Day: September 15, 2020

Daily News

WESTFIELD — Westfield State University (WSU) is again one of Massachusetts’ top public universities among its peers, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges 2021 list. The rankings underscore the university’s commitment to accessibility, affordability, and intentional outcomes.

In this year’s release, Westfield State is ranked 90th among 170 institutions in “Regional Universities – North.” It is ranked ahead of its peer Massachusetts state universities in both that category and U.S. News’ Best Public Schools, where it placed 26th.

Rankings were determined by a number of factors, including a peer assessment, retention and graduation rates, faculty resources, class sizes, student/faculty ratio, student selectivity, and alumni-giving rate.

“We are proud to receive this noteworthy recognition,” said Roy Saigo, interim president of WSU. “The university meets students’ needs by providing pathways to an accessible, high-quality, affordable, comprehensive education and experience.”

The rankings are available at www.usnews.com/colleges and on newsstands.

AIC Professor’s Photos of ’80s Hip-hop Scene to Be Featured at Sotheby’s Auction

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — John Nordell, assistant professor of Visual and Digital Arts at American International College (AIC), is receiving acclaim for photographs he took at the beginning of the 1980s hip-hop scene in Boston. Today, Sept. 15, the prestigious Sotheby’s will host its first-ever hip-hop auction, where the professor’s photos will be featured.

Among the items to be auctioned are two lots of previously unseen photographs, 42 images in all, taken by Nordell. His images are a peek into the beginnings of hip-hop with Hollywood Talent Night events with young artists including New Kids on the Block, the Almighty RSO, and DJ Rusty the Toe Jammer in the early years of what would become a cultural revolution.

Growing up in Cambridge, Nordell said photography was always his calling, and he began honing his craft as a teenager. Returning to Boston after college, he persevered, ultimately finding work as a photojournalist for Time and other prominent publications.

Nordell said it is an honor to have his previously undiscovered photos featured. “This body of work is a labor of love. These photographs represent the hundreds I shot from 1985 to 1989, documenting hip-hop culture in Boston. I believe the power of the images lies in their focused look at a single community: an exuberant microcosm of a growing worldwide cultural revolution. Many of my subjects never gained much prominence, but they remain important as early, localized representatives of a seismic shift.”

A sampling of images set to appear at Sotheby’s auction can be viewed on Nordell’s blog at createlookenjoy.com.

Liz Sillin, John Pucci Named Lawyer of the Year Recipients

Daily News

SPRINGFIELD — Bulkley Richardson partners Liz Sillin and John Pucci were named 2021 Lawyer of the Year recipients in their respective practice areas by Best Lawyers, in partnership with U.S. News Media Group. Sillin was recognized for trusts and estates, and Pucci was recognized for criminal defense (general practice), an honor he has held for the past 11 years.

Lawyer of the Year rankings are awarded to one lawyer per practice area and region, making it a distinguished accolade. Honorees receive this award based on their high overall peer feedback within specific practice areas and metropolitan regions.

Robert Johnson Takes the Helm at WNEU

Cover Story Education Special Coverage

Writing the Next Chapter

Robert Johnson, president of Western New England University

At least once, and perhaps twice, Robert Johnson strongly considered removing himself from the mix as a search committee narrowed the field of candidates to succeed Anthony Caprio as president of Western New England University (WNEU) in Springfield.

It was early spring, and the COVID-19 pandemic was presenting every institution of higher learning, including UMass-Dartmouth, which he served as chancellor, with a laundry list of stern — and, in some cases, unprecedented — challenges.

Johnson told BusinessWest that the campus needed his full attention and that it might be time to call a halt to his quest for the WNEU job. But he “hung in there,” as he put it, and for the same reason that he eventually decided to pursue the position after at least twice telling a persistent recruiter that he wasn’t really interested.

“We are at an inflection point in higher education,” said Johnson, who arrived on the campus on Aug. 15, just a few weeks before students arrived for the fall semester. “Western New England has a good balance of the liberal arts and the professional schools, along with the law school, that puts it in a unique position to write the next chapter when it comes to what higher education will look like.

“I think it’s fair to say that, when we think about higher education, the last time we’ve seen the level of transformation that is about to happen was just after World War II, with the GI Bill and the creation of more urban public universities, community colleges, and the list goes on,” he continued, as talked through a mask to emphasize the point that they are to be worn at all times on this campus. “As we think about the world of work and the future, colleges and universities will be educating people for jobs that don’t exist yet, utilizing technologies that haven’t been created to solve problems that have yet to be identified.”

Elaborating, he said today’s young people, and he counts his son and daughter in this constituency, are expected to hold upwards of 17 jobs in five different industries (three of which don’t currently exist) during their career. All this begs a question he asked: “what does an institution of higher learning look like in an environment like this, where the pace of change is unlike anything the world has ever seen?”

The short answer — he would give a longer one later — is that this now-101-year-old institution looks a whole lot like WNEU, which, he said, is relatively small, agile, and able to adapt and be nimble, qualities that will certainly be needed as schools of all sizes move to what Johnson called a “clicks and mortar” — or “mortar and clicks” — model of operation that, as those words suggest, blends remote with in-person learning.

The process of changing to this model is clearly being accelerated by the pandemic that accompanies Johnson’s arrival at WNEU, and that has already turned this fall semester upside down and inside out at a number of schools large and small.

“Western New England has a good balance of the liberal arts and the professional schools, along with the law school, that puts it in a unique position to write the next chapter when it comes to what higher education will look like.”

Indeed, a number of schools that opened their campuses to students have already closed them and reverted to remote learning. Meanwhile, others trying to keep campuses open are encountering huge problems — and bad press: Northeastern University recently sent 11 students packing after they violated rules and staged a gathering in one of the living areas, for example, and the University of Alabama has reported more than 1,200 cases on its campus in Tuscaloosa.

It’s very early in the semester, but Johnson is optimistic, even confident, that his new place of employment can avoid such occurrences.

“The decision to go with in-person learning was essentially made before I got here, and I think it was the right decision,” he explained, noting that students are living on campus and only 16% of the courses are being taught fully online, with the rest in-person or a hybrid model. “We’ve tested more than 2,500 individuals, and we’ve had only three positive cases, all asymptomatic. It’s worked out well so far, but this is only the end of the first week.

“We’re cautiously optimistic, and we take it day to day,” he went on, adding that the school’s smaller size and strict set of protocols, such as testing students upon arrival, may help prevent some of those calamities that have visited other institutions. “We’ve been very judicious, and our small size makes us a bit different. We’re kind of like Cheers, where everybody knows your name; we don’t have tens of thousands of students that we have to manage.”

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest talked with Johnson about everything from the business of education in this unsettled time to the next chapter in higher education, which he intends to help write.

Screen Test

Flashing back to that aforementioned search for Caprio’s successor, Johnson noted that it was certainly different than anything he’s experienced before — and he’s been through a number of these, as we’ll see shortly.

Indeed, this was a search in the era of COVID-19, which meant pretty much everything was done remotely, including the later rounds of interviews, which usually involve large numbers of people sitting around a table.

Robert Johnson says he’s confident that WNEU, a smaller, tight-knit school, can avoid some of the problems larger institutions have had when reopening this fall.

“It was all Zoom, and it was … interesting,” he said of the interview process. “You don’t know if you’re truly connecting or not. As a person being interviewed, you have much more self-awareness of not only what you’re saying but how you’re saying it, and your own non-verbal communication, because you can see yourself on the screen.

“You have to make sure your background is right, the lighting is right, you’re wearing the right colors, all that,” he went on. “It’s like being on TV, literally, because the first impression people get is what they see on screen.”

Those on the search panel were nonetheless obviously impressed, both by what they saw and heard, and also the great depth of experience that Johnson brings to this latest stop in a nearly 30-year career in higher education.

Indeed, Johnson notes, with a discernable amount of pride in his voice, that he has worked at just about every type of higher-education facility.

“I worked in every not-for-profit higher-education sector,” he noted. “Public, private, two-year, four-year, private, Catholic, large, medium, and small — this is my seventh institution. And I think that gives me a unique lens as a leader in higher education.”

Prior to his stint at UMass Dartmouth, he served as president of Becker College in Worcester from 2010 to 2017, and has also held positions at Oakland University in Michigan and Sinclair College, the University of Dayton, and Central State University, all in Ohio.

As noted earlier, when Johnson was invited by a recruiter to consider perhaps making WNEU the next line on his résumé, he was at first reluctant to become a candidate.

“The search consultant, who I happen to know, called me two or three times, and I did not bite,” he noted. “But as she told me more, and I learned more about Western New England University, I began to take a look. I knew about the school, but I had never taken a deep dive into the institution, its history, and what it had to offer.”

He subsequently took this deep dive, liked what he saw, and, as he noted, hung in through the lengthy interview process because of the unique opportunity this job — at this moment in time — presented.

Since arriving on campus, he has made a point of meeting as many staff members and faculty as possible, but this, too, is difficult during the COVID-19 era. Indeed, meetings can involve only a few participants, so, therefore, there must be more of them.

“We can’t have any of those big ‘meet the president’ meetings,” he noted. “So I’ve had six, seven, or eight meetings with small groups or facility and staff, and I probably have another 15 or 20 of those scheduled. I’m getting to know people, and they’re getting to know me; I’m doing a lot of listening and learning.”

Overall, it’s a challenging time in many respects, he said, adding quickly that higher education was challenging before COVID, for reasons ranging from demographics — smaller high-school graduating classes, for starters — to economics and the growing need to provide value at a time when many are questioning the high cost of a college education.

“The business model for higher ed was going to change regardless — I think, by 2025, given demographics and a whole host of other things, colleges and universities were going to have to figure out how to do business differently,” he told BusinessWest. “I think COVID, overnight, expedited that.

“The business model for higher ed was going to change regardless — I think, by 2025, given demographics and a whole host of other things, colleges and universities were going to have to figure out how to do business differently. I think COVID, overnight, expedited that.”

“It was a Monday, and seven to nine days later, every college in the country was teaching remotely and working remotely, in ways we never imagined,” he continued. “So the very idea that colleges and universities will go back to 100% of what that old business model was is a non-starter. So the question is, ‘how do we reinvent ourselves?’”

Courses of Action

As he commenced answering that question, he started by addressing a question that is being asked in every corner of the country. While there is certainly a place for remote learning, he noted, and it will be part of the equation for every institution, it cannot fully replace in-person learning.

“Some would say that online learning is the way, and the path, of the future,” he noted. “I would say online learning is a tool in terms of modality, but it is not the essence of education.”

Elaborating, he said that, for many students, and classes of students, the in-person, on-campus model is one that can not only provide a pathway to a career but also help an individual mature, meet people from different backgrounds, and develop important interpersonal skills.

“Some would say that online learning is the way, and the path, of the future. I would say online learning is a tool in terms of modality, but it is not the essence of education.”

“For the student coming from a wealthy family, I think they need socialization, and they need a face-to-face environment,” he explained. “For the first-generation student whose parents did not go to college, I think they need socialization. And for students who come from poor families, they need socialization.

“My point being that online learning is not a panacea,” he continued. Some would argue that, if you have online learning, it would help poor kids go to college. I would say that the poor kids, the first-generation kids, are the very ones who need to be on that college campus, to socialize and meet people different from themselves. And the same is true for those kids coming from the upper middle class and wealthy families — they need that socialization.

“In my humble opinion, face-to-face never goes away,” he went on. “But does that mean that one might be living on campus five years from now, taking five classes a semester, with maybe one or two of them being online or hybrid? Absolutely. I think the new model is going to be click and mortar, or mortar and click.”

Expanding on that point while explaining what such a model can and ultimately must provide to students, he returned to those numbers he mentioned earlier — 17 jobs in five industries, at least a few of which don’t exist in 2020. Johnson told BusinessWest that a college education will likely only prepare a student for perhaps of the first of these jobs. Beyond that, though, it can provide critical thinking skills and other qualities needed to take on the next 16.

“That very first job that a student gets out of college — they’ve been trained for that. But that fifth job … they have not been trained for that,” he said. “And I think the role of the academy in the 21st century, the new model, is all about giving students and graduates what I call the agile mindset, which is knowledge and the power of learning — giving students essential human skills that cannot be replicated by robots and gives them the mindset to continually add value throughout their professional careers.

“We’re educating people to get that first job, and to create every job after that,” he continued. “We’re making sure that every person who graduates from college is resilient and has social and emotional intelligence and has an entrepreneurial outlook, which is not about being an entrepreneur; it’s about value creation and having those essential human skills. What that means, fundamentally, is that no algorithm will ever put them out of a job.”

To get his point across, he relayed a conversation he had with some students enrolled in a nursing program. “They said, ‘this doesn’t apply to us,’ and I said, ‘yes, it does, because there are robots in Japan that are turning patients over in hospitals. So if you think technology does not impact what you do, you’re mistaken.’”

Summing it all up, he said that, moving forward, and more than ever before, a college education must make the student resilient, something he does not believe can be accomplished solely through online learning.

“How do I put the engineer and the artist together, give them a real-world problem, and say, ‘have at it, go solve it?’” he asked. “They have to be face to face, hands-on. We can come up with alternate reality, virtual reality, and all the technology you want, but at some point, people have to sit down and look each other in the eye.”

Bottom Line

Returning to the subject of the pandemic and the ongoing fall semester, Johnson reiterated his cautious optimism about getting to the finish line without any major incidents, and said simply, “get me to Thanksgiving with everyone still on campus.” That’s when students will be heading for a lengthy break after a semester that started early (late August) and, to steal a line from Bill Belichick, featured no days off — classes were even in session on Labor Day.

But while he wants to get to Thanksgiving, Johnson is, of course, looking much further down the road, to the future of higher education, which is, in some important respects, already here.

He believes WNEU represents that future, and that’s why he “hung in there” during that search process.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Springfield Positions Itself to Bounce Back from COVID-19

Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Punching Back

Peter Picknelly, left, and Andy Yee are partnering in a restaurant project at the former Court Square Hotel property.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno noted that his city is certainly well-versed in dealing with natural and man-made disasters — everything from the tornado in June 2011 to the natural-gas explosion a year and a half later.

“Battle-tested” was the phrase he used to describe a community that has been though a lot over the past few decades.

But the COVID-19 pandemic … this is a different kind of disaster.

The new façade of the Tower Square Hotel, which expects to be under the Marriott flag next spring.

“It’s like shadow boxing in a lot of ways,” he said, using that phrase to essentially describe a foe that’s hard to hit and an exercise that amounts to punching air. “With those other disasters, I knew what hit us, and I knew how to jab back; with COVID-19, we don’t know when it’s going to go away, and we don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

But the city is certainly punching back against the pandemic, said the mayor and Tim Sheehan, the city’s chief Development officer, noting that it has undertaken initiatives aimed at everything from helping small businesses keep the doors open to assisting residents with paying their mortgage, rent, and utility bills.

And while the pandemic has certainly cost the city some vital momentum, the development community, which usually takes a long view, remains bullish on the city, said Sheehan, noting that there has been strong interest in projects ranging from the former School Department headquarters building on State Street to properties in the so-called ‘blast zone’ (damaged by that aforementioned natural-gas explosion), to buildings in the general vicinity of MGM Springfield in the city’s South End.

“One of more positive things we’re seeing is that development interest in Springfield remains strong,” he told BusinessWest. “And for some larger-scale projects, it’s new interest, from outside the area. And that bodes well for the whole effort that’s been made in terms of the downtown renaissance and the casino development; the development community’s message on Springfield is a good one.”

In the meantime, some projects are already moving forward, most notably the conversion of the long-dormant former Court Square Hotel into apartments and retail space, but also the extensive renovations (although that’s not the word being used) at the Tower Square Hotel in anticipation of regaining the Marriott flag that long flew over the facility, the new Wahlburger’s restaurant going up next to MGM Springfield, the new White Lion Brewery in Tower Square, the conversion of the former Willys-Overland building on Chestnut Street into market-rate housing, movement to reinvent the Eastfield Mall, a plan to redevelop Apremont Triangle, and much more.

But despite these projects, and despite the mayor’s confidence that the city will rebound quickly once the pandemic eases, there are certainly concerns about what toll the pandemic will take on existing businesses, especially those in retail, hospitality, and the commercial real-estate sector — specifically, the office towers downtown.

Mayor Domenic Sarno says he’s confident that the city can make a strong — and quick — rebound from COVID-19.

There is strong speculation that businesses that now have some or most employees working remotely will continue with these arrangements after the pandemic eases, leaving many likely looking for smaller office footprints. Sheehan noted that such potential downsizing might be offset by businesses needing larger spaces for each employee in a world where social distancing might still be the norm, but there is certainly concern that the office buildings that dominate the downtown landscape will need to find new tenants or new uses for that space.

“There’s some conflicting data out there — the average size of a typical commercial office lease was going down prior to COVID, and a big reason was the rise of the communal working space,” he explained. “Well, now, the communal working space isn’t working so well anymore; there are some impacts that are forcing companies to require more space, not less.

“It’s like shadow boxing in a lot of ways. With those other disasters, I knew what hit us, and I knew how to jab back; with COVID-19, we don’t know when it’s going to go away, and we don’t know what’s going to happen next.”

“Still, before COVID, the vacancy rate for commercial real estate was somewhat high,” he went on. “We collectively need to be working with the building owners and businesses to make sure those numbers don’t exacerbate as we come out of COVID. But, clearly, there is concern about the commercial real-estate market.”

For this, the latest installment in BusinessWest’s Community Spotlight series, the focus turns to the unofficial capital of the region, the current battle against COVID-19 and the many forms it takes, and the outlook for the future, both short- and long-term.

View to the Future

As he walked around the former Court Square Hotel while talking with BusinessWest about his involvement with the project to give the landmark a new life, Peter A. Picknelly pointed to the windows in the northwest corner of the sixth floor, and noted that this was where a City Hall employee had just told him she wanted to live as he and business partner Andy Yee were leaving a meeting with the mayor.

But then he quickly corrected himself.

“No, she was referring to that corner,” he noted, pointing toward the windows on the northeast side, the ones with a better overall view of Court Square and Main Street. “That’s the one she said she wanted.”

Talk about actually living in the still-handsome structure that dominates Court Square is now actually real, whereas for the better part of 30 years it had been nothing but a pipe dream. That’s how long people have been talking about renovating this property, and that’s how challenging this initiative has been.

Indeed, like Union Station, another project that took decades to finally move beyond the talk stage, Court Square’s redevelopment became real because of a public-private partnership with a number of players, ranging from Picknelly’s Opal Development and WinnCompanies to MGM Springfield, to the city, the state, and federal government.

“This project was a bear, and that building was an albatross around the neck of a lot of mayors,” Sarno said. “This was all about persistence and not giving up when it would have been easy to do that.”

As for Picknelly, this is a legacy project of a sort, he said, noting that his father, Peter L. Picknelly, had long talked about creating a boutique hotel at the site — which, after its days as a hotel, was home to a number of law offices because of its proximity to the courthouse — as a way to inject some life into a still-struggling downtown.

Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan says the city’s first priority has been to assist businesses and help ensure they’re still in business when the pandemic eases.

The boutique-hotel concept became less viable as new hotels were built in the city, he went on, but the urgent need to convert the property for a new use — identified as the top priority in the Urban Land Institute study completed more than a decade ago — remained.

“How can Springfield really see its full potential if this building is vacant?” asked Picknelly, who again partnered with Yee — the two have resurrected both the Student Prince and the White Hut — to create a restaurant in the northwest corner of the property (more on that in a bit). “This is going to be the centerpiece of Springfield’s renaissance.”

The Court Square project is just one example of how things are moving forward in the city, even in the midst of the pandemic, said Sheehan, noting that, in the larger scheme of things, Springfield remains an attractive target for the development community — and for the same reasons that existed before the pandemic, namely an abundance of opportunities, growing momentum in the central business district, the casino, Union Station, the burgeoning cannabis industry, and more.

Still, the the pandemic has certainly been a major disruptive force in that it has imperiled small businesses across many sectors, especially hospitality; brought a relative stillness to the downtown area as many employees continue to work at home; closed the casino for nearly four months and forced it to reopen at one-third capacity; cancelled all shows, sports, and other gatherings at the casino, the MassMutual Center, Symphony Hall, and elsewhere; and even forced the Basketball Hall of Fame to reschedule its induction ceremonies (normally held this month) to the spring and move them to Mohegan Sun.

So the first order of business for the city has been to try to control, or limit, the damage, said Sarno and Sheehan, adding that it has been doing this in a number of ways, including its Prime the Pump initiative.

The Court Square project, roughly 30 years in the making, was made possible by a comprehensive public-private partnership.

The program, using Community Development Block Grant monies, has provided small grants to city businesses in amounts up to $15,000. The awards have come over several rounds, with the first focused on restaurants, perhaps the hardest-hit individual sector, with subsequent rounds having a broader focus that includes more business sectors and nonprofits. Sheehan said businesses receiving grant funds have also represented a diversity of ownership.

“Prime the Pump numbers in terms of minority representation were huge — more than 72% of the awards were to minority-owned, women-owned, or veterans, and all of the nonprofits we supported had 30% or more minority participation on their board of directors,” he explained, adding that these numbers are significant because many minority-owned businesses had difficulty attaining other forms of support, such as Paycheck Protection Program loans.

In addition to helping businesses weather the storm, the city has also provided financial assistance to residents, said the mayor, noting that this aid has gone toward paying mortgages, utility bills, and rent, assistance that also helps the city’s many landlords.

“In this region, I don’t think any community has done more to help their businesses and their residents,” Sarno noted. “We have put out well over $5 million, and perhaps $6 million. We’ve been very proactive, and we’re going to continue working with businesses, such as our restaurants, to help them stay open.”

Such support is critical, said Sheehan, because in order to rebound sufficiently once the pandemic subsides, consumers will need to find outlets for that pent-up demand the mayor mentioned.

“How can Springfield really see its full potential if this building is vacant? This is going to be the centerpiece of Springfield’s renaissance.”

“When there is a vaccine, or when our numbers are so low that people feel safe and feel willing to go back out, the responsiveness will be there,” he noted. “My concern is making sure that the businesses we have are still in business when we get there.”

When We Meet Again

While he talked about COVID-19 using mostly the present tense, Sarno also spent a good deal of time talking about the future.

He said the pandemic will — eventually and somehow — relent. And, as he said earlier, he is confident the city will rebound, and quickly, and perhaps return to where it was before ‘COVID’ became part of the lexicon. For a reference point, he chose Red Sox Winter Weekend in January, an event staged by the team but hosted by MGM Springfield. It brought thousands of people to the city, filling hotels and restaurants and creating traffic jams downtown as motorists tried to maneuver around closed streets and various gatherings.

In many ways, Red Sox Winter Weekend is emblematic of all that’s been lost due to the pandemic. It won’t all come back overnight, Sarno and Sheehan noted, but the vibrancy will return.

“COVID-19 has really knocked us for a bit of a loop,” the mayor said, stating the obvious. “But I think there there’s a lot of pent-up … not only frustration, but desire to get back out there, so when we defeat this, I really think we’re going to rebound very nicely, and even quickly, because we continue to move projects forward and put new projects on the board.”

These renderings show what the front lobby (above) and ballroom will look like in the Tower Square Hotel that is being ‘reimagined’ and ‘redesigned’ and will soon be flying the Marriott flag.

This optimism extends to MGM, which had been struggling to meet projections (made years ago) for gross gambling revenue before the pandemic, and has, as noted, been operating at one-third capacity since early summer, with the hotel and banquet facilities closed.

“When MGM was hustling and bustling, with shows coming in, downtown was thriving,” Sarno said. “I’m hoping that, as we head into the last quarter and eventually the holiday season, if people can regain their confidence in going out to places like this, we see things pick up.”

And there will be some positive changes to greet visitors as they return, starting with a new Marriott.

Indeed, work continues on a massive project that Peter Marks, general manager of the hotel, insists is not a renovation, because that word doesn’t do justice to the massive overhaul. He instead said the hotel has been “reimagined” and “redesigned.”

Indeed, slated to open — or reopen, as the case may be — next spring or summer, the 266-room facility is getting a new look from top to bottom, inside and out. The most visible sign of the change is a new, more modern façade that greets visitors coming over the Memorial Bridge. But the entire hotel is being made over to new and stringent standards set by Marriott.

“This is not a reflagging; it’s a new build, and that’s why the work is so extensive,” he explained. “Everything that that a guest could see or touch is being replaced. Beyond that, we’ve moved walls, we’ve moved emergency staircases in the building to accomplish higher ceilings … it’s impressive what has been done.”

The timing of the project — during the middle of a pandemic — has been beneficial in one respect: there was minimal displacement of guests due to the ongoing work and, therefore, not a significant loss of overall business. But the pandemic has also been a hindrance because it’s made getting needed construction materials much more difficult, causing delays in the work and uncertainty about when it can all be completed.

“You might get a shower wall in, but not the shower tub,” Marks explained. “And you can’t do the wall without the tub, so you have to wait, and this happens all the time. If everything goes smoothly from here, it might be April when we reopen, or it could also be summer.”

By then, he thinks the world, and downtown Springfield, will look considerably different, and there will be a considerable amount of pent-up demand.

“Especially for the leisure travelers,” he said. “People are really itching to get out; they’re all waiting to go somewhere, and also go to events, weddings, family reunions, and other celebrations. I’m hopeful that we’ll be opening right when the pent-up demand is coming.”

As for the restaurant planned for the Court Square property, Picknelly and Yee project it will be open for business by the fall of 2022, and that, when it does debut, it will be an important addition to a downtown that may look somewhat different, but will likely still be a destination and a place people not only want to visit, but live in.

“Winn has done 100 renovation projects like this around the country,” Picknelly said. “They are 100% convinced that this building will be fully occupied by the time we open — there’s no doubt in their minds, based on the projections. I think that says a lot about people still wanting to live in urban areas, and I think it says a lot about Springfield and what people think of this city.”

Fighting Spirit

Returning to his analogy about shadow boxing, Sarno said COVID-19 has certainly proven to be a difficult sparring partner.

Unlike the tornado, which passed through quickly and left a trail of destruction to be cleaned up, COVID has already lingered far longer than most thought it would, and no one really knows for sure how much longer we’ll be living with it.

Meanwhile, as for the damage it will cause, there is simply no way of knowing that, either, and the toll creeps higher with each passing week.

But, as the mayor noted, the city is already punching back, and it intends to keep on punching with the goal of regaining the momentum it has lost and turning back the clock — even if it’s only six or seven months.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Graphic Impact Signs Continues to Build on Its Broad Portfolio of Clients

Berkshire County Special Coverage

Delivering the Message

A team from Graphic Impact Signs installs a sign for Berkshire Bank.

John Renzi says that, when the pandemic arrived in mid-March, the sign industry, like most all others, was hit hard.

Indeed, as a sector that has always been a good barometer of the economy and one that suffers greatly during downturns, the sign business was impacted by the pandemic in a number of ways, said Renzi, a principal and account executive with Pittsfield-based Graphic Impact Signs (GIS). He listed everything from the prompt shutdown of the events, sports, and entertainment industries and a halt to orders from those solid customers, to disruptions in the supply chain that have hindered many players in this large and diverse field from completing orders they do have.

GIS has certainly not been immune from any of this, said Renzi, but he believes the company acquired by his father 33 years ago has fared better than most because of the two traits that have defined it from the beginning: flexibility and resiliency.

They have been displayed in everything from how the company has pivoted and started making new lines of products, such as the plexiglass barriers now seen in all kinds of businesses, to how it has maneuvered its way through those supply-chain issues by working with suppliers and stockpiling essential materials that are now in very short supply.

Regarding those barriers, or shields, the company tacked in that direction as the business world paused and sign work all but stopped as the pandemic arrived, he noted, and very quickly had product moving out the doors of the Pittsfield plant.

“We had the equipment, and we had the supply,” he told BusinessWest. “So we were able to move from idea to prototype to our first order, which was a $138,000 order, in seven working days. That’s the flexibility we have, and it has allowed us to be successful.”

That same flexibility is effectively serving the company as it transitions back to making signage, said Dan Renzi, John’s brother and partner, especially when it comes to supply-chain issues.

“Many of our suppliers just stopped delivering for quite some time, and then, when they started up again, the manufacturers just could not get the product to us,” he explained, referring specifically to the white polycarbonate needed in most sign projects. Working with existing and new suppliers, GIS has been able to stockpile and warehouse this essential product while some competitors are waiting for what could be three or four months to get what they need.

Thus, the company is well-positioned, even in the middle of a pandemic, to broaden an already-impressive portfolio that includes clients such as Big Y, General Dynamics, and a host of banks and credit unions, especially those installing interactive teller machines (ITMs).

GIS has become an industry leader in making the surrounds, or canopies (see photo, page XX), for these devices, and it is now making them for Berkshire Bank, PeoplesBank, Country Bank, bankESB, and several other institutions.

“The ATMS are on their way out, and the ITMs are moving in,” John noted. “More banks are expanding into this because it’s clearly the future, and we’re one of the leaders in making signage and surrounds for these ITMs.”

Dan Renzi, left, and his brother, John, stand in front of a new sign made for Big Y.

This status, coupled with the company’s flexibility and its ability to work with clients to design, develop, and install signage that is indeed impactful, has it very well-positioned for the future.

“Over the years, we’ve seen people come in with, literally, something scribbled on a piece of paper,” said Dan, explaining how GIS is involved with the client from start to finish. “We’ll take things from that really rough sketch to a complete, finished product all in one building; we can take a dream and turn it into reality.”

For this issue and its focus on Berkshire County, BusinessWest turns its lens on GIS and how it has been able to use its flexibility and resiliency to not only ride out the pandemic, but take new and meaningful steps forward.

More Signs of Progress

It’s not an official indicator of how a sign business, or any other business, for that matter, is faring. But the Renzi brothers consider it one, and they’re quite proud of it.

They were referring to how signs that have the company’s name on it — albeit in small letters that you probably wouldn’t notice (although the brothers do) — have shown up in some recent movies and TV series coming out of Hollywood.

“We had the equipment, and we had the supply. So we were able to move from idea to prototype to our first order, which was a $138,000 order, in seven working days.”

“That’s pretty cool when you’re sitting there at a movie, either on Netflix or on the big screen, and you see one of your signs,” said John, noting that some of the company’s installations have become backdrops recently in the movies Knives Out and Behind the Woods, and the true-crime TV series Dirty John.

These recent on-screen appearances are merely the latest … well, signs of continued growth and prosperity for a company that has been part of the landscape in the Berkshires for more than 60 years. Known first as Alfie Sign Co., the business caught the eye of John Renzi Sr., a painter whose portfolio was dominated by commercial clients at a time when Pittsfield was certainly seeing its fortunes wane as its main employer, General Electric, was closing its massive complex.

“GE was moving out, and his painting business was commercial business only,” said John Jr. “So when you had large businesses moving out of Pittsfield, he was trying to set up a future for my brother and me.”

The company had a solid reputation and an impressive client list, he went on, noting that it had created signs for Fayva Shoes, Subway — it was involved in the first-generation logo for that chain — and D’Angelo’s, among others. But it wasn’t exactly well-run.

“He knew that things needed change — it was a dollar-in, dollar-out company, and it had its challenges; it took a while to get the company on its feet,” John went on, adding that his father brought some discipline and direction to the venture and put it on more solid ground, with the intention of eventually passing it on to the next generation. Which he did, but not before that generation was fully prepared to lead.

One of the many ITM canopies that GIS is making for a growing list of bank clients

“Dad didn’t just hand over the business — he wanted to make sure we could handle it,” said John, noting that he and Dan officially became owners five years ago, but they’ve been managing it for the past 15. “And he did it right — we learned right from the bottom, cleaning toilets, sweeping floors, counting bolts, and getting dirty.”

In recent years, the company has, perhaps without knowing it, steeled itself against downturns — and, yes, even a pandemic — by broadening and diversifying the portfolio of clients and creating a culture grounded in the flexibility and nimbleness noted earlier.

Which brings us back to March, and the arrival of COVID-19.

“We had some really good things moving in the right direction right at the beginning of the year,” John said. “We had a good winter, things were lining up well, and we were really excited about this year.

“But when COVID hit, it hit with a jolt,” he went on. “We weren’t certain what was going to happen or how we were going about things, but if there’s one thing that my brother and I believe in — pre-COVID, during COVID, or post-COVID — it’s that, the more flexible you are as a business, the more successful you can make yourself. And what we found is that, due to our flexibility with working with our supply chain and working with our clients, we were able to manage this crisis effectively.

One of the best examples of this flexibility was the company’s ability to pivot and begin making the plexiglass shields now seen in restaurants, banks, retail outlets, and countless other businesses.

“We reached out to suppliers and started ordering clear acrylic, clear polycarbonate, and started making these custom guards that could be adapted for bank-teller lanes, tabletops, and other uses,” Dan explained, noting that GIS made this adjustment as a way to bring employees back to work after the pandemic hit and sign work ground to a near-halt. “There was a little bit of a learning curve, but overall, it was an almost seamless transition.”

John agreed, noting that the company didn’t have to make any additional investments or find any new suppliers.

“It was just a matter of quickly training employees to make shields instead of signage,” he said, noting that, while GIS is still making these shields for a few hospitals and office buildings, it is increasingly turning its focus back to making signs.

A Bright Future

While many sectors of the economy have slowed because of the pandemic, there are still growth opportunities for companies positioned to take advantage of them, said John, noting that banks, with the emergence of the ITM, clearly represent one of those opportunities.

A new sign the company created for General Dynamics.

He noted that banks were already moving in this direction, and the pandemic, which closed bank lobbies for months and all but forced customers to use drive-up windows for most all transactions, has only accelerated the process.

“Banks are adding them at their branches, and we’ve also seen an increase in free-standing ITMs that are not at branches,” he explained. “Chase Bank is the first one to do this; they’re looking to close 1,000 locations — downtown locations that don’t have drive-up service — and buy remote sites just outside cities, and put up these free-standing ITMs.

“We’re one of the few companies in the United States building these free-standing ITM canopies,” he went on. “It’s a very interesting development and a great opportunity for us, and we saw it happening pre-COVID; it’s 100% the future.”

As for the future of the sign business … that picture is certainly not as clear, said the brothers Renzi, noting, again, that the pandemic has hit this sector very hard, and there was already a good deal of consolidation before COVID-19 arrived as Baby Boomers retired and sold their ventures to employees or larger players from outside the region.

And since the pandemic, some of the smaller players have closed down, they said, noting they didn’t have the wherewithal to withstand the loss of business and the many other challenges that visited the industry. And many mid-sized companies have struggled with everything from retaining employees to finding the materials they need to complete orders.

GIS, again, is not immune from these challenges, but it certainly seems well-positioned to not only survive but thrive in the post-COVID world.

If you look closely — and you don’t even have to look closely — you can see the signs.

George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]

Despite the Pandemic, Area Contractors Stay Busy

Construction Special Coverage

Essential Work

The new Maple Elementary School, a Fontaine Brothers project, takes shape in Easthampton.

Back in March, ‘essential’ was a magic word for employers across Massachusetts. It meant they could continue to work, provide services, and generate revenue during a time when so many sectors were completely shutting down.

But to Laurie Raymaakers, the word means more than that, because construction has always been essential to communities — particularly the infrastructure and civil-engineering projects her Westfield-based company, J.L. Raymaakers & Sons, is known for.

“Through the pandemic season, we’ve continued to get new jobs, and we have been able to keep all our employees working,” she told BusinessWest. “We are considered essential workers because we do a lot of infrastructure work for municipalities, which is very important to every community. We do all kinds of infrastructure — sewers, water, drainage, pump stations, culverts.”

Among the firm’s recent seven-figure projects are a large sewer project in Shrewsbury, a large culvert replacement in Pittsfield, and a drainage pond for Barnes Airport that had to be completed on a tight, 45-day schedule.

The company also created a road for the installation of two wind turbines in Russell and replaced a 100-year-old culvert in a pond at Forest Park in Springfield, a job that involved building a temporary dam, as well as creating new walkways and overlooks in the area. And the company’s workload for the fall and winter, and beyond, looks strong.

“During COVID, a lot of our projects stayed open the entire time because a lot of work we were doing fell under the category deemed essential — a lot of public projects. t was a mixed blessing because it was great to continue working, but also difficult to adapt to the changes day by day.”

“We have enough work to keep going,” Raymaakers said. “But we’ve also worked very hard keeping employees safe. It was very difficult in the beginning, trying to get sanitary supplies for sites, like masks and sanitizer, and follow all the standards of the CDC and prepare all the proper paperwork. We value our employees, and we wanted to keep them safe. We’re very fortunate we work outdoors, with the type of work we do.”

David Fontaine Jr. tells a similar story about his company, Springfield-based Fontaine Brothers, when it comes to being essential.

“We’ve got a lot going on — we’re pretty busy this year and into 2021,” he said. “Prior to COVID coming along, we had a lot of backlog and a lot of work we had underway, so we were in a pretty healthy spot.

“During COVID, a lot of our projects stayed open the entire time because a lot of work we were doing fell under the category deemed essential — a lot of public projects,” he went on. “It was a mixed blessing because it was great to continue working, but also difficult to adapt to the changes day by day.”

Recent and ongoing jobs include building new high schools in Worcester and Middleboro, as well as a new K-8 school in Easthampton; the firm was also recently awarded a job to combine the Deberry and Homer schools in Springfield, with construction to begin next summer.

“The nice part about the public work is it’s funded with reliable state dollars; projects being constructed now were funded a year or two ago, so it’s an ongoing source of work,” Fontaine said. “It looks stable going forward next 12 months at least.”

The biggest concern right now, actually, is that some planned projects will hit a funding stall, which would manifest in a slowdown of projects a year or two from now, he added. But so far, 2020 has been a healthy year, even if uncertainty looms around the corner for many firms.

Reading the Signs

The signs were all there in February, Fontaine said, when COVID-19 was already starting to disrupt some material supply chains.

“We started preparing for it before some of our peers; we were already planning for how we were going to approach it when it came,” he told BusinessWest. “We put into place a pandemic protocol from a safety standpoint for all job sites, and tried to stay ahead of it as much as we could. We wanted to be proactive and make sure the job sites stayed open and safe.”

That involved measures that have become common in many businesses, including personal protective equipment like face coverings and gloves, worn 100% of the time.

J.L. Raymaakers & Sons recently completed an extensive project at Swan Pond in Forest Park, which involved creating a temporary dam and replacing a century-old culvert.

“We also put additional handwashing stations and sanitizing stations on all job sites,” he explained. “We also require, on every job, a daily check-in process; before anyone enters the job site, they have to self-certify they have not had any symptoms or been in contact with anyone COVID-positive the last 14 days. We’ve also been doing temperature screenings on a couple of job sites.”

Those efforts have paid off, he added. “Knock on wood, but all those measures have been effective in not having many safety concerns or incidents.”

At least one trend in the year of COVID-19 has been a positive for J.L. Raymaakers, whose yard-products division, ROAR, has been extremely busy, adding more than 600 new customers this year and tripling sales.

“That’s partly through marketing and word of mouth, but partly because of COVID,” Raymaakers said. “People have been home, not at work, and they were sprucing up their yards and planting gardens.”

Those two elements of her business — public infrastructure work and yard products — have not only helped Raymaakers and her team weather an unusual year, but thrive during it. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t recognize acute needs elsewhere.

“People don’t realize you can make a good living, and we’re hearing that everywhere; it’s very difficult to find employees. If the the trades are dying, what’s going to happen then?”

“Because we’ve been so fortunate this year, and so many people and organizations have been struggling, we upped our charitable contributions to help out with food banks as well as the Westfield Boys and Girls Club, making sure we give back to the community and those that are struggling.”

One trend that has not changed this year, even with so many people out of work, Raymaakers said, is a persistent shortage of workers.

“For ourselves as well as other construction companies, as much as we’re busy, it’s very difficult to find employees or crew — equipment operators and laborers — in this industry,” she told BusinessWest.

“People don’t realize you can make a good living, and we’re hearing that everywhere; it’s very difficult to find employees,” she added, noting that many of her firm’s supervisors and project managers started on the ground floor and worked their way up. “If the the trades are dying, what’s going to happen then?”

It’s not a localized phenomenon. According to a workforce survey conducted by Associated General Contractors of America and software vendor Autodesk, 60% of respondents reported having at least one future project postponed or canceled this year, and 33% said projects already underway have been halted. Yet, a shortage of labor remains, with 52% having a hard time filling some or all hourly craft positions and only 3% of firms reducing pay, despite the downturn in business.

COVID-19 is playing some role in that trend. While some companies have laid off workers during the pandemic, 44% of contractors say at least some employees have refused to return, citing unemployment benefits, virus concerns, or family issues, among other reasons.

“Few firms have survived unscathed from the pandemic amid widespread project delays and cancellations,” Ken Simonson, chief economist of Associated General Contractors of America, told the Engineering News-Record. “Ironically, even as the pandemic undermines demand for construction services, it is reinforcing conditions that have historically made it hard for many firms to find qualified craft workers to hire.”

One positive from all this has been an accelerated adoption of technology. According to the workforce survey, about 40% of responding contractors said they have adopted new hardware or software to alleviate labor shortages.

“As bad as this situation is, it’s also pushing the industry forward into a better place,” William Sankey, CEO of data-analytics solutions provider Northspyre, said in Construction Dive, an online industry newsletter. “Maybe, where it would have taken seven to 10 years to catch up to where the finance industry is in leveraging data, I think that transition will now be underway in the next two to three years.”

Down the Road

What happens over the next two to three years is really the key for all construction firms, which expect COVID-related impacts to continue to be felt down the road.

For now, though, Fontaine is gratified that his company’s workload is healthy, with public projects complemented by a fair amount of private work, including jobs for MGM and several prepatory schools, including Northfield Mount Hermon School, Deerfield Academy, and Wilbraham & Monson Academy.

“We’re hoping those types of schools will have OK years fundraising for those types of projects,” he said, adding that private-sector clients can often move from funding to the construction phase quicker than municipalities, especially when they realize they can take advantage of recession-driven lower prices.

It’s just another way this unprecedented year has cut both ways for construction firms. The big question is what the coming years will bring for a sector that’s essential in more ways than one.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Wall Street’s Performance Doesn’t Match Main Street

By Contributor September 15, 2020

Wealth Management

A Seeming Disconnect

By Jean M. Deliso

Have you wondered how the S&P 500 stock-market index has been trading at near all-time highs when, in the second quarter, S&P 500 corporate earnings were down compared to the first quarter of 2020, daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. are currently stable or declining, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July unemployment report showed more than 16 million unemployed Americans, with an unemployment rate of 10.2%?

That question is a good one, with the seeming disconnect between what the stock market has been doing and what we are seeing in the news and the U.S. economy. No doubt the stock market was arguably pricing in what the economy will look like a year from now and what the market sees as significant pent-up demand, a fading pandemic-induced economic impact, and a wall of liquidity coursing its way through capital markets.

The real question is whether investors should be concerned about the U.S. stock market hitting all-time highs with the economy still bruised and slowly recovering. Could this mean a crash or major correction is coming?

Jean Deliso

“There is a chance the economy one year from now will be in better shape than it is today — or it may be worse. But being a participant in the market for the long haul means participating in the growth and losses that happen between now and then, and always focusing on your investment time horizon.”

No one truly knows the answer to that question. But we know that market corrections and bear markets are normal and common; we just don’t know when they will arrive or how long they will last. And if anyone tells you ‘with certainty’ when a market downside is coming and how long it will last, you might want to run the other way.

When thinking about where the markets and economy could go in the next year and beyond, it’s useful to break it down by key categories:

• Economics. The pandemic-induced recession has been steep and ugly. But there is a good argument that the worst of the crisis could be behind us. Manufacturing and service activity have rebounded, the housing market has seen very solid activity, and spending has outpaced expectations, according to the Washington Post.

• Earnings. Second-quarter earnings were bad, plain and simple. But at the same time, earnings were not as bad as the double-digit expectation of Wall Street, and clearly stocks love positive surprises. Will earnings continue to improve going forward? That is the question — and we all hope the answer is ‘yes.’

• Interest Rates. Overnight rates in most developed countries are near historic lows, meaning borrowing costs and financing costs are highly attractive for businesses and individuals that can obtain loans. The Federal Reserve also signaled plans to keep interest rates near zero for years; these actions make equities attractive by comparison.

• Inflation. The amount of global stimulus is massive; the total global fiscal and monetary stimulus being deployed amounts to approximately 28% of world GDP, according to the Wall Street Journal. This ‘wall of liquidity’ makes inflation seem more likely in the coming years and will be a factor to watch.

• Sentiment. Consumer and investor sentiment is improving in the wake of the pandemic, but may sour as the election nears.What’s the bottom line for investors? The nature of bull markets is that we can expect the stock market to reach new highs over time. This is what history has told us to expect every time. That said, I would caution against seeing an all-time high in the S&P index as a reason to go completely defensive. When setting a long-term investment strategy, it is important to consider how the economy may grow or contract in the next six, 12, or even 18 months, and how that plays into your personal goals and objectives. If your retirement date is close, it is always prudent to review how much safe money you may need to weather an unexpected storm.

There is a chance the economy one year from now will be in better shape than it is today — or it may be worse. But being a participant in the market for the long haul means participating in the growth and losses that happen between now and then, and always focusing on your investment time horizon.

Jean M. Deliso is a registered representative offering securities through NYLIFE Securities, LLC (member FINRA/SIPC), a licensed insurance agency. Deliso Financial and Insurance Services is not owned or operated by Eagle Strategies, NYLIFE Securities, LLC, or any of their affiliates.

Businesses Need to Evaluate Consequences of These Arrangements

By Contributor September 15, 2020

Telecommuting Can Be Taxing

By Carolyn Bourgoin and Lisa White

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the related public-health concerns, many businesses have implemented work-from-home (WFH) arrangements for their employees. Whether due to government-mandated shutdowns or voluntary efforts of employers to protect workers, there has been a significant rise in telecommuting that continues even as some states begin to relax restrictions.

Carolyn Bourgoin

Lisa White

Businesses with telecommuting workers need to evaluate the potential payroll and business-tax consequences created by those employees working from home in states where the business would not otherwise have a taxable presence.

Though most states have existing guidance addressing telecommuting for both businesses and workers, the unusual circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the need for states to revisit these rules. Unfortunately, there is also little uniformity among the states in both the existing guidance and the temporary guidance being issued.

In order to remove some of the uncertainty and to limit the potential adverse state tax consequences of employees working remotely, the Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act (RMWR) was introduced to the Senate in July as part of the American Workers, Families, and Employers Assistance Act. The RMWR contains special provisions prohibiting a state and its localities from taxing the wages of an employee who is performing services in a state other than their state of residence due to the COVID-19 public-health emergency.

“Businesses with telecommuting workers need to evaluate the potential payroll and business-tax consequences created by those employees working from home in states where the business would not otherwise have a taxable presence.”

For calendar year 2020, this protection is afforded for a period not to exceed 90 days. Businesses would also be provided protections under this tax-relief package concerning their telecommuting employees. Remote workers performing duties in a state or locality where the employer does not otherwise have a presence would not automatically cause the business to be subject to taxation in that state. However, as it is unclear when or if this bill will pass, employers must continue to review the guidance of the respective states and localities where their remote workers are performing services.

Massachusetts Guidance

Massachusetts issued temporary guidance providing tax relief where an employee is working remotely in the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent technical information release (TIR 20-10) issued by the Department of Revenue provides that the presence of one or more employees working remotely in Massachusetts will not by itself create a withholding responsibility with respect to that employee if the remote work is due to any one of the following:

• A government order issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;

• A remote-work policy an employer adopts to comply with federal or state guidance or public-health recommendations relating to COVID-19;

• A worker’s compliance with quarantine requirements due to a COVID-19 diagnosis or suspected diagnosis; or

• A worker’s compliance based on a physician’s advice due to a worker’s COVID-19 exposure.

For businesses, wages paid to a non-resident employee who, prior to the pandemic, was performing services in Massachusetts, but who is now telecommuting, will continue to be treated as Massachusetts source income, subject to income tax and withholding. The information release further provides that, while it is in effect, the presence of one or more remote workers in the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic will not automatically create a Massachusetts sales and use tax-collection responsibility or a corporate excise tax-filing responsibility.

These provisions are effective until the earlier of Dec. 31, 2020 or 90 days after the state of emergency in Massachusetts is lifted. Employers must maintain written records to substantiate the pandemic-related circumstances that caused an employee to fall under the TIR’s provisions.

Massachusetts issued its temporary guidance with the understanding and expectation that other states either have adopted or are adopting similar sourcing rules. However, similar to the relief provided in the Senate bill discussed earlier, it would still be prudent for an employer to still review the guidance of the respective states and localities where their remote workers are performing services.

Guidance from Neighboring States

New York: New York is one of five states that has a ‘convenience of the employer rule,’ treating as New York wages any compensation earned by employees of a New York company while they are working outside the state. Under this rule, the wages of a telecommuter could be sourced to both New York and the telecommuter’s resident state, requiring payroll withholdings for both states.

A bill was introduced in the New York Senate in May that would offer relief to businesses by exempting the non-resident employee wages from New York income tax and withholding requirements for a specified amount of time. However, as of the time of this article, the New York Department of Revenue has remained silent on its position regarding these matters.

Connecticut: Connecticut is another state with a ‘convenience of the employer rule.’ However, the state only applies this rule in determining Connecticut source income of residents of states that also apply the convenience rule. Otherwise, wages are sourced to Connecticut based on the portion of services performed within the state.

The Connecticut Department of Revenue has not issued any form of guidance to date, but did respond to a state survey this past May regarding telecommuting due to the COVID-19 crisis. The agency replied that it was working on guidance that would ensure ‘fair and equitable treatment’ to both its individual residents and Connecticut-based businesses.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island has issued formal guidance similar to that of Massachusetts, providing that the presence of one or more remote workers in the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic will not automatically create an income tax-filing responsibility and sales and use tax-collection responsibility. Wages paid to a non-resident employee who is now telecommuting will continue to be treated as Rhode Island source income subject to income tax and withholding.

Businesses with telecommuting employees in other states must check to see if those states offer tax relief from withholding taxes, income-tax nexus, and sales and use tax-filing obligations created by these remote workers during the COVID-19 health crisis. Unfortunately, there is no set time frame or requirement that states issue such guidance.

Passage of the Remote and Mobile Worker Relief Act would help to remove some of the uncertainty surrounding the tax treatment of these workers. Employers in the meantime are left to monitor potential changes to state tax laws where their remote workers are located during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine whether they have relief from tax filings in the telecommuting state.

Carolyn Bourgoin, CPA is a senior manager, and Lisa White, CPA is a manager for the Holyoke-based accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.; [email protected]; [email protected]

After a Summer of Strategizing, Private Schools Welcome Students Back

Education

The Experiment Begins

Some of the outdoor spaces Academy Hill School will repurpose for class time this fall — weather permitting.

Brian Easler learned a saying during his time in the Army: “two is one, and one is none.”

It’s a way of stressing the importance of having a backup plan — and he certainly put that concept into action this summer.

“The idea is, anything can fail at any time. You have to have a backup,” said Easler, head of school at Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA). “We did everything we could think of to make the campus as safe as possible. We have layers of filters where, even if one preventive measure seems duplicative of something else we’ve done, we did both anyway.”

For instance, all HVAC systems on campus were updated and fitted with ionizers to filter air. But the school also bought 287 Honeywell HEPA air purifiers, similar to what hospitals use, and placed one in every room on campus. And when public-health officials said students at school could stay three feet apart while wearing masks, WMA kept a six-foot standard.

“Again,” he told BusinessWest, “we’re layering precautions on top of precautions.”

The reason is simple: parents want to send their kids to school to learn in person — despite its widespread use, no one believes remote learning is the best option from an academic and social perspective — and they also want to feel their kids will be safe.

Melissa Earls is a believer in in-person learning, which is why, as head of school at Academy Hill School in Springfield, she has spent the last several months making sure the campus is safe.

And not only because younger students — unlike WMA, Academy Hill is a pre-K to grade 8 school — have a tougher time handling remote education without the physical presence of parents, who often simultaneously hold jobs.

“It’s not just the autonomy factor, but what’s developmentally appropriate,” she said. “It’s just not developmentally appropriate for students that young to be in front of a screen for so long. It’s also an abstract concept to engage in virtual learning, seeing their friends on a Brady Bunch Zoom screen. For them, it’s an abstract concept to wrap their heads around. Developmentally, we much prefer having them here with us.”

That’s not to say classes don’t look a little different these days.

“We’re a small private school, and we typically have a lot of collaborative tables, reflective of our instructional model. We’ve replaced them with rows and columns of desks, which was not our style,” Earls explained. “We also purchased tents to create outdoor spaces, sheltered from the sun, and even the rain, to respond to the space challenge.”

John Austin, head of school at Deerfield Academy, in a letter to parents last month, outlined the many precautions and protocols unfolding to make the campus safe (more on that later). But he also stressed that students have to buy in to make it work.

“We know from experience — and science tells us with near-certainty — that wearing masks, physical distancing, and enhanced hygiene can help mitigate the spread of this virus. And that is what, together, we will endeavor to accomplish. We begin the year knowing that our students will arrive ready to express their care for others by following these simple expectations,” he wrote.

Noting that students must sign a ‘community health pledge,’ he called the document “an attempt to clearly and explicitly capture that ethos of care, citizenship, and sacrifice that will allow us to return to school safely and be together as a campus community.”

In other words, if students want to be on campus — and private schools throughout the region are definitely emphasizing that model — they know they’re all in it together. It’s an intriguing experiment in the first fall semester of the COVID-19 era, one that follows a summer that was also unlike any other.

Team Effort

The first question at Academy Hill, Earls said, was whether the campus had the space and ability to pull off on-campus learning.

“Once we knew we could do this, it became a priority to get them back,” she said. “Getting here was a team effort. What impressed us was the selflessness of everyone who worked all summer long. Actually, they didn’t have a summer. The plan was constantly evolving, and everyone was so generous with their time and their thoughts.”

While students are expected to be on campus if they’re not sick, a blended learning option is available for those who have to quarantine because they or a family member have been exposed to coronavirus. At the same time, if a faculty member is exposed, but is able to teach from home, students will attend classes on campus while the teacher instructs from a remote location, with the assistance of technology.

Melissa Earls

“It’s just not developmentally appropriate for students that young to be in front of a screen for so long. It’s also an abstract concept to engage in virtual learning, seeing their friends on a Brady Bunch Zoom screen.”

And, of course, in an echo of the spring, when schools and colleges across the U.S. shut down and switched to online learning, Academy Hill will be able to do so if a viral spike forces such a move — but it won’t be so on the fly this time, as teachers engaged in professional development over the summer to prepare for the possibility of remote learning.

“Our plan is a living document,” Earls said. “We looked at CDC and state guidelines, and our goal was to exceed them. When they shortened the physical distance to three feet, we still do six feet apart. We made sure we were meeting or exceeding all the guidelines, and we shared every iteration of the plan with families. I sent notes home weekly over the summer, if not moreso.”

Easler said prepping WMA for an influx of students included renovating a former school meeting space into a second dining hall, installing new bathrooms in a boys’ dorm, and, perhaps most dramatically, instituting an aggressive testing program. The school engaged with a lab at MIT to implement twice-weekly testing for all students, faculty, and staff, with no more than four days between tests.

“The rationale is, the only way to prevent widespread transmission on campus is to know where the virus is, especially with a population that’s often asymptomatic. And the only way to know where the virus is, is to test. The testing program is our first defense.”

Easler spoke with BusinessWest the second day students were on campus, and said students were adapting well to the new protocols, which include mandatory masks, although there are outdoor mask-free zones that offer some relief. Among close to 400 students at WMA, only 64 have opted for remote learning this fall.

“The kids seem pretty happy; it’s encouraging to see how quickly they adapted to everything. Kids are adaptable in general, but we’re still really proud of them.”

He added that WMA isn’t among the wealthiest private schools, but he’s pleased with the investments that have been made, from campus renovations to the testing plan. “Testing is expensive, but it’s worth every penny.”

Testing, Testing

To a similar end, Deerfield Academy has partnered with Concentric by Ginkgo, a program that provides COVID-19 testing in support of schools and businesses. Students were tested before they arrived on campus, as soon as they arrived, and again several days after. Weekly testing will continue for students, faculty, and staff throughout the fall term.

The school will also employ daily reporting and symptom screening and has prepared guidelines for contact tracing in order to quickly isolate any positive cases and quarantine all close contacts. In addition, all boarding students have single rooms, and weekend off-campus travel is being limited, as are family visits.

Meanwhile, a new, modular academic schedule will reduce the number of classes students take over the course of the day and gather them in smaller classes, and all HVAC systems have been fitted with advanced air filters, and are circulating fresh, filtered air at an increased rate.

“In my 35 years in education, never before have I seen such effort, sacrifice, and commitment to mission,” Austin wrote. “Every member of our community has generously given their time and effort over these summer months to prepare the campus and its buildings to safely welcome students.”

Easler agreed. “We did lot of work over the summer, meaning we really didn’t get much of a summer,” he said, adding that part of the process was training faculty on the Canvas learning-management platform, allowing them to teach face-to-face and remotely at the same time.

“The rest of the staff spent the summer planning logistics around campus,” he added. “It was so much work because we literally did everything we could think of.”

While enrollment projections dipped slightly early in the summer, Easler said it picked up again once word got out into the community of what WMA was doing to make the campus a safe environment. “Families want a little more predictability than they get out of the local public systems, which don’t have the kind of flexibility and resources we do.”

With such resources come a responsibility, Earls said, to understand what students are going through during this unprecedented year.

“I told the teachers, ‘always remember that hundreds of kids will pass through here during the course of your career, but to John or Jameel or Suzy, you are their only second-grade teacher, their only math teacher, their only Spanish teacher. You need to respect that.’ This year more than ever, we need to pay attention to their anxiety levels, their social and emotional well-being. We’re going to make sure they feel safe and normalize the situation for them.”

That normalization, she believes, begins with in-person learning, and getting to that point took a lot of work. Now, she and other area heads of school can only hope it’s enough.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Visitor Economy Takes a Hit in the Berkshires

Berkshire County

Culture Shock

It took plenty of creativity — in the set design and elsewhere — but Berkshire Theatre Group managed to present a musical in August when no one else could.

For the folks at Berkshire Theatre Group, things were going according to plan.

A three-year sustainability plan, to be specific, developed back in 2018, said Nick Paleologos, the organization’s executive director.

“We had a checklist of things we needed to do in addition to putting on a decent artistic season in 2019, and we hit a lot of goals. As we hit 2020, we had just two or three outstanding boxes left unchecked, when all of a sudden, in mid-March, our world was turned upside down.”

Versions of that story have been told countless times not only in Massachusetts, but around the country and the world. But for the performing arts, it’s been a particularly tough stretch.

“Starting around St. Patrick’s Day, all we were doing was canceling shows and returning money; we were really in a kind of freefall,” Paleologos continued. “What initially saved us in the short term, and bought us time to figure out how to reimagine our 2020 season, was the Paycheck Protection Program. That was a lifeline, and it accomplished exactly what it was supposed to do — it allowed us to stay in business for those crucial eight weeks in the spring.”

The 2020 season — the BTG was planning eight shows in its three indoor spaces in Stockbridge and Pittsfield — was certainly about to change. “All of a sudden, we had no idea whether we’d be allowed to perform at all,” he noted.

The journey that followed, culminating in live, outdoor performances of Godspell in August and September (more on that later), was a remarkable one, but it’s hardly the robust schedule the venerable company normally puts on. Meanwhile, performing-arts destinations like Jacob’s Pillow and Tanglewood canceled their live slates completely.

It’s a story that affects more than arts patrons; it impacts no less than the entire Berkshires economy, which is so intertwined with, and dependent on, culture and tourism.

Nick Paleologos

“We hit 2020, we had just two or three outstanding boxes left unchecked, when all of a sudden, in mid-March, our world was turned upside down.”

“The visitor economy is definitely a backbone sector for us; it supports a tremendous amount of dollars in the region,” said Jonathan Butler, president and CEO of 1Berkshire, the multi-faceted agency that focuses on tourism, economic development, and business retention in Massachusetts’ westernmost county.

In fact, he noted, visitor dollars spent in the region over the years are approaching the $1 billion mark — and the presence of cultural attractions and other tourist destinations, from restaurants to ski resorts, is a major quality-of-life factor in business owners wanting to set up shop here.

“We were pretty heavily involved in the state’s reopening process — we played a key role in getting some of the museums open and fleshing out guidelines for hotels and restaurants,” Butler told BusinessWest, while 1Berkshire’s website has become an oft-updated clearinghouse of information on the region and its public-health response to COVID-19.

Due to belt-tightening everywhere, including among its strategic partners, 1Berkshire hasn’t operated with the same marketing budget it normally would. “But we have been able to raise enough money to do some things, and we’ve pivoted to a vision of the Berkshires that talks a lot about outdoor recreation, and about our museums and hotel properties that have been able to open.

“We’re talking about the Berkshires as an escape from the city,” he went on. “We’ve been trying to tell the story of the Berkshires as a place people can escape to and enjoy the outdoors. And, honestly, we’re feeling better than we were two or three months ago.”

A few success stories will do that, but stakeholders in the region are certainly hoping 2021 looks a lot different than 2020.

Out and About

Take, for example, Bousquet Mountain, which recently hired a new general manager and announced a series of renovations, including a new summit-to-base triple chairlift and a revamped snow-making system with more than 25 new snow guns, as well as new grooming equipment and a new, more accessible beginner area.

In addition, Pittsfield native and two-time Olympian Krista Schmidinger will partner with Bousquet to further the site’s youth programming, contributing to the Race Club and SnowSports School and assisting with race and school-program design, instruction, and one-on-one opportunities for young skiers. All this speaks to a resort expecting a busy season, even in the midst of COVID-19.

As for Berkshire Theatre Group, it had to fight to get a live production staged — a fight marked by creativity, not animosity. In short, the Actors Equity Assoc. wasn’t allowing any of its 59,000 unionized members to work in 2020 unless the safety of the actors could be assured.

Jonathan Butler

“We’re talking about the Berkshires as an escape from the city. We’ve been trying to tell the story of the Berkshires as a place people can escape to and enjoy the outdoors.”

“We’re an Equity company, so that puts a little crimp in our plans,” Paleologos said. To stage Godspell, Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire developed a 60-page manual with detailed safety protocols, including quarantining, physical distancing, and regular coronavirus testing for actors. The actors were to be kept six feet apart at all times — 10 feet when singing — with this spacing and plexiglass dividers incorporated into the set design itself.

Maguire was denied at first, “but she was relentless,” Paleologos said. “She wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

When the company and the union finally struck a deal, BTG became the only company in the entire country performing or rehearsing a musical — a major success, he noted, considering that, just weeks earlier, no one knew whether they’d have a live theater season at all, and most companies nationwide didn’t attempt one, moving instead to virtual performances only.

Meanwhile, many patrons of canceled BTG shows exchanged their tickets for future credits or donated the tickets back as contributions, as a show of support for a company — and an industry — so important to locals.

“This is not a sustainable model going forward, performing under a tent for 50 people,” Paleologos said. “But it was a miraculous success story that was totally unexpected. Our goal was just to be a beacon of hope in an otherwise dismal moment in Berkshire County.”

It’s not the only such beacon.

“It’s too soon to gauge anything in the quantitative sense, but from what I’ve heard anecdotally, in conversations with different sectors in the visitor economy, those that have reopened have done all right,” Butler said. “A lot have changed their model — some hotels have a three-night minimum because of the cleaning expenses of turning over a room, and some businesses are closed a day or two a week to focus on cleaning and sanitizing.”

Last week, Main Street Hospitality Group, which operates several hotels in the region, announced the hiring of a COVID compliance officer, or CCO, who makes monthly visits to each hotel for routine inspections and engagement with staff and leadership. A board-certified physician, the officer strictly adheres to mandates from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and stays informed on the latest public-health advancements in order to advise on any necessary changes to the hotels’ protocols and procedures.

“In addition to several months of strategic planning that led to our initial creation of safeguards, it is equally important to continue evaluating our health and safety practices with the CCO’s help and expertise,” said Sarah Eustis, Main Street’s CEO. “A trusted editor was needed to process the ever-changing breadth of information out there.”

Meanwhile, the hotel group has also partnered with Blue Canary, a company that trains hotels in hospital-level cleaning methods and conducts regular check-ins. Main Street’s housekeeping leaders participated in three days of intensive sessions that focused on best practices and heightened awareness. Attendants were trained in techniques that include longer cleaning times, stronger disinfectants, new cleaning tools, and identifying critical, high-touch areas that require the most attention to ensure guest health and safety.

“This new reality has impacted our housekeeping teams in a huge way,” Eustis said. “Main Street Hospitality is committed to staying at the forefront of this.”

Restaurants have had barriers to overcome as well, Butler said, especially those that depend on visitor traffic at other area attractions. “Some have been able to pivot and focus on a delivery and takeout model, while others haven’t made the transition as seamlessly, and many don’t have the square footage inside to sit too many, and if they’re not able to adapt some outdoor seats, it can be challenging.”

The soon-to-arrive colder weather will force many eateries to become more creative until the state lifts restrictions on indoor capacity — and patrons feel safe enough to eat indoors.

“We certainly understand some businesses will have to make more permanent decisions about their fate. And some businesses, unfortunately, won’t make it to the other side of this,” Butler said. “But the outdoor recreation scene has been very busy — it’s flourishing this summer, and that will continue into the fall.”

Lessons Learned

Paleologos told BusinessWest that banks did a good job easing loan terms for cultural organizations and other nonprofits in the spring, and argues that the next step would be a permanent shift in that direction.

Writing this month in Berkshire Trade & Commerce, he cited a study in Berkshire Blueprint 2.0, an economic-development plan for Berkshire County, showing that jobs in the creative industry grew at a faster pace than in any of the other sectors examined.

“In other words, cultural nonprofits are absolutely central to the Berkshire brand,” he wrote. “The profitability of other commercial industries depends heavily on the success of this county’s theatres, museums, music, and dance companies. Creating new and innovative financial products that contribute to the long-term sustainability of the nonprofit sector must become a top priority for local banks. As an example, sufficiently collateralized operating loans to nonprofits must be offered at the most favorable rates — not the least.”

Meanwhile, Butler added, bringing visitor traffic back to 2019 levels will depend largely on people’s confidence regarding safety, and the public-health metrics on that front have been very good in the Berkshires. “We’re optimistic that will continue and we’ll come out in a stronger place at the end of this.”

That said, there certainly has been a visitor footprint in the Berkshires this year, he went on.

“We won’t have hard data until 2021, and I’m certain it’s going to be down — we don’t have a lot of the key economic drivers, like Jacob’s Pillow and Tanglewood. But on the plus side, we’ve seen a lot of visitation from Eastern Mass.; they see us as the rural side of the state. We’ve had a lot of visitors from Connecticut and New York. Second homeowners have been living here since March, making their Berkshire residence more permanent during the pandemic. All those dollars circulate back into the local economy, which is a good thing.”

Any forward momentum is welcome, Paleologos added. But so much still remains in flux.

“We can’t guarantee, by the time we get to next summer, we’ll be in a situation where we’ll be able to have shows indoors again,” he said. “The good news is, having had this experience, being able to find a way to do it outdoors, maybe we could incorporate a hybrid model, under tents and indoors. A lot is up in the air at this point, depending on how fast a reliable vaccine comes on the market and how much public confidence there is at its safety and efficacy.”

He noted that the theater business goes back to an amphitheater cut into the hillside at the Parthenon 2,500 years ago — and likely before that.

“From then up to now, the bedrock of our business is people coming together in a single place to have a shared experience and to learn a little bit about what it is to be a human being,” he said. “That’s what we do.”

That’s what the Berkshires do, too, bringing people together every year for an array of activities, many of which have been curtailed in this year of COVID-19.

But the show will go on, eventually — with or without plexiglass.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Empower Retirement to Acquire Retirement-plan Business of MassMutual

Wealth Management

Shared Expertise

Empower Retirement and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Empower to acquire the MassMutual retirement-plan business. The acquisition will capitalize on both firms’ expertise, provide technological excellence and deep product capabilities, and create scale to the benefit of retirement-plan participants and their employers.

Based on the terms of the agreement and subject to regulatory approvals, Empower will acquire the retirement-plan business of MassMutual in a reinsurance transaction for a ceding commission of $2.35 billion. In addition, the balance sheet of the transferred business would be supported by $1 billion of required capital when combined with Empower’s existing U.S. business.

The MassMutual retirement-plan business comprises 26,000 workplace savings plans through which approximately 2.5 million participants have saved $167 billion in assets. It also includes approximately 2,000 employees affiliated with MassMutual’s retirement-plan business who provide a full range of support services for financial professionals, plan sponsors, and participants.

“Empower is taking the next step toward addressing the complex and evolving needs of millions of workers and retirees through the combination of expertise, talent, and business scale being created,” said Edmund Murphy III, president and CEO of Empower Retirement. “Together, Empower and MassMutual connect a broad spectrum of strength and experience with a shared focus on the customer. We are excited about the opportunity to reach new customers and serve even more Americans on their journey toward creating a secure retirement.”

“We believe this transaction will greatly benefit our policy owners and customers as we invest in our future growth and accelerate progress on our strategy.”

The transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020 pending customary regulatory approvals, will increase Empower’s participant base to more than 12.2 million and retirement-services record-keeping assets to approximately $834 billion administered in approximately 67,000 workplace savings plans.

“In Empower, we are pleased to have found a strong, long-term home for MassMutual’s retirement-plan business, and we believe this transaction will greatly benefit our policy owners and customers as we invest in our future growth and accelerate progress on our strategy,” said Roger Crandall, MassMutual chairman, president, and CEO. “This includes strengthening our leading position in the U.S. protection and accumulation industry by expanding our wealth-management and distribution capabilities; investing in our global asset-management, insurance, and institutional businesses; and delivering a seamless digital experience — all to help millions more secure their future and protect the ones they love.”

The MassMutual retirement-plan business has grown substantially over the past decade, with the number of participants served doubling to more than 2.5 million and assets under management more than quadrupling from $34 billion to more than $160 billion.

The combined firm will serve retirement plans sponsored by a broad spectrum of employers. These include mega, large, mid-size, and small corporate 401(k) plans; government plans ranging in scale from state-level plans to municipal agencies; not-for-profits such as hospital and religious-organization 403(b) plans; and collectively bargained Taft-Hartley plans. The transaction will also bring MassMutual’s defined-benefit business under the umbrella of plans Empower serves.

Empower and MassMutual intend to enter into a strategic partnership through which digital insurance products offered by Haven Life Insurance Agency, LLC3, and MassMutual’s voluntary insurance and lifetime income products will be made available to customers of Empower Retirement and Personal Capital.

Empower today administers $667 billion in assets on behalf of 9.7 million American workers and retirees through approximately 41,000 workplace savings plans. Empower provides retirement services, managed accounts, financial wellness, and investment solutions to plans of all types and sizes, including private-label record-keeping clients.

In August, Empower announced it had completed the acquisition of Personal Capital, a registered investment adviser and wealth manager. The Personal Capital platform offers personalized financial advice, financial planning, and goal setting, providing insights and tools for plan participants and individual investors. In addition, Empower’s retail business provides a suite of products and services to individual retirement-account and brokerage customers.

Can Springfield Turn Back the Clock?

By Editorial September 15, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Mayor Domenic Sarno is certainly confident that Springfield will rebound from all the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown at it the past seven months or so.

As BusinessWest spoke with him recently, he said at least a few times that he expects the City of Homes to bounce back — and quickly — when COVID is over (whenever that is). This isn’t surprising, obviously; this is what mayors do. And he bases that optimism on the many projects currently in progress, new initiatives likely to move onto and then off the drawing board, and the considerable amount of momentum the city had created before the pandemic changed the landscape back in late winter.

We share his optimism to some degree, but the future of Springfield right now is a giant question mark. And before we go any further, we need to say that most all urban areas, even Boston and New York, are in the same boat and facing the same daunting question.

Which is … what will things look like when this is all over?

In Springfield, the hope is that things will look a whole lot like they did in mid-January. Back then, there were events happening, like Red Sox Winter Weekend. The Thunderbirds were packing them in at the MassMutual Center, while MGM was drawing decent crowds at the casino and bringing people to the city for concerts and shows, benefiting the downtown restaurants and bars. The downtown office towers weren’t full, certainly, but there were plenty of people working in the central business district — enough to support the retail and hospitality businesses in that area.

Now … none of that is happening as the city tries to hang on and fight its way through this. The question is, can Springfield turn back the clock to start of this year and essentially pick up where it left off?

Perhaps, but it won’t be easy. And a big factor in this equation is the commercial office space downtown. Right now, the larger towers are mostly quiet as companies continue to have many of their employees work remotely. And there is speculation that they will remain mostly quiet as businesses adapt to a new way of doing things and considerably downsize their space.

Again, this isn’t an issue specific to Springfield. Boston is facing the same problem, and, to a large extent, so is New York.

But having a critical mass of workers in a central business district is one of the key ingredients in any success formula for such an area. The others are having people live in that district and having them come to visit. All three are important, and without one, more pressure gets put on the other two.

There are housing projects coming together in the broad downtown area — at Court Square and at the former Willys-Overland building on Chestnut Street, to name a couple notable efforts — with the promise of more to come. And there are strong hopes that the vibrancy seen when there were shows at MGM and Symphony Hall and hockey games at the MassMutual Center will return once the pandemic is behind us — again, whenever that is.

But will this be enough to make the downtown area — and the city as a whole — thrive and regain the momentum lost to the pandemic?

Again, perhaps — but it seems logical that the city will not simply be able to turn back the clock; instead, it will likely have to turn the clock forward and find new and intriguing uses for the office space downtown and for the commercial spaces vacated by businesses that didn’t survive COVID-19.

Seven months into the pandemic, we know what we’ve lost, and we know what we have to somehow regain. The question for Springfield — and all urban areas — is ‘what can we expect when all this over?’ And right now, no one really knows.

Our Rivers Don’t Need Plastic

By Editorial September 15, 2020

Opinion

By Stacey Lennard

The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) hosts its 24th annual Source to Sea Cleanup throughout September. CRC is asking you to sign up and help spread the word about our plastic problem and the impact on our rivers. In addition to annually coordinating thousands of volunteers to clean up trash in our rivers, CRC continues to work toward solutions to the persistent problem of trash pollution. Plastic bags, bottles, and polystyrene (Styrofoam) are consistently the most-found items during the Source to Sea Cleanup, and these items never fully break down in the environment.

You can help show the problem to help solve the problem. Take a photo, video, or make art inspired by river beauty or river pollution. Get creative, use #RiverWitness, #PurgeThePlastic, and tag CRC on social media. CRC will add your images to an online mosaic photo display and video. Select images will be used to call on decision makers to enact trash solutions to keep trash out of our rivers. Show them this is important to you. Speak up for your rivers.

According to CRC, the solution to this problem is to redesign our economy so there isn’t waste in the first place. “It’s time businesses step up to voluntarily do the right thing by offering more sustainable, reusable, recyclable, and compostable options,” said Andrew Fisk, CRC’s executive director. “Vermont and Connecticut are leading the way with their recent state-wide bans on single-use plastics. This is particularly important due to China’s recent import restrictions on plastic waste. The cost of plastic waste is beginning to outweigh its usefulness.”

Other solutions are to make recycling easy, effective, and widely accessible; to increase the use of effective incentives like ‘bottle bills’ for recycling aluminum, plastic, and glass containers; and to disincentivize Styrofoam, especially foam dock floats in favor of enclosed foam or non-foam dock materials that won’t send plastic chunks into rivers.

“It’s time businesses step up to voluntarily do the right thing by offering more sustainable, reusable, recyclable, and compostable options. Vermont and Connecticut are leading the way with their recent state-wide bans on single-use plastics. This is particularly important due to China’s recent import restrictions on plastic waste. The cost of plastic waste is beginning to outweigh its usefulness.”

We all have a responsibility to solve this problem,” Fisk said. “We are responsible as consumers to make good choices in how we purchase and dispose of products. Manufacturers, businesses, and government are also responsible, and it’s time they do their part. By working together, we can make a real difference for our rivers. These ideas are going to take time, decades even. And we’ll keep at it as long as it takes. But our rivers need change now.”

Over the past 23 years, Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers have removed more than 1,167 tons of trash from our rivers. The Source to Sea Cleanup is a river cleanup coordinated by CRC in all four states of the 410-mile Connecticut River basin. Each fall, thousands of volunteers remove tons of trash along rivers, streams, parks, boat launches, trails, and more. Eversource, USA Waste & Recycling, and All American Waste are the lead Source to Sea Cleanup sponsors.
For more information or to register for the event, visit www.ctriver.org/cleanup.

Stacey Lennard is Source to Sea Cleanup coordinator for the Connecticut River Conservancy.

Rick’s Place

This Nonprofit Is Finding New Ways to Provide a ‘Safe Place’

Kelsey Andrews (third from left, with Therese Ross, program director; Bill Scatolini, board president; and Diane Murray, executive director) calls Rick’s Place “a wonderful support system” — and much more.

Diane Murray says that, like most nonprofits, Rick’s Place is responding to the pandemic in a proactive fashion.

In other words, this agency, founded to provide peer support to grieving families, and especially children, has, out of necessity, changed, pivoted, and in some ways reinvented itself, said Murray, its executive director, noting that much of this involves carrying out its mission in a virtual manner.

“As soon as we became aware that it wasn’t safe to have in-person meetings, we moved to a virtual format for all our peer-support groups,” she told BusinessWest. And that was very successful. We were surprised at how well children made that transition; it’s hard enough to be grieving and talk about it in person with your peers, but looking at a screen can be tricky. But we sent them activities, and they would complete them and bring them to the meeting. It’s worked quite well.”

As she noted, grieving and talking about loss among a group of peers is hard, but it has become a proven method for helping children and families cope with the loss of a loved one. And Rick’s Place has been bringing people together in this way and providing what many call a ‘safe place’ since 2007.

Its mission, and its success in carrying it out — which made the agency the latest of several nonprofits to be named Difference Makers by BusinessWest — was summed up succinctly and effectively by Program Director Therese Ross when we spoke with her back in February.

“It’s a unique grief journey, but it’s also a universal experience,” she noted. “To hear from other people how they manage when their child says this or does that, it’s real boots on the ground, people living it, and it’s really helpful.”

Providing such help was the overarching goal for the many friends of Rick Thorpe, the former football star and 1984 graduate at Minnechaug High School who was among the more than 1,100 people who died in the South Tower of the World Trade Center on 9/11. He left behind his wife, Linda, and newborn daughter, Alexis. Searching for ways to memorialize Rick, friends and family members eventually turned to Alexis for inspiration and created a bereavement center in her honor.

In 2020, the work of this agency goes on, but obviously many things have changed, and in the meantime, new and different needs have emerged, said Murray, noting, as just one example, the restrictions placed on funeral services for the first several months of the pandemic.

“Deaths during the COVID era are so much more complicated for kids,” she explained. “Losing a grandparent or parent — and not being able to have the usual services you would have and seeing a large number of family and friends — has impacted the grief and made it more complicated. Also, in many cases, they didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, and that makes the process so much more difficult. We’re focusing on these COVID-era issues with families and giving them information on how to start that grief journey.”

Overall, though, a movement to virtual services has been the biggest change brought about by COVID-19, Murray noted, adding that, in addition to virtual peer sessions, the agency is also conducting virtual training sessions with local school systems on the impact of grief on students. Meanwhile, she and others at the agency are talking with area schools about taking the popular eight-week ‘grief groups’ it had been offering to a virtual format now that school has started up again.

“The schools are where we see our most diverse population and students with the greatest economic need,” she explained. “Finding a way to continue those virtually is very important to us. We’re talking to some school counselors who are very invested in getting our programs into the schools virtually.”

Since 2007, Rick’s Place and its loyal supporters — and there are many of them — have been invested in providing much-needed support to those who are grieving. In the COVID-19 era, the word ‘place’ has taken on new meeting. Now, in many cases, it’s not an actual, physical place, but rather … well, a computer screen where people can still gather. And where they can share, cope, and learn together.

As Murray said, the agency has had to pivot and in some cases reinvent. But its vital mission, one that has made it a Difference Maker, remains unchanged.

—George O’Brien

Dianne Fuller Doherty

This Advocate and Cheerleader Remains Active on Many Fronts

Photo by Leah Martin Photography

When we first introduced Dianne Fuller Doherty back in February, we used the term ‘semi-retired’ to describe her status — and it’s the appropriate phrase to use.

Indeed, while she has stepped down from her role as director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network’s Western Mass. office, she remains heavily involved in this region, and on a number of fronts — everything from mentoring young people, especially women, to serving on several boards and being part of a few prominent search committees, such as the one that eventually chose Robert Johnson to be the sixth president of Western New England University (see story, page 29).

And most, if not all, of her work has been in some way impacted by COVID-19, including that search at WNEU, and another at Tech Foundry.

“We never met any of the candidates — only the winner after he had been given the position,” she said of the WNEU search, noting that all interviews were conducted remotely, a process she didn’t think would be very effective, but ultimately proved to be. “When we started both these searches, I said, ‘how can we not meet these people?’ It turned out it was incredibly effective — you really got to know these candidates.”

Fuller Doherty’s commitment to remain involved in this region and be, in some respects, a cheerleader for it comes naturally. She’s been doing this she came to Western Mass. in the early ’70s after marrying attorney Paul Doherty, a community leader himself, who passed away several years ago. And she become involved with everything from the creation of the Women’s Fund — she was one of the original founders — to the growth and maturation and the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Over the course of her lengthy career, she was a business owner — she and partner Marsha Tzoumas started a marketing firm that bore their last names — and, as director of the Small Business Development Center, one who helped countless small businesses get off the ground and to that proverbial next level.

She has a great deal of experience in all matters of launching and operating a business, and she’s never been shy about sharing it with others.

As she told us in February, her MO has always been to provide a kind of tough love to entrepreneurs — in other words, be supportive whenever possible, but also honest and realistic, telling people what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear.

“The best advice I give to people is to ask enough questions so that they can come to the right conclusion on whether this is the right time, or the right place, or the right financial backing to go forward,” she said when we first spoke with her. “You let them come to the decision about whether it’s a ‘no.’ And if it’s a ‘yes,’ then you just try to be as supportive as possible and it them know that there are going to be highs and lows in any business, and the challenges will come. But the rewards will come also.”

For Fuller Doherty, the biggest reward has been to see the region continue to grow, prosper, and meet the enormous potential she has always thought it possessed. Progress has come on a number of fronts, she said, listing everything from the advancement of women, thanks to groups like the Women’s Fund, to that entrepreneurial ecosystem, to the capital of the region, the city of Springfield.

She told BusinessWest she has always been focused on ‘what’s next’ for the region, and especially Springfield, and believes the answer may lie in housing.

“Education requirements dictate housing investment,” she explained. “And I think we can do a lot with housing; Springfield used to be the City of Homes, and I think it can come back to that.”

But there is work still to do on all these fronts, she acknowledged, and she wants to continue playing a meaningful role in all of it.

In other words, she has no intention of slowing down, even in the era of COVID-19, and this attitude, this mindset, certainly explains why she is a member of the Difference Makers class of 2020.

—George O’Brien

Sandy Cassanelli

COVID Has Brought New Challenges to an Already-intense Cancer Fight

Photo by Leah Martin Photography

Sandy Cassanelli has always been a fighter.

Which is good, because these first nine months of 2020, the year of COVID, have tested her in every way imaginable.

Let’s start with her health. As most know, she was diagnosed with stage-4 breast cancer four years ago, and has been not only fighting that fight, but helping others fight it as well through the Breast Friends Fund, a charity that raises funds that go directly to metastatic breast-cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Having a terminal illness in the middle of a pandemic, though, brings even more challenges to the fore.

“There was the realization that this virus could kill me,” she said, noting that, for obvious reasons, she began working at home back in March. “And my husband, Craig, had to be careful to make sure he wasn’t bringing anything home to me; he would take off his clothes in the garage and run up to the shower every day. He jokes that I would spray Lysol on him before I would let him in the house.”

Meanwhile, as she started a new treatment regimen and underwent tests and biopsies, the protocols were much different.

“At Dana-Farber, my husband always comes with me — he’s never missed an appointment,” she explained. “But once everyone started locking down, only the patients could go, so I had to go from my first scans to see if my new treatment was working by myself. And since March, I’ve had to go to every appointment by myself. It’s been very challenging not to have the support of my husband.”

Let’s move on to her business that she manages with Craig — Greeno Supply. Near the top of the list of the products it supplies to a wide range of customers are a number of items in high demand but short supply during the pandemic — paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies … all those things. Getting them — and meeting the needs of customers — has been daunting, to say the least.

“It was very challenging — it was hard to get these things from our suppliers,” she said of products that ranged from those paper goods to gloves, masks, and other PPE. “We had to reinvent the wheel and go out to different suppliers just to get these items. And we’re still struggling — we’re still reinventing the wheel.”

And then, there’s family, or life at home, a phrase that has certainly taken on new meaning during this pandemic.

Cassanelli, like many parents, and especially many women, has been working at home and helping her children with school at home. In this case, the children were in eighth and 12th grade, respectively — big years, graduation years. Not a year one would want to spend confined at home.

“I’ve been battling for seven years, so my daughters are used to adversity and things not going the way normal life goes,” she explained. “They’ve been dealing with a lot, and they actually did really well because they know how to deal with adversity. But I’d have to say that when the final announcement came that they wouldn’t be going back to school and there was no graduation — that was probably the only time that tears flowed in my house.

“When I was first diagnosed with stage-4 cancer, the doctor set a goal for me and my older daughter Samantha — that I would get to see her graduate and walk across the stage” she went on. “So it was a double whammy — but we moved on.”

Overall, Cassanelli’s ability to meet all these challenges head on helps explain why she’s a Difference Maker in this memorable year.

It’s a mindset summed up perfectly by something she said to BusinessWest back in February while discussing her diagnosis and her approach to life.

“Does it suck? Yeah, it totally sucks. But me crawling up in a ball and putting the sheets up over my head is not going to fix anything, so I might as well just get up and go,” she said. “I try not to sweat the small stuff. I believe that every day is a gift, and I’m going to make the best of that day, and I’m going to be positive, because if I’m positive, then everyone around me is going to be positive.”

COVID-19 — and all that has thrown at her — isn’t small stuff. But she doesn’t seem to be sweating it, either.

—George O’Brien

Ira Bryck

Former Family Business Center Leader Is Still Delivering Frank Talk

Ira Bryck spent 25 years as the executive director of the Family Business Center of the Pioneer Valley. And over that quarter-century, he left an indelible mark on those he helped through his rather unique style and ability to create impactful learning experiences.

These included plays he authored, dinner meetings with provocative speakers, and, quite often, frank talks about family businesses and whether people should be part of them or not.

And he continues to make a mark, even though he’s retired from the FBC, as it was called, and the center itself has gone out of business. He does it through a radio show with WHMP called The Western Mass. Business Show a variety of consulting work, and even his work in the COVID-19 era to help keep the residents of Amherst, where he has lived for some time, safe as college students return to campuses.

In all these settings and circumstances, Bryck speaks his mind, creates dialogue, and helps to generate progress in many forms. And that, in a nutshell — and he wrote a play called A Tough Nut to Crack — is why he is a member of the Difference Makers class of 2020.

He has decided not to join his fellow classmates for the ceremony on Sept. 24 due to a strong desire to help keep his family safe during this pandemic — two adult children and their families with New York addresses have moved in with him as they seek what amounts to higher ground during the pandemic — but he has definitely earned his place on the podium, even if he’ll be addressing his audience remotely.

That’s because, since being named director of the fledgling FBC in 1994, he has done things his way — and in an ultimately effective way. And he has helped educate and inspire an important, if often unrecognized, segment of the local economy — its family businesses.

They come in various shapes and sizes and cross a variety of sectors, but they share common issues and challenges. When we talked with Bryck in February, he compared small businesses to snowflakes in that no two are alike, and summoned that famous opening line from Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Bryck has addressed these issues and challenges in a manner that had members of the FBC describe him, alternately, as ‘communicator,’ ‘connector,’ ‘facilitator,’ and even ‘entertainer.’

One long-time member described his style and his approach this way: “He can take things that are very theoretical and make them realistic. It’s one thing to read a paper from a professor who deals in theory, but it that reality? Can that be applied to the everyday businessperson? Ira was able to translate those kinds of things.”

And he’s still doing all that, just in different settings and with different audiences. With his radio show, he just passed a milestone — his 300th interview.

“It’s a nice exercise to meet and interview someone every week,” he said. “It’s been a lot of fun and a tremendous learning experience.”

Meanwhile, he’s also working with Giombetti Associates as a senior advisor working on personality assessments, coaching, and organizational development. He’s involved in several projects, including one with a private school in Springfield that is undergoing a change in leadership.

“We’re restructuring and creating much more of an idea system within their leadership team,” he explained, adding that he’s working on another project involving a Connecticut grower of plants and trees that is seeking to make structural changes and increase self-awareness and self-management.

He’s also coordinating a roundtable for area business owners. “We meet monthly and just explore people’s challenges and help each other think things through, and that also involves coaching,” he said, adding that he’s also involved with the family business center at Cornell University, participating in what he called a “speed-dating event involving mentors and mentees.”

“All this keeps me busy, but I’m only working about half as much as I used to,” he explained. “Which leaves me plenty of time of walk five to 10 miles a day, so I’ve lost 45 pounds.”

Overall, he’s still finding ways to educate — and also entertain, in some cases — while also making a mark on those he’s working with.

In short, he’s still very much making a difference in this region — and well beyond it.

—George O’Brien

Monte Belmonte

His March Will Go On … but with Fewer Marchers

Monte Belmonte says the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about some changes in what he does on the radio each day.

Like helping his listeners know what day it is — a simple assignment that has become a good deal more difficult as the days blend together and the things that make them different are increasingly removed from the equation.

“I would come in and do my show the same way I’d been doing it, except I introduced what I call ‘quaran-themes’ — a different musical theme for each day of the week,” explained Belmonte, a DJ with WRSI the River Radio in Northampton. “Wednesday, for example, is wanderlust Wednesday, where I take people musically to places they couldn’t otherwise go — like the ukulele version of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ to make them feel like they could go on that trip to Hawaii they were supposed to go on but couldn’t.”

Like everyone else, Belmonte is making needed adjustments because of the pandemic — at home, at work, on the air — and especially with the fundraiser to combat food insecurity that now bears his name: Monte’s March.

Indeed, the march, which takes place in November and has grown exponentially — in every way — since he started it back in 2010, has, in recent years, attracted hundreds of marchers who have joined Belmonte on his two-day trek from Springfield to Greenfield. This year, in the name of social distancing, those marchers will be encouraged to stay home and support the effort virtually, something many supporters have already been doing.

“It’s such a long walk that people have participated virtually over the years — where they create a fundraising team and set up a fundraising page — so at least there some institutional knowledge,” he explained, noting that specific details of this year’s march are coming together and will be announced soon. “But now, with everyone doing almost everything virtually, I think people will want to participate.”

And they certainly need to participate, he went on, because need has never been greater. That’s because the pandemic is leaving many in this area unemployed and in need of help — bringing the broad issue of food insecurity to the forefront as perhaps never before.

Nightly newscasts show long lines of cars at designated locations to pick up donations of food. Many of those being interviewed say this is the first time they’ve ever needed such help and that they never imagined they would be in such a situation. It’s a scenario playing itself out in California, Florida, Texas — and the Pioneer Valley.

“Because of the pandemic, hunger has been in the forefront of people’s minds in a different way,” Belmonte told BusinessWest. “I’ve talked with some of the survival centers, and the need has definitely grown.”

Getting back to his day … Belmonte said the pandemic has certainly impacted that as well — in ways beyond his song to signal what day it is.

Indeed, he noted that, in many ways, radio, and his work on the air, have more become more important and more appreciated in the era of COVID-19 as people look for some normalcy and comfort in their lives.

“Especially in the beginning, the pandemic reinforced how important radio is to people at a time like this,” he noted. “It’s a medium that feels more personal and intimate than some others; maybe the commuting times have changed, but people are still going places in their car, so most of the time it’s just you and your radio in your car together. When people needed a listening ear and a voice and some kind of sense of normalcy that might have been lost, they turned to radio in a different way.”

Meanwhile, he has used his show, his platform, to provide needed information and also try to help the businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic, especially restaurants.

“We offered to the restaurant community what amounted to public-service announcements,” he explained. “We said, ‘let us know what you’re doing, whether it’s takeout or whatever,’ and we called it the ‘takeout menu.’ It let people know what different restaurants were doing at different times.”

Overall, Belmonte said some things are starting to feel a least a little more like normal. But the pandemic is still impacting lives in all kinds of ways — which is why he’s still helping people understand what day it is.

And also why he’s hoping his next march will be among his most successful — even if supporters are not actually on the road with him.

—George O’Brien

Picture This

Picture This

Email ‘Picture This’ photos with a caption and contact information to [email protected]

Feed the Body – Feed the Mind

Link to Libraries and the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts announced a partnership to provide books and meals to hundreds of local families in need in Western Mass. In partnership with Northampton Radio Group and Springfield Rocks Radio Group, the organizations launched the “Feed the Body – Feed the Mind” campaign, distributing children’s books and meals to families at several Food Bank member organizations’ designated meal-pickup sites in Springfield, Easthampton, Greenfield, and Holyoke.

Red Alert

Springfield was among cities nationwide to participate in a Red Alert event on Sept. 1 to draw attention to the plight of the entertainment and live-event industry. Zasco Productions, LLC lit up downtown Springfield (pictured) in the color red to raise awareness of the 12 million event professionals currently out of work due to COVID-related economic shutdowns. In addition, CJC Event Lighting lit up its offices, Chez Josef, and the Log Cabin.

People on the Move

People on the Move

Kim Zabek

Jared Cyhowski

Elisabeth Porter

Greenfield Savings Bank (GSB) recently announced the promotions of Kim Zabek, Jared Cyhowski, and Elisabeth Porter. Zabek has been appointed assistant manager of the bank’s Hadley office. She will oversee the daily operations of the office and assist customers with their banking. She first joined Greenfield Savings Bank in August 2011 as assistant manager in Shelburne Falls, and in 2015 she was promoted to manager of the GSB call center. Most recently, she held the position of assistant manager of the South Deerfield office. An active community volunteer, Zabek has served on the board of Friends of Children in Hadley and is a member of the South Deerfield Women’s Club. Cyhowski has been promoted to Loan Operations specialist. In his new position, he will work with customers providing residential and consumer loan servicing. He started his career at GSB as a teller supervisor and was previously promoted to customer-service representative in the bank’s call center. Cyhowski joined GSB in May 2016 after attending Fitchburg State University, where he graduated with high honors in communications and a minor in English. He is a member of the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Studies Honor Society. He has volunteered at a range of community events, including Superhero Nights for Kids, where he wore a Mario (from Nintendo) costume, and he has volunteered at the Great Falls Festival (a/k/a Pumpkin Fest) in Turners Falls. Porter has been promoted to Corporate Support specialist, with responsibilities of assisting and providing support services to the bank’s CEO, COO, and financial officer. Her daily responsibilities include assisting in the preparation of reports, scheduling meetings and events, and maintaining official minutes. She will also assist other Greenfield Savings Bank executives as needed. Porter joined GSB in 2018 as a teller, and by October was promoted to customer service representative. This past March, she was promoted to the position of super banker. She is active in the community and volunteers at many GSB-sponsored community events.

•••••

Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., a labor and employment law firm serving employers in the Greater Springfield and Worcester areas, announced that one of its partners, Timothy Murphy, was listed in Best Lawyers in America for 2021. He was recognized in three fields: employment law – management, labor law – management, and litigation – labor and employment. Focusing his practice on labor relations, union avoidance, collective bargaining and arbitration, employment litigation, and employment counseling, Murphy has been included in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013, and was Lawyer of the Year in 2015, 2019, and 2020. Murphy is very active within the local community. He sits on boards of directors for several area organizations, such as the Human Service Forum and Community Legal Aid. He also is a member of the World Affairs Council and the Finance Committee in Wilbraham. In 2017, he was named “Man Enough to Be a Girl Scout” by the Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts.

•••••

Bacon Wilson, P.C. announced that 10 attorneys have been named to Best Lawyers in America for 2021. Kenneth Albano, the firm’s managing partner, was recognized in Best Lawyers for business organizations including LLCs and partnerships; Michael Katz for bankruptcy and reorganization; Stephen Krevalin for family law; Hyman Darling for elder law; Gary Breton for banking/finance law and business organizations; Gina Barry for elder law; Jeffrey Fialky for commercial finance; Mark Tanner for real-estate litigation; Paul Rothschild for litigation; and Peter MacConnell for real-estate law.

•••••

Jeffrey Roberts

James Martin

Nancy Frankel Pelletier

Patricia Rapinchuk

Carla Newton

Richard Gaberman

Robinson Donovan, P.C. announced six attorneys were listed in Best Lawyers in America for 2021, and one was also named Lawyer of the Year in her field. Jeffrey Roberts, managing partner, practices corporate and business counseling and estate planning, and was named in the practice areas of corporate law and trusts and estates. He has received Best Lawyers recognition for 29 consecutive years. James Martin, partner, was listed in the practice areas of franchise law and real-estate law. He concentrates his practice on corporate and business counseling, litigation, and commercial real-estate law, and is a member of Robinson Donovan’s alternative dispute resolution group. He has received Best Lawyers recognition for 21 consecutive years. Nancy Frankel Pelletier, partner, was listed in the practice area of personal injury litigation-defendants. A member of the firm’s alternative dispute resolution group, she concentrates her practice in the areas of litigation and alternative dispute resolution. She has received Best Lawyers recognition for 16 consecutive years. Patricia Rapinchuk, partner, was listed in the fields of employment law – management and litigation – labor and employment. She was also named Lawyer of the Year in the field of employment law – management. She practices employment law and litigation. She has received Best Lawyers recognition for 12 consecutive years. Carla Newton, partner, was named in the field of family law. She focuses her practice on divorce and family law, litigation, corporate and business counseling, and commercial real estate, and is a member of the firm’s alternative dispute resolution group. She has received Best Lawyers recognition for nine consecutive years. Richard Gaberman was named in the fields of corporate law, real-estate law, tax law, and trusts and estates. He focuses his practice on corporate and business counseling, commercial real estate, and estate and tax planning law. He has received Best Lawyers recognition for 29 consecutive years.

•••••

Bulkley Richardson announced that 13 lawyers from the firm were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America for 2021. Bulkley Richardson had more honorees than any other law firm in Springfield. These 14 lawyers were recognized in 20 unique areas of practice. They include Peter Barry, recognized for construction law; Michael Burke, medical-malpractice law (defendants) and personal-injury litigation (defendants); Mark Cress, banking and finance law, bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law, and corporate law; Francis Dibble Jr., bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, criminal defense (white-collar), litigation (antitrust), litigation (labor and employment), and litigation (securities); Daniel Finnegan, administrative/regulatory law and litigation (construction); Robert Gelinas, personal-injury litigation (defendants); Kevin Maynard, commercial litigation, litigation (banking and finance), and litigation (construction); David Parke, corporate law; Melinda Phelps, medical-malpractice law (defendants) and personal-injury litigation (defendants); Jeff Poindexter, commercial litigation; John Pucci, bet-the-company litigation, criminal defense (general practice), and criminal defense (white-collar); Elizabeth Sillin, nonprofit/charities law and trusts and estates; and Ronald Weiss, corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law and tax law.

•••••

Shelley Daughdrill

Florence Bank has promoted Shelley Daughdrill to the position of senior vice president, director of Retail Banking. In her new role, she will oversee the bank’s retail banking operations and direct and supervise the retail administrative staff and managers throughout the bank’s branches, as well as the Customer Service Center. Daughdrill first joined Florence Bank in 2005. Prior to her recent promotion, she served as vice president and area manager. During her tenure at the bank, she’s been the recipient of both the President’s Award and the Community Service Award, given by the bank to employees who consistently go above and beyond at work and in the community. Daughdrill is also the recipient of the 2011 Paul Winske Access Award given by Stavros, a local nonprofit organization that supports people with disabilities. The annual award is given to organizations and people who go above and beyond for the people they serve. Daughdrill is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies at Babson College. Additionally, she is currently enrolled at UMass Amherst pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business studies. She serves her community as a board member and attendance chair of the Amherst Rotary Club.

•••••

Coldwell Banker Community Realtors announced the addition of Realtor Lori Baronas to its roster of professional real-estate agents serving Franklin and Hampshire counties. Baronas has had her Realtor and broker licenses for more than 42 years. Her father started Dresser Real Estate in Turners Falls when she was a child, and once in high school, she began helping out in the office. When her father retired in the 1980s, she took over the office in addition to working at UMass, earning a general business and finance degree from UMass, running a bookkeeping business, and raising her two children, Megan and Justin. She has long been active in her community, volunteering in the public schools her children attended. Her biggest achievement was starting the Pop Warner Football league in Deerfield more than 26 years ago and chairing the Frontier Athletic Field Lights Project, which allowed the children to play night games. Baronas is a member of the Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley, the National Assoc. of Realtors, and the Massachusetts Assoc. of Realtors. With Coldwell Banker, her primary focus will be residential real estate in Franklin and Hampshire counties.

•••••

The Springfield Rescue Mission (SRM) introduced its new executive director, Kevin Ramsdell Sr. Ramsdell served in the U.S. Navy, receiving two honorable discharges, and has been employed by Ford Motor Co. for 35 years. He also has been a part of his local church and involved in many areas of ministry. The Springfield Rescue Mission is a leader in meeting the needs of the poor and homeless in Greater Springfield. The SRM provides food, shelter, clothing, medical attention, Christian counseling, literacy training, and advocacy through its emergency shelter, give-away center, mobile feeding program, rehabilitation center, and transitional living facility, all free of charge. The programs help individuals take meaningful steps toward becoming responsible and productive members of the community.

Agenda

Agenda

Gap-semester Course on Social-justice Issues

Sept. 21 to Dec. 21: Bay Path University has put together a unique course for recent high-school graduates looking to explore ways they can impact movements for social justice. The course, “Exploring Pathways to Social Justice,” will combine lectures, discussions, videos, readings, and virtual, experiential learning through the context of history, legal studies, and communications. In addition, the students will participate in presentations by professionals who have channeled their visions for a more just world into careers advocating for social justice and leading their communities. The three-credit course runs from Sept. 21 to Dec. 21 and is open to recent high-school graduates and college students, whether enrolled at Bay Path University; its online program, the American Women’s College; or any other institution, as well as students who are taking a gap semester while they evaluate their college options. Registration runs until Sept. 16. The class is a collaboration between several faculty members and will explore social-justice movements, trace the historical roots of the civil-rights struggle, investigate how race factors into the contemporary criminal justice system, and consider strategies for change. Students will be challenged to apply their passion for social justice while learning to express themselves and developing practical skills for academic and professional settings. Through the course material and ongoing opportunities for conversation, they will connect with other students and become part of an inspired, motivated network. “We created this class for students who may be using this time away from their schools to contemplate how and where to channel their voice and their passion for social justice, as they begin to think about their long-term goals, personally and professionally,” said Gwen Jordan, director of Bay Path’s Justice and Legal Studies department. She will be teaching sections on the criminal justice system, including a focus on the movement devoted to exonerating the wrongly convicted and reforming the system. Additional course information and a registration link are available at www.baypath.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/the-american-womens-college-online/academics/gap-semester-course.

‘HiSET to Medical Sciences’

Sept. 23: Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) is offering a course that helps students get their high-school equivalency diploma while introducing them to the field of medical science. Offered through the Springfield Adult Learning Center at STCC, the class, called “HiSET to Medical Sciences,” prepares students for the high-school equivalency test (HiSET) while teaching them medical terminology. The class will be offered in three sessions this year, the first beginning Wednesday, Sept. 23. STCC offers an associate degree in health science, which provides the opportunity to explore specialty areas for a career in healthcare, as well as a number of specialized health programs, such as diagnostic medical sonography, dental hygiene, and nursing. The class, which is free for eligible students, will be taught online. To apply or for more information, visit stcc.edu/explore/communityed/adult-learning. For questions, e-mail [email protected] or call (413) 755-4300.

Difference Makers

Sept. 24: BusinessWest’s celebration of the Difference Makers class of 2020, rescheduled from March, will be a hybrid event, with the honorees and sponsors gathered at the Upper Vista at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke, and other guests taking in the proceedings virtually. The class of 2020 includes: Christopher (Monte) Belmonte, DJ at WRSI the River Radio and creator of Monte’s March; Ira Bryck, consultant and former executive director of the Family Business Center of Pioneer Valley; Sandy Cassanelli, CEO of Greeno Supply; Dianne Fuller Doherty, retired director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network; Ronn Johnson, president and CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services; Steve Lowell, president and CEO of Monson Savings Bank; and Rick’s Place. Guests who have purchased tickets for the event, originally scheduled for March at the Log Cabin, will be able to pick up a boxed meal, a program guide for the event, and gifts from event sponsors at locations to be announced at a later date. The Difference Makers program for 2020 is sponsored by Burkhart Pizzanelli, Mercy Medical Center/Trinity Health Of New England, Royal P.C., and TommyCar Auto Group, with nonprofit partners MHA Inc., the Tom Cosenzi Driving for the Cure Charity Golf Tournament, and United Way of Pioneer Valley.

‘Run for the Bar’

Sept. 26: The Hampden County Bar Assoc. will hold its seventh annual 5K/10K Run/Walk Race Judicata, “A Run for the Bar.” For the safety of the participants, spectators, and volunteers, and to adhere to the current safety guidelines, the event will be held virtually. Proceeds from the event will benefit the William J. Boyle Scholarship, the Colonel Archer B. Battista Veterans Scholarship, and the Children’s Law Project. The cost for the 5K is $30, and the 5K is $40. All registrants will receive a shirt and water bottle. Registration is now available at bit.ly/3gTjult. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Virtual Info Session for WSU Accounting Graduate Program

Sept. 29: The College of Graduate and Continuing Education (CGCE) at Westfield State University will host a virtual information session for the master of science in accounting (MSA) program at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The graduate program is designed to foster leadership skills and prepare students for successful careers in public and private accounting. It allows students to complete the additional 30 credit hours necessary to fulfill the educational requirements for the certified public accountancy (CPA) license in Massachusetts and several other states. The program offers a foundation curriculum for students who have a business background but lack the necessary coursework in accounting to complete a series of prerequisite courses as part of the master’s program. This curriculum can be completed entirely online with courses offered on a rotating basis (students can also take courses in person). The advanced curriculum is for students with an undergraduate major or concentration in accounting. It includes 10 courses (the majority are offered in a hybrid format, and certain courses are 100% online) that can be completed in only two semesters. The MSA program offers students flexibility and affordability to achieve a greater degree of sophistication in accounting and auditing. Information-session attendees will have an opportunity to speak with faculty and members of the outreach team about the program and its application process. The $50 application fee will be waived for all attendees. To RSVP, visit www.gobacknow.com. For more information, call (413) 572-8020 or e-mail [email protected].

Company Notebook

Company Notebook

Officials Celebrate Start of Court Square Project

SPRINGFIELD — A host of city, state, and national leaders were on hand at the former Court Square Hotel property on Aug. 27 to mark the official start of a long-awaited $51 million project to convert the long-dormant landmark into apartments and retail space. Gov. Charlie Baker, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno were among the many dignitaries to address those gathered to commemorate the launch of the initiative, which will bring 59 market-rate apartments, 15 workforce apartments, and more than 20,000 square feet of retail to the center of Springfield. The project is the result of a partnership involving a number of players, including developers Winn Companies of Boston and Opal Real Estate of Springfield, as well as MassMutual, MGM, and MassHousing’s Workforce Housing Initiative. More than $11 million in state and federal historic tax credits have also been secured for the project. Initial work on the property involves $4 million worth of demolition and hazardous materials cleanup, expected to completed by November. Actual construction is expected to take 18 to 24 months.

AmherstWorks Reopens; New Applications Being Accepted

AMHERST — AmherstWorks, a co-working space dedicated to serving the Pioneer Valley community, has reopened and is accepting new applications for membership passes and private offices. AmherstWorks has implemented new policies and procedures, in addition to restructuring the space to adhere to the state’s health and safety regulations in light of the coronavirus pandemic. All members will be required to wear masks and practice social distancing of six feet at all times. Previously shared desks will be assigned exclusively to individuals each day, with hand sanitizer readily available. AmherstWorks membership assistants will sanitize all surfaces a minimum of three times a day. The newly renovated downtown workspace includes large windows for natural light, high-speed internet, and premium amenities for members.

MCLA, BCC Sign Education Articulation Agreement

NORTH ADAMS — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and Berkshire Community College (BCC) have signed a new articulation agreement, creating a pathway for students who complete BCC’s associate degree in early childhood education to enroll in MCLA’s liberal-arts degree-completion program in children, families, and society. Students who complete this associate-degree program at MCLA will also be able to enter MCLA with a core-requirement waiver. Students must graduate with at least a 2.5 grade point average to qualify. This agreement means students who qualify will be able to earn their associate and bachelor’s degrees as well as early education and care certifications. These credentials support requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (DEEC). This pathway can also result in a lead teacher certification from the DEEC.

Volvo Cars Pioneer Valley Moves to Northampton

NORTHAMPTON — Volvo Cars Pioneer Valley, part of the TommyCar Auto Group, moved from South Deerfield to its new location at 48 Damon Road in Northampton on Sept. 1. “This is an exciting change for us as Northampton is such a wonderful community and has been incredibly welcoming,” said TommyCar co-owner Carla Cosenzi. “The dealership will be more conveniently located for our customers, right off the highway. They will still get the same outstanding service they have come to expect from us, along with a greater inventory and a more spacious showroom and service department.” TommyCar Auto Group already has three dealerships in Northampton — Country Hyundai, Genesis of Northampton, and Northampton Volkswagen — as well as Country Nissan in Hadley.

Westfield State University Installs Cell Tower Atop Scanlon Hall

WESTFIELD — Cellular service on the Westfield State University campus is expected to significantly improve now that a new cell tower has been installed atop Scanlon Hall. Westfield State partnered with the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance and the Massachusetts State College Building Authority on the project. The installation was completed in August by Berkshire Wireless, a subcontractor for Verizon Wireless. In addition to improved and more reliable cell service, the university will also generate revenue by leasing the space to the cellular provider. A 10-year contract will generate $240,000 over the term, and the $24,000 per year will go toward the university’s Residential Life area to support services and programming for resident students.

Bulkley Richardson Joins Law Firm Anti-racism Alliance

SPRINGFIELD — Bulkley Richardson announced it has joined the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA), a national collaboration of more than 260 law firms united in identifying and dismantling structural or systemic racism in the law. The alliance’s charter states its purpose is to “leverage the resources of the private bar in partnership with legal-services organizations to amplify the voices of communities and individuals oppressed by racism, to better use the law as a vehicle for change that benefits communities of color, and to promote racial equity in the law.” “We are joining some of the country’s most prominent law firms to shine a spotlight on systemic racism,” said Jeff Poindexter, co-chair of Bulkley Richardson’s litigation department. “Recognizing that racism is a public crisis, the firm has made a pledge to reject racism, hate, bigotry, and all forms of discrimination. By joining the LFAA, we can be a part of the solution and support an initiative to advance racial equity.”

HCC Receives $40,000 Grant for COVID-19 Relief

HOLYOKE — The Holyoke Community College (HCC) Foundation has received a second grant in as many months to help students facing financial emergencies because of COVID-19. In its latest round of grants, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts awarded $40,000 to HCC from its COVID-19 Relief Fund. In July, the Community Foundation awarded the HCC Foundation $35,000. All $75,000 went into the President’s Student Emergency Fund, which is managed by the HCC Foundation. Thanks to the Community Foundation’s first grant to HCC, 67 students received emergency funding with an average disbursement of $522. Already, in the past two weeks, 15 additional students have received emergency aid. Typically, students request help paying for basic needs, such as food, rent, utilities, childcare, and transportation.

JFS Selected for Year Two of Jewish Poverty Challenge

SPRINGFIELD — Following a North American call for submissions and an exhaustive selection process, Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts has been chosen by the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA) for participation in year two of its NJHSA Jewish Poverty Challenge, an offering of the network’s Center for Innovation and Research. The goal of the program is to help NJHSA member agencies better analyze the marketplace, launch and manage solutions, and implement sustainable measures for success to address the many dynamics associated with responding to Jewish poverty. NJHSA has partnered with Start Co., a venture-development consultancy firm based in Memphis, Tenn. with an expertise in launching startups and engaging municipalities, corporations, and nonprofits in poverty-reduction responses. The team at Start Co. will provide expert consultation assistance as JFS rethinks and redesigns products and services, adjusting assumptions and organization models. Throughout the process, special attention will be paid to the impact of COVID-19 on service-delivery methods.

Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan & Blakesley Awards Six Scholarships

SPRINGFIELD — Six area students were each recently awarded a $1,000 Gerard L. Pellegrini Scholarship to advance their education by the law firm that bears his name, Pellegrini, Seeley, Ryan and Blakesley. The Gerard L. Pellegrini Scholarship is an award that goes to a member of a local union affiliated with the Western Massachusetts Area Labor Federation or their spouses or dependents. Applicants were asked to submit their high-school or college transcripts, written recommendations, a recital of their community-service activities, and an essay detailing the importance of the labor movement to their family. Winners of this year’s awards are Corey Bryant of Springfield, Alexandria Barnard-Davignon of Longmeadow, Anna MacDonnell of Longmeadow, Lindsay Marjanski of South Hadley, Sarah Meunier of South Deerfield, and Taryn Morse of Hatfield.

Hazen Paper Pioneers New Type of Custom Holography

HOLYOKE — Hazen Paper Co. has created an innovative, two-sided promotion to demonstrate cutting-edge holographic technologies. Hazen’s team designed the artwork on both sides to showcase specific visual effects with nano-holography that delivers an even more dramatic three-dimensional effect than lenticular printing. The front features a fire-breathing dragon with minutely detailed glittering scales. The effect of a blast of moving flames was achieved with registered, custom color-motion and multi-channel holography. On the back, a shimless random repeat custom hologram, ‘random burst,’ creates a moving, three-dimensional flash backdrop for a flock of butterflies. Originated entirely within Hazen’s state-of-the-art holographic lab and manufactured in its Holyoke facility, the project was realized on Hazen Envirofoil, an environmentally friendly product. Sub-micron transfer-metallized Envirofoil uses less than 1% of the aluminum of traditional foil laminate and a recycled film carrier, and is repulpable as paper after de-inking. It was offset-printed using UV-cure inks by AM Lithography of Chicopee. Vertically integrated, Hazen can take production from design to holographic paper in less than two weeks.

WNEU, Big Y Pharmacy Residency Program Accreditated

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University (WNEU) College of Pharmacy Health Sciences and Big Y Foods, Inc. Community-Based Residency Program has received accreditation from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the American Pharmacists Assoc. (APhA). The accreditation establishes criteria for training pharmacists for the purpose of achieving professional competence in the delivery of patient-centered care and in pharmacy services. The purpose of the post-graduate year one (PGY1) Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program is to build upon the doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) education and outcomes to develop community-based pharmacist practitioners with diverse patient care, leadership, and education skills who are eligible to pursue advanced training opportunities, including post-graduate year two (PGY2) specialized residencies and professional certifications. ASHP’s Commission on Credentialing extended the accreditation of the residency program through 2024. The accreditation means the program meets or exceeds the national standards set for a residency training program. The WNEU College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Big Y Foods Community-Based Residency Program is the only such university-based initiative in Western Mass. This year, the residency program graduated its fifth resident. Three of the graduates are Big Y pharmacists who have created new pharmacy services, and two graduates went on to pursue PGY2 ambulatory-care residencies. WNEU College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences also offers a PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Residency Program with Walgreens. This program began in 2014 and is also accredited by ASHP and APhA.

Multiple Sclerosis Center Opens at Mercy Medical Center

SPRINGFIELD — Trinity Health Of New England announced the opening of the Joyce D. and Andrew J. Mandell Center for Comprehensive Multiple Sclerosis Care and Neuroscience Research at Mercy Medical Center. Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients in the Greater Springfield area are now able to access their healthcare needs in one central location with a team of specialists dedicated to every aspect of their care. The Mandell Center, located at 175 Carew St. in Springfield, offers a combination of cutting-edge treatments, groundbreaking research, and innovative rehabilitation programs, and provides an all-inclusive treatment plan for each patient’s individual needs. In addition to state-of-the-art equipment, the model will include a nationally recognized team of MS specialists including neurologists, neuropsychologists, urologists, physiatrists, social workers, occupational and rehabilitation therapists, speech pathologists, physician’s assistants, and nurses. The Mandell MS Center at Mercy is partnered with the world-renowned Joyce D. and Andrew J. Mandell MS Centers at Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital in Hartford, Conn. and Saint Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Conn.

HMC Recognized for Promoting Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) has earned national recognition as a Let Life Bloom Platinum Award recipient for its efforts to increase organ, eye, and tissue donor registrations through the Workplace Partnership for Life (WPFL) Hospital Organ Donation Campaign. The WPFL is a national initiative that unites the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the organ-donation community with workplaces across the nation in spreading the word about the importance of donation. The WPFL Hospital Organ Donation Campaign challenges hospitals and healthcare organizations to “let life bloom” by educating staff, patients, visitors, and communities about the critical need for organ, eye, and tissue donation, including offering opportunities to register as organ donors. HMC earned points for conducting awareness and registry activities between October 2019 and April 2020 and prompting new donor registrations during that time period. Visit registerme.org to sign up as a donor.

Incorporations

Incorporations

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

Gourmet to Go Inc., 26 Perry Lane, Agawam, MA 01001. Stephen A. Amato, same. On-site catering and food preparation.

ATHOL

King’s Memorials Inc., 1265 South Main St., Athol, MA 01331. Peter D. King, 5 Sanders Street, Apt. B, Athol, MA 01331. Design, carve, and sell public memorials.

CHICOPEE

Hidden Tradition Distilling Company, 185 Frontenac St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Michael Alan Styckiewicz, same. Alcoholic beverages and distilled spirits.

CUMMINGTON

Hilltown Vision Fund Inc., 17 Packard Road, Cummington, MA 01026. Kathryn Regina Eiseman, same. To support activities that further a common vision for an ecologically and financially sustainable rural economy and culture in the Hampshire County.

EAST LONGMEADOW

KM Corporate Services, 82 Birch Ave., East Longmeadow, MA 01028. Alfred Adegboyegun, same. Provide physician support services and innovation.

GRANBY

Kingston Estates Inc., 83 Harris St., Granby, MA 01033. Nolan R. Hodgins, same. Purchase, sell, improve, manage, rent real estate.

GREAT BARRINGTON

Jetstream Support Services Inc., 777 Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Rebecca Shoval, 407 East 12th St., New York, NY 10009. Provision of payroll, benefits and other support.

LENOX

Holborn Foundation Limited, 14 Pine Knoll Road, Lenox, MA 01240. Yuko Torigoe, 27 Langley Road, Newton Center, MA 02459. Promotes experimentation in cultural design, supports discovery, and seeks to support and document important conclusions about the crossroads of technology, philanthropy, and creative culture.

PITTSFIELD

Honey Am Home Corp., 82 Wendell Ave., Ste 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Yeyson Pimentel, same. Sale of honey and organic products.

JI Mei Inc., 26 Dunham Mall, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Kang Chen, same. Limited-service restaurant.

Kessler Alair Insurance Services Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Charles Kessler, same. Insurance sales.

Krupa Realty Inc., 31 Wendell Ave., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Rakeshkumar Vyas, 12 West Dr., Edison, N.J. 08820. Gas station.

SHELBURNE FALLS

Guaranteed Power International Inc., 398 Mohawk Trail, Shelburne Falls, MA 01370. Calvin M., Clarak, 745 Williamsburg Road, Ashfield, MA 01330. Make, buy, market, and sell automobile and truck component parts.

SPRINGFIELD

GreenGrab Inc., 172 Birchland Ave., Springfield, MA 01119. Odaliz Breton, same. On demand delivery platform.

Hancock Used Tires Inc., 556 St. James Ave., Springfield, MA 01109. Jose Vardes, same. Operating of an auto tire service business.

Hipress Corp., 432 Belmont Ave., Springfield, MA 01108. Ramon E. Espinal, 23 Tulsa St., Springfield, MA 01118. Retail sales.

WESTFIELD

K&K Services Inc., 16 Hunters Slope, Westfield, MA 01085. Kirill Katalnikov, same. Plumbing and HVAC services.

WILLIAMSTOWN

Growth Generation Inc., 228 Main St., Apt. 129, Williamstown, MA 01267. Arthur Aronov, same. Retail sales.

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Allard, David W.
Allard, Cindy J.
61 Blue Hill Road
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/13/2020

Boehmler, David
12 H St., Apt. #2
Turners Falls, MA, 01376
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/07/2020

Hodge, Luz A.
512 Page Blvd., Apt. #2
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/13/2020

Monarca, Edward M.
a/k/a Monarca Monserrate Eduardo
34 Willow St.
Holyoke, MA, 01040
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/10/2020

Smith-Denson, Cassandra F.
Smith, Cassandra F.
86 Temby St.
Springfield, MA, 01119
Chapter: 13
Date: 08/10/2020

Ulitsch, Eric J.
13 Malboeuf Road
Ware, MA, 01082
Chapter: 7
Date: 08/01/2020

Doing Business as Certificates

DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of August 2020. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

GREENFIELD

All About Beads
38 Bank Row
Christi Bartos

A-Star Publications
71 Conway St., #1
Adrienne Nuñez

Avant Garde Salon
226 Federal St.
Julie Maloney

BK Tile & Stone, LLC
50 Federal St.
Kelly Whitaker

Common Ground Fitness Center, LLC
368 High St.
Nadya Beaudoin, Jamie Roberts

Conte Office Interiors
25 Miles St.
Gary Conte

Greenfield High School Alumni Assoc.
Barr Ave.
Cynthia Bompastore

Hair Affairs Salon
30 Mohawk Trail
Robin Candelaria

John Doe Jr.
275 Main St.
Scott Seward, Maria Danielson

Kim’s Upholstery
22 Riddell St.
Kimberley Chagnon

Meadows Café & Golf Center Inc.
398 Deerfield St.
Constant Poholek Jr., Sheila Orecchio

Meineke Car Care Center
440 Bernardston Road
Douglas Kemp

Moldavite Dreams
176 Main St.
Eleanor Richardson

The Music Store
150 Federal St.
Eugene LaCoy

One Medical Esthetics, LLC
64 Newton St.
Abby Brockelbank

Pierce St. Ironworks
80 Pierce St.
John Passiglia

Renfrew Real Estate
64 Mohawk Trail
Susan Renfrew, Debra Gilbert

Yankee Millwork & Building
229 Wisdom Way
William Childs

HADLEY

Alina’s Restaurant
96 Russell St.
MMAAB Inc.

Blades Landscaping
122 Middle St.
Brian Kristek

Cinemark #321
367 Russell St.
Cinemark

Hartsbrook School
193 Bay Road
Waldorf School Assoc.

Window Works
3221 Russell St.
Randall Roberts

PALMER

KJS Contracting
2115 Baptist Hill Road
Kurt Staeb

Let’s Go Fashion
10 Berkshire St.
Justina Onasanya

M. Lewis Landscaping
26 Bowden St.
Martin Fernandez

Marciano Painting
3067 High St.
Nicholas Marciano

MassTech
1054 Baptist Hill Road
Brent Massey

NEC, LLC
1037 Pine St.
Mike Swiatek

NESCO Sales Inc.
89½ State St.
Kevin Comstock

Palmer Motorsports Park, LLC
58 West Ware Road
Fred Ferguson

Park Saw Shop
1292 Park St.
Northern Tree Service Inc.

Rapid Home Improvements
36 Elizabeth St.
Leon Marsh Sr.

Roof Maintenance Management & Materials
111B Breckenridge St.
David Giordano

Sandy Hill Farm
25 Cyd Allan St.
Robert Gromosky

Select Physical Therapy
1415 Main St.
Lora Hammaker

Simply Dip-Licious
75 Belanger St.
Tracy Peloquin

Village Cuts
1041 Thorndike St.
Michael Arroyo

Western Mass Cleaning
161 Stimson St.
Nicholas Matsuk

SOUTHWICK

Slow Down Aesthetics Co.
143 Point Grove Road
Kayla Fontaine

Sunny Dog Days Pet Waste Removal
6 Tree Top Lane
Soia Ellis

Three Run Pictures
9 Coyote Glen
Christopher Rooney

WESTFIELD

Adriana’s Cleaning Service
15 Morris St.
Adriana Rivera

Coastal Construction
151 North Road
Zeke Rozell

JRMO Transport, LLC
38 Dartmouth St.
Joshua Bruso

Mr. Phipps
113 North Elm St.
Mehr Corp.

Piece of My Art Studio
16 Union Ave.
Jennifer Dorgan

Poma Kids & Teens
16 Union Ave.
Kayla Reno

Triple C Transportation
11 State St.
Charles Flores

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Confident Healthy Living
7 Upper Church St.
Shawnda Hudson

Convenience Mart
189 Piper Road
Mohammad Shabaz Ishaq

The Courtyards Apartments
1139 Westfield St.
Nicholas Bencivengo

Curry Printing
91 Union St.
Stephen Lang

Early Bloomers Family Daycare
76 Blossom Road
Jocelyn Donohue

Jerusalem Wholesale & Retail
246 Memorial Ave.
Asem Aydah

Metamorphosis Massage
201 Westfield St.
Kathleen Cullinan

Mind, Body & Skin
117 River St.
Jennifer Pruitte-Sefton

Pacto de Vilda International
209 Rogers Ave.
Maritza Manchester

U-Haul Co. of Western Massachusetts
380 Union St.
Raphael Avraham

Vehicle Repair Center of Western Massachusetts
414 Park St.
William Della Guistina

WRB Auto Sales
194 Baldwin St.
William Bayton

Real Estate Transactions

Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

ASHFIELD

307 Hawley Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Brittany K. Terry
Seller: Sloin, Hilary M., (Estate)
Date: 08/21/20

203 Murray Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Hillary M. Hall
Seller: Josette M. Banks
Date: 08/31/20

BERNARDSTON

388 Huckle Hill Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Brad D. Smyth
Seller: Jacques A. Lamuniere
Date: 08/19/20

BUCKLAND

121 Elm St.
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $356,850
Buyer: Phillip Lewis
Seller: Michael P. Earl INT
Date: 08/24/20

185 Lower St.
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Michael J. Churchill
Seller: Paul T. Shulda
Date: 08/31/20

CHARLEMONT

215 Burnt Hill Road
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Christian B. Berg
Seller: Gilbert INT
Date: 08/31/20

99 East Hawley Road
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Bye Son LLC
Seller: Christopher A. Jones
Date: 08/25/20

10 North St.
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $140,500
Buyer: Donald F. Young
Seller: Marguerite M. Rancourt
Date: 08/31/20

COLRAIN

120 Franklin Hill Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Charles W. Roberts
Seller: John D. Ivanisin
Date: 08/17/20

DEERFIELD

31 Eastern Ave.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Eric J. Farrell
Seller: Rebecca O. Lewis
Date: 08/26/20

58 Graves St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $266,200
Buyer: Catherine Chiavarini
Seller: Angela M. Amidon
Date: 08/24/20

ERVING

47 Poplar Mountain Road
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: David Valiquette-Lalonde
Seller: Joseph A. Waseleski
Date: 08/18/20

GILL

74 French King Hwy.
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Robert L. Corbin
Seller: Taggart NT
Date: 08/17/20

GREENFIELD

5 Arch St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $228,000
Buyer: LCS Realty LLC
Seller: MW&MW Realty LLC
Date: 08/21/20

33 Birch St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Cynthia J. Breunig
Seller: Susan K. Farber
Date: 08/31/20

199 Chapman St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $218,700
Buyer: Nancee Bershof
Seller: Douglas R. McNamara
Date: 08/31/20

203 Chapman St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Dawn M. Barrett
Seller: Anais Surkin
Date: 08/18/20

101 Colrain St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Alexx Payton-Badillo
Seller: FNMA
Date: 08/26/20

347 Colrain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: David K. Stahnke
Seller: Fiset, Arthur J., (Estate)
Date: 08/31/20

Davenport Way #10
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Parody Builders & Sons LLC
Seller: Christopher Davenport
Date: 08/20/20

Davenport Way #11
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Parody Builders & Sons LLC
Seller: Christopher Davenport
Date: 08/20/20

Davenport Way #9
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Parody Builders & Sons LLC
Seller: Christopher Davenport
Date: 08/20/20

162 Federal St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $308,000
Buyer: Emily E. Almeida
Seller: Kimberley A. Chagnon
Date: 08/21/20

671 Lampblack Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $251,746
Buyer: Christian S. Smith-Ahearn
Seller: Marcia Ann Boyd RET
Date: 08/31/20

78 Meadowood Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Phillip P. Gent
Seller: Charles J. Spofford
Date: 08/28/20

279 Mountain Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $193,300
Buyer: Lucia E. Ramirez
Seller: Richard E. Kells RET
Date: 08/17/20

39 Park Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Christopher Lucia
Seller: Mark R. Cadran
Date: 08/27/20

167 Wells St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Carter J. Robertson
Seller: George L. Asselin
Date: 08/31/20

HEATH

50 Sumner Stetson Road
Heath, MA 01340
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Paul T. Shulda
Seller: Bruce T. Davin
Date: 08/31/20

20 Town Farm Road
Heath, MA 01346
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Mark M. Davino
Seller: David L. Freeman
Date: 08/27/20

LEVERETT

33 Lead Mine Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $619,900
Buyer: Charles T. Genre
Seller: John Klier
Date: 08/21/20

4 Still Corner Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Ryan J. Shea
Seller: Stephen E. Haggerty
Date: 08/17/20

MONTAGUE

14 Alice St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Christian J. Garner
Seller: Megan Bertoni
Date: 08/18/20

6 Emond Ave.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $221,000
Buyer: Brittany E. Tuttle
Seller: Sheryl A. Jablonski
Date: 08/27/20

40 K St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Robert P. Austin
Seller: Susan L. Bushey
Date: 08/17/20

NORTHFIELD

65 Highland Ave.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $387,000
Buyer: Jamie S. Yost
Seller: Raymond C. Fiske
Date: 08/21/20

663 Mount Hermon Station Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $322,000
Buyer: Laura J. E. Earl INT
Seller: Eric R. Burrington
Date: 08/24/20

ORANGE

20 Hillside Ter.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $347,500
Buyer: Qiwen Chen
Seller: Jay Guilmette
Date: 08/27/20

207 Oxbow Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Michael E. Allen
Seller: Donna A. Billiel
Date: 08/21/20

20 Prentiss St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Brittany L. Dunn
Seller: Brian G. Desreuisseau
Date: 08/26/20

58 Spring St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Tracy Morales
Seller: Reginald C. Haughton
Date: 08/28/20

258 Walnut Hill Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $247,500
Buyer: Jason R. Finch
Seller: William J. Wrigley
Date: 08/18/20

SHUTESBURY

201 Leverett Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $307,495
Buyer: William Skarzynski
Seller: Kathleen A. Sepanek
Date: 08/18/20

210 Leverett Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Christopher T. Elliott
Seller: Michelle Babione
Date: 08/24/20

36 Watson Straits
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Catherine Dill
Seller: James J. Barron
Date: 08/24/20

16 Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Russell A. Wallack
Seller: Kathleen C. Quinlan
Date: 08/24/20

457 Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $368,000
Buyer: Amy Robinson
Seller: Arpad Stamusz
Date: 08/20/20

WARWICK

299 Flower Hill Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Gerard V. Levasseur
Seller: Kevin E. Smith
Date: 08/28/20

65 Orange Road
Warwick, MA 01378
Amount: $278,000
Buyer: Mary A. Shipman
Seller: Silvio Graci
Date: 08/21/20

WENDELL

65 Lockes Village Road
Wendell, MA 01380
Amount: $227,500
Buyer: Thomas Merle-Richardson
Seller: Jacob A. Doody
Date: 08/24/20

151 West St.
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Edward E. Rouse
Seller: William B. Holloway
Date: 08/25/20

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

102 Anthony St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: John Lemoine
Seller: Susan M. McDonough
Date: 08/27/20

71 Columbia Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Calabrese Construction LLC
Seller: Petr Kiforishin
Date: 08/31/20

111 Edgewater Road
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Natalie Prokopchuk
Seller: Robert J. Sonsini
Date: 08/25/20

38 Fruwirth Ave.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Anthony M. Clark
Seller: Patriot Living LLC
Date: 08/28/20

81 Granger Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Eileen M. Beal
Seller: Rosemarie A. Pinette
Date: 08/27/20

155 Line St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Araya Property LLC
Seller: Leah Harrington
Date: 08/26/20

1140 North St., Ext.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Leonard Warren
Seller: John D. Trudeau
Date: 08/28/20

85 Old Amherst Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Melissa Laufer-Mange
Seller: Joseph J. Delaney
Date: 08/26/20

17 Overlook Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Leonid Butyrin
Seller: Novotney, S. Bernard, (Estate)
Date: 08/31/20

41 Richardson Place
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $382,000
Buyer: Nicholas Bull
Seller: Michael A. Abbott
Date: 08/27/20

44 River St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Alycar Investments LLC
Seller: Anthony J. Russo
Date: 08/21/20

27-29 Riverview Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Sharon Sedik
Seller: McGuy, Jane M., (Estate)
Date: 08/21/20

124 Robin Ridge Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: Christopher J. Harper
Seller: John C. Patrick
Date: 08/31/20

76 Stewart Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Ontour Properties Inc.
Seller: Wayne J. Marek
Date: 08/19/20

Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Mark S. Sarrazin
Seller: Anthony R. Boido
Date: 08/27/20

87 Valentine Ter.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Nicholas J. Clement
Seller: Clara Scott
Date: 08/25/20

53 William St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $167,000
Buyer: Asbel Nunez
Seller: Howard R. Ackerman
Date: 08/31/20

BLANDFORD

18 Kaolin Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Michael E. Smith
Seller: Gordon C. Avery
Date: 08/28/20

16 Russell Stage Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Justin M. Lafrance
Seller: 16 Russell Stage Road Land Trust
Date: 08/28/20

BRIMFIELD

2 Echo Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $186,000
Buyer: Matthew W. Newsome
Seller: Aaron K. Rittlinger
Date: 08/31/20

Little Alum Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: GJL RNL NT
Seller: Douglas F. Wolcott
Date: 08/31/20

81 Warren Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $394,000
Buyer: Julie Fitzgerald
Seller: Richard E. Witaszek
Date: 08/24/20

CHESTER

90 Middlefield Road
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Timothy B. Jenks
Seller: David R. Christensen
Date: 08/27/20

25 William St.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $122,900
Buyer: Justin D. Leigh
Seller: Michael W. Poudrier
Date: 08/31/20

CHICOPEE

45 Armanella St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Natalie Bys
Seller: Gabriel G. Veilleux
Date: 08/21/20

168 Artisan St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Maryann McCarthy
Seller: Yuriy Sivolobov
Date: 08/26/20

33 Austin St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Gina L. Mazza
Seller: Austin St. Property Mgmt. LLC
Date: 08/20/20

19 Bell St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $257,000
Buyer: Andy Rivas
Seller: Thomas Fregeau
Date: 08/21/20

151 Blanan Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,475
Buyer: Matthew J. Carvalho
Seller: Steven T. Swanson
Date: 08/17/20

3 Boileau Ter.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Derek St.Marie
Seller: Gerald H. Lane
Date: 08/17/20

35 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Patrick Goff
Seller: Alyssa R. McKenna
Date: 08/27/20

319 Broadway St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Lisa Russell
Seller: Roman Catholic Bishop
Date: 08/21/20

58 Charles St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Teresita Mallari-Santos
Seller: Hillary A. Morrissette
Date: 08/20/20

123 Chester St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Conor Olejarz
Seller: Kotowski, Edward M., (Estate)
Date: 08/27/20

494 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Hurricane Properties LLC
Seller: Kevin P. Corley
Date: 08/31/20

31 Dale Court
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: William G. Goldenberg
Seller: Ali B. Kitchell
Date: 08/31/20

48 Fanjoy Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Wieslaw Macko
Seller: Kenneth Delude
Date: 08/31/20

299 Hampden St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Jillshani E. Ortiz
Seller: Dnepro Properties LLC
Date: 08/21/20

36 Johnny Cake Hollow Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $3,700,000
Buyer: Hare Krishna Springfield
Seller: G6 Hospitality Prop LLC
Date: 08/20/20

59 Keddy Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $251,500
Buyer: Christopher Landry
Seller: Kyle T. Krow
Date: 08/24/20

45 Laclede Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Russell Maylott
Seller: Edward A. Leonard
Date: 08/17/20

49 Leo Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $217,500
Buyer: Justin Fox
Seller: Maureen Fluet
Date: 08/28/20

56 Ludlow Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $303,000
Buyer: Gerald H. Lane
Seller: Melanie A. Hines
Date: 08/17/20

57 Marble Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $266,000
Buyer: Crizaida L. Santiago
Seller: Peria I. Ruiz
Date: 08/21/20

60 Marble Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Nyobi D. Brown
Seller: JBD Empire LLC
Date: 08/19/20

108 Nonotuck Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Edwing Delgadillo
Seller: Bruce W. Taylor
Date: 08/21/20

58 Norman St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Elaine J. Labbe
Seller: Ann L. Brough
Date: 08/27/20

13 Olivine St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Joseph Oserei-Evborokhai
Seller: Vitaliy Polchyn
Date: 08/25/20

32 Paderewski Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Yury Sivolobov
Seller: Joseph J. Carriveau
Date: 08/26/20

11 Palmer Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Lorena Machuca-Davila
Seller: James Bell
Date: 08/19/20

44 Rochester St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Heather A. Dandy
Seller: Laura Benson
Date: 08/21/20

21 Schley St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $182,000
Buyer: Ryan A. Meuse
Seller: Phelps, Geraldine, (Estate)
Date: 08/25/20

154 School St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $201,400
Buyer: Iglesia Fuente De Salvacion
Seller: 1890 Chicopee LLC
Date: 08/21/20

29 Shaban Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: Keith Naumchick
Seller: Marcus M. Moore
Date: 08/31/20

307 Skeele St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Nathan G. Cousineau
Seller: Zwiercan, John A., (Estate)
Date: 08/21/20

258 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Karen A. Newman
Seller: Andrew R. Prats
Date: 08/31/20

346 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $221,000
Buyer: Anthony Figueroa
Seller: Martin J. Pion
Date: 08/27/20

26 Sullivan St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Alberto Olmeda
Seller: James F. Netkovick
Date: 08/25/20

16 Summer St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Dano Travassos
Seller: Halina Witczak
Date: 08/21/20

18 Summer St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Dano Travassos
Seller: Halina Witczak
Date: 08/21/20

122 Trilby Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $232,900
Buyer: Leslie Bibee
Seller: Serge Dumont
Date: 08/25/20

9 Wilfred St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Angel D. Cruz
Seller: Amy C. Rokosz
Date: 08/17/20

EAST LONGMEADOW

34 Anne St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Carlos A. Cruz
Seller: Natalya Kuznetsova
Date: 08/24/20

12 Bella Vista Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $606,175
Buyer: Jarrod Liebel
Seller: AC Homebuilding LLC
Date: 08/28/20

Bella Vista Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $179,900
Buyer: Jeremy R. Giard
Seller: John Papale
Date: 08/27/20

39 Day Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Michael J. Miro
Seller: Christopher J. Bolduc
Date: 08/28/20

125 Dearborn St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $411,000
Buyer: Brian G. Alter
Seller: John M. Dickson
Date: 08/21/20

21 Donamor Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Colo
Seller: Addie Clough-Carabetta
Date: 08/17/20

54 Dorset St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Joseph C. Santaniello
Seller: Nico J. Santaniello
Date: 08/21/20

78 Glen Heather Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Michael J. Calcasola
Seller: Ann M. Niznik
Date: 08/21/20

94 Hanward Hill
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Mark Manolakis
Seller: William E. Hassin
Date: 08/28/20

13 Holy Cross Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $254,900
Buyer: Ann M. Nitznik
Seller: Lauren E. Murawski
Date: 08/21/20

241 Kibbe Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $392,500
Buyer: Paulo F. Martins
Seller: Thomas E. Argenio
Date: 08/21/20

8 Knollwood Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Ronald J. Cutler
Seller: Justin M. Dalessio
Date: 08/31/20

38 Mill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Rita L. Mance
Seller: Hugh K. Martin
Date: 08/25/20

58 North Circle Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Dorinne A. Rodriguez
Seller: Virginia C. Robbins
Date: 08/28/20

63 Orchard Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Travis G. Schwamb
Seller: Edward M. Bellerose
Date: 08/21/20

718 Parker St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $605,000
Buyer: Ronald E. Humason
Seller: Timothy A. Lucier
Date: 08/20/20

392 Porter Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $342,500
Buyer: Raymond J. Guilbert
Seller: Steve Setian
Date: 08/31/20

33 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: 38 Center Square RT
Seller: Steven W. Graziano
Date: 08/21/20

52 Senecal Place
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $571,000
Buyer: Scott D. Cunningham
Seller: Daniel Heiskala
Date: 08/20/20

159 Stonehill Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $540,000
Buyer: Christopher Solie
Seller: Salvatore Decesare
Date: 08/21/20

HAMPDEN

165 Bennett Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $329,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Day
Seller: William G. Barrett
Date: 08/27/20

75 Raymond Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Christina J. Goodreau
Seller: Darcey F. Walulak
Date: 08/26/20

19 South Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Vincent R. Hogan
Seller: Lorraine A. Hanley
Date: 08/31/20

HOLLAND

21 Barry Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Steven Verrette
Seller: Dorothy Dilernia
Date: 08/21/20

23 Bernie Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Linda Sellig-Slap
Seller: Calvin D. Lajoie
Date: 08/21/20

4 Darcy St.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $120,500
Buyer: Karen V. May
Seller: Nationstar Mortgage LLC
Date: 08/31/20

HOLYOKE

20 Beacon Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Michael J. Soto
Seller: Wilvaldo Cabrera
Date: 08/27/20

42 Chapin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $251,500
Buyer: Ricky E. Kreiser
Seller: Donna M. Theroux
Date: 08/28/20

33 Fairfield Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Christopher A. Solano
Seller: Old Rivers LLC
Date: 08/28/20

999 Hampden St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Angela L. Lynch-Daigle
Seller: Morsen, Debra A., (Estate)
Date: 08/19/20

93 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: William F. Zych
Seller: Billie-Jo Blyda
Date: 08/26/20

30 James St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Luis Orsini-Maldonado
Seller: Janet Crespo
Date: 08/26/20

58 Longfellow Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Kelly Raila
Seller: Gregory J. Maichack
Date: 08/27/20

201 Madison Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $373,000
Buyer: Robert R. Chatt
Seller: Bernadette Stark
Date: 08/28/20

1117 Main St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Evan Kashinsky
Seller: Home Equity Assets Realty
Date: 08/21/20

4 Ross Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Aracelis Burgos
Seller: Christopher Leveille
Date: 08/28/20

194 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $224,900
Buyer: Sara Kennedy
Seller: Talitha L. Abramsen
Date: 08/21/20

157 Sheehan Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Nicholas A. Grise
Seller: Kyle Mardeuse
Date: 08/20/20

61 Sherwood Ter.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Frank A. Matsalia
Seller: Paul Rohan
Date: 08/21/20

242 West Franklin St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Ian J. Mackenzie
Seller: Adam Paradis
Date: 08/19/20

221 Walnut St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: C. M. Espinosa-Marrero
Seller: Flippin Good Homebuyers LLC
Date: 08/21/20

116-118 West St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Rebecca E. McPhee
Seller: TM Properties Inc.
Date: 08/20/20

LONGMEADOW

217 Ardsley Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $555,000
Buyer: Jessica Gilmore
Seller: Elizabeth Gaberman
Date: 08/17/20

87 Bel Air Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Michael Lareau
Seller: Denise A. Connelly
Date: 08/24/20

114 Birnie Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: Ved P. Agarwal
Seller: Debra A. Michalik
Date: 08/28/20

26 Brooks Circle
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Gloria M. Cangialosi
Seller: Tramazzo, Gloria M., (Estate)
Date: 08/20/20

81 Converse St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Christopher Wojcik
Seller: Cedar Inv Group LLC
Date: 08/26/20

11 Cross St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Evan S. Dowd
Seller: David A. Wheaton
Date: 08/28/20

85 Dunsany Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: David A. Cordeiro
Seller: Juliana Serafini
Date: 08/27/20

74 Fairfield Ter.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Linnae M. Rondeau
Seller: Wendy A. Pollack
Date: 08/28/20

287 Frank Smith Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Grammatiki Anderson
Seller: Joanne M. Buoniconti
Date: 08/31/20

962 Frank Smith Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $797,000
Buyer: Jasmine Gill
Seller: Mikhail Gerasimchuk
Date: 08/20/20

127 Hazardville Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Kim T. Vo
Seller: Craig C. Tedeschi
Date: 08/17/20

29 Longfellow Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $284,900
Buyer: Carlos H. Melendez
Seller: Dennis D. Callahan
Date: 08/20/20

296 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $721,900
Buyer: Kartik K. Viswanathan
Seller: John D. Buda
Date: 08/28/20

60 Merriweather Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Tzu-Chien Wen
Seller: John R. Ketcham
Date: 08/21/20

40 Nevins Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $325,850
Buyer: Nicole Choiniere
Seller: Mark F. O’Connor
Date: 08/25/20

95 Normandy Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $785,000
Buyer: Robert G. Logan
Seller: Mark R. Weyer
Date: 08/21/20

36 Pinewood Hills
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $618,150
Buyer: Manish K. Sharma
Seller: Narayana R. Lebaka
Date: 08/21/20

46 Prynne Ridge Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $667,500
Buyer: Daniel Heiskala
Seller: Mary A. Trelease LT
Date: 08/20/20

28 Roseland Ter.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Samantha A. Austin
Seller: Deborah A. Yesu
Date: 08/24/20

220 Twin Hills Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: John Royden-Ketcham
Seller: Alan T. Pohli
Date: 08/21/20

38 Westmoreland Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $339,000
Buyer: Marlon Sears
Seller: Meadows RE LLC
Date: 08/21/20

180 Williamsburg Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $590,000
Buyer: Bahadir K. Akcam
Seller: Oz Harmanli
Date: 08/17/20

LUDLOW

70 Barre Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Cynthia A. Fuller
Seller: Diane J. Wojcik
Date: 08/28/20

61 Cady St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Alicia Seymour
Seller: Nelson Vital
Date: 08/21/20

25 Cedar St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $244,000
Buyer: Charles Moran
Seller: Lamas, Nelson A., (Estate)
Date: 08/25/20

306 Chapin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $276,000
Buyer: Vincent Fuda
Seller: Cristina Brown
Date: 08/31/20

54 Circuit Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Jeffrey A. Batakis
Seller: Daniel C. Gaumond
Date: 08/20/20

36 Evergreen Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: James Netkovick
Seller: David S. Socha
Date: 08/25/20

78 Gamache Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Christopher Bolduc
Seller: Anne Fitzpatrick
Date: 08/28/20

156 Kendall St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Hillary A. Morrissette
Seller: John S. Placzek
Date: 08/20/20

57 Kirkland Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Sarah E. Gauss
Seller: Danielle M. Marshall
Date: 08/27/20

173 Lakeview Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Alyssa Ryan
Seller: Andrew J. Goodreau
Date: 08/26/20

53 Lawrence St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Flavio Cunha
Seller: Jack R. Nuno
Date: 08/28/20

35 Mineral Spring Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Ryan S. Kumiega
Seller: David J. Vanderboom
Date: 08/21/20

760 Moore St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Kaitlyn Sosnowski
Seller: Joy S. McCarron
Date: 08/26/20

38-40 Old West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $354,000
Buyer: Christian Rivera
Seller: Judith E. Camarena
Date: 08/21/20

156 Pinewood Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Zahid Habib
Seller: Marie A. Chartrand
Date: 08/26/20

168 Southwood Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: David B. Morin
Seller: Tiago A. Leal
Date: 08/18/20

43 Watt Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Hector E. Brookman
Seller: Desare Hall
Date: 08/18/20

23 White St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Joanne Haley
Seller: Michael J. Foley
Date: 08/31/20

MONSON

30 Butler Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Eric Ciborowski
Seller: Richard A. Cordner
Date: 08/21/20

126 East Hill Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Jeremy Cushing
Seller: Thomas Simonich
Date: 08/24/20

154 Maxwell Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $369,900
Buyer: Tami E. Prince
Seller: Ernest P. Pasquini
Date: 08/27/20

106 Stebbins Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Samantha Dominique
Seller: Emerald City Rentals LLC
Date: 08/19/20

174 Wales Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Steven Sulewski
Seller: Eric Raymond
Date: 08/31/20

3 Woodridge Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Property Advantage Inc.
Seller: Hott, Blake H., (Estate)
Date: 08/25/20

MONTGOMERY

12 Birch Bluff Road
Montgomery, MA 01085
Amount: $358,000
Buyer: Nathan M. Wuerth
Seller: Kathleen A. Griffen
Date: 08/20/20

PALMER

18 Brainerd St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: JMS North Main Street LLC
Seller: Palmer Town
Date: 08/28/20

323 Burlingame Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $308,800
Buyer: Susan E. Williams
Seller: Carol A. Federico
Date: 08/28/20

7 Country Lane
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $303,000
Buyer: James K. Woo
Seller: Jared D. Gliesman
Date: 08/21/20

29 Dublin St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Real Estate Restoration Inc.
Seller: Turley Publications Inc.
Date: 08/27/20

15 Homestead St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Dominic M. Kimatu
Seller: Marlene Reveliotis
Date: 08/28/20

2014-2016 Maple St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Hmlm Realty LLC
Seller: Katelyn Bishop
Date: 08/25/20

18 North St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Gerald J. Tessier
Seller: Roger R. Duguay
Date: 08/20/20

1686-1688 North Main St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Justin M. Corneau
Seller: Gregory A. Bossie
Date: 08/28/20

2001 Pleasant St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Gerald Flynn
Seller: Heidi S. Boucher
Date: 08/28/20

132 River St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $163,000
Buyer: James P. Peterson
Seller: Tanne, Lydia L., (Estate)
Date: 08/20/20

12 Riverview Pkwy.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Donald Hall
Seller: Beauregard, Gloria M., (Estate)
Date: 08/21/20

102 State St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Nicholas Mardirosian
Seller: David Rosenburg
Date: 08/31/20

17 Taft St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Steven J. Williams
Seller: George Tinkelenberg
Date: 08/31/20

2 Vaile St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Real Est Restoration Inc.
Seller: Turley Publications Inc.
Date: 08/27/20

74 Water St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $153,500
Buyer: Melanie E. Smith
Seller: William McMahon
Date: 08/31/20

RUSSELL

220 Pine Hill Road
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Colin B. Fecteau
Seller: David A. Boyden
Date: 08/27/20

SPRINGFIELD

130 Acrebrook Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Erick T. Hernandez
Seller: Andrea M. Emery
Date: 08/17/20

55 Albemarle St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $221,500
Buyer: Crescencio E. Martinez
Seller: Wayne F. Trahan
Date: 08/21/20

7-9 Algonquin Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Johengry Rivas
Seller: Carlos Aguasvivas
Date: 08/24/20

20 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $166,000
Buyer: Jose Arturet-Pagan
Seller: Cedar Inv Group LLC
Date: 08/19/20

38 Angelica Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $342,000
Buyer: Frank Magala-Namukangula
Seller: David M. Clark
Date: 08/21/20

65 Anniversary St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Michael C. Tantao
Seller: Sean M. Seifert
Date: 08/31/20

8 Ansara St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $197,900
Buyer: Anthony Maldonado
Seller: Castle Headquarters Inc.
Date: 08/21/20

113 Appleton St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Tek Poudel
Seller: Alexandra A. Ludwig
Date: 08/31/20

75 Arch St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Hann Realty Berkshire LLC
Seller: H&H RE Holdings LLC
Date: 08/18/20

31 Arthur St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Adrianna M. Isham
Seller: FNMA
Date: 08/17/20

98-100 Beaumont St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Lourdes J. Mercado
Seller: Branden Mach
Date: 08/31/20

43 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,700,000
Buyer: Belmont State LLC
Seller: Jasnia Realty LLC
Date: 08/31/20

49 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,700,000
Buyer: Belmont State LLC
Seller: Jasnia Realty LLC
Date: 08/31/20

4 Birnie Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Hann Realty Berkshire LLC
Seller: H&H RE Holdings LLC
Date: 08/18/20

28 Blodgett St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Kathleen Vega
Seller: US Bank
Date: 08/18/20

165 Bolton St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Stephen H. Fanolis
Seller: Carol S. Hewitt
Date: 08/28/20

216 Breckwood Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Jesmaniel Bermudez
Seller: Craig F. Lapinski
Date: 08/27/20

75 Briarcliff St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Mackenzie Sumwalt-Kijak
Seller: Brianna M. Barcomb
Date: 08/27/20

102 Bulat Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Christian Ramos
Seller: Agnieszka Trela
Date: 08/25/20

33 Castle St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: Green Light Homes LLC
Seller: John T. Cavicchia
Date: 08/19/20

15 Cedar St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: Kempton E. Pollard
Seller: Lupine Properties LLC
Date: 08/27/20

145 Chalmers St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $292,500
Buyer: Kenneth B. Haney
Seller: Jessica L. Sullivan
Date: 08/28/20

87 Cherrelyn St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $157,500
Buyer: Melissa A. St.Pierre
Seller: SLC Associates LLC
Date: 08/19/20

489 Cooley St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Williams Erazo
Seller: Thomas P. O’Connor
Date: 08/20/20

241 Corcoran Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: Stephanie Carnevale
Seller: Kevin Seymour
Date: 08/17/20

111 Cornell St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $185,900
Buyer: Ahtavia Wright
Seller: Hampden Realty LLC
Date: 08/27/20

43 Cornwall St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $214,900
Buyer: Latoiya N. Drummer
Seller: Deborah D. Hatzipetro
Date: 08/31/20

244 Dorset St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Alexsandra F. Rivera
Seller: Dorett M. Lamb
Date: 08/21/20

93 Duryea St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $118,000
Buyer: Gabriel Gonzalez-Colon
Seller: Dawn J. Berard
Date: 08/31/20

299 Eastern Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Leonor A. Familia
Seller: Amat Victoria Curam LLC
Date: 08/26/20

19 Eddy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $248,500
Buyer: Jorge L. Cuello
Seller: Egidio M. Robinson
Date: 08/25/20

134 Ellsworth Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Edward A. Grullon-Reyes
Seller: SA Capital Group LLC
Date: 08/28/20

86 Emerson St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Carrasquillo Fix Up LLC
Seller: Rovelli, Ciro V., (Estate)
Date: 08/24/20

159 Fair Oak Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Ty J. Ingram
Seller: Xin Li-Smigiel
Date: 08/31/20

162 Feltham Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Julio A. Ortiz
Seller: Thao E. Phommasith
Date: 08/28/20

43 Florentine Gardens
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Meaghan F. Graul
Seller: Annabelle F. Vanderleeden
Date: 08/24/20

29 Florida St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Sona Avagyan
Seller: Elba Rodriguez
Date: 08/18/20

3 Fordham St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $189,500
Buyer: William J. Figueroa
Seller: Michelle A. Tetrault
Date: 08/19/20

30 Forest Park Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Edwin Mendez
Seller: Giovanni Montefusco
Date: 08/17/20

79 Fountain St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Thanh Tran
Seller: Marla Early-Moss
Date: 08/27/20

166 Garland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Jason R. Boire
Seller: William T. Raleigh
Date: 08/31/20

58 Glencoe St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Evelio Sibrian-Alas
Seller: Lawrence C. Adams
Date: 08/19/20

39 Goldenrod St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $222,000
Buyer: Denise I. Sanchez
Seller: 613 LLC
Date: 08/18/20

155 Groton St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Wilfredo J. Rodriguez
Seller: Dam H. Nguyen
Date: 08/20/20

31-33 Haumont Ter.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Zandra Figueroa-Morales
Seller: Diane Lezinski
Date: 08/28/20

376 Hermitage Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Yajaira Torres-Feliciano
Seller: Nicole StPeter
Date: 08/31/20

8 Hickox Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Latoya K. Wilson
Seller: Heather L. Burbeck
Date: 08/31/20

116 Hudson St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Heidi M. Dube
Seller: Maurice P. Pepin
Date: 08/21/20

28 Intervale Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Taylor Tranghese
Seller: FNMA
Date: 08/21/20

272 Jasper St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Betsy Cruz
Seller: William McAllister
Date: 08/31/20

116 Jenness St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Jereth M. Hodge
Seller: Jason A. Smith
Date: 08/21/20

76 Jonquil Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Holly Hozempa
Seller: Brennan J. Roy
Date: 08/26/20

64 Kathleen St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Patriot Living LLC
Seller: Lavallee, Paul E., (Estate)
Date: 08/26/20

96 Kirk Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $165,500
Buyer: Princess N. Forde
Seller: Lloyd Chadbourne
Date: 08/24/20

87 Lakevilla Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Anthony N. Rojas
Seller: Jonathan S. Weibel
Date: 08/18/20

102 Lakevilla Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $359,900
Buyer: Talia K. Gee
Seller: Bretta Construction LLC
Date: 08/18/20

204 Lamont St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Karen S. Giraldo
Seller: La-Toya Wilson
Date: 08/31/20

260 Laurelton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Jose Lopez
Seller: Emtay Inc.
Date: 08/25/20

Laurelton St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $202,000
Buyer: Nakia S. Dewberry
Seller: John Martin
Date: 08/27/20

4-8 Leyfred Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $1,700,000
Buyer: Belmont State LLC
Seller: Jasnia Realty LLC
Date: 08/31/20

878 Liberty St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Analda E. Velazquez
Seller: Yolanda Delacruz
Date: 08/21/20

111 Lucerne Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: C. K. Swaby-Williams
Seller: Lamonte Parks
Date: 08/27/20

117 Lumae St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $163,113
Buyer: AEM Prop Investment LLC
Seller: Dianne Tougas
Date: 08/20/20

48 Lyndale St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Celia Casanova
Seller: Prime Partners LLC
Date: 08/21/20

27-29 Martin St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Brenda L. Montanez
Seller: Emeka Unegbu
Date: 08/17/20

155 Nagle St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Kevin Saez-Rodriguez
Seller: Antonio Rivera
Date: 08/31/20

165 Navajo Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $169,000
Buyer: Stefan Kowalik
Seller: Anthony Geary
Date: 08/28/20

36 Norman St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $197,000
Buyer: Jasmin Rodriguez
Seller: Cullen N. Owen
Date: 08/28/20

49 Northampton Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $193,200
Buyer: Wilfredo A. Jiminez
Seller: Linda M. Jefferson
Date: 08/28/20

141 Oak St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Alexander Rivera
Seller: Ena S. Graham
Date: 08/28/20

42 Observer St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Krissy Pelletier
Seller: Patrick D. Bergeron
Date: 08/25/20

18 Ogden St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Charest
Seller: Steven W. Hayes
Date: 08/28/20

273 Old Farm Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Kurt Champagne
Seller: Arlene Medeiros
Date: 08/27/20

11 Old Point St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: John J. Healy
Seller: Earl L. Caulton
Date: 08/21/20

197 Orange St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: Luis A. Lopez
Seller: Andrew M. Soucie
Date: 08/31/20

22 Orleans St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Suaneth Marrero
Seller: Yajaira Santiago
Date: 08/25/20

50 Pennsylvania Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Genesis Pujols
Seller: Shannon B. Moretti
Date: 08/20/20

91 Penrose St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: April Hadley
Seller: Lori Wilbur
Date: 08/17/20

131 Penrose St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Axel L. Quinones
Seller: Axel Quinones-Diaz
Date: 08/18/20

80 Perkins St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Dominic R. Grilli
Seller: Justin Campbell
Date: 08/20/20

70 Plumtree Circle
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $196,000
Buyer: Andrea Jenks
Seller: Revitalized Renovations
Date: 08/25/20

75 Rochford Circle
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Christopher Nascembeni
Seller: TD Bank NA
Date: 08/20/20

114 Signal Hill Circle
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $371,000
Buyer: Tou F. Lee
Seller: Steven A. Rizas
Date: 08/28/20

155 South Branch Pkwy.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Desare E. Hall
Seller: Stratton Renovation LLC
Date: 08/19/20

685 State St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $1,700,000
Buyer: Belmont State LLC
Seller: Jasnia Realty LLC
Date: 08/31/20

966 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: David Dayes
Seller: Scott M. Coen
Date: 08/21/20

67 Sylvan St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $139,175
Buyer: Louie Perkins
Seller: Jack J. Collins
Date: 08/28/20

103 Timothy Circle
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Ivonne M. Garay-Pagan
Seller: John W. Backlund
Date: 08/19/20

63-65 Tyler St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Fazle Rabbi
Seller: Damian Cieszkowski
Date: 08/20/20

17 Washington Road
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Mitchell
Seller: Ruby Realty LLC
Date: 08/26/20

35 Washington Road
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $264,500
Buyer: Carmelo L. Figueroa
Seller: Michael Taylor
Date: 08/25/20

10 Welland Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Elvis I. Rodriguez
Seller: Kevin Windisch
Date: 08/28/20

49 Westbank Court
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $257,500
Buyer: Nathan H. Murchison
Seller: Nancy Jackson
Date: 08/31/20

121 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Julio Carrasquillo
Seller: Full Service RE LLC
Date: 08/17/20

2084 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Alicia J. Parzych
Seller: Ashley J. Parzych
Date: 08/28/20

216 Wildwood Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Omar Phillips
Seller: Carol L. Bullington
Date: 08/21/20

56 Wilton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Andrew J. Pearson
Seller: Jose L. Santa
Date: 08/20/20

55 Wing St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Roselyn M. Headley
Seller: Shawn M. Jiles
Date: 08/28/20

28 Woodlawn St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Yvette Jackson
Seller: Darlene A. Morse
Date: 08/24/20

SOUTHWICK

14 Buckingham Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Dylan D. Hennessey
Seller: Robert P. Degray
Date: 08/21/20

57 Buckingham Dr.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Spencer F. Higgins
Seller: Connor K. Hedge
Date: 08/17/20

215 College Hwy.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Loulou Holdings LLC
Seller: Southwick Investors I LLC
Date: 08/27/20

430 College Hwy.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $227,500
Buyer: Samuel Wood
Seller: Robert Burns
Date: 08/28/20

282 Granville Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $223,000
Buyer: John T. Manzi
Seller: Rebecca R. Nelson
Date: 08/28/20

10 Industrial Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: TSC Enterprises LLC
Seller: Clayton A. Cigal
Date: 08/31/20

14 Industrial Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: TSC Enterprises LLC
Seller: Clayton A. Cigal
Date: 08/31/20

217 Klaus Anderson Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $391,500
Buyer: Tori B. Jennings
Seller: Terrence J. Hickey
Date: 08/28/20

67 Lakeview St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Marjorie Arnold
Seller: Thomas C. Swain
Date: 08/20/20

8 Laurel Ridge Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $493,000
Buyer: Denise A. Ratti
Seller: Ronald E. Humason
Date: 08/20/20

11 Lexington Circle
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $559,000
Buyer: Karrie Ford
Seller: William R. Anderson
Date: 08/18/20

38 Lexington Circle
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $521,000
Buyer: Pavel Poznyur
Seller: Brett A. Ralph
Date: 08/21/20

6 Tobacco Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: John J. Fairbanks
Seller: David H. Johnson
Date: 08/28/20

TOLLAND

190 Meadow Dr.
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $239,000
Buyer: Phyllis H. Myers
Seller: Maria Mitchell-Owen
Date: 08/26/20

WALES

19 Haynes Hill Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $164,000
Buyer: Jason P. Yelinek
Seller: Joseph C. Yelinek
Date: 08/19/20

56 Lake George Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Matthew A. Noga
Seller: Thomas R. Groody
Date: 08/20/20

14 Reed Hill Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: Eric S. Champagne
Seller: Celine Champagne
Date: 08/26/20

WEST SPRINGFIELD

80 Albert St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Karla P. Merced-Fraguada
Seller: David A. Johnson
Date: 08/28/20

226 Ashley St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Darlene A. Morse
Seller: MAA Property LLC
Date: 08/24/20

86 Audubon Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Marshall
Seller: Brian A. Hallinan
Date: 08/27/20

621 Birnie Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Aleksandr Livchin
Seller: Todd N. Bajor
Date: 08/17/20

62 Connecticut Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $177,000
Buyer: George Renaud
Seller: Gunter A. Brodt
Date: 08/17/20

45 Cynthia Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Stefanie A. Diorio
Seller: Thomas E. Price
Date: 08/24/20

49 East Gooseberry Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jamie Guillermo
Seller: Anh T. Diep
Date: 08/31/20

159 Greystone Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $361,500
Buyer: Kyle P. Mardeuse
Seller: Thomas J. Castonguay
Date: 08/21/20

67 Hill St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Roman Shtefan
Seller: Aleksandr M. Dashevsky
Date: 08/28/20

72 Jensen Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $228,000
Buyer: Brian Lewis
Seller: Ruslan Shvetsov
Date: 08/21/20

139 Jensen Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Brian D. Kowal
Seller: James G. Harper
Date: 08/31/20

67 Lennys Way
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $524,000
Buyer: Jignesh Patel
Seller: Michael S. Murphy
Date: 08/21/20

129 Lincoln St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Jacob A. Sanborn
Seller: Barbara A. Sanborn
Date: 08/27/20

33 Mosher St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Maryory Ardila
Seller: Peter M. Grimaldi
Date: 08/24/20

100 Myron St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Hann Realty Berkshire LLC
Seller: Pennock Co.
Date: 08/20/20

90 Nelson Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Meshach B. Poi
Seller: Nicholas A. Bull
Date: 08/27/20

17 Neptune Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Lemuel P. Burrell
Seller: Suraya Kapitonova
Date: 08/24/20

147 North Blvd.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Gail L. Gonyea
Seller: James Richardson
Date: 08/31/20

8 Northwood Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Puspa L. Darjee
Seller: William V. Torres
Date: 08/27/20

29 Peachstone Glen
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $366,000
Buyer: Mark E. Mangini
Seller: Jean L. Bradley
Date: 08/28/20

48 West School St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Michael S. Santaniello
Seller: Sergey Kucherenko
Date: 08/31/20

68 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Laguercia Family LP
Seller: Lazy River Housing Co. LLC
Date: 08/17/20

1290 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Nicole M. Hernandez
Seller: Carlos H. Melendez
Date: 08/20/20

2063 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: MAA Property LLC
Seller: Angela A. Ciancotti
Date: 08/25/20

66 Westwood Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Steven A. Shapiro
Seller: Gary D. Parmentier
Date: 08/28/20

90 Wistaria St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Jessica Laureano
Seller: Mark D. Lussier
Date: 08/28/20

WESTFIELD

2 Ascutney Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $134,000
Buyer: Nico Paolucci
Seller: Ievgenii Gusiev
Date: 08/24/20

32 Birch Bluffs Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Shahzaib Siddiqui
Seller: Alvina Antonovschi
Date: 08/21/20

35 Camelot Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $745,000
Buyer: Darren Lecrenski
Seller: Robert A. Paul
Date: 08/24/20

22 Day Lily Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $820,000
Buyer: Yasser Hussain
Seller: Julia Minchuk
Date: 08/20/20

32 Evergreen Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: James E. Laconte
Seller: Francis Wheeler Construction
Date: 08/18/20

5 Fairview St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Maryna Sukhyna
Seller: Alexandr A. Filev
Date: 08/19/20

14 Hanover St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $193,000
Buyer: Armando Cruz
Seller: Richard B. Spitzer
Date: 08/31/20

5 Harrison Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Michael D. Jones
Seller: Bush, Arlene A., (Estate)
Date: 08/24/20

8 Harrison Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Krystal Slawski
Seller: Samantha A. Shea
Date: 08/31/20

21 Highland View St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Keyla A. Fernandez
Seller: Tina Osowski
Date: 08/17/20

27 Jeanne Marie Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $471,500
Buyer: Luiza Tereshchuk
Seller: Aaron J. Allard
Date: 08/28/20

109 Joseph Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Jeevan Kafley
Seller: Donald P. Burland
Date: 08/31/20

15 Linda Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $368,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Guyott
Seller: Paul M. Bovat
Date: 08/31/20

15 Montgomery St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Nicole Godard
Seller: Irina Kazimirets
Date: 08/25/20

12 New Broadway
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $359,900
Buyer: McKenzie M. Schmidt
Seller: David Garstka Builders LLC
Date: 08/28/20

29 Parker Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $143,500
Buyer: Michael P. Sears
Seller: Belville, Noelle, (Estate)
Date: 08/31/20

165 Ridgeview Ter.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Vladimir Cobileanschi
Seller: Anna V. Jakus
Date: 08/20/20

12 South Maple St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Cody C. Gonyea
Seller: Demetrios Kanavaros
Date: 08/24/20

28 Shepard St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $187,000
Buyer: Anthony F. Lefemine
Seller: William J. Golen
Date: 08/28/20

29 Spruce St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $279,900
Buyer: Celine E. Dagenais
Seller: Michael E. Stroshine
Date: 08/21/20

52 Squawfield Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: John W. Pignatare
Seller: Adina A. Pignatare
Date: 08/25/20

119 Valley View Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $479,900
Buyer: Connor Hedge
Seller: Travis J. Koske
Date: 08/17/20

425 West Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: David Christensen
Seller: Eileen M. Beal
Date: 08/27/20

191 Western Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Stephen Crabtree
Seller: Christopher P. Whalley
Date: 08/27/20

WILBRAHAM

172 3 Rivers Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Dominic Dobrzycki
Seller: Roger E. Paull
Date: 08/27/20

2423 Boston Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Northeast Automotive Realty
Seller: Kim R. Baker
Date: 08/17/20

8 Glenn Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Zachary Jackson-Chaffee
Seller: Elizabeth Maturin
Date: 08/21/20

4 Longview Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $399,000
Buyer: Shawn Jiles
Seller: David M. Folli
Date: 08/31/20

632 Springfield St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Travis J. Bell
Seller: Eagle Home Buyers LLC
Date: 08/28/20

1080 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Courtney M. Lafreniere
Seller: Revampit LLC
Date: 08/19/20

7 Sunnyside Ter.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Alexander T. Fagan
Seller: Ana C. Serrenho
Date: 08/27/20

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

90 Belchertown Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Alexandra Barlow
Seller: Colleen A. Champ
Date: 08/17/20

115 Blackberry Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Andrea J. Boulanger
Seller: Huanye Hu
Date: 08/17/20

27 Canterbury Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Alexandra Steinhauer
Seller: Aaron D. Julien
Date: 08/20/20

19 Chapel Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Roberta J. Uno
Seller: Gregory D. Zimmerman
Date: 08/21/20

75 Cherry Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Michael V. Lariccia
Seller: Edward Levine RET
Date: 08/19/20

34 Country Corners Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $720,000
Buyer: Timothy P. Schmitt
Seller: Casey FT
Date: 08/28/20

180 East Leverett Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $567,750
Buyer: Nahoma Clinton
Seller: Amir Mikhchi
Date: 08/27/20

91 Hulst Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Jonatan Steenbrink
Seller: Sandra J. Wentworth
Date: 08/26/20

97 Hulst Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Sarah R. Vincelett
Seller: Kim M. Deshields
Date: 08/21/20

472 North Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $12,500,000
Buyer: University Of Massachusetts
Seller: Roman Catholic Bishop
Date: 08/20/20

251-253 Pelham Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Ryan Karb
Seller: Eve T. Melnechuk
Date: 08/28/20

474 Station Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Louis G. Arnos
Seller: Neal C. Crago
Date: 08/18/20

35 The Hollow
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Megan M. Frestadt
Seller: Amy S. Bush
Date: 08/27/20

37 The Hollow
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $323,000
Buyer: Brian D. Mulak
Seller: Nina S. Mentin
Date: 08/27/20

64 West Pomeroy Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Patrick M. Drumm
Seller: Michael S. Rudd
Date: 08/18/20

19 White Pine Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Suresh V. Patel
Seller: Dragan Curcija
Date: 08/27/20

57 Woodside Ave.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $975,000
Buyer: Brittany L. Crow-Miller
Seller: Alexander W. Hiam
Date: 08/21/20

BELCHERTOWN

256 Cold Spring Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Theresa A. Przybylowicz
Seller: Jonathan G. Martins
Date: 08/25/20

18 Crestview Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $357,500
Buyer: Brian Rodriguez
Seller: Marcus P. Lafountain
Date: 08/17/20

257 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $153,000
Buyer: Frederick E. Tilton
Seller: Steven P. Tilton
Date: 08/18/20

10 Hickory Hill
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Bruce S. Shainwald
Seller: Jimmy M. Lugo
Date: 08/21/20

80 Howard St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $226,000
Buyer: Jessica L. Minikowski
Seller: Therese E. Chabot
Date: 08/21/20

102 Jensen St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $279,900
Buyer: George Tinkelenberg
Seller: Quabbin Valley Property LLC
Date: 08/31/20

135 Mountain View Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $529,500
Buyer: Jacob Robinson
Seller: Diane C. Malachowski
Date: 08/28/20

11 Newton St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $322,500
Buyer: Monica A. Torres-Manzano
Seller: Raj K. Shahi
Date: 08/26/20

12 Newton St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Joann M. Lafountain
Seller: Jennifer McLeod
Date: 08/17/20

22 Pine Brook Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Ronald C. Motta
Seller: Jonathan P. Endelos
Date: 08/28/20

142 Rockrimmon St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $357,000
Buyer: Aaron M. Howland
Seller: Matthew T. Hoyle
Date: 08/19/20

Rockrimmon St. #7B
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $115,900
Buyer: Alexandre F. Mendes
Seller: Xingcheng Hua
Date: 08/21/20

Rockrimmon St. #7C
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $115,900
Buyer: Alexandre F. Mendes
Seller: Xingcheng Hua
Date: 08/21/20

16 South Liberty St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: James Mawson
Seller: Alan J. Jamilkowski
Date: 08/28/20

491 State St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Ronald H. Archambault
Seller: M. F. Archambault LT
Date: 08/28/20

6 Trillium Way
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Matthew Shadeed
Seller: Katrina R. Fitzpatrick
Date: 08/21/20

EASTHAMPTON

61 Clapp St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Jeffrey B. Wilga
Seller: Richard & Irma Warnock LT
Date: 08/28/20

13 Coed Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $294,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Chelotti
Seller: Paul Kearney
Date: 08/26/20

11 Droy Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Thomas Galko
Seller: Betsy Wright
Date: 08/20/20

13 Droy Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Juan Perez
Seller: Alexander D. Mackenzie
Date: 08/21/20

250 Hendrick St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $241,000
Buyer: Jodi L. Koomen-Bias
Seller: Chester J. Bara
Date: 08/17/20

18 Gaugh St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $331,500
Buyer: Samuel J. Hammerman
Seller: Lake Rentals LLC
Date: 08/31/20

26 Hisgen Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Chris C. Murphy
Seller: USA HUD
Date: 08/21/20

16 Howard Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Makenzie B. Mulcahy
Seller: Audrey E. Mercado
Date: 08/31/20

334 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Jayohm Inc.
Seller: Joseph Shu
Date: 08/27/20

9 Water Lane
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Taylor Real Estate Holding LLC
Seller: Woodlawn Construction LLC
Date: 08/31/20

GRANBY

73 Carver St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Carla L. Brodeur
Seller: Kotowicz Custom Homes LLC
Date: 08/21/20

68 Harris St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Raymond M. Sharick
Seller: Joseph A. Mercier
Date: 08/28/20

36 Pleasant St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $255,700
Buyer: Gina Brindisi
Seller: Laramee, Marilyn L., (Estate)
Date: 08/18/20

29 Truby St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Andrew W. Szczygiel
Seller: Terrence F. Szczygiel
Date: 08/28/20

HADLEY

108 Hockanum Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Jacob Drozdal-Miller
Seller: Mary E. Drozdal
Date: 08/31/20

34 Newton Lane
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $272,000
Buyer: Wade W. Vandoloski
Seller: Harry L. Vandoloski
Date: 08/28/20

HATFIELD

72 West St.
Hatfield, MA 01088
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Joseph N. Peltier
Seller: Joseph S. Barker
Date: 08/28/20

HUNTINGTON

9 Pond Brook Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $399,000
Buyer: Anna R. Meyerhoff
Seller: Mary A. Shipman
Date: 08/19/20

66 Searle Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $265,200
Buyer: Nathan A. Labay
Seller: Lone Creek Properties LLC
Date: 08/28/20

34 Worthington Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Colby M. Lurgio
Seller: Blanco Electric LLC
Date: 08/17/20

NORTHAMPTON

1 Amber Lane
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Iconica Social Club LLC
Seller: Emily Withenbury
Date: 08/18/20

32 Beacon St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Michael A. Cinelli
Seller: Hensley IRT
Date: 08/31/20

218 Cardinal Way
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Sharla Zwirek
Seller: Rhonda J. Venne
Date: 08/28/20

218 Coles Meadow Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Kristen A. Beam
Seller: John N. McCarthy
Date: 08/27/20

8 Conz St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Jaime Taylor
Seller: Slattery, Clara, (Estate)
Date: 08/27/20

35 Day Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Jacqueline H. Baron
Seller: Daphne S. Joubran
Date: 08/25/20

175 Grove St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Ella Reily-Stocker
Seller: Thomas J. Colo
Date: 08/17/20

37 Hatfield St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Kathleen Doherty
Seller: Patricia Duffy
Date: 08/31/20

64 Kennedy Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $620,000
Buyer: Pamela L. Hannon
Seller: Merle L. Taylor
Date: 08/24/20

9 Kingsley Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $471,000
Buyer: Nathan Sirota
Seller: TN Real Estate Group LLC
Date: 08/31/20

39 Landy Ave.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Nu-Way Homes Inc.
Seller: Prasol, Josephine C., (Estate)
Date: 08/18/20

31 Leeno Ter
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Brenda L. Flanigan
Seller: Maureen Ryan-Wise
Date: 08/31/20

16 Massasoit St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $850,000
Buyer: Aparajit Naram
Seller: John S. Hoops
Date: 08/31/20

197 North Maple St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $370,700
Buyer: Jennifer C. Green
Seller: Hilary B. Price LT
Date: 08/31/20

New St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Michael A. Cinelli
Seller: Lester Hensley
Date: 08/31/20

217 Park Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Steven R. Taylor
Seller: Jananne S. Cannon FT
Date: 08/20/20

73 Pioneer Knolls
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Susan L. Miller
Seller: Tobin, Beverly A., (Estate)
Date: 08/31/20

56 Ridgewood Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Mary J. Laforest
Seller: Ridgewood NT
Date: 08/20/20

603 Spring St.
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Gregory J. Wales
Seller: Christopher S. Kellogg
Date: 08/20/20

30 Ryan Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $286,000
Buyer: Elizabeth R. Meyersohn
Seller: Heather Hamel
Date: 08/28/20

374 South St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Loom Properties LLC
Seller: Ann C. Betters LT
Date: 08/28/20

PELHAM

51 Amherst Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: Theodore B. Streeter
Seller: Frank Ernest FT
Date: 08/18/20

SOUTH HADLEY

28 Bardwell St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Carlos Carrero
Seller: Roberts, Mona J., (Estate)
Date: 08/31/20

8 Gaylord St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: BBP Realty LLC
Seller: James A. Occhiuzzo
Date: 08/31/20

12 Lois Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Trisha Lerose
Seller: Geraldine A. Mastello
Date: 08/31/20

4 Lyon Green
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: J. N. Duquette &Son Construction
Seller: Mountain Brook LLC
Date: 08/26/20

32 Lyon Green
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: J. N. Duquette & Son Construction
Seller: Mountain Brook LLC
Date: 08/26/20

36 Lyon Green
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: J. N. Duquette &Son Construction
Seller: Mountain Brook LLC
Date: 08/26/20

54 McKinley Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Karen E. Smith
Seller: Dolores A. Stec
Date: 08/31/20

14 West Summit St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Brital 1987 LLC
Seller: John R. Guz
Date: 08/28/20

SOUTHAMPTON

107 Middle Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Kristin E. Gengler
Seller: Michael E. Smith
Date: 08/28/20

9 Quigley Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Wade E. Loud
Seller: Daviau & Robert Properties LLC
Date: 08/28/20

WARE

68 Beaver Lake Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Ryan S. Semione
Seller: Bruce N. French
Date: 08/31/20

24 Berkshire Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $243,500
Buyer: Devon A. Whitehead
Seller: USA VA
Date: 08/31/20

87 Church St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $184,800
Buyer: Kurt D. Staven
Seller: Freedom Mortgage Corp.
Date: 08/27/20

30 High St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Curtis A. Hayden
Seller: Christopher M. Robidoux
Date: 08/27/20

59 Old Poor Farm Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $168,000
Buyer: Ronald Riethle
Seller: Nicholas Markopoulos
Date: 08/26/20

102 Pleasant St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: Laurel Levy
Seller: Cheryl L. Carroll
Date: 08/20/20

10 Sczygiel Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Chelsea R. Beaulieu
Seller: Timothy R. Smith
Date: 08/20/20

83 Shoreline Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Lauren Maslon
Seller: Eric W. Tuller
Date: 08/21/20

15 Williston Dr.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $240,560
Buyer: FHLM
Seller: John E. Kos
Date: 08/25/20

WILLIAMSBURG

22 North Farms Road
Williamsburg, MA 01062
Amount: $360,500
Buyer: Pamela Field-Sadler
Seller: George E. Danziger
Date: 08/20/20

WESTHAMPTON

111 Kings Hwy.
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $372,000
Buyer: Gabrielle Vitiello
Seller: Katelyn C. Dutkiewicz
Date: 08/19/20

WORTHINGTON

141 Buffington Hill Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $255,600
Buyer: Karin I. Muller
Seller: Timothy J. Sena
Date: 08/27/20

328 Ridge Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $331,000
Buyer: Richard C. Millis
Seller: Christopher J. Chase
Date: 08/21/20

Building Permits

Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of August 2020. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

AMHERST

85 University Dr., LLC
85 University Dr.
$24,600 — Add front entrance and sidewalk to existing building

CHICOPEE

Elms College
147 Grape St.
$1,000 — Construct two hand guards on steps

GMZ Realty, LLC
137 Broadway
$52,000 — Roofing

GREENFIELD

Wood & Barrel Co.
427 Davis St.
$4,789 — Install fire-alarm system

LEE

Berkshire Corporate Realty, LLC
480 Pleasant St.
$6,000 — Install four windows

Great Green Theory Land, LLC
845 Pleasant St.
$1,100,000 — Site preparation for new building

LENOX

Adams Community Bank
7 Main St.
$263,489 — Interior renovation of first floor

Sarah Martinelli
2 Holmes Road
$317,220 — Convert existing bank building to specialty dental practice

NORTHAMPTON

Bermor, LP
25 Armory St.
$280,000 — Interior renovations

Central Chambers Realty Trust
16 Center St., #401
$5,000 — Repair walls

Colvest Northampton, LLC
303 King St.
$275,000 — Tenant fit-up for Starbucks

Nonotuck Mill, LLC
296 Nonotuck St.
$605,000 — Renovate lower level for Massachusetts Adaptive Technology Center

Smith College
46 College Lane
$98,000 — Demolish wall in Burton Hall for installation of new cold room

Stop & Shop
238 King St.
$800,000 — Renovate sales floor

PITTSFIELD

Lama Altagracia
263 Second St.
$38,700 — Brick veneer stabilization and restoration

Berkshire Crossing Retail, LLC
555 Hubbard Ave.
$13,850 — Separate existing wet sprinkler system into two zones at former Pier One Imports space

Centro Bradley Berkshire Crossing, LLC
555 Hubbard Ave.
$4,900 — Modify fire-alarm systems in tenant buildout for Spectrum/Charter

City of Pittsfield
55 Depot St.
$9,962 — McKay Parking Garage elevator recall system

Milltown Capital
101 Dan Fox Dr.
$1,424 — Selective demolition, maintenance, and repairs

Michael Phelps
19 Dalton Ave.
$17,000 — Remove and replace shingles off main and back porch

Shaker Community Inc.
1843 West Housatonic St.
$17,707 — Install fire-alarm system for trustees building

Wojtkowski Bros. Inc.
501 East St.
$133,500 — Renovate Suite 101 for use by Berkshire Health Systems as testing and call center

SPRINGFIELD

Astro Logistics, LLC
126 Memorial Dr.
$2,554,170 — Add pre-engineered building to side of existing building for business expansion of Astro Chemical

Baystate Medical Center Inc.
759 Chestnut St.
$17,609 — Alter space for an IT closet expansion on fifth floor of Daly Building

Gulmohbur 546 Sumner Corp.
544 Sumner Ave.
$35,000 — Repair roofing

Multicultural Community Services of the Pioneer Valley Inc.
1000 Wilbraham Road
$187,785 — Alter interior space on first floor

NE Enterprises, LLC
1200 West Columbus Ave.
$654,360 — Alter interior space for use as INSA cannabis retail store

Springfield Preparatory Charter School
2071 Roosevelt Ave.
$663,712 — Perform abatement and interior exploratory demolition for future buildout

Super Worcester, LLC
800 Worcester St.
$673,572 — Alter interior space at Super Brush for construction of new mezzanine in existing open storage space with office and production rooms below

WILBRAHAM

Town of Wilbraham
5 Spec Pond Way
$476,450 — Construct new rigid frame metal building, renovate existing utilities

Steve Lowell

He Has Plans to Retire, but No Plans to Scale Back His Involvement

Photo by Leah Martin Photography

When we talked with Steve Lowell back in January, he related just how familiar he became with the commute from Cape Cod to Upton in the middle of the state, where he lived, earlier in his career.

That’s because, while he was working for a bank on the Cape, he also became heavily involved in the community there — as part of his work, but mostly because giving back is his MO. He recalled that he was on the Cape so much, many people thought he lived there.

When we reconnected several days ago, Lowell was again talking about this commute, but from a different perspective.

Indeed, only days after he was introduced as a member of the Difference Makers class of 2020 in February, Lowell announced he would be retiring as president and CEO of Monson Savings Bank, effective early next year, and stepping into a role new for this institution — chairman of the board. He and his wife, Anne, are in the process of relocating to the Cape, but he now keeps a small apartment in Brookfield and is there three or four nights a week, because he’s not only neck-deep in the transition of leadership at the bank (Dan Moriarty, the long-time CFO at the bank, has been named his successor), he’s still active in this region. Make that very active.

And he intends to remain involved with a number of organizations in this region, which means he’ll doing that commuting thing again.

“I’ll be around,” he said with conviction, he said, noting that’s not certain how long he will continue those living arrangements in Brookfield. “One way or another, I’ll be around.”

And while his work and that of his team at MSB has been somewhat different because of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as handling PPP loan applications, the basic formula hasn’t changed, he said, meaning Monson continues to fill the many roles of a community bank — and continues to search for new growth opportunities in a heavily banked region.

“In spite of COVID, we’ve moving forward, and we’re looking to the future,” he told BusinessWest, noting that the institution recently opened a new branch in East Longmeadow. “We’re trying to build an organization that is resilient enough to withstand not only this but anything else that might happen.”

While working to build this organization, Lowell is transitioning into his new role as chairman, one that will translate into a good deal of mentoring and also helping to guide the bank through a period that will likely be much more difficult than the one it just went through.

“I think 2021 is going to be an extremely challenging year, so I’m happy to stay involved and lend whatever expertise I can to them to make sure we keep things going in a really positive way,” he said. “I’m excited about that; I’m honored that they thought that this would be helpful, and I’m looking forward to it; I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Meanwhile, as noted earlier, he will continue a career-long pattern of being heavily involved in the community, work that has involved nonprofits and institutions ranging from the United Way of Pioneer Valley to Link to Libraries; Baystate Health’s Eastern Region (Wing Memorial and Mary Lane hospitals) to the Western Mass. Economic Development Council (EDC).

“They’ve asked me to stay on for another year as chairman of the board of the Baystate Health Eastern Region,” he said. “And I just got asked by Rick Sullivan [president and CEO of the EDC] to continue on as treasurer — he said, ‘even though you’re going to be down on the Cape, can you stay on as treasurer?’ And I said, ‘as long as you’ll have me.’”

That request, and his answer in the affirmative, both speak to why Lowell is a member of this Difference Makers class of 2020. He’s almost always said ‘yes’ when asked to serve, and, more importantly, he usually didn’t wait to be asked.

He noted that, as he was arriving in this region in the late spring of 2011, the region — and Main Street in Monson — were hit, and hit hard, by a tornado. And as he’s retiring — at least from his role as president and CEO — the world, and Main Street in Monson, are being hit, and hit hard, by a pandemic.

“People might be happy to see me go,” he joked.

That’s certainly not the case. Even more to the point, he won’t be going anywhere soon, except for that commute he knows all too well.

—George O’Brien

Ronn Johnson