skills will help him in the future since he hopes to own a business.
“Students in almost every other country learn a foreign language,” he noted, adding that his sister is also a student at the school, and they sometimes speak Chinese at home.
Parents also tout the school’s benefits. Canavan said she and her husband chose to send two of their sons to PVCICS and are happy they did.
“We felt it was important for our children to be fluent in another language so they could become global citizens,” she said, adding that they were also attracted by the focus on academic rigor and character building.
Ongoing Efforts
Alcorn and Wang tried to get a Chinese-immersion school program started in Amherst before they applied to the state to start a charter school in Hadley. And although their proposal was rejected, today they are happy with the outcome.
PVCICS has been highly successful and was a recipient of the 2015 Confucius Classrooms of the Year Award, which was presented to 10 schools across the world for excellence in teaching and learning, curriculum, cultural richness, community engagement, and extracurricular activities. Only three schools in the U.S. received the award, which Alcorn accepted from the Confucius Institute at its World Conference in Shanghai. In addition, last year its students received some of the highest MCAS scores in the Commonwealth.
Parental demand for the school’s program has fueled its continued expansion. Interest in Chinese has grown, and the school has enjoyed the support of the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development.
In short, this couple’s vision is yielding positive results as PVCICS helps to establish a pipeline of students whose fluency in Mandarin Chinese will enhance the local economy and give them the skills needed to flourish in a fast-changing world.
Land of Opportunity
After years in a Nepalese refugee camp, Gokul Budathoki and Mena Tiwari found a new life — and business — in Springfield.
If all Ascentria Care Alliance did for refugees was help them get established in the U.S. and find jobs, it would be important work. But, thanks to an initiative launched in 2010 called the Microenterprise Development Program, Ascentria is actually putting many of its clients on the road to business ownership, through education, assistance with permitting and other hurdles, and small loans. The result, so far, is a patchwork of intriguing startups across the Pioneer Valley owned by people who truly appreciate their new opportunity, and have their sights set on continued growth.
Mena Tiwari’s story begins much like that of many refugees.
She was born in Bhutan, but, at age 2, her family fled that country’s inter-ethnic conflict, and she wound up in a refugee camp in Nepal, where she spent the next two decades.
While growing up there, owning a business — in the United States, no less — was the furthest thing from her mind.
“Back in the refugee camp, we didn’t get the chance to do anything like that,” Tiwari said, noting that her family ran a little shop in the camp, but it resembled in no way the complexity of opening a store in the U.S.
“Basically, we had a lot of love, but we didn’t have money,” she said, recalling how people would work with their hands — carving sandalwood into sticks for incense, for example — to make a little profit, and if they were able to scrape up enough for, say, a picnic outing, they appreciated it. “I always look for happiness in the little things. They made me happy because I worked for it.”
Tiwari met Gokul Budathoki in the camp, and after they immigrated to the U.S. — she in 2009, staying with family in Buffalo, N.Y., and he to New Hampshire in 2011 — they reconnected, and eventually married in late 2011; a year later, to the day, their son was born.
Tiwari worked in a salon as a hairdresser before moving to New Hampshire after the wedding, and Budathoki had been working at a Walmart, gaining a knowledge of retail he would put to use when the couple started talking about opening a business.
“Nobody was here to support us; her parents were in Buffalo, and my parents were back in country, so we had to support ourselves,” said Budathoki, who eventually enrolled at a community college and landed a new job with a mental-health nonprofit. “We said, ‘why don’t we open our own thing?’ So, after the baby was born, we put him in the carseat and drove around the countryside, looking.”
What they found was a new life in the Pioneer Valley — as proud owners of Interstate Mart near the ‘X’ in Springfield — with the help of the Microenterprise Development Program at Ascentria Care Alliance.
“We’re a resettlement agency,” Emil Farjo said of ACA, which has offices in Westfield and Worcester and was previously known as Lutheran Social Services. “We have refugees come from overseas, and we help them get an apartment, furniture, their first IDs, benefits from welfare and MassHealth, Social Security numbers, and ESL classes.”
Beyond those basic services, however, is the microenterprise program, which was created in partnership with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement in 2010, with the goal of helping refugees launch businesses and reach economic self-sufficiency.
Nazar al Khaled was a famous singer in Iraq; now he hawks his wife’s authentic cuisine in West Springfield.
Farjo was hired to lead the program in 2012, leveraging his education, background in computer science, and experience as a business owner in Iraq, where he’d owned three very different enterprises, in engineering and HVAC, food distribution, and wholesale.
After fleeing Iraq in 2004 for the safety of his family and spending six years in Syria, he immigrated to the U.S. and connected with what was then Lutheran Social Services, working with other refugees on computer classes, vocational training, and other skills before being tapped to lead the business-startup program.
“I was very successful in my business, but when we fled our country, we left everything behind,” he told BusinessWest. “My experiences help me understand how these people think. I can be a bridge from their former country to the American system. This is my passion. I find everyone’s success is my success. I love what I’m doing, and I want to help them make their dreams come true.”
First Steps
The microenterprise program provides business planning, financing, and training to refugees in the Bay State. Applicants receive guidance in budgeting, marketing, finance, and obtaining permits and licenses. Typically, refugees lack sufficient credit history or loan collateral to receive traditional business loans, so the program provides small startup loans, typically in the range of $500 to $15,000.
To date, the program has helped spawn 32 businesses in Greater Springfield and 12 more in Worcester, ranging from child care to cleaning services; web-based services to landscaping and farming; delivery services to auto repair. Most owners are Iraqi or Bhutanese, with a smattering of refugees from Liberia, Lithuania, and Burundi.
“They’re new to the system, so we provide classes in financial literacy and money management, how to write a business plan, how to budget,” Farjo said. “We’re also a microlender; we don’t ask for credit, we just want them to take their first steps in business loans, and prepare them for the next step, which is traditional loans from traditional lenders.”
Mike Garjian, a serial entrepreneur who has been working with Farjo in the program, added that these classes tend to be full. “There’s a thirst for knowledge; they’re fully engaged. And that translates to business success.”
Farjo also works one on one with participants on hurdles such as site selection, licensing, and permitting. “They would be lost without us. We’re dealing with surrounding cities, and each city is different. It’s a hassle for them.”
For Tiwari and Budathoki, the hassles since opening almost 10 months ago have been worth it. Their store sells both American and ethnic food products, as well as an impressive array of Bhutanese clothing. Their customer base has been steadily growing, and they’re looking to establish a space for community gatherings in additional space at the back of the store.
“It began with a little stress,” Tiwari said, “but we can say we are happy.”
Nazar al Khaled is also pleased with his new business. He was a famous Iraqi singer — “very famous, not normal famous,” he noted — whose life, like that of so many countrymen, was turned upside down after the U.S. invasion in 2003. He caught a bit of a break when the New York Times and other sources reported him dead in an airstrike in 2004, as some Muslim groups that rose up after Saddam’s fall were targeting singers and other artists, and the report took some of the pressure off.
In 2009, he arrived in the U.S. with his family and stayed for a couple of years in New York before moving to Western Mass. in 2011 for a quieter lifestyle.
From left, Mohammed Najeeb, program director at Ascentria, with Emil Farjo and Mike Garjian.
Recently — recognizing the culinary skills of his wife, Asmaa Mohammed, and wishing to go into business for himself — al Khaled connected with Farjo and opened Ahalna Foods on Main Street in West Springfield, a multi-ethnic neighborhood where eight of Ascentria’s refugee clients have launched enterprises. To hear him tell it, he definitely needed Farjo’s help.
“In America, there are many ways to start work, but no one tells you the right way,” he said of his earlier dealings with banks and municipal officials. “There are many rules, and nobody answers you, nobody smiles at you, nobody does anything for you. I say, ‘I want to open this business.’ They say, ‘OK, come back next month.’”
Ascentria, on the other hand, “brings us together and teaches us how to work with the banks, how to start a business,” he went on. “Any license or anything else we need, they help us with that.”
Iraqi cuisine, al Khaled said, is based on tradition that extends back 8,000 years, adding that his wife’s creations — which lean heavily on beef, lamb, and chicken — are meant to be savored by all the senses and demand the diner’s entire focus, as opposed to American “technology food” (his term for heavily processed fare) swallowed quickly in front of the TV.
Currently, Ahalna prepares meals for takeout, but also caters events, and aims to eventually move into wholesale distribution. So far, his clientele is mainly people who have already experienced and enjoy Iraqi fare, but he hopes to attract Americans who seek an authentic culinary experience.
“Americans don’t want to change,” he said, “but some Iraqi families have friends and neighbors, and when they bring them our food, they give it a taste and find it’s something different, and after that, they come here to buy it.”
Untapped Potential
Garjian believes Ascentria’s success helping refugees launch businesses should receive more attention than it does.
“This is a sector that’s been really invisible, but it’s a very powerful and interesting component to the region’s economic vitality,” he said. “They are competent, highly energized people.”
He recalled hiring a Vietnamese refugee from Lutheran Services 20 years ago for one of his businesses. She had been a mathematician in her homeland, but had never worked with computers. After he introduced her to one and showed her how to operate Excel, she was quickly running complex equations. What Ascentria’s microenterprise program does, he noted, is help people with these types of skills — or at least the potential to quickly attain them — achieve business success in a very different environment from where they began.
Take the three Iraqi refugees who operate Chicopee Auto Service & Sales Center on Front Street, for example. “We did not want to work for anybody,” said Ahmed Mustafa, who partnered with his brother, Abraheem Mustafa, and a friend, Omar Abdul Razzak, to establish the business early in 2015. They arrived in the U.S. by way of Syria after fleeing their homeland a few years after the invasion.
From left, Abraheem Mustafa, Ahmed Mustafa, and Omar Abdul Razzak are partners at Chicopee Auto Service & Sales Center.
“It was the war,” Ahmed Mustafa said when asked why they left. “It’s always the war.”
But he credited Ascentria and Farjo for helping the partners navigate the permitting process to launch the business, on the site of a former, then-closed used-car dealership. They started with 13 cars for sale and now have 25 on the lot, and typically service about 15 cars at any given time. They recently installed a second repair bay to conduct alignments, and do state safety inspections as well.
Mustafa said there are challenges to starting a business, but he welcomes some of them, like the gradually growing presence of other auto-related businesses in the Chicopee Falls neighborhood. “Having more than one dealer is better for the business that has better prices and better quality,” he said, already speaking the language of a businessman who embraces competition.
Growing the business will bring other benefits as well, he added, not the least of which is being able to hire other immigrants, especially those who struggle with the English language and, therefore, find it challenging to land a job.
Farjo has high hopes for all the businesses his agency helps launch, but he always cautions against overly optimistic expectations.
“They need to be patient. They might not be successful right when they open. Taking a risk is not easy. Starting a business is not easy, even for Americans,” he said. “But when they find someone who will speak with them as a person, someone who cares, that makes a difference. I just want to go the extra mile to see these people be successful, and at the end of the day, they thank me for helping them out.”
Credit Where It’s Due
Budathoki and Tiwari say they have qualities that complement each other: his fortitude and her business mind, for starters. But both say Ascentria was a key element in their success.
“I cannot thank them enough,” Tiwari said. “We wanted to find a way to find success and feed our family, but we went to City Hall and and so many places before we met with Emil. Back in my country, I didn’t know the meaning of a business plan.”
But Farjo says his agency is merely helping them open doors. “They have our support, but it’s their skills and ambition and effort that makes them succeed.”
In a country that accepts some 70,000 refugees a year, Garjian said the microenterprise program serves a social purpose even beyond raising the standard of living for its handful of participants and boosting economic development region-wide. At a time when so many Americans look suspiciously at immigrants and refugees, these small-business owners (who are, like anyone who receives Ascentria’s services, thoroughly vetted and screened) might well be changing a few perceptions.
“Many of them are coming from areas of tyranny and loss of hope,” Garjian told BusinessWest. “To them, each breath is a gift. I’ve seen people walk off the elevators here and take their first breath of freedom. That’s so profound to me.”
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
Passion Meets Purpose
Oliver and Emily Rich are proud of their business and trying to get people to view tea differently than they have in the past.
Oliver Rich carefully prepares a tray of ingredients that he will use to make unusual beverages, then pours generous servings of hot, frothy maple sugar black latte tea from a pitcher; micronized matcha mint tea with steamed milk from a sports drink-style shaker; and a sparkling chilled beverage made with strawberry, kiwi, and apple tea concentrate.
The scents and tastes are complex, and reflect just a few of the more than 120 blends of teas Rich has created since he launched Tea Guys LLC in 2002. Each tea has three flavors, and many people try several free samples in the Whately Tasting Room and Factory and learn new ways to prepare tea before making a purchase.
Indeed, it’s almost necessary because the array of choices is amazing: there are teas blended with chocolate, ginger, and bourbon; caramel, sea salt, and molasses; hibiscus, raspberry, and currant; as well as traditional varieties such as bergamot (Earl Grey) with lavender and vanilla.
The tea can be purchased in loose leaf form, specially created biodegradable bags which allow more flavor to escape and contain 200% more tea than an ordinary bag, K-Cups, micronized powder that provides additional health benefits, and liquid bags of concentrate that can be mixed by the spoonful with hot and cold water and milk or used to make cocktails or add flavor to food before or after it is cooked.
Creating this complex line of products was no small feat and has taken Rich years to master.
“There are more varieties of tea in China than grapes in France,” he said, as he shared information about the thousands of types of tea that stem from the Camellia sinensis plant and how growing it under different conditions produces different tastes.
“It took me years and years to perfect our tea, but we’re finally at the peak,” he went on. “We’re changing what it means to be a tea company and trying to change the way people view tea, consume it, and prepare it.”
Rich grew up in a family where food was very important, and cooked alongside his mother from the time he was a young child.
“I always liked creating things, but a lot of what I do is going back to basics,” he told BusinessWest, adding that his Swedish and Italian grandparents made everything by hand.
It’s a method that has always been part of his business, and he recalled a time when he stayed up for 24 hours to fill an order for tea bags from his kitchen, punching holes in tags, cutting strings, and heat-sealing them to the bags.
Today, Rich and his wife Emily, who has been part of the business from the beginning and left a full-time job to join him as operations manager in 2007, can still be found in their Whately factory at all hours doing things by hand, where blends are crafted daily in small batches.
Kathleen Rhine carefully measures tea into packages at Tea Guys in Whately, where a lot of the production is done by hand.
“This is truly a labor of love,” she said. “There are limited options for premium tea products that are interesting, but we bring something different to the table and are trying to expand the ways people use tea as well as their experience with it.”
That strategy, combined with a smorgasbord of offerings, has led to success, and Emily says people have come to the tasting room with a spouse who isn’t partial to tea, but has a much different outlook by the time they leave the room.
Trial and Error
The inspiration to start this venture came during a meeting between Oliver Rich and a friend who had gotten together at a tea shop in Cambridge to talk about ideas for starting a business.
Rich noticed a salesperson measuring out rote grutze tea, which he knew was named after a German dessert, and it sparked what he called “an epiphany.”
“I had never seen this type of tea, and realized I could not only make tea differently than anyone else, but could make it better by putting different ingredients into it,” he said, adding that the majority of grocery stores at the time stocked only mass-produced tea bags that are filled with tea dust, or fannings, that don’t have much flavor.
His friend was highly skeptical of the idea, and the feeling was mirrored by others who told Oliver he was crazy, but after conducting research, visiting tea shops throughout New England, talking to suppliers, and going to Asian markets to find unusual ingredients, he began creating new blends in his kitchen, and his friend agreed to partner with him.
Rich’s focus was on quality, and he began to line up customers, which increased in number when a family member who sold soap to bed-and-breakfast operations shared a list of contacts.
But because Rich’s business partner lived in Cambridge and he and Emily were doing everything by hand, the business took a long time to get off the ground.
“We were so ahead of the market that customers weren’t willing to pay for what we were making,” he told BusinessWest.
In 2003 Tea Guys moved into Eastworks in Easthampton, and a website was launched, which marked a turning point and led to new wholesale customers, which have long accounted for the bulk of their sales.
Rich’s partner eventually left, but he and Emily worked tirelessly and continued to experiment by mixing teas with freshly ground ingredients to create unique flavor combinations.
Tea Guys moved from Easthampton to Florence, and when the recession hit, Rich downsized into a 3,300-square-foot space in Hatfield. But the customer base has continued to grow, especially in recent years. Sales doubled in 2014 and 2015, and the company is on track to do $5 million in business this year.
Oliver Rich says the Tea Guys Tasting Room and Factory Store in Whately allows customers to sample varieties before making a purchase.
Two years ago, Rich and Emily took a leap of faith and moved into their current, 10,000-square-foot location in Whately, but he had to take out a large loan to buy equipment and hire more staff.
Although he tends to be risk-averse, the move has paid off, and today the business boasts 18 employees. But he continues to serve as the so-called master blender, using teas from China, Sri Lanka, Japan, and India, and ingredients that are fresh and exotic, including cocoa from Ecuador and Guatemala and maple syrup and chunks of maple sugar from a nearby sugaring farm.
“Most companies just add flavor to a base, but I look at the vast varieties and have added more than 300 ingredients to about 30 teas that I matched to complement their flavors,” Rich noted.
The company’s biggest break was realized two years ago when Big Y World Class Supermarkets placed Tea Guys products in its Fresh Acres store in Springfield. The conversation with Big Y had started in 2007 with Bill Eichorn, who championed the products, and helped the company develop a whole-leaf tea program that has expanded into 13 of their stores and continues to grow.
“We’re still an unknown, but it shows we are at the tipping point,” Rich said, noting that large displays at Big Y contain bins of whole-leaf tea that allow people to experience the complex aromas that seep into the taste of the 40 blends that Big Y carries.
And since this type of tea is a new experience for many, Tea Guys offers individual tea bags for $1.49 so people can sample different flavors.
Expanding Market
The company has come a long way over the last 14 years, and its products are used in frozen yogurts and served by restaurants, colleges and universities, and bed-and-breakfast operations. They are also a mainstay for national and international entrepreneurs who make their living selling the tea or holding tea parties.
“There has never been a mass market for our tea, but every second of every day somewhere in the world, someone is drinking it. It’s an affordable luxury,” Rich said.
“Tea is one of the products our country was founded on, but most people don’t fully appreciate the time and devotion that goes into planting, picking, and blending it,” he went on. “We have reinvented it, and were the first to combine different varieties of tea with ingredients like chocolate, nuts, and popcorn that you can see in the tea,” he continued. “But it took heart and passion to do so.”
It also took persistence and a belief that a quality product from the heart of New England would become something people could and would enjoy every day. And that’s exactly what has happened, one delightful cup at a time.
Generation Next
President David Pinsky says Tighe & Bond projects run the gamut from wastewater-facility design to coastal engineering; from alternative-energy initiatives to the Westfield River levee trail.
In its first 90-plus years, Tighe & Bond had emerged as a Western Mass. leader in civil engineering, carving out a strong reputation and myriad civil-engineering projects around the region. But over the past decade, the company has embarked on an impressive growth trajectory, adding offices, expanding its services, and adding 100 employees. The current vision, President David Pinsky says, involves staying independent, nimble, sensitive to industry trends, and increasingly driven by a burgeoning youth movement.
With 105 years in business and a workforce of 270, Tighe & Bond boasts numerous employees whose experience stretches back four and five decades. But many more are just beginning their career journey.
It’s a healthy mix, David Pinsky says.
“For the first time, Millennials are the largest generation at Tighe & Bond,” the firm’s president noted. “I think it’s exciting — four generations working together. We’ve got young professionals working with seasoned people, and they’re all learning from each other. We have some wonderful young talent; I’m so excited.”
At the same time, many of the company’s long-time clients are experiencing the same shift, as Baby Boomers begin to retire and Millennials climb the leadership ladder. It’s just one more reminder that nothing stays the same in the world of civil engineering, which is why Tighe & Bond has maintained an ambitious schedule of growth and expansion over the past decade.
“It starts with a vision for the company,” Pinsky said, holding a copy of a strategic plan, titled “Vision 2020,” the latest iteration of an exercise the company conducts every few years. “We sit down and talk and develop a strategic plan, and that starts with a vision of where we want to go. The real challenge is executing that plan.”
The most basic goal, he told BusinessWest, is to remain a privately owned, independent company at a time of great consolidation in the industry, with larger firms constantly acquiring smaller ones.
“We like exactly where we are; it provides some unique opportunities. We’re a regional, northeast firm — no longer just a Western Mass. firm, but not a national firm. We know our place, and it’s a sweet spot for us. We continue to grow, but not for growth’s sake. We want to grow profitably and be better able to serve our clients.”
That growth has been significant in nature; Tighe & Bond saw its workforce increase from 170 to just over 200 from 2006 to 2011, and the past five years have seen an even more dramatic surge, to a current roster of 270 — what Pinsky calls moderate and steady, but not “crazy,” growth, of between 5% and 10% per year. “That’s comfortable for us, and not overwhelming for employees.”
Growth has come in two ways, he added: Geographic expansion and adding new services. For the former, over the past five years, the company has opened up new offices in Portsmouth, N.H. — allowing it to reach customers in that state as well as Northeastern Mass. and Southern Maine, Pinsky said — as well as new branches in Westwood, serving Eastern Mass., and Red Hook, N.Y.
Go HERE for a PDF chart of the region’s engineering firms
The company had already tackled projects in these areas, Pinsky noted, and expanding its footprint simply enabled it to better serve those clients, as well as shift some employees who live in those areas and had been commuting long distances. In the case of Portsmouth, Tighe & Bond acquired an existing firm, doubled its office size, and retained many of its employees and leadership.
Chief Additions
Partly in response to that growth, Tighe & Bond has added two new leadership positions over the past two years, hiring Bill Hardy as chief operating officer and Bob Belitz as chief financial officer. “It’s been great having their experience and work ethic on the team, helping us as we continue to grow,” Pinsky said.
For more than a century, the company lacked those specific roles. Founded in 1911 to consult on broad-based civil-engineering projects, Tighe & Bond eventually came to specialize in environmental engineering, focusing on water, wastewater, solid-waste, and hazardous-waste issues, and now boasts eight offices in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and New York.
Tighe & Bond designed Holyoke’s new treatment facility that disinfects drinking water using ultraviolet light.
The firm’s diversity of expertise, said Pinsky, has been a buffer against economic downturns in any one area. Currently, about 60% of its projects are public contracts with municipalities and state government agencies throughout New England and New York, and 40% is private work for a diverse group of industries, from healthcare to education to utilities.
Meanwhile, Tighe & Bond has significantly ramped up its expertise and focus on MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) services, Pinsky said, as well as increasing its presence in the realm of coastal engineering.
“That’s a really important service, recognizing that rising tides, storm events, and the effects of climate change can wreak havoc with infrastructure along the coastline, as well as inland near waterways,” he noted, explaining that the company has the expertise to plan and design facilities that are more resilient to events, like Superstorm Sandy in 2012, that threaten public and private infrastructure near coastlines. “It dovetails well with the services we already provide.”
The firm has also expanded its presence in renewable-energy projects over the past decade, Pinsky noted, adding that municipalities and developers in the Northeast are increasingly valuing alternative energy sources, and Tighe & Bond has established itself as an expert in the field, working on numerous photovoltaic, wind, and hydro power projects.
As an example, he said the firm has undertaken a number of solar projects where photovoltaic solar has been placed on capped landfills.
“Since we had expertise on the landfill side and expertise on the solar side, there’s a great synergy there,” he noted. “A lot of those projects are happening here.”
While seeing growth in all its markets, however, Tighe & Bond, like all such firms, has faced an increasingly complex regulatory and permitting landscape, one where environmental concerns once considered minor are now paramount.
“The permitting hurdles for most projects are very significant,” Pinsky said. “But we have experts on staff who are very skilled at navigating their way through the process; that’s absolutely something we bring to our clients. Permits can affect schedule, cost, and project viability to a significant extent, so having that expertise is very helpful.”
One advantage of being such a large, regional company is that employees are often called upon to work with other offices, whether by commuting or videoconferencing, if they bring a specific skill set to a challenging job, he went on. “We’re a very collaborative firm, so projects are done across offices all the time. We don’t consider a project to be a Westfield project or a Portsmouth project; it’s a Tighe & Bond project. We bring in the best talent we have to suit the needs of the client.”
Priming the Pump
Because that talent is critical to a project’s success, Pinsky said, it’s vital that Tighe & Bond retain its key staffers while continually bringing in new blood.
“It’s absolutely a big challenge,” he told BusinessWest. “We talk about the war for talent, and we’re certainly in the middle of that. People have so many opportunities coming out of school, a lot of choices. A lot of companies are looking for people who want to make a difference in engineering and the environment, and we do as well.”
Tighe & Bond now employs more Millennials than any other generation, which bodes well for its future.
While engineering programs at colleges and universities are generally drawing attention, competition can be fierce for graduates, he went on, and firms especially value those who have worked in the field between three and 10 years, as they have some experience but also plenty of potential to grow.
“There’s a shortage of them. We certainly do a good job growing them internally, always thinking that a person we’re hiring today, in three years, will be one of those people. We make a lot of training programs, both internal and external, available to employees, and we certainly immerse them in a lot of project work by surrounding them with experienced people they can learn from and be mentored by.”
To be sure, Tighe & Bond employees regularly volunteer in classroom programs to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers, but it also seeks to be an “employer of choice,” Pinsky said, for college graduates launching their careers.
“People want to work for great firms — they want to go to firms where they can grow and develop their careers, where there are strong core values, and for us, those values include respect, integrity, commitment, excellence, and reliability. They want to know they are contributing to the firm’s overall vision.”
The days of writing a vision plan and stashing it in the CEO’s top drawer are over, he added, noting that Vision 2020 was developed in conjunction with the whole team and distributed to each of them.
One recent change was the dramatic renovation of the firm’s Westfield headquarters, which increased the floor space from 32,000 to 42,000 square feet, accommodating 180 employees in one building instead of 130 in two, and adding more space for collaborative work. The project included ‘green’ elements like LEED-certified carpeting, LED lighting and more natural light, and a stepped-up recycling initiative to reduce waste. Similar expansion projects have been undertaken at the Worcester, Portsmouth, and Middletown, Conn. branches.
“We’ve improved our offices, invested in technology, and, overall, invested in people. That’s extremely important to us. We’ve created an environment where our people love being here,” Pinsky said. “Sometimes little things matter. It’s the culture of the organization — being connected with clients, and everyone in the office knowing they’re appreciated for the time they put in and the good work they do.”
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
Landmark Development
Peter Picknelly outside Hubbard Hall.
Peter Picknelly calls it the right property — and the right project — at the right time. He’s referring to Historic Round Hill Summit, a luxury-apartment complex being created at the former Clarke School for the Deaf complex in Northampton, an initiative that will bring the past, present, and future together in intriguing fashion.
Peter Picknelly says he understood, when he submitted what would eventually become the winning bid for the former Clarke School for the Deaf property in Northampton, that there would be some significant challenges standing in the way of developing the various buildings on the campus for commercial and residential purposes.
As things turned out, he didn’t know at the time just how stern those hurdles would be. But he told BusinessWest that those challenges are the same things that make the property — and his project — so unique and attractive.
Indeed, this complex of buildings is historic — Calvin Coolidge, the nation’s 30th president, and before that, governor of Massachusetts, and before that, mayor of Paradise City, once lived in one of the buildings — and most of the structures are a century or more old. Meanwhile, the views of the surrounding area are stunning, and Northampton’s eclectic, bustling downtown is about 10 minutes away by foot.
The challenge? Blending the old (while at the same time preserving it) with the new, as in modern amenities and liveability in the luxury apartments that Picknelly and several partners will carve out of two former classroom buildings.
The preserving part of that equation is the most demanding, said Max Hebert, project manager for this $10 million endeavor, noting that these two properties, Hubbard Hall and Rogers Hall, like most others on the campus, are on the National Register of Historic Places — which means each nuance of the plans must be approved by the National Park Service before work can proceed.
“That process in itself was very complicated and very lengthy — it was an educational experience and it took much longer than we thought,” said Picknelly, but overall, work is progressing on an ambitious project that be believes represents the right product at the right time, and in the right location.
The Clarke School property has a number of unique buildings being converted for residential and commercial development.
“Apartment living is becoming increasingly popular — people want to get out of their home and live in a vibrant community,” he said, noting that it has become an attractive option for both young professionals and empty nesters looking to downsize but still enjoy luxury.
As for the location, he said it’s ideal for both of those constituencies he described. Northampton is one of the region’s most walkable communities, and Historic Round Hill Summit is just minutes from a bike trail, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Smith College, and everything downtown has to offer.
“The location is ideal, and there’s nothing else on the market like what we’re going to build here,” he said. “We think it’s an incredible mix.”
For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at that mix and how Picknelly and his partners are writing an intriguing new chapter to the already-rich history of this property.
Taking Things to New Heights
Picknelly, CEO of Peter Pan Bus Lines and the third-generation owner of that Springfield-based company, has — like his grandfather and father before him — always been entrepreneurial.
He’s picked up several businesses over the past few decades, with Springfield’s iconic Fort Restaurant, which he acquired with several partners from the Scherff family in 2014, the latest example. And, again, like his father, who famously acquired Monarch Place in 1994, he has been an aggressive player in the commercial real-estate realm.
He was a player in the bid to locate a casino in Springfield’s North End, on the Peter Pan property and adjoining parcels, for example, and the Opal Real Estate Group, which he also owns, is advancing plans to convert the former Court Square Hotel property in Springfield into a mixed-use complex blending retail, office space, and market-rate housing.
Max Hebert is seen here outside Rogers Hall, phase two of the Historic Round Hill Summit project.
The plan for Historic Round Hill Summit is much the same, but the project is moving forward more quickly, with one of the old Clarke structures, Coolidge Hall, already home to several commercial tenants, and phase one of the ambitious residential component of the work already underway.
That would be the renovation of Hubbard Hall into 22 apartments — a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units — which should be ready for occupancy by summer.
As he offered a hard-hat tour of the work in progress at the 36,000-square-foot Hubbard Hall, Hebert talked about that challenge of enabling the historic elements of the property to co-exist with modern needs, building codes, and a focus on energy efficiency.
As an example, he pointed to the windows — specifically a few in one unit that offer views of downtown Northampton and the Holyoke Range well beyond.
They are large (eight feet in height), in keeping with the original design, but the glass being looked through is an energy-efficient, double-paned product.
“You still have the historic charm of the window, but you don’t get the cold draftiness,” he explained, adding that, whenever possible, the historic integrity of the property has been maintained.
Beyond the windows, there are many other examples of maintaining many of the original historic features, said Hebert, who listed everything from the chalkboards that graced the classrooms to the wood trim; from fireplaces to the original Clarke School president’s safe.
But the past will also be blended with the present and even the future in the form of transitional-style fixtures, granite and quartz countertops, in-unit laundries, energy-efficient heating and cooling systems, and a commodity that has become a luxury item in Northampton — on-site parking.
All this comes with a steep price. Indeed, these units represent the very high end of the luxury-apartment market, with units going for between $1,500 and $2,900 a month.
Picknelly believes there is sufficient demand for such a product, and the early levels of interest, and even a few deposits on units, would seem to bear that out.
“We believe there is going to be a solid market for these units given the location, the views, the amenities — the whole package,” he said, listing professionals at Smith College, Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and other companies, as well as the growing number of retirees eyeing Northampton as a suitable landing spot, as potential tenants.
The Final Word
Time will tell if he’s on target with that assessment, and if Historic Round Hill Summit becomes a sound investment.
But, at the moment, Picknelly believes he has a winning proposition.
And in a nod to Calvin Coolidge and his legendary frugality with words, Picknelly was brief and to the point when asked if he was optimistic about the next life for this historic property.
“Absolutely,” he replied.
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
For Sale, for Lease
Click HERE to go to a PDF of available commercial properties in Western Mass.
The following building permits were issued during the month of March 2016.
AMHERST
Amherst College
271 South Pleasant St.
$25,000 — Install new fire alarm system
Amherst College
280 Main St.
$410,000 — Install new fire suppression sprinkler system
Amherst College
Kirby Theater
$24,000 — Reinforce stage floor
GREENFIELD
Alliance Church
385 Chapman St.
$10,000 — Construct handicap ramp
Apple New England, LLC
141 Mohawk Trail
$34,000 — Replace roof
Harold Tramazzo
30-44 Federal St.
$62,000 — Remodel bar, entry and bathroom
Mark Zaccheo
138 Main St.
$5,000 — Remove water damaged drywall and replace
Westfield Readymix
194 Cleveland St.
$3,500 — Replace roof on middle of structure
LUDLOW
Chapin Elementary School
766 Chapin St.
$255,000 — New addition
Pioneer Sewall, LLC
360 Sewall St.
$5,000 — Interior alterations
SPRINGFIELD
Community Music School
127 State St.
$17,500 — Construct ADA compliant bathroom on the 4th floor
Global Signal
50 Chapel St.
$20,000 — Replace six antennas
Jon Realty
230 Verge St.
$20,000 — Replace three antennas
Nathan Bill’s
110 Island Pond Road
$52,000 — Fit- out existing tenant space
WESTFIELD
FL Roberts
90 South Maple St.
$53,000 — Enclose existing entrance
Jen-Coat, Inc.
132 North Main St.
$2,846,000 — Renovate 17,340 square feet of existing facility
WEST SPRINGFIELD
American Tower Corporation
115 Southworth St.
$5,000 — Install structural supports
Jim Kennedy
79 Waysdie Ave.
$15,000 — Roof repairs
Michael Ostrowski
63 Park Ave.
$850,000 — Erect 4,800-square-foot credit union
635 Riverdale Street, LLC
605 Riverdale St.
$374,000 — Renovation for handicap accessible bathrooms
MONSON — Monson Savings Bank (MSB) announced that Kevin Hicks has been promoted to vice president, information technology officer, and Dina Merwin has been promoted to vice president, compliance and BSA officer.
Hicks joined MSB in early 2015 as assistant vice president, information technology officer. He has more than 16 years of experience managing a financial-institution IT department. He is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the bank’s technology infrastructure as well as security. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering with a minor in psychology from UMass.
Merwin began her career at MSB in June 2013 as a compliance officer and was quickly promoted to assistant vice president, compliance and BSA officer. She has more than 20 years of experience in community banking. She is responsible for coordinating all regulatory changes throughout the bank, improving processes that enhance efficiency and compliance, as well as ensuring adherence to all rules and regulations. She is a graduate of the ABA National School of Banking at Fairfield University.
“We have an incredible team here at Monson Savings,” said Steve Lowell, president of Monson Savings Bank. “I am very pleased to publicly congratulate Kevin and Dina on their well-deserved promotions.”
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