August 4, 2021 - BusinessWest

SPRINGFIELD — The city of Springfield and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority (SRA) announced they will utilize funding designated for eligibility of economic development from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to acquire properties for redevelopment in alignment with the Main Street and Convention Center Master Plan.

The properties that the city and SRA will purchase are 113-115 State St., 1139-1155 Main St., and 11-21 Stockbridge St. In 2019, all of the properties were put under the control of Freedom Credit Union and participatory lenders. Due to the city’s concerns that potential investors would not invest in or appropriately tenant them, Mayor Domenic Sarno and Chief Development Officer Tim Sheehan reached out to Freedom Credit Union to discuss plans to acquire the properties for redevelopment.

The assessed value for the properties are $1,318,900 for 113-115 State St., $2,105,000 for 1139-1155 Main St., and $303,400 for 11-21 Stockbridge St. The properties were listed for sale for $5 million, and the city and SRA will purchase them for $2,750,000.

“This investment will greatly benefit my administration’s vision of enhancing our downtown district and ensures that that these key properties will not be underutilized or underdeveloped by questionable investors who would have no intentions of properly investing in our city and finding appropriate tenants for this prime real-estate area,” Sarno said.

Sheehan added that the proactive acquisition of these properties has thwarted the adverse impacts of further speculative investment in the real estate surrounding MGM Springfield from occurring, and will ensure that these properties will be reintroduced to the market in a manner consistent with their importance to the economic vitality of the area immediately surrounding the casino, as well as the development objectives of the Main Street and Convention Center Master Plan, as approved by the City Council.”

From May to October 2020, the city conducted extensive due diligence on the buildings and in May 2020 signed a letter of intent to acquire the properties. In June 2020, the SRA approved the purchase and sale agreement, and in July 2020, the agreement was executed. Currently, the city is in a 90-day due-diligence period prior to closing. The SRA will be the owner on record for these properties.

The Dowd Agencies Restructures Financial-services Division

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Daily News

HOLYOKE — The Dowd Agencies, LLC, a leading insurance provider serving New England for more than 120 years, has restructured its financial-services division to provide more focused services to its clients. The former Dowd Financial Services has been divided into two divisions: Dowd Wealth Management and Dowd Employee Benefits.

“We are very excited about this restructuring. Separating these divisions allows us to more expediently meet the needs of our customers,” said John Dowd Jr., president and CEO of the Dowd Agencies. “In addition, our offerings have expanded. As a full-service financial and insurance agency, we are able to now provide our customers with a more diverse and broad range of needed services.”

Dowd Wealth Management will replace the financial arm of Dowd Financial Services, offering financial consultation relative to retirement planning and investments. Dowd Employee Benefits will center around both group and individual health, dental, life, and an assortment of ancillary products. Both divisions will serve individuals and businesses.

“With such a large client base, this became a necessary split,” said Jon Lumbra, chief financial officer. “This business decision is a testament to both our company’s growth and our commitment to offering professional and personalized service. We want both our commercial and personal clients to know we can serve them in a broader capacity, and this expansion is the perfect way to announce it.”

Canary Blomstrom Insurance Agency Merges with GoodWorks Financial Group

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Daily News

AGAWAM — Canary Blomstrom Insurance Agency recently became a member of GoodWorks Financial Group, a national network of insurance agencies, according to Canary Blomstrom President Sandy Brodeur. The agency will retain its name, staff, and Agawam location, and Brodeur will continue to serve as president.

By joining GoodWorks, Canary Blomstrom will partner with Wheeler & Taylor Insurance of Great Barrington to broaden its insurance offerings locally, regionally, and nationally. Wheeler & Taylor is GoodWorks Financial’s flagship national agency.

“With this new arrangement, we can provide additional insurance products; offer new, specialized expertise; and represent more insurance companies,” Brodeur said. “And we’ll still offer the same great, personal hometown service.”

The move is a win for all parties, said Chad Yonker, chairman of GoodWorks Financial Group,

“By partnering with Wheeler & Taylor and GoodWorks, Canary Blomstrom can do even more for its personal and business customers,” he noted. “Local decision making combined with national resources creates a unique opportunity for companies like CB to preserve their heritage and commitment to the local community while at the same time significantly expanding their access to resources, product sets, and expertise.”

Canary Blomstrom offers all types of personal insurance, including home, auto, renters’, and boat insurance. It sells life, long-term-care, and disability insurance and annuities. Products for businesses and nonprofits include all types of commercial property and casualty insurance and employee-benefits insurance, including group health and dental plans and voluntary benefits.

The Big E Calls on Crafters, Cooks, and Other Creative Artists to Submit Entries

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Daily News

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Have you been sewing up a storm, creating other crafts over the past year, or discovering new, delicious recipes? The Creative Arts Department at the Big E is looking for entries in a variety of categories for this year’s fair.

Now is your chance for your art to be on display alongside hundreds of works from a diverse range of exhibitors, including youth and adults. Fairgoers walk through the New England Center to admire the beautiful displays of exhibitors’ crafts from numerous departments, including quilting, knitting, jewelr and beading, dolls, holiday ornaments, jellies, honey, homemade granola, baked pie, decorated fake cake, scroll saw, and many more.

The deadline to enter for most departments is Monday, Aug. 16. Entries must be dropped off or mailed in prior to the fair. Exhibitors have the chance to receive awards and ribbons. Entries will be on display for the duration of the Big E, which runs Sept. 17 to Oct. 3.

More information regarding rules, department-specific guidelines, entry limits, fees, deadlines, receiving dates, and how to enter can be found at www.thebige.com/p/competitions/creative-arts. Any questions may be directed to [email protected] or (413) 205-5015.

A Roundtable Discussion About the Forces That Will Shape What’s to Come

By George O'Brien August 4, 2021

Cover Story

The Road Ahead

In late May, after 15 months of living through a global pandemic, the state entered into a phrase the governor called “a new normal.” A few months later, most businesspeople would say this ‘normal’ isn’t everything they expected or wanted. Indeed, while business has picked up in many sectors, from hospitality to healthcare, there are myriad challenges facing the business community, from what can only be called a workforce crisis to shortages of goods and rising prices; from a new and very potent strain of the coronavirus to issues with when and how to bring employees back to the office. To get a sense of where things are and, especially, where we may be headed, BusinessWest convened a panel of area business leaders — Deborah Bitsoli, president of Mercy Medical Center; Harry Dumay, president of Elms College; Patrick Leary, a partner with MP CPAs; Elizabeth Paquette, president of Rock Valley Tool in Easthampton; Tom Senecal, president and CEO of PeoplesBank; and Edison Yee, a principal of the Bean Restaurant Group. Their answers to a series of questions on the economy and the forces shaping it are certainly eye-opening.

BusinessWest: How is the process of returning to ‘normal’ proceeding at your business?

Bitsoli: “It does appear that patients are coming back; our Emergency Department is really returning back to the volumes it had before the pandemic. On the surgical side, the same thing is occurring. I do think there is a lot of caution about the fall, but for the time being, patients are seeking the appropriate level of care, including a lot of the screenings they put off. That’s the good news in terms of a public-health policy standpoint. At the hospital, we’re still wearing masks, and we’re still relying heavily on Webex; we have some meetings face to face, but we still have masks on. As for returning to normal, we continue to have a focus on patient safety, and we have an expansion planned in our Emergency Department. Overall, we are trying to return to normal, but everyone is looking to the fall, and there is caution there. The one big difficulty is hiring staff.”

Dumay: “At the college, ‘normal’ for us would mean getting back to the high-touch, nurturing, vibrant, in-person environment for teaching and learning. Returning to normal means having everyone on campus in the same mode we had pre-pandemic. The process for preparing for that is the same as we had last year, with the ElmsSafe Plan for making sure that employees and students are safe. That begins with a level of vaccination that we need to accomplish. That’s why we came out very early and required vaccinations for our students and employees. The challenges are to ensure that we’re getting to that level of vaccination that the state considers optimal for campuses, which is roughly 90%. We are gearing up for the fall, to have full in-person learning and all of our faculty and staff on campus. We have a task force that is meeting on a regular basis to come up with all the elements of the ElmsSafe plan so that we can make sure our campus is safe and as back to ‘normal’ as possible.”

Harry Dumay

“For the traditional undergraduate, first-time freshman, we had a record deposit year, and we are looking at potentially a record enrollment year for first-time freshmen, so that has come back better than it was before.”

Leary: “We have found that our biggest challenge to returning to normal is a big investment in software. When we all went remote in March of 2020, we found the flaws in our system, we found out where we were falling down and where our system couldn’t handle the stress of people working remotely, etc. So we had a big investment in software across the board — we’ve replaced really all of our systems, so we met the challenge of not only keeping up with workload, but having people keep up with workload while also learning new software. The other challenge involves getting back to the office; being a CPA, we can work from just about anywhere — I can be in my office, or I can be sitting in the Caribbean, which, unfortunately, is not what I’m doing now. This presents us with a lot of challenges. We have a very young workforce — half our staff is 30 or younger — so they’re very much tuned into the social aspects of being in the office and like being in the office, which is great. Our greatest challenge is going to be how we incorporate our client-service work with the protocols of each of our clients; each one presents its own unique circumstances — our staff can’t be stagnant and say ‘this is how we’re going to do things.’

Paquette: “We’re a machine shop that manufactures parts for aerospace, defense, sports, and leisure, blow-mold and extrusion. When everything hit in the spring of 2020, we were getting letters from larger customers saying ‘you can’t shut down — you have to stay working.” So we were very busy, but at the same time, we had seven of our 43 employees leave for one reason or another due to COVID, so we had this intense workload, and we had to scrounge and fill the gaps in our workforce. And then, in mid-June, our largest aerospace customer said, ‘we don’t have anything to send anymore,’ and by the end of the summer, we had laid off a total of 13. Now, with things a little more normalized, we’ve been able to bring back some of those we had to lay off. So when we talk about returning to normal, we’re just trying to work our way through this crisis and keep people’s mental health in mind and … just keep working.”

Senecal: “Overall, I don’t know if ‘normal’ is the right word at this point — it certainly is a new normal. We’re going back to a hybrid method for our workforce — we’re going to allow people to work from home as well as work in our building. I’m a firm believer in culture, and I’m a firm believer in some sort of work in the office. The challenges with that hybrid workforce include dealing with office space — that’s going to affect a lot of our customers — and technology needs; how do we adapt to technology, and how do we use technology? One of the biggest ones is communicating expectations when you go to a hybrid model — how do you communicate with people expectations of what is expected of them, for meetings, for hours worked, for a lot of things? How do you evaluate good performance from a remote-workforce perspective? Those are all a challenge. Also, getting people comfortable with and without facemasks — we’re going back to work in this new normal, and people aren’t sure of the expectations when it comes to facemasks. It’s challenging getting people comfortable in those settings.

Tom Senecal

“I think we’re all going in the right direction, and there’s nothing but good news ahead as long as inflation stays in check.”

Yee: “For restaurants, it’s a new normal as well. Outdoor dining is very much prevalent, but customers are starting to return to the dining rooms. And while they are beginning to feel more comfortable doing so, not everyone has made that transition — although a lot of them have. Our late-night business has not come back yet, but we feel that might change as time progresses. But to be frank, it was a messy way to get into COVID, and coming out of it has been messy as well, with lots of disruption in supply chain, with labor shortages, and other issues. We’re adjusting, as we always do, in the restaurant business, with much more takeout business as part of our overall sales, and with using technology to help us smooth out the rough edges from not having enough frontline workers.”

BusinessWest: How has this year been business-wise, and what is your forecast for the rest of this year?

Bitsoli: “Business is almost back to normal, but it will very interesting to see what happens in the fall when we hit flu season and everyone goes back into the office. And we still have a large number of people who haven’t been vaccinated. Directionally, we’re moving back to normal, but everyone is looking to see what happens when we migrate back inside. Internally, while the volumes of business have returned, people are tired because of the duration of this and the expectation of what’s going to happen in the fall. So we’re investing a lot of resources right now in things like a Zen room, spot yoga, massage chairs … so that is a new normal for us in terms of something we’re going to need to continue on with until we come to the end of this pandemic.”

Dumay: “For the traditional undergraduate, first-time freshman, we had a record deposit year, and we are looking at potentially a record enrollment year for first-time freshmen, so that has come back better than it was before. For continuing-education students, those who come to us from community colleges, that’s a population that often doesn’t enroll until the last minute, so we’re still watching that, but it looks a little softer than it had been previously. And graduate-school enrollment is very much looking to be a record year in terms of enrollment. One area where students and families may still be hesitating is a return to residential living.”

Yee: “For restaurants, we like to compare numbers to 2019, our last ‘normal’ year. And for quarter one, it was lower, when you’re looking at year-over-year numbers. It wasn’t until the vaccinations reached the general population that things started improving; in the second quarter, the sales have bounced back to a much higher level, better than 2019. We anticipate that this trend will continue.

Edison Yee

“We’re very optimistic about the last two quarters of the year and going into 2022. We’ve seen a lot of positive results during this summer, which is traditionally our slower time of year. It’s been a very strong summer to date and much higher than 2019 levels.”

Paquette: “While we had lost work in aerospace, we’ve started to see some of it comes back. For us, workload is good and steady, and we project that this will continue through the rest of the year. The workload is good for the number of people we have.”

Senecal: “In the past 18 months, our deposits are through the roof. We are up more than 35% in a little over a year. And the balances are not going down. As we talk about demand and this influx of demand and a surge in spending, I’m not seeing it from people’s deposit accounts — those numbers are not going down. We’re up over a little more than $1 billion over the past 18 months in deposits. That’s a function of a lot of things — PPP money, stimulus money, people not going out and spending. We have an enormous amount of money in the system, and the government continues to put money into the economy. That adjusts to inflation, and that’s showing up everywhere in our economy — food, transportation, supplies, inventory, computer chips … it’s showing up everywhere, and I think it’s going to have an impact. We see good times ahead as long as inflation can be kept in check and interest rates stay relatively low.”

Leary: “The need for our services greatly increased in 2020 because of the PPP program and other initiatives and trying to help clients understand the rules, what qualifies for forgiveness, and so on. There was great demand for our services, and it’s continued into this year. As for our customers … most of them are doing OK post-pandemic, but I’m concerned that the federal money that these businesses have received is masking how they are doing financially. And as demand starts to grow, will these businesses be able to find the staffing to supply the products and provide the services?

BusinessWest: That’s a good segue to the next question. Attracting and retaining workers has become the dominant challenge for 2021. How has your business been impacted?

Yee: “There is virtually no one applying for jobs, and the people we do have working are tired from working extended hours, so we’re trying to give them breaks by closing an extra day during the week or sometimes two, which we’ve never done in the past. But we’ve found that’s one of the only ways we can deal with this labor shortage — giving people some extra time for that work-life balance.

Senecal: “I received a résumé the other day from a headhunter for a position we were looking to fill … the person was very well-qualified and has all the right skill sets. But in big, bold letters on the résumé, it said this person is only interested in working remotely. I don’t think I’ve ever seen on that on a résumé before, but it’s an indication of the world to come.”

Patrick Leary

“I’m optimistic about the rest of 2021 and 2022, at least the first half. It will be interesting when the government programs start to dry up and slow down and we see how people react to that when it comes to their spending habits.”

Leary: “We’re seeing the same thing many of our customers are seeing. As tax laws change and accounting rules change, we have a great demand for people, and it’s not for entry-level people, but more experienced people. And it’s very challenging to find them. But what we’ve found is that, because of the ability to work remotely, instead of searching for someone and saying, ‘we want you to work in our Springfield office or our Connecticut office,’ we can say, ‘you can work anywhere in the country — we have the ability to let you work wherever you want.’”

Dumay: “I haven’t looked at the comparisons closely, but it certainly seems, anecdotally, that we have more open positions than we normally have. For some, we’re seeing good pools of candidates, and for others, the pools are not as strong as we would like. So in many ways, we’re like everyone else. There is a higher level of vacancy at the college, and for many positions, the pool of applicants is simply not as robust.”

Bitsoli: “From a business standpoint, the thing that’s very different for us and most all businesses is the staffing. It really is different. There are people who retired early, people who decided to change career paths … so we’re dealing with quite a few staffing challenges, like everyone else. One of the things I’ve heard anecdotally is that, because of the incentives being offered by the state, for people at a lower level, like dietary, housekeeping, nurse aides, and other positions, it’s almost better for them financially to stay at home than it is to work. I’ve also heard anecdotally that there’s a group of people that are gathering resilience over the summer, and they plan on coming back after Labor Day.”

BusinessWest: What are the forces — workforce, inflation, inventory, COVID, and more — that will determine where the local economy goes?

Senecal: “I think we’re all going in the right direction, and there’s nothing but good news ahead as long as inflation stays in check. Businesses are opening and growing, and with the levels of demand we’re seeing, that’s a good problem to have. And I think things will start to open up from a supply-chain perspective. We talked a little about unemployment benefits ending in September; let’s see if that pushes people back to work and brings the labor situation closer to normal. Overall, as long as COVID stays under control and we don’t go back to shutdowns — such shutdowns are devastating for the economy — I feel very positive about the fourth quarter and going into 2022.”

Dumay: “I second that optimism and emphasize the ‘as long as’ comment regarding COVID. The only thing that is sobering or bringing caution to my optimism is the slowdown in the rate of vaccination across the country, especially in areas of the country where it’s very low. Also, with the CDC looking at potential mask mandates and people getting alarmed about another surge … that could slow down what is looking to be an optimistic time and an opportunity to really get back to normal.”

Yee: “We’re very optimistic about the last two quarters of the year and going into 2022. We’ve seen a lot of positive results during this summer, which is traditionally our slower time of year. It’s been a very strong summer to date and much higher than 2019 levels. We’re really positive about what’s to come, but there are many challenges that could slow things down moving forward, like labor shortages, inflation, and supply-chain disruptions … those are all major concerns. We’re eager for everyone to get to normal so we can see a higher level of business than we have and, we hope the pent-up demand generates business across the area.”

Bitsoli: “People are looking for optimism, and I think as long as the economy holds out, and if we can get more people vaccinated, things should continue to improve. With the new variants out there are certainly concerns, and there are questions about whether the vaccines are going to continue to keep people healthy even when they’re exposed to the variants and keep them out of the hospitals and from getting severe complications.”

Deborah Bitsoli

“As a leader, what I’ve learned is the importance of that human connection. We’ve all talked about the fact that Webex is great from a technology standpoint, but that relationship building and that ability to look someone in the eye … I really realize that there’s something to that, and it’s quite big.”

Paquette: “It’s really business as usual for us now. Our biggest concern is trying to hire people who are skilled — which means we’re like everyone else. But we’re seeing a lot of people who are interested in growing their skill set, and that, to me, is a positive; I’ve never had as many people enrolled in school and training programs as we do now. We’re rebuilding, we’re in a good space, and we’re growing. It feels much different than a year ago.”

Elizabeth Paquette

“I had to spend a chunk of my time with a remote first-grader, so I had that stress at home while trying to be at work. So I found that employees function better if we’re able to meet them where they’re at.”

Leary: “I’m optimistic about the rest of 2021 and 2022, at least the first half. It will be interesting when the government programs start to dry up and slow down and we see how people react to that when it comes to their spending habits. But as we heard, deposits are way up, which means people have money to spend; they have disposable income. So I think people will start to spend as they get out and feel more comfortable going to restaurants or getting on an airplane. I see that continuing for the next year or so, but who knows after that what will happen? We need to have supplies free up, and we need to push for everyone to get vaccinated.”

BusinessWest: Finally, what have you learned during this pandemic, and how has this made you a different and perhaps better leader?

Bitsoili: “As a leader, what I’ve learned is the importance of that human connection. We’ve all talked about t the fact that Webex is great from a technology standpoint, but that relationship building and that ability to look someone in the eye … I really realize that there’s something to that, and it’s quite big. Also, I knew this before, but now I really know it: you really have to lead from the heart because employees want to feel the empathy and the caring from leadership. Lastly, it’s visibility and the ability to connect with people on their turf and really be able to listen to issues and immediately follow up with resolution. These are all things I knew, but this pandemic has caused me to reflect and overemphasize the need to do those things.”

Dumay: “I realized the importance of connecting with the people with whom I work, the faculty and staff at Elms College, and be present and pay attention to what people are experiencing and have that be relevant to my decision making. Also, I’ve learned the importance of giving people some answers, even if they don’t have the complete answer. There was a lot of uncertainty during the past year, and people were looking for the leaders of organizations to provide some answers. For someone who likes to completely process things and share them when they’re finalized, I had to learn to provide answers that are sometimes incomplete and need to be finalized. That was important to me.”

Leary: “One thing that I learned is that each person is very unique with regard to what their circumstances are — they might be a single parent with high-school children, or they may have a newborn … there are so many factors, and we can’t have a one-size-fits-all policy. We have to be flexible when it comes to work-life balance.”

Paquette: “I had to spend a chunk of my time with a remote first-grader, so I had that stress at home while trying to be at work. So I found that employees function better if we’re able to meet them we’re they’re at. Everything was remote to me outside the shop, but in the shop, it just seemed important that people had someone that they could look to make them feel better. We definitely improved our transparency with employees to let them know where we were at. It was probably so scary to see so many people laid off, some by choice, but some by our choice. I held meetings with people just so they would know what was going on and that they had as much information as I had in that moment. And the response was pretty good. Most people stayed, and they kept at it at a time when it was hard to keep at it.”

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

Accountants Reflect on a Long, Trying Time — and Look Ahead

By George O'Brien August 4, 2021

Accounting and Tax Planning Special Coverage

Doing the Math

Joe Bova compared the past 18 months in the accounting profession to “trying to sail a ship while you’re building that ship.”

For accountants, the past 18 months have been a time of change, challenge, and adapting to everything from new ways of doing business to new responsibilities with clients to ever-changing tax laws. Looking forward, they note that many of these changes are permanent in nature.

It’s been called the ‘never-ending tax season.’

That’s just one of the many colorful ways those in the accounting sector have chosen to describe the past 18 months or so, a time of change, challenge, learning, and adapting — for them and for their clients.

Indeed, this time of COVID-19 has been marked by everything from changing tax laws to fluid filing deadlines; from new responsibilities, such as helping clients handle PPP and SBA loan paperwork, to changes when it comes to where and how work gets done; from a greater reliance on technology to the acceleration of a shift in accounting toward a more advisory role as opposed to merely adding up numbers.

Summing it all up, Joseph Bova, CPA, CVA, CGMA, a partner with Northampton-based Bova Harrington & Associates, said navigating all this has been “like trying to sail a ship while you’re building the ship.”

Nick Lapier, CPA, a partner with West Springfield-based LaPier Dillon, used phraseology from sports (sort of), but more from politics.

“It’s very hard for us to focus on our work when the government kept moving the goalposts.”

“It’s very hard for us to focus on our work when the government kept moving the goalposts,” he said, referring to the many changes in tax laws — some coming in the middle of tax season — and moving of filing deadlines. “For some people who filed their tax returns early, we then found ourselves amending those returns because they changed some of the rules. And some we didn’t file because we hoped they would change the rules.

“The end zone kept moving,” he went on. “We’d be on the 10-yard line, work really hard, and still be on the 10-yard line. There are 50 sovereign states that have the right to tax, so if you have clients filing tax returns in multiple states, each state was also possibly changing their laws and moving the goalposts.”

As the calendar turns to August, those we spoke with said this has been a time for many at area firms to catch their breath and take some of the vacation days they didn’t take last year or earlier this year. It’s also a time to reflect on what has transpired and what likely lies ahead in terms of the lessons learned and which of the changes seen over the past year and half are more permanent than temporary in nature.

Nick Lapier says a taxing period for all accountants was exacerbated by the federal and state governments constantly “moving the goalposts.”

Julie Quink, CPA, CFE, managing partner of West Springfield-based Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C., said her firm, like most others, is not simply turning back the clock to late 2019 when it comes to returning to something approaching normal, especially when it comes to how and where business is conducted. She said most employees have returned to the office, but moving forward, there will be even more flexibility when it comes to schedules and working remotely because of what’s been learned over the past 18 months.

“We’re not going to dial back to everyone needing to be here those static hours of 8:30 to 5,” she noted. “I’m a glass-half-full person, and if there is a positive from the past 16 or 17 months that we’ve been dealing with, it’s taught us that we need to be more flexible, more mobile, and more adaptable — and understand that people don’t have to be actually sitting in their offices to get their job done.”

Meanwhile, Lapier told BusinessWest that many accountants, himself included, spent far less time meeting face-to-face with clients in 2020 and early 2021, and he expects that trend to continue.

“This current generation lives in the digital world; they don’t need to see people — they transact their personal and their business life electronically,” he explained. “What has changed because of COVID is that all the prior generations have adopted that same mentality — not 100%, but a heck of a lot more than before the pandemic.”

Howard Cheney, CPA, MST, a partner at Holyoke-based Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C. and director of the firm’s Audit and Accounting Services, agreed, while noting, as others did, that the pandemic in many ways accelerated a trend within the industry toward accountants shifting to roles that are more advisory in nature, with a greater focus on the future than the numbers from the past quarter or two.

“I’m a glass-half-full person, and if there is a positive from the past 16 or 17 months that we’ve been dealing with, it’s taught us that we need to be more flexible, more mobile, and more adaptable — and understand that people don’t have to be actually sitting in their offices to get their job done.”

“Accounting has for many years been an historical-look-back kind of thing,” said Cheney, part of an executive committee now managing the firm. “With the speed that people can now get data, they don’t need us to tell them about what happened six months ago; they need us to tell them what’s going to happen six months from now and help them interpret that.”

For this issue and its focus on accounting and tax planning, BusinessWest talked with several CPAs about the never-ending tax season, which still hasn’t ended — many are still dealing with a large number of extensions, many of them resulting from changing tax laws — and what will come next in a sector that has been taxed (yes, that’s an industry term) by this pandemic, and in all kinds of ways.

A Taxing Time

Chris Nadeau, CMA, CPA, CVA said he spent most of the past April — the height of tax season — in Florida. And hardly any of his clients knew he was working and handling their needs from more than 1,000 miles away.

Among the many lessons learned from COVID, Julie Quink says, is the need for more flexibility in when and where people work.

“No one would have known unless I told them,” said Nadeau, a director with Hartford-based Whittlesey, which has offices locally in Holyoke, adding that he would never have considered such a working arrangement prior to the pandemic, but COVID provided ample proof that a CPA doesn’t have to share an area with a client to get the work done.

This anecdote speaks volumes about just how profoundly the landscape has changed in the accounting and tax-planning world over the past year and a half. There have been a number of seismic shifts, and where people work is just one of them, said Nadeau, who has come to his office on Bobala Road in Holyoke only a few times since St. Patrick’s Day of 2020 and was in on this day only to meet with BusinessWest.

Others we spoke with told of similar learning experiences during what has been a year and a half of acting and reacting to everything that has been thrown at them since those days in mid-March of last year when everyone — well, almost everyone — packed up and went home for what they thought would be a few weeks.

As everyone knows, that certainly wasn’t the case, and thus accountants, like all those in business, had to adjust to a new playing field, finding new and sometimes better ways to do things and communicate with clients and fellow team members alike.

“We had to reinvent our processes — how we communicated with the team and how we shared information back and forth, especially when working remotely,” said Lapier of those early days, noting that a three-month extension of the traditional April 15 filing deadline helped spread the work out and was a saving grace.

Bova agreed, noting that his firm of nine employees adjusted to the new landscape out of necessity, with investments in technology, a move to a paperless work process, Zoom meetings between employees and with clients, visits by appointment only, and other steps.

Moving forward, many of these new ways of doing things will continue, with perhaps the biggest being where people work. Indeed, most of the firms we spoke with said some variation of hybrid schedules will become the norm for at least some employees .

“In the future, there will be more hybrid work models, where people work in the office, but they do some work at home — I can see some real potential for that,” said Bova, adding that not all workers have returned to the office, and he’s not sure when they will. “We’re going to explore our options with this; there’s no need to deal with it in the summer — it will be more of a fall issue.”

Howard Cheney says the pandemic may have accelerated, or amplified, a shift within accounting to an advisory role, with more emphasis on the future than the past.

Cheney agreed. “We’ve been really flexible as a business with not requiring people to come back just yet,” he said, adding that most at the company have returned to their offices in the PeoplesBank building, but some are still working remotely. “The likelihood is that some kind of hybrid work schedule will be the future for our business.”

Whittlesey recently adopted a hybrid work policy, one that enables people to work “from wherever they will be most efficient,” said Nadeau, adding that most are finding it more efficient to work remotely, and they will continue to do so in the future.

“Some people are not coming in at all, and some are coming in a day or two a week,” he explained. “It’s ‘work where you need to for that day.’ Some employees have actually moved away to another state during COVID, so you could definitely call them ‘remote.’ And it’s been pretty seamless — and flawless.”

And this shift brings a number of benefits for the company, including a possible reduction of its physical footprint, he said, adding that it is likely that the firm will be able to downsize in Holyoke. “At some point down the road, we’ll see what kind of space we’ll need.”

It also means more and better opportunities to recruit top talent to the company because such employees will be able to work from anywhere, including another state, as Nadeau did earlier this year.

“It’s incredibly challenging to recruit people — I think there are fewer accounting students graduating now, and a lot of the people who do graduate end up going to Boston or New York to work for the Big Four firms,” he explained. “So having a remote-work or hybrid-work policy is an added benefit that we can offer, and one that firms are probably going to have to offer if they want to attract top talent.”

As for interaction and communication with clients, while all those we spoke with said face-to-face is still the preferred option, COVID has shown that Zoom and even the telephone work well — and, as with working arrangements, when it comes to interacting with clients, flexibility is the new watchword.

“As we’re talking with our clients, we’re seeing a combination of the two, in-person meetings and those by Zoom and phone — some want meetings in person, and other times, a Zoom meeting or phone call is sufficient,” said Nadeau, noting, as others did, a significant time savings from not physically traveling to see clients, so those at the firm are able to do more with the hours in the day.

Cheney agreed, to some extent, but noted there will always be plenty of room for, and need for, in-person service to clients.

“You don’t want to lose sight of that personal-touch aspect,” he told BusinessWest. “You don’t want to do everything remotely — I don’t think clients want to do everything remotely. But they’re OK with some level [of remote interaction] because we’ve gotten used to it, and they see the efficiency, too.”

Crunching the Numbers

As he tried to put all the changes to tax laws — and changes to the changes — into perspective, Joe Bova recalled the communication he received from the U.S. Small Business Administration concerning PPP loans that came with the header “Interim Final Rules.”

This oxymoron was just one of many challenging measures and changes that CPAs had to make sense of over the past 18 months, a time that Bova described as “a shooting gallery.”

“What’s been different during these past two seasons is that tax-law changes have been happening during tax season,” he told BusinessWest. “And when the PPP loans first came out … the SBA and the Treasury were updating their websites almost daily, and there was a lot of ambiguity in the definitions. We [accountants] were kind of on the front lines because people were calling us, even the banks.

“We all had the same information, which wasn’t clear, so people were calling us to help them interpret these changes,” he went on. “You were in the water on the boat, but you were still building the boat.”

In addition to coping with new legislation and changing rules, there was simply more work to do, said those we spoke with.

“Our workload has gone up probably a good 20% without adding a single client,” said Lapier, listing PPP applications, forgiveness, and audit work, as well as helping companies with SBA loans and the unemployment-tax credit as just some of the additional assignments.

Indeed, on top of all that, there was simply more consulting work to do as companies, especially smaller ones, leaned on their accountants as perhaps never before to help them make what were often very difficult decisions during truly unprecedented times.

Now, with the pandemic easing in some respects, the nature of some of this advisory work is changing, said Quink, noting that many business owners are now able to focus more on the future instead of being consumed by the present.

“We’re seeing a lot of clients that are buying and selling businesses, which is a good sign,” she noted. “And overall, people are starting to think forward now; they were in survival mode for a period of time, and now they’re starting to think forward from a business perspective.”

And there is a lot to think about, she went on, noting that what she and others at her firm are advising clients on is how to adapt to change and navigate challenge — such as a global pandemic.

“We’re talking to our clients that we see as potentially at risk because they don’t have the ability to adapt or they’re not identifying how to adapt,” she explained. “We know that things can change in the blink of an eye; we’ve seen a client, a third-generation business, close because it wasn’t able to look forward and move in a way that still made them competitive. You can’t rest on what you have — you have to be always looking forward, and that’s a hard thing for some of our more mature clients and businesses who have done things they’ve always done, and it’s worked.”

This additional advisory work, as Cheney noted earlier, is merely an acceleration of a trend that has been ongoing for many years now when it comes to clients and what they want and need from their accounting firm, with the accent on the future and how to be prepared for it.

Quink agreed that this shift, if that’s the proper term, has been ongoing for some time now as technology has enabled clients of all kinds to access data more quickly and more easily than ever before.

“We see robots in all aspects of life, and our profession is going to go that way as well,” she explained. “We’re using technology to do the things we’ve always done by hand; we’re now going to have programs that run that data for us. What we’re seeing and what we’re preparing people in our profession for is a shift to more of an advisory-slash-consulting role.”

Bottom Line

For several years now, Quink told BusinessWest, Burkhart Pizzanelli has closed its doors on Fridays. Historically, those Fridays between Memorial Day and Labor Day have served as comp time for those who logged considerable overtime during tax time, and it’s been a time to recharge the batteries.

This year, staff members have needed those Fridays off more than ever, she said, adding that, for many reasons — from all the additional work detailed above to the vacations that haven’t been taken over the past 18 months — there have been many signs of fatigue.

It’s certainly understandable. Indeed, while every business sector has been impacted by COVID, those in accounting were affected in different ways, with more work to do, different work to take on, and learning curves when it came to new and different ways of doing business.

They don’t call it the ‘never-ending tax season’ for nothing. It’s far from over, but in many ways, things are … well, less taxing.

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

Office Furniture Providers See Progress, but Also a Host of Challenges

By George O'Brien August 4, 2021

Modern Office Special Coverage

Getting Up Off the Floor

For those in the office furniture and design sector, the past 18 months have been a long and extremely challenging stretch. Looking ahead, while the pandemic has eased to some extent, new challenges and question marks loom. The questions concern everything from how many people will return to the office to whether they will have their own space if and when they return. And the challenges involve everything from long wait times for ordered products to the specter of skyrocketing prices and the impact they will have on business.

Mark Proshan says a combination of factors makes it difficult to project what will come next for this industry.

Mark Proshan says the e-mail found its way into his inbox earlier that morning. It was short and to the point, but it clearly articulated one of the many challenges still facing those in the office furniture and design business.

“‘I’m in the process of closing my office and moving employees to fully remote work,’” wrote the business owner and client that Proshan, president of the West Springfield-based Lexington Group, opted not to name. “‘I have a lot of office furniture I’m looking to sell.”

As he commented on what he was reading, Proshan started with that last bit of news. He said there are a number of business owners and managers looking to unload unneeded office furniture these days. They should know first that there is already a glut, and, second, that the price they have in the back of their mind is not likely to be the price they’re going to get for what they’re looking to sell. “With the massive amounts of furniture now on the market, selling furniture isn’t something that’s going to realize an amazing return on the investment.”

But that’s just a small part of the story now unfolding, said Proshan, noting that, while this particular business owner knows just what he’s doing with his office, many do not.

Indeed, a full 18 months after the term ‘COVID’ entered the lexicon, there is a great deal of uncertainty regarding what will happen at many offices, colleges, hospitals, and other kinds of businesses moving forward. Proshan has his theories, and we’ll get to some of them later, but he and others believe there will certainly be some downsizing, some hybrid work schedules for many employees, and more of the outright closures and conversion to remote working described in that e-mail.

But at the same time, some businesses and institutions that are waking up (for lack of a better phrase) from COVID are ready to advance plans for new furniture and accommodations.

And they are running into strong headwinds in the form of supply shortages, long wait times for desired items, and, almost certainly, higher prices in a nod to the laws of supply and demand — and the skyrocketing cost of shipping items from abroad.

“We can’t get the products out of where we need to get them from,” said Fran Arnold, owner of Holyoke-based Conklin Office Furniture, which, in addition to selling new and used furniture, manufactures its own lines of products overseas and remanufactures used furniture here. “Every manufacturer in the country is seeing huge delays when it comes to delivering furniture.

At Conklin Office, co-owned by Fran and Rosemary Arnold, new challenges include supply-chain issues, soaring shipping costs, and long wait times for ordered products.

“On the import side, we’re running with massive delays in shipping and huge increases in the cost of shipping,” he went on, with some noticeable exasperation in his voice. “Our shipping costs have gone from $3,500 to $5,000 per container all the way to $23,500 per container. That’s a massive increase for freight; it’s now costing us more money to get the stuff here than to manufacture it over there.”

Proshan agreed.

“Because most of the manufacturers have employee shortages and raw-goods shortages, everyone’s lead times have been drastically pushed out,” he noted. “You try to stock up on what you think might make the most sense for when the floodgates open, but you just don’t know, and it’s going to be a difficult situation when people want products from you and manufacturers aren’t able to deliver them to you until much later than your customer is hoping to receive them.”

SEE: List of Office Equipment Dealers

Overall, while the worst of the storm might be past for those in this sector — that’s might — there is still considerable cloudiness and general uncertainty about the forecast, and challenges ranging from those inventory issues to simply finding people to drive delivery trucks, to a huge merger in the industry between manufacturers Herman Miller and Knoll, which only leads to more question marks.

Indeed, what happens next is anyone’s guess, as BusinessWest learned as it talked with Proshan and Arnold about has transpired and what is likely on the horizon.

Measures on the Table

As he walked and talked with BusinessWest in his huge showroom, Proshan noted that he’s selling a number of items to be used by people working at home, especially chairs — “they want good seating, but they don’t want to spend a lot for it” — and sit/stand desks, because they’re smaller and also because many people want the option of sitting or standing.

Meanwhile, he said he’s also been selling more large conference-room tables — those for 12 to 20 people — than would be considered normal.

When asked why, he gave a quick and definitive “I don’t know, exactly, but we are,” before joking that companies might need bigger tables for all those meetings that will decide what they’re going to do next.

Overall, this interest in large conference-room tables and the possible reasons behind it comprise just one of the many unknowns for this industry. What is known is that the past 18 months have been an extremely difficult time, and the challenges are far from over.

They may just be different challenges.

“Every manufacturer in the country is seeing huge delays when it comes to delivering furniture.”

Looking back, Arnold said Conklin, like all businesses in this sector, saw business evaporate early on during the pandemic as businesses shut down and then hunkered down, with buying new or used office furniture, or redesigning their space, the last thing on their minds.

“We were flying just before COVID, and then we just hit a wall,” he explained, adding that, through a number of efficiency and austerity measures — including a four-day work week for all employees — the company managed to slash expenses to an extent that it was nearly as profitable in 2020 as it was in 2019.

Elaborating, he said that, in hindsight, the timing could not have been better for the company to consolidate operations and move into new facilities on Appleton Street in Holyoke in late 2019.

“We’re able to do more with fewer people,” he explained. “We’re much better organized, and we’re not so spread out. We’re much more efficient.”

Now, as it emerges from those very difficult times, there are new and different challenges to face, including supply-chain issues and a lack of inventory, just as some larger corporations are in a “panic mode,” a phrase he used a few times, to move on from the pandemic themselves.

“These corporations are working our sales teams to the limit,” he explained. “They want numbers, they want to know when things can be delivered … and a lot of the news we have to give them is not good; prices are going up, and deliveries are being postponed.”

Overall, Arnold said, inflation and the skyrocketing cost of shipping product are just starting to impact prices within the industry.

“We’ve just had our first price increase on our imported products; we just couldn’t hold it where it was any longer,” he explained, adding that, as the cost of shipping continues to escalate, more price hikes are likely. “It’s been quite an experience, and I don’t know how it will all play out; it’s a perfect storm that’s developing, and where it will go, I don’t know.”

Looking ahead and projecting what might come next, Proshan said this assignment is difficult because many companies are still very much trying to decide what they’re going to do.

“At the moment, business leaders are trying to figure out what their employees want, and employees are trying to figure out what their employers are going to be expecting,” he explained. “With all of that taking place, not a whole lot has happened yet. People have been talking about business getting back up to speed in the spring, and then the fall, which is not here yet, and then, the first of the year. We still have those mileage markers out there in front of us, so there’s a whole lot more that’s unknown than known.”

Proshan theorizes that many companies will create more space for each employee in efforts to create safer environments, and that, in all likelihood, there will be fewer people working in the office and more in remote settings.

“Every time you have a space that was occupied by three people, that had three work environments, they might cut that back to two to create a bigger gap between people,” he explained. “So now you have a work environment that’s going to be for sale or is going to become surplus; that’s one of the things we’re seeing.

“It’s going to be a difficult situation when people want products from you and manufacturers aren’t able to deliver them to you until much later than your customer is hoping to receive them.”

“And I think that when it gets sorted out as to who’s going back and who’s not, and how often they’re going back,” he went on, “I think a lot of personal space is going to disappear. If you work at home, you’re going to have your own workspace; when you go to the office, you may or may not have your own workspace. It may be a space that’s occupied by someone else on the days you’re not there.”

Bottom Line

Proshan, who does a good bit of sailing when he’s not working, made a number of comparisons between what’s happening in his industry and what transpires on the water.

Specifically, he talked about wind.

“You can’t see wind,” he told BusinessWest. “What people experience as wind is what they see as the result of wind and its impact on objects. When you see wind blowing through the trees, you don’t see the wind, you see the result of the wind. When you’re on a boat and there’s no wind, if you look at the water and see it start to ripple, you know that wind is approaching you, and it can either knock you over or make you go faster, or help you determine which direction to go in.

“It’s almost as if we’re sailing,” he said of the current conditions in his business, “and not able to see the wind in the trees.”

That was Proshan’s way of saying that an industry that has been blown about for the past 18 months, and not in a good way, is still very much in the dark about what will happen next.

The mission, he said, is to be as prepared as possible, even with all those unknowns.

“If you don’t pay attention to the possibilities,” he said in conclusion, “you’re going to be too late.”

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

Cooley Shrair Joins Hartford-based Halloran Sage

By Joseph Bednar August 4, 2021

Law Special Coverage

Firm Commitment

Peter Shrair says the two firms saw “some real synergies” when they started talking.

Springfield-based Cooley Shrair and Hartford-based Halloran Sage have a lot in common, including histories that span more than 75 years and a focus on the broad needs of business clients. But their philosophies and cultures also have a lot in common, as their leaders discovered during discussions that led to Cooley Shrair joining the Halloran Sage family last month. The result, they hope, will be more inclusive service to clients, as well as a more attractive landing spot for the young talent all law firms need to grow.

When asked what Halloran Sage and Cooley Shrair bring to each other’s table, David Shrair had to think back only 15 minutes.

“We’ve got a new, West Hartford-based client who called me and said, ‘I tried to trademark a logo myself, and I got lost. Can you help us?’” said Shrair, a partner at his namesake Springfield firm, which recently joined the much larger, Hartford-based Halloran Sage law group.

“We normally would have referred him to a firm we did business with in Hartford, who did all our intellectual-property work,” Shrair continued. “But I got on the computer and sent out a blast e-mail to partners and counsel at Halloran Sage. Within three minutes, I got one name from five different partners. I’ve connected that partner, he’s got the logo, and we’re working on it.”

In other words, by joining forces with 86-year-old Halloran Sage, an 80-attorney practice whose law expertise in the realm known as transactional business runs deeper in some areas than Cooley Shrair’s, the firm can keep its clients in house for a much wider range of matters, instead of farming them out, he noted.

“We can keep an eye on the case and make sure it’s being handled properly, which is very difficult to do when you’re sending it out to somebody else, and you have no idea whether your client is being taken care of,” said Peter Shrair, another partner with the firm. “If we’re looking at the client’s interest first, then the client gets a much better product.”

That’s one of the ideas behind what both firms aren’t calling a merger or an acquisition, but a joining together of the two entities under the Halloran Sage umbrella.

“We started talking, and we saw some synergies between what we do and what they do. And I had a thought that one plus one could equal three, with a really good group of smart people working together.”

Peter said he started talking informally to Bill McGrath, a partner at Halloran Sage, about such a relationship last year.

“Another lawyer in their office, Sue Scibilia, and I were talking about something else. She said to me, ‘you really should meet Bill McGrath. He’s a good business person and one of the smartest lawyers I’ve ever known.’ And I consider Sue to be one of the smartest lawyers I’ve ever known. So, we started talking, and we saw some synergies between what we do and what they do. And I had a thought that one plus one could equal three, with a really good group of smart people working together.”

Casey O’Connell, another partner at Halloran Sage, agreed.

“This has always been a Connecticut-based firm with a regional focus,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re always looking to find ways to better serve our clients and to provide the best possible legal services that we as a legal firm can provide. So we’re always on the lookout to have talented attorneys with complementary practices and similar philosophies to join our firm.”

David Shrair says the combined firm will be able to keep more clients completely in-house.

After informal discussions turned more specific over several months, he went on, “there were some meetings among people with the firms, and it was determined it would really be a great fit and a way for us to collectively be bigger than we both were separately and, most importantly, to provide additional resources to our client base and Cooley Shrair’s client base to better serve our clients.”

For this issue’s focus on law, BusinessWest sat down with O’Connell and the two Shrairs to talk about why this relationship makes sense, and why both firms feel they — and their business clients — are better off because of it.

One-stop Shop

Business clients, after all, are at the heart of both firms’ work. Besides a shared focus on transactional law, which incorporates activities like contracts, finance, construction and real estate, risk management, restructuring and bankruptcies, board governance, intellectual property, and a host of others, Halloran Sage also boasts broad expertise in business litigation.

“That’s a service that we had not been offering for a number of years,” Peter Shrair said. “Even when we offered it, it clearly wasn’t with that depth of people. We had one or two, maybe at one point three people doing litigation, but they might have 30. And depending on the size and complexity of the matter, they have the skill, knowledge base, and depth of people to handle it.”

The firms are similar in other ways — for instance, both have a large banking practice, representing different banks, “so there’s a synergy right there,” David added.

“We collaborate very well across practices,” O’Connell said, “and that is one way where the firms can mutually help each other, with the Cooley Shrair folks bringing a wealth of transactional and business banking knowledge that really strengthens our practice areas. But we also have a very robust litigation practice.

“I would say Halloran is a full-service firm, and our litigation portion of the firm is very large and robust — we’re one of the biggest firms that focuses on litigation in Connecticut,” he went on. “And one of the reasons we have such a long history in Connecticut is our ability to provide clients with essentially one-stop shopping.”

Joining a Connecticut-based firm — Halloran Sage has five offices in the Nutmeg State — also makes sense in that three of Cooley Shrair’s attorneys were already admitted to the Connecticut bar, and the firm has worked with many clients from across the border.

This isn’t the first time Halloran Sage has taken on an established group of attorneys all at once, but most of its growth over the years has been organic, O’Connell said. For instance, it launched a New Haven office with two attorneys in 2012, and has since grown that site to 12 attorneys.

“It was a big success story to build and maintain a presence in that part of the state,” he noted. “We have an office Washington, D.C., but [Springfield] is our first office outside Connecticut with a large presence. This really broadens our reach to become not just a Connecticut firm, but a Southern New England firm.”

Client relationships won’t be disrupted, Peter Shrair said, but may shift over time.

Casey O’Connell

“We collaborate very well across practices, and that is one way where the firms can mutually help each other, with the Cooley Shrair folks bringing a wealth of transactional and business banking knowledge that really strengthens our practice areas.”

“If it’s a more natural fit for someone from Hartford to handle something, they’ll handle it,” he explained, noting, as an example, a litigation case that came in just that morning and was referred to attorneys in Hartford. “We’re looking for whatever is best for the client — if a client can be handled better out of New Haven, we want to handle that out of New Haven. If it can be handled better in Springfield, presumably we’ll handle it in Springfield. “Really, it deals with whose practice area it fits best in.”

Business as Usual, Sort Of

For two firms that deal heavily with business clients — at a time when the business world has been rocked by COVID-19 — the past 18 months have gone surprisingly well, Peter noted.

“At least as far as my practice goes, there was very little change,” he said. “In fact, with the advent of Zoom and Microsoft Teams and everything else, it was probably easier because you could get different people online together quickly and have a discussion.”

David Shrair was stranded in Florida in March 2020 when the economy first began to shut down — so his firm shipped him a computer and double-screen monitor.

“I closed one of my largest transactions in years from Florida; I did Planning Board meetings from Florida, just like I was sitting in Springfield or wherever; it mattered not,” he recalled. “It’s interesting — with the shutdown and all the issues that went with it, most of our business clients continued very much along the same vein. They had their own internal problems, but the sales and acquisitions and all that still continued to go on. We have been extremely busy.”

After an initial slowing of work in the pipeline last spring, Halloran Sage’s team adjusted quickly to the pandemic as well, O’Connell said, and business has been strong from the second half of 2020 to the present. The transactional work has been more robust than litigation because court activity slowed to a crawl last year, but overall, business has been brisk, and the firm is on a growth trajectory.

“We’re always looking for new opportunities and ways to serve our clients. That includes having new attorneys come in with different specialties or outlooks or just to grow our bench and have more resources to grow our client base,” he went on. “We’re always looking to figure out how we can modify our firm or business to better serve our clients. That’s what the current combination of Cooley Shrair and Halloran Sage is all about, and certainly where Halloran wants to continue to go, to make sure we’re staying ahead of the curve and in the best position to serve our clients.”

SEE: List of Law Firms

The broader geographic reach will also benefit the combined firm in attracting talent, as attorneys will be able to access opportunities across Connecticut as well as into Massachusetts, and move around as their life circumstances change, Peter Shrair said. And David noted that being part of a much larger organization broadens the partnership track, which can also be a draw for young attorneys to settle in this region.

But in the end, O’Connell said, what the discussions really came down to was a perceived alignment in the firms’ client-first philosophies.

“We went through some internal discussions, not really to create a new philosophy, but to figure out a way to better articulate our firm’s philosophy, and we have determined that our firm’s philosophy is ‘client, firm, self,’ in that order,” he said. “In talking to the Cooley Shrair folks, we found there was a great alignment with how they deliver service, and our philosophies really align, so seemed like a natural fit when we pursued it.”

Peter Shrair agreed. “For 75-plus years, that has always been our mantra — our response time and our response to clients’ needs.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

IT Labor Force Presents Challenges and Opportunities

By Contributor August 4, 2021

Special Coverage Technology

Strong Signals

By Mark Morris

When the pandemic arrived early last year and many companies adjusted to remote work for their staff, it was IT professionals who got everyone up and running from their homes.

Now, as the world begins to move away from the pandemic and companies begin bringing employees back to the office, the demand to hire IT pros is even higher than it was before COVID-19 emerged. And that poses challenges for employers.

In a normal year, said Delcie Bean, CEO of Paragus Strategic IT, the company sees about 10% turnover of people leaving and new staff being hired. During the pandemic, there was no turnover, as every one of the 50 Paragus employees stayed in their job.

In the last four months, however, as the economy has improved and COVID restrictions have eased, Bean has seen a “tremendous transition” among the IT labor force.

“Many of those who are leaving are pursuing remote-work opportunities that didn’t exist before the pandemic,” he said. “Most of these companies are not local and would never have interviewed or offered jobs to these workers in the past.”

Bean cited a number of reasons for the high demand for IT talent. During the pandemic, nearly every company increased their use and dependence on technology, which requires more people to keep systems up and running. As the economy improves, companies are pursuing more projects and thus increasing their need for IT talent. The pandemic also made it acceptable to hire people who work only remotely, creating even more opportunities for IT pros.

“With the increased dependence on technology, an improved economy, and the ability to work remotely, we’re seeing employers do things they would not have done before,” he said.

Joel Mollison, president of Northeast IT Systems, noted that, unlike others in IT support, his 18-person company does not have high worker turnover. He credits that to attracting IT staff who enjoy working with Northeast’s varied client list, which covers sectors from insurance and healthcare to manufacturing, municipalities, and even cannabis.

“Many of those who are leaving are pursuing remote-work opportunities that didn’t exist before the pandemic. Most of these companies are not local and would never have interviewed or offered jobs to these workers in the past.”

One notable challenge to retaining his workforce involves companies such as banks, manufacturers, and other industries that are looking to bring their IT support in-house, he said. “As a service provider in Western Mass., we’re competing against much larger institutions in the region who can pay IT professionals more.”

As security issues receive prominent news coverage, companies worry more about ransomware attacks and similar threats. Mollison believes this is part of the reason firms are increasingly looking for in-house IT staff.

“The larger the business, the more complex their systems are, and the more they need IT professionals to manage them,” he explained.

Bean agreed that IT security issues have increased the pressure for companies to be proactive in preventing major disruptions, pointing out that much of the job growth is the result of companies expanding their internal IT staff both regionally and on a national level.

Delcie Bean says an IT workforce that was remarkably stable in 2020 has entered a time of “tremendous transition.”

“All these companies are doing this because the growing economy gives them a little more money and it can be a luxury to have your IT support in-house.”

Jeremiah Beaudry, owner of Bloo Solutions, agrees, but believes that, after companies build up their internal IT staffing, they usually return to outsourcing with an external service provider once they realize that internal IT is less cost-effective.

“Instead of paying full-time employees to show up every day, companies can hire an IT firm that knows all the technical details and address specific problems when they arise,” Beaudry said. “It would be similar to bringing a plumber on staff. Why would you do that?”

In fact, he predicts that the hiring surge for internal IT will shake out to one or two positions to oversee the main systems augmented by an outside IT service provider.

Bean said it’s common for companies to have an internal person handling technology issues as well as an outside IT service company. “Our biggest source of new business right now involves partnering with internal IT departments to round out what they are doing and give them supplemental assistance.”

Here and There

Like many industries right now, technology is grappling with a job market that significantly favors job seekers. Bean told the story of an employee who had previously worked in the defense-contracting industry 10 years ago.

“Because this employee’s name was still in the defense system, a contractor called him to make a job offer, sight unseen and without an interview,” he said. “They literally e-mailed him an electronic salary offer without meeting him, and it was for $35,000 more than he was making here.”

A company located in a large metro area interested in hiring remote workers will offer salaries that are competitive in their market. This can often lead to small-market workers getting big-city paydays.

“If you’re at home and take five minutes between tasks to turn around to pet your dog or do the dishes real quick, that time becomes meaningful and helpful in your life.”

“Usually, when someone makes a salary that’s attractive in Boston, it comes with the high cost of living in the metro Boston area,” Bean said. “When someone with a Western Mass. cost of living makes that same amount, they can see a 30% net increase in their salary.”

Indeed, more companies than ever are embracing remote or hybrid workforces (see related story on page 25). That means IT service providers face the same dilemma confronting many of their clients: continue to work from home or go back to the office.

Mollison tells a slightly different story. Before COVID, he said, Northeast IT was outgrowing its space in Westfield, so he suggested that staff work remotely as a short-term solution. He was surprised when almost no one wanted to work from home.

“Nearly everyone wanted to work in the office,” he recalled. “We have a kind of think-tank environment where our staff enjoy working on problems together.”

However, the pandemic forced nearly everyone to work from home for the last 16 months, a situation Mollison called stressful because many felt less connected to their co-workers. He added that a change in venue is coming. “We purchased a building in West Springfield and will be moving in at the end of August. We’ll have plenty of space to bring everyone back with social distancing; our people are really looking forward to returning.”

At Paragus, employees have been ramping up their return to the office by coming in one day a week in June, two days a week in July, and three days a week starting in August. Bean said he won’t require more than three days a week in the office, but felt that some time in the office was important.

“We have intentionally designed our office to promote collaboration,” he said. “We don’t have walls or offices, so people can listen to each other and overhear what’s going on. You can replicate some of that online, but it’s not the same as hearing what’s going on around you.”

At Bloo Solutions, Beaudry has allowed his four full-time and several part-time employees to stay remote except for occasional trips to the office or when visiting a client’s location. Collaborative messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams allow him and his staff to stay in touch with each other and stay on top of client concerns.

Jeremiah Beaudry says even companies that have built up internal IT staffing often come to see the value in outsourcing that work.

“We have channels dedicated to each client so any one of us can jump in and take care of any concerns,” he said. “Because we all have access to these messages, the same information is available to all of us without being next to each other.”

Whenever possible, Beaudry makes working from home an option for his staff.

“If you’re at home and take five minutes between tasks to turn around to pet your dog or do the dishes real quick, that time becomes meaningful and helpful in your life,” he said. “When you are in the office and not near anything you need to do, that same five minutes is wasted.”

Therefore, as long as his staff are productive, he doesn’t care if they work from home or at the office.

Another reason Bean cited for having people in the office at least some of the time is to help with their professional development and to identify when a staff member might need help. He worries that IT professionals who have chosen full-time remote work won’t have the same chance to grow or develop their careers.

“They will probably be fine doing the job they were hired for, but they will be relatively unengaged and potentially stagnant,” he said. “I don’t see how they can grow or develop much in an environment where they never see their co-workers or be around other people.”

Mollison credits his low staff turnover to seeking out people who like variety in their work and have an interest in personal and professional growth.

“Because IT folks tend to be introverts, we try to help them grow personally so they can become more comfortable working with clients and developing relationships with them,” he said.

While finding people in Western Mass. with technical skills isn’t so tough, Beaudry makes his hiring decisions based on a candidate’s emotional intelligence.

“I’ve learned over time that clients would rather feel good about a conversation they had rather than having an expert solve the problem who makes them feel bad about themselves,” he said.

Change Can Be Good

Another reason the demand for IT professionals is increasing has to do with the growing economy. Bean said the sales pipeline for new projects has never been fuller. “In terms of new business, we’re booking clients out to October because we only book so much at a time.”

In addition to hiring temporary contract workers, he has found another way to make up worker shortages: acquisitions. Paragus recently acquired one IT-support company in Worcester and is looking at two other acquisitions.

“In the past, the goal of an acquisition was to acquire clients and market,” he said. “Now it’s about acquiring talent.”

Would Bean like to see less disruption in the labor force? Sure. He also understands that this time of transition is part of the bigger picture.

“Everybody is moving around, so we’re on the receiving end of this as well,” he told BusinessWest. “The good news is we haven’t seen a shortage of any new résumés coming in.”

While it’s tempting to dwell on the employees leaving, however, Bean has gained some perspective.

“After some reflection,” he said, “we realized that a lot of the innovation and fresh approaches we get are driven by new people coming in with new ideas.”

Great Barrington Reinvents Itself for Success

By Contributor August 4, 2021

Community Spotlight

By Mark Morris

Mark Pruhenski says Great Barrington has seen an influx of new residents during the pandemic.

On a summer Friday night in Great Barrington, Mark Pruhenski simply enjoyed the sight of dozens of diners eating outside and the sound of musicians playing from various spots around downtown.

Town manager since 2019, Pruhenski said Great Barrington is fortunate to have weathered the pandemic well. He gave much of the credit to a task force formed early on that included town staff and a strong network of partners, including Fairview Hospital, local food banks, and others who lent support.

With its location in the Berkshires, Great Barrington has long been a popular spot for second homes. During the pandemic, many people relocated to their second homes to get away from populated metro areas and work remotely. As time went on, many decided to make Great Barrington their permanent home.

“Along with those who moved into their second homes, we had hundreds of new residents move to the area,” Pruhenski said. “Folks who enjoyed visiting the Berkshires for culture and entertainment were now permanently moving here.”

Betsy Andrus, executive director of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, noted that, even at the height of the pandemic, when restaurants and cultural venues were closed, people were still looking for a place to rent or buy. She believes the consistently low COVID-19 infection rates were a strong part of the town’s appeal.

“Along with those who moved into their second homes, we had hundreds of new residents move to the area. Folks who enjoyed visiting the Berkshires for culture and entertainment were now permanently moving here.”

“People from larger metro areas came to Great Barrington in droves,” Andrus said. “You could not keep a house on the market, with some sales happening in only a few hours. Others took a virtual tour and bought sight unseen.”

While admitting it’s difficult to find positives from a worldwide pandemic, Andrus said one benefit was forcing businesses in town to change the way they had been operating.

“I think we were kind of stagnant before,” she said. “Then, suddenly, our businesses had to put a lot of energy into how they could reinvent themselves.”

In addition to sit-down restaurants figuring out how to become takeout places, Andrus pointed to Robin’s Candy Shop, which could no longer allow customers to serve themselves in the shop.

“They moved the store around overnight, so now the staff gets you everything you want,” she said. “Then Robin’s quickly switched over to online sales, which is no small feat, either.”

Great Barrington used its Shared Streets grant to develop an outdoor dining area on Railroad Street.

While Great Barrington saw some stores permanently shutter their businesses during the pandemic, Andrus said COVID was not usually the main reason for closing. In some cases, the businesses that did not survive the pandemic were struggling before COVID hit. For others, the pandemic provided the opportunity for owners to change professions or retire.

“We had a huge movement of stores that was similar to musical chairs,” she said. “When a business would close and make their space available, multiple people were trying to sign up for it.”

Filling the Gaps

Like musical chairs, there are no empty spaces now in downtown Great Barrington. As a lifelong resident, Andrus said she’s never seen so much activity.

“In some ways, this big shift is the best thing that could have happened,” she noted. “The stores have all settled in to the right locations for what they are selling, and it has really changed the atmosphere in town.”

With retail storefronts full, the second- and third-story office spaces are also reaching full occupancy. Pruhenski hopes the current boom can address a long-term concern in town.

“We’ve always anticipated that Great Barrington would see a population decline over the next decade and beyond,” he said. “It would be great to see the influx of new residents flatten or even reverse that decline.”

While many town halls closed during the pandemic and conducted business remotely, Pruhenski said Great Barrington Town Hall closed only twice, for a month each time. Otherwise, he and his staff came in every day to keep several town projects moving forward.

In 2019, the state Department of Transportation had closed the Division Street bridge. Right now, the project is in the permitting and design phase for a new bridge, which is scheduled to open next summer.

“Everyone was forced to jump out of their comfort zone, and I believe that made us all better for it.”

“Division Street is an important bridge because it links the east side of town to the west,” Pruhenski said. “It’s a shortcut everyone in town likes to use.”

In the northern part of Great Barrington, a private water company serves the village of Housatonic that has been struggling with insufficient water pressure. While Great Barrington doesn’t regulate or own the system, the town is involved to make sure residents there receive clean water and to make sure there is plenty of pressure for firefighters when they need it. Pruhenski said he and the Select Board are looking at several options, including a merger with the town’s water system.

“We were working on this during the pandemic because it has an impact on so many residents,” he noted.

After a transportation service for seniors abruptly closed, town officials took the lead to quickly revive the regional van service that now provides transportation to elderly and disabled residents in Great Barrington and five neighboring towns.

Meanwhile, in the spring of 2020, the town launched a project to paint the downtown crosswalks as a way to recognize diversity in town. Pruhenski said the reaction by residents was more encouraging than he could have expected.

“We just did our little project, and the timing happened to be perfect that the rainbow was being used as a symbol of hope at the height of the pandemic,” he recalled. “After we painted our first crosswalks, people were encouraged to come outside to see them and take pictures with them. It’s been a fun project that’s made everyone happy.”

For 2021, the town added more rainbow crosswalks, and now the entire downtown corridor has replaced its white crosswalks with rainbows.

“People from other communities are calling us because they want rainbow crosswalks in their town,” Pruhenski said. “They are asking us how we did it and where we bought the paint. This project has been so rewarding during such a challenging time.”

For several years, Great Barrington has been pursuing projects to encourage environmental sustainability. One big step was to ban plastic water bottles in town. In return, the town has built three public water stations to make up for the bottle ban.

Another sustainability effort involves the Housatonic Community Center, a popular gym built shortly after World War II. Pruhenski said the center is used a great deal in the winter, so the town has bulked up on insulation and added LED lighting. He hopes to see big savings in energy use and operating costs for the facility.

Great Barrington also has the distinction of hosting the first retail cannabis store in Berkshire County. Theory Wellness opened January 2019 and is now one of four cannabis establishments in town. Pruhenski said sales at all four stores have been strong, and they have returned some welcome revenue to the town.

Great Barrington at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1761
Population: 7,104
Area: 45.8 square miles
County: Berkshire
Residential Tax Rate: $15.99
Commercial Tax Rate: $15.99
Median Household Income: $95,490
Median Family Income: $103,135
Type of Government: Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Fairview Hospital; Iredale Mineral Cosmetics; Kutscher’s Sports Academy; Prairie Whale
* Latest information available

“For fiscal year 2022, we were able to use $3.5 million in cannabis revenue to offset taxes,” he noted. “Capital budget items, like new police cruisers that we normally have to borrow for, were paid for in cash thanks to the cannabis revenues.”

The town also collects 3% from cannabis stores to mitigate the negative effects of cannabis on the community. After awarding $185,000 in fiscal 2021, Pruhenski said the town will be awarding $350,000 in fiscal 2022 to five social agencies in the form of community-impact grants.

Andrus agreed that cannabis has had an overall positive impact on Great Barrington.

“Despite all the traffic cannabis brings to town, I’m surprised at how unintrusive it has been,” she said. “For people with health issues, cannabis allows them to live with much less pain.”

Hit the Road

When Massachusetts launched the Shared Streets and Spaces Grant Program in June 2020, it was immediately popular across the state. Pruhenski called the program a “silver lining” resulting from the dark cloud of COVID. Great Barrington used its Shared Streets grant to develop an outdoor dining area on Railroad Street to support several restaurants located there. Every Friday and Saturday night in the summer, two-thirds of the street is dedicated to outdoor dining. Pruhenski enjoys seeing Railroad Street turn into a café each weekend.

“When we started this in 2020, vaccines were not yet available, and the only way to dine out was to eat outside,” he said. “Restaurants nearby also use their outdoor space, so it creates a lively downtown experience.”

Andrus said outdoor dining on Railroad Street was a huge effort that was well worth it. “It works great, and people love it. The restaurants want to see this keep going, so they are all taking part.” The town also participates in an effort called Berkshire Busk, in which a dozen entertainers perform at different spots around downtown Great Barrington during the outdoor dining season.

Andrus said the town’s response the to pandemic reminds her of the expression, “don’t waste a good crisis.”

“Everyone was forced to jump out of their comfort zone, and I believe that made us all better for it,” she added. “Because we were all kind of stagnant before the pandemic, it made us try something different.”

Pruhenski would be the first to say that Great Barrington is moving in a positive direction as more people move in, and many are locating their businesses here, too.

“School enrollments are increasing, and Main Street is busier than it’s ever been,” he said. “It’s a really exciting time for the town.”

Cannabis Presents Many Financial, Accounting Challenges

By Contributor August 4, 2021

Accounting and Tax Planning

Where There’s Smoke…

By Kristina Drzal Houghton, CPA, MST

Kristina Drzal Houghton

The production and distribution of cannabis, once known to many only as marijuana, is the newest and most variegated industry in America. Some would even say it is one of the toughest industries in America in which to do business. This article will discuss a few unique challenges from a financial perspective faced by the industry.

The first complexity starts with the difference between cannabis and CBD. When you look at a cannabis plant and a hemp plant side by side, the plants themselves look identical to an untrained eye, making it a bit challenging to identify, as the real difference lies in the chemistry of the plants.

CBD can be extracted from hemp or marijuana. Hemp plants are cannabis plants that contain less than 0.3% THC (the compound that creates the ‘high’ sensation), while marijuana plants are cannabis plants that contain higher concentrations of THC. This article will refer to all products containing more than 0.3% THC as cannabis, while products with less will be referred to as CBD.

So, basically, the only difference from a scientific standpoint is the level of one chemical. However, things are much more complex from a legal and tax perspective. Under the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD and hemp are now legal, and not on the schedule I list of controlled narcotics right up there with heroin and LSD. In 2016, Massachusetts passed a law making all cannabis legal, and all but five other states have passed laws making it either fully legalized, decriminalized, or medically authorized. While cannabis is federally illegal, the Internal Revenue Service is perfectly willing to collect taxes on companies that handle the product.

Federal tax law is very punitive on the cannabis industry. Internal Revenue Code Section 280E is a very short part of the tax code (just one sentence) and states:

“No deduction or credit shall be allowed for any amount paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business if such trade or business (or the activities which comprise such trade or business) consists of trafficking in controlled substances (within the meaning of schedule I and II of the Controlled Substances Act) which is prohibited by federal law or the law of any state in which such trade or business is conducted.”

Under 280E, you’re not allowed any deductions or credits on your return, but you can deduct the cost of goods sold, as that is part of the definition of taxable income. A cannabis farm will only be allowed to allocate various costs, direct and indirect, into cost of goods sold and inventory. Section 280E will affect only cannabis entities. CBD companies, since they are legal, are allowed all normal business deductions and credits available to other non-cannabis companies. This provides many more opportunities to reduce taxable income to a hemp/CBD company.

It is not only the federal tax difference which significantly attributes to the disproportionate cost of cannabis versus CBD. Due to discrepancies between state and federal law, legal cannabis businesses are forced to operate almost entirely in cash, with very little access to financial services, since most banks are federally insured and therefore unable to establish accounts for this federally illegal business. This leaves thousands of dollars stored in backroom safes and transported in shoeboxes and backpacks, creating a prime target for crime. Another banking challenge that cannabis businesses regularly face is exorbitant monthly account fees, or banks that take a percentage of each deposit.

The industry faces many other challenges as well. For example, most states have a mandated ‘seed to sale’ software-tracking system that must be used and accurate (daily), and must be reconciled with POS (point of sale) systems and accounting systems. Additionally, because this is a new industry, many of the tools other industries use are simply not readily available, including a cannabis-tailored chart of accounts, QB POS systems, reliable inventory software, and common merchant service platforms.

There is an opportunity for dispensaries to separate some revenue streams outside of the cannabis division, meaning normal business deductions are allowed for the non-cannabis division. These might include clothing, paraphernalia, coffee, CBD, and other goods. While this is good news for the industry, it only creates even more complexities when allocating selling and administrative expenses.

A recent report from the U.S. Treasury inspector general for Tax Administration recommends increased audits by the IRS of cannabis businesses to identify potential non-filers and returns that are not 280E-compliant. For this as well as the above reasons, cannabis businesses need to find an accounting firm that really knows what it’s doing. The cannabis accountant has to not only understand Section 280E, but also know how to treat a business that deals strictly (and necessarily) in cash. Many cannabis companies have bad books because their bookkeepers do not understand the special accounting and therefore didn’t properly categorize expenses. It can be time-consuming to fix them.

So, while the many layers of regulatory control and reporting may be of utmost importance to those operating in the cannabis industry, overlooking the complexities in the finance area of the business can lead to the proverbial perfect storm — or the business going up in smoke.

Kristina Drzal Houghton, CPA, MST is a partner at the Holyoke-based accounting firm Meyers Brothers Kalicka, P.C.

Hybrid Work Schedules Are Fast Becoming the New Norm

By Joseph Bednar August 4, 2021

Michael Galat says Big Y is scheduling employees in a way that balances the company’s needs with their own.

Modern Office

Best of Both Worlds

Michael Galat says Big Y is scheduling employees in a way that balances the company’s needs with their own.

Looking over the past year and a half, Lisa Verville isn’t surprised the O’Connell Companies operated smoothly with the vast majority of its team working from home.

“People have stepped up, they did what they needed to do, and work got done,” said Verville, director of Human Resources for the large family of businesses that includes Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, O’Connell Development Group, Appleton Corp., and New England Fertilizer Corp.

“Now, the technical piece of it — if this happened 20 years ago, I can’t imagine it would have worked as well as it did. We didn’t have Zoom back then,” she added. “But we have a very dedicated team. I’m not surprised it worked well.”

Which is why remote work will continue at O’Connell — to a point. Starting last month, employees were required to work on site at least three days a week, and more if they want to.

“We miss everybody,” Verville said. “We have a great culture, and we don’t want to lose that culture. If people are 100% remote, I think there’s a risk of losing that — do people feel connected to their organization if they’re not here, cooperating and collaborating with their team?”

At the same time, “we know we have to balance that with what’s going on with our workers. We want our employees to be happy and feeling as though there’s a balance. That’s our goal.”

Welcome to the new, hybrid workplace, which looks to be a dominant model for employers across myriad industries, at least for the near future.

“People tell us they can do both,” Verville said. “I think it works, and allows for that work-life balance. I think people appreciate the flexibility.”

Big Y has been operating on a hybrid model for its support-center workers since early in the pandemic, said Michael Galat, vice president of Employee Services. And that will continue.

“Obviously, our stores are open nights and weekends, and our goal, as always, is to make sure we’re taking care of our store employees and our customers at all times,” he said. “Business needs may be different for different positions. It’s finding the right balance — making sure we’re taking care of customers but also allowing our people the autonomy to work from home.”

That’s the thinking at MassMutual as well, said Sue Cicco, head of Human Resources and Employee Experience. The company’s return-to-office approach will balance flexibility with in-person collaboration, with most employees transitioning to a hybrid model, working some days in the office and some days remotely.

Ross Giombetti

“I could see a lot of businesses and leaders getting impatient and frustrated; they want the old way to come back and expect everything to be great. But that’s not how it works.”

“We will also continue to support fully remote and fully in-office arrangements where it makes sense,” she added. “Importantly, this approach is designed to incorporate employee flexibility, so it will look different across the company, depending on role, function, and business needs.”

With most employees working 100% remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, she explained, “we learned that we can successfully operate in a virtual work environment. That said, we also think there’s value in teams meeting in person to spur creativity, social connection, and collaboration.”

The goal now is to build on the work-life flexibility MassMutual has offered for years, while taking into account employees’ feedback from recent engagement and surveys.

“Similar to how we approach many new situations,” Cicco said, “we’ll assess and evolve our approach as we learn more about what works best for our customers, employees, and company.”

Culture of Caring

Ross Giombetti, president of Giombetti Associates — a leadership institute that helps businesses acquire and develop top talent — said the vast majority of his clients are currently maintaining a hybrid model and anticipate sticking with it for at least a while.

“I think most companies realized that, contrary to the initial concerns they may have had, a lot of people were very productive during the pandemic, working remotely, and it actually went a lot better than they thought,” he told BusinessWest. “So a lot of organizations realized that’s here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.”

At the same time, he added, employers are finding resistance to bringing workers back full-time because remote work has become a habit.

“If you think about how habits are formed and what makes humans comfortable with something, it takes a full 90 days for a new norm or new habit to become part of our routine. Take mask wearing — I would bet most of us took about 90 days to get comfortable and used to wearing a mask.”

Well, many employees stayed home more than five times that long, so the habit has become deeply ingrained, becoming the new norm. Giombetti also noted that many employees told to return to the office, at least part of the time, may be uncomfortable doing so, still fearful of gathering in groups.

Sue Cicco

“By making sure our employees have the flexibility to take care of their families, we set off a virtuous cycle where our people are taken care of, and in turn they can take care of their communities, and that extends to how we can take care of our customers.”

In other words, working at home is a hard habit to break, for many reasons. That’s why most businesses are looking at hybrid scheduling as an acceptable option.

“I could see a lot of businesses and leaders getting impatient and frustrated; they want the old way to come back and expect everything to be great,” he said. “But that’s not how it works. A lot of the advice I’m giving people is to be patient with the process, be patient with people returning to work, whether hybrid or fully. When people are back around large groups of people, there will probably be some nervousness, and we need to be understanding of that.”

At Giombetti’s own company in Wilbraham, Fridays are remote days for everyone, and employees can request to work at home any other day they feel they’ll get more done there, with fewer distractions.

“If our team needs that, I encourage it. That’s how we operate,” he said. “I think many organizations understand it’s better to measure results, attitude, and performance than where they’re doing the work from.”

Galat said Big Y’s leadership learned many lessons over the past 17 months.

“One is that we can still be very productive while employees are working from home — there’s an increase in employee productivity when employees are happy. We’ve always considered ourselves a culture of caring, and this [remote work] has helped people balance their personal needs, whether it’s child care, elder care, whatever.

“I also think a big part of productivity is flexibility,” he went on. “Some may log on earlier in the morning, or at times work later at night.”

While working from home saves on travel time and can boost productivity in other ways, he admitted that it’s important that colleagues come in a few days a week to make sure they’re not missing out on the collaborative components of their jobs. Therefore, managers are expected to work on site at least three days a week, and everyone else at least two.

“Again, it depends on the business needs. That’s a very important component of it,” Galat said. “There may be weeks they have to come in every day, and there may be weeks they can work more from home. Each area supervisor works with them to find that balance based on the business needs and what’s going on in their personal life.”

Workers appreciate that kind of consideration, Cicco added. “By making sure our employees have the flexibility to take care of their families, we set off a virtuous cycle where our people are taken care of, and in turn they can take care of their communities, and that extends to how we can take care of our customers.”

Culture of Collaboration

That said, companies see value in making sure their workforce is physically present, at least part of the time,

“We think there’s value in both in-person collaboration and the flexibility created by working remotely,” Cicco said, adding that most MassMutual employees responding to surveys or other outreach preferred the hybrid option.

“We’ve learned that, while we appreciate the increased flexibility of remote work, we also miss the value we get from face-to-face meetings, impromptu conversations, collaboration across work groups, and what we learn when we’re together,” she went on. “Not to mention the social aspects — having lunch, bumping into friends around the building, and catching up over a cup of coffee.”

In addition, “we believe the connection that comes with being face-to-face brings energy, encourages innovative thinking, accelerates learning, and strengthens relationships and community,” Cicco noted. “With this in mind, we will encourage work groups to come together regularly, for the benefit of their work and their team.”

Giombetti said most of his clients offering hybrid work stress the need to be physically present at times — brainstorming and working through critical issues at a staff meeting, for instance. “Some things are best done in a room with other people. And most clients have found their employees are totally comfortable with that.”

The other challenge for companies has to do with culture, camaraderie, and the kind of collaboration that can’t be easily achieved over Zoom.

“A lot of organizations are training specifically on that topic,” he said. “While you’re honoring the flexibility of your teammates and employees, it’s important to make sure you can maintain that great culture you’ve built.”

Galat agreed, noting that, while Zoom and similar tools have their place and have been an important piece of keeping staff connected, some collaborations are more effective in person.

“We’re big on culture here — that’s a very, very important part of it. When you don’t see people at least part of the time, it’s hard to strengthen those relationships. It’s all about relationship building, and that goes back to who we are as an organization, caring about employees. Yes, we’re allowing them to work from home, but building relationships with people over the years when we don’t see them some of the time, that’s difficult.”

At the same time, Big Y has prepared a series of best practices for employees working remotely, including the need to take regular breaks. “Productivity is important getting the job done,” Galat said, “but we also want to make sure people are taking some time away as well.”

Giombetti said remote work has allowed some bad habits to creep back in, including a tendency to multi-task to the detriment of the main task.

“If you’re in the office, in the conference room, having a meeting, most of us know it would be foolish to pick up the phone when someone is talking to us because that’s just rude,” he explained, noting that it happens much more often during a Slack, Teams, or Zoom meeting. “Unfortunately, the last year and a half maybe caused us to retrench a little bit, and the amount of multi-tasking has increased. We have to guard against that.”

Unexpected Absence

Verville remembers the week in March 2020 when O’Connell’s Holyoke headquarters emptied for what most employees thought would be a temporary detour home.

“People did what they needed to do. There was a real commitment there,” she said. “But I personally didn’t think it would last this long. I think most people left the office and said, ‘see you in a couple weeks.’ No one thought it would be this long. And I missed everyone, so it’s great to get back to some sense of normalcy, if you will.”

That new norm seems to be an understanding among employers that their workers value flexibility, but also that the workplace culture will suffer without some face-to-face collaboration.

“It’s a hard balance,” Giombetti said, “but I think organizations that are intentional about it do it best; that’s the recipe for success.”

It could also be a recipe to attract talent at a time when many companies are struggling with hiring and retention, as many potential workers would be more amenable to a hybrid schedule than five days a week away from home.

“It’s about being able to attract and retain the top talent and finding that balance between supporting the stores — providing the tools to get their jobs done — and being accessible so that people say, ‘hey, I can work at home, and they care about me — I can take care of my family’s needs as well,’” Galat said. “It’s all about the workplace culture, and work-life balance is part of it. We want the best of both worlds.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Today’s Tech Devices Boost Health, Efficiency, and Fun

By Joseph Bednar August 4, 2021

Technology

Life on the Cutting Edge

An on-the-go society demands on-the-go technology, and today’s array of high-tech devices — available at all price points — offer users new ways to make their home lives more efficient, manage their work, boost their health, and, well, just have fun in more eye-popping, ear-tickling ways than ever. In its annual look at some of the hottest tech items available, BusinessWest dives into what the tech press is saying about some of 2021’s buzziest items.

When compared to many of the other cool tech gadgets on this list, the Amazon Smart Plug ($25) “might seem underwhelming, but you might be impressed with how much you like this smart-home accessory once you start using it,” according to spy.com. “Head out on vacation and can’t remember if you left a fan or window AC unit running? If it’s plugged into this, you can simply open up your Alexa app and cut off the power. Have a lamp that you love, but it doesn’t work with a smart bulb? Use one of these to make a dumb lamp very, very smart. On top of all that, Alexa has some impressive power-monitoring tools, so that if you have more than one of these around your home, you can figure out which appliances and electronics around the house are costing you the most money, and you can adjust your usage behavior accordingly.”

Meanwhile, the same site says the Anker Nebula Solar Portable Projector ($520) won’t replace a fancy, 65-inch, 4K HDR TV, “but for those moments when you’re really craving that movie-theater experience at home … you’ll understand why this made our list of cool tech gadgets.” The projector boasts easy setup, too. “Barely bigger than a book, you can point it at a wall and have it projecting a 120-inch, 1080p version of your favorite Netflix movie without needing to configure the picture settings or find a power outlet.”

Speaking of projectors, the BenQ X1300i 4LED Gaming Projector ($1,299) is being marketed as the first true gaming projector that’s optimized for the PS5 or Xbox Series X. “The 3,000-lumen projector will play 1080p content — so not true 4K content — at extremely low latency, which is needed for competitive gamers,” according to gearpatrol.com. “Additionally, it has built-in speakers and an Android TV operating system, so it functions as any traditional smart TV — but it can create up to a 150-inch screen.”

Taking tech outdoors is the DJI Mavic Air 2 Drone ($799), which menshealth.com touts for its massive optical sensor, means “the 48-megapixel photos pop and the hyperlap video is 8K — smart futureproofing for when your TV plays catchup. The next-gen obstacle-avoidance sensors, combined with the 34-minutes-long flight time, mean you spend more time shooting killer video and less time dodging trees and buildings.”

Smart wallets offer a convenient way to store and transport cash and credit cards while protecting against loss or theft. The Ekster Parliament Smart Wallet ($89) is a smart bifold wallet with RFID coating (to protect against identity theft) and a patented mechanism that ejects cards from its aluminum storage pocket with the press of a button. It has space for at least 10 cards, as well as a strap for carrying cash and receipts, according to bestproducts.com. “Ekster has crafted the wallet from high-quality leather that comes in a multitude of colors. An optional Bluetooth tracker for the wallet is also available. This ultra-thin gadget has a maximum range of 200 feet, and it is powered by light, so it never needs a battery.”

In the smartwatch category, the Fossil Gen 5 LTE ($349) is the company’s first product in the cellular wearables market, crn.com notes. “The Fossil Gen 5 LTE Touchscreen leverages LTE connectivity from Verizon, the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 platform, and Google’s Wear OS to let users make calls and do texting without a mobile phone.” Fossil also makes what bestproducts.com calls the best hybrid smartwatch, the Fossil Latitude HR Hybrid Smartwatch ($195), “a feature-packed hybrid smartwatch with a built-in, always-on display and a heart-rate sensor. We like that, instead of looking like a tech product, it resembles a classic chronograph timepiece with mechanical hands and a three-button layout. The Latitude HR can effortlessly deliver notifications from your phone and keep tabs on your activities.”

“We don’t know who will be more excited about the Furbo Dog Camera ($169), you or your pet,” popsugar.com notes. “You can monitor them through your phone, send them treats when you’re away, and so much more.” The 1080p, full-HD camera and night vision allows users to livestream video to monitor their pet on their phone with a 160-degree wide-angle view, day and night. A sensor also sends push notifications to a smartphone when it detects barking. Users can even toss treats to their dog via the free Furbo iOS/Android app. Set-up is easy — just plug it in to a power outlet using its USB cord, download the Furbo app, and connect to home WiFi.

“As one of the first companies to make artificial intelligence and voice-recognition technology available to the average person, spy.com notes, “Google is still the top dog when it comes to voice assistants and smart-home platforms. And perhaps its most radical move was the Google Nest Mini ($35), a small and cheap speaker that is fully imbued with the powers to command your smart home. Once you get used to the particular ways of interacting with a voice assistant, it’s rare when you have to raise your voice or repeat yourself to get the Nest Mini to understand you, even when you’re on the other side of the room, half-asleep at 1 a.m., telling it to turn off the lights, shut off the TV, and lock the doors.”

Tired of housework? “If you’re a fan of the iRobot vacuum, then you’ll want to give the iRobot Braava Jet 240 Robot Mop ($180) a try,” popsugar.com asserts. “It will clean your floors when you’re not around, so you have nothing to worry about later.” The device claims to offer precision jet spray and a vibrating cleaning to tackle dirt and stains, and gets into hard-to-reach places, including under and around toilets, into corners, below cabinets, and under and around furniture and other objects, using an efficient, systematic cleaning pattern. It also mops and sweeps finished hard floors, including hardwood, tile, and stone, and it’s ideal for kitchens and bathrooms.

Smart glasses are a thing these days, too. Jlab Audio recently introduced its new Jlab JBuds Frames ($49), a device that discretely attaches to a user’s glasses to provide wireless stereo audio on the go. “The JBuds Frames consist of two independently operating Bluetooth wireless audio devices, which include 16mm drivers that produce sound that can only be heard by the wearer, not by others,” according to crn.com. “In addition, the device can easily be detached and mounted on other frames when needed.”

For a next-level experience in eyewear, “virtual reality might be taking its time to have its ‘iPhone moment,’ but it is still very much the next big thing when it comes to the coolest tech gadgets,” spy.com notes, “and there is not a single VR device that flashes that promise more than the Oculus Quest 2 ($349).” Without the need for a powerful computer or special equipment, users can simply strap the Quest 2 to their head, pick up the controllers, and move freely in VR space thanks to its inside-out technology, which uses cameras on the outside of the headset to track movement. “In a time where we don’t have many places to escape to, the Oculus Quest 2 offers up an infinite number of destinations … even if they’re only virtual.”

Another way to escape into another world — albeit one requiring more effort — is the Peloton Bike+ (from $2,495). “Peloton’s updated bike boasts a lustrous, 24-inch-wide screen and a game-changing multi-grip handlebar that lets you always find comfortable position,” menshealth.com notes. “And the best feature just may be auto-follow, which automatically shifts the resistance when the instructor calls for it. Translation: no escape from tough workouts.”

Speaking of devices with health benefits, the Polar Verity Sense optical heart monitor ($90) can be worn on the arm or temple (for swimming). “It’s designed for people who don’t necessarily wear a wrist-bound fitness tracker or smartwatch, or are doing an exercise that isn’t very friendly to wrist jewelry, like martial arts, swimming, dancing or boxing,” gearpatrol.com notes. “It’s a nifty accessory for people who use Polar Flow, Polar’s free fitness and training app, or wear one of the company’s smartwatches.”

Meanwhile, gearpatrol.com is also high on the Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 ($250), the next-generation version of its well-reviewed video doorbell — and it adds two big upgrades. “First, it adds a new radar sensor that enables new 3D motion detection and bird’s-eye-view features; this allows it to better detect and even create a top-down map of the movement taking place in front of your door. And, secondly, the camera has an improved field of view so that it can capture the delivery person’s entire body — head to toe — when they drop off a package.”

Finally, are you looking for great sound for home entertainment? With Sonos Arc ($799), users can “get immersive audio that can fill an entire house in one slim, sleek, ultra-versatile package,” menshealth.com notes. “A whopping 11 drivers power Sonos’ newest soundbar, fueling a surround-sound experience that delivers in all situations, whether you’re playing Halo or watching Avengers: Endgame.”

Hybrid Workplaces Make Sense

By Editorial August 4, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

It takes only a few months, even a few weeks, to establish a habit.

And in under 18 months, some new habits have completely altered the work world. The question now is, for how long?

It’s a well-told story at this point how companies across the U.S. sent their employees home in mid-March 2020 for what they figured would be a few weeks at most. Many worried whether their teams could be productive at home, relying on remote technology they had never used before.

Both instincts were largely wrong. A few weeks quickly became a few months and then well over a year. Now, almost a year and a half later, tens of millions of Americans are still working from home, and in many cases making remote work a requirement, or at least a strong request, when they apply for jobs. In other words, since the work-from-home habit set in, it has proven difficult to shake.

But employers were also wrong — at least in most cases — when they assumed the transition to remote work would be rocky. Thanks to a raft of tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and IT companies that stayed incredibly busy through the first half of 2020 making sure clients’ employees had the equipment they needed — most businesses have found their remote colleagues as productive as they had been in the office, and in many cases happier and less stressed out.

So why not make remote work the new status quo, right?

The main problem lies in company culture and camaraderie — specifically, the fact that it’s difficult to maintain any when everyone is working in a different place; even regular Zoom meetings can’t replace face-to-face collaboration. Employee onboarding is harder, too — it’s tougher for a newcomer to feel assimilated and comfortable on a team when that team is scattered far and wide.

All of which is why hybrid scheduling makes so much sense, and why many companies — those that don’t require their employees to see customers and clients in person, anyway — are moving to a hybrid model (see story on page 25). In short, employees who like the home setting can work there some days, but are required to come in on other days. That way, they still feel less stress and can balance work and life, but can also meet their employer’s collaborative needs.

Some companies are establishing set at-home and on-site days, while others allow their employees to decide each week where they will be, as long as they meet the minimum on-site requirements. Others have their staffs in house most of the time, but allow them to stay home on days when they feel they would work better there.

Formal or informal, hybrid work models are becoming the norm — and might completely transform workplace culture across the U.S., not to mention the trickle-down effects on industries like commercial real estate, office furniture, IT, and even restaurants that cater to lunch crowds.

It’s a transformation that wouldn’t have been possible 20 years ago, and it took a worldwide health crisis to unlock the door. But when Americans figure out that something works well, they tend to stick with it. How permanent will this shift be? Stay tuned.

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Company Notebook

Country Bank, WooSox Announce Community Giving Campaign

WARE — Country Bank and the Worcester Red Sox have announced a community giving campaign to support nonprofit leaders throughout the region. To kick off the campaign, dubbed “WooStars,” Country Bank recognized 11 local nonprofits at Polar Park, including Springfield-based organizations Friends of the Homeless, Ronald McDonald House, Christina’s House, and Habitat for Humanity, along with Worcester-based organizations the United Way, Why Me, Sherry’s House, Provision Ministry, St. John’s Food Pantry for the Poor, the Boys and Girls Club, and Habitat for Humanity. Each nonprofit was presented with a $5,000 check from Paul Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank. Representatives of the nonprofits also participated in a television commercial to support the campaign. Country Bank and the Worcester Red Sox Foundation will select nine additional nonprofit leaders who have stepped up to the plate to serve their community. The deadline for nominations is Aug. 15. Each winner will receive a $5,000 donation to their nonprofit and will be recognized at a presentation in Polar Park on Sept. 9. In addition, the bank has also launched a Most Valuable Teacher (MVT) campaign that recognizes the outstanding work teachers do every day to educate and support students. The public is invited to nominate a WooStar at www.countrybank.com/about-us/woostars or a Most Valuable Teacher at www.countrybank.com/personal/youth-accounts/most-valuable-teacher.

Fontaine Brothers to Tackle Court Square Project

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield-based Fontaine Brothers has been named the general contractor for the long-awaited rehabilitation of 31 Elm St. in Court Square in Springfield into a 74-unit apartment complex. Construction work on the $50 million project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter and take roughly two years to complete. The project represents a partnership between OPAL Development, WinnDevelopment, MGM Springfield, and MassMutual, with funding coming from a variety of sources, including $11.3 million in state and federal historic tax credits. In addition to the housing units, plans call for retail space and a restaurant on the ground level. The project is expected to employ 100 to 120 union construction workers.

Lee Bank Foundation Announces $64,500 in Community Funding

LEE — Lee Bank Foundation awarded $64,500 to eight Berkshire-area organizations in its second round of 2021 community grant awards. Recipients were awarded grants ranging from $2,000 to $12,500 to support their local programming. Organizations receiving funding include Berkshire Bounty, Berkshire County Historical Society, Berkshire South Regional Community Center, Elizabeth Freeman Center Inc., Flying Cloud Institute, Music in Common, New Stage Performing Arts Center Inc., and Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires. To be considered for grant awards, applicants must be a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on funding organizations that work to bridge income and opportunity gaps in the region. The next application deadline is Sept. 1. Funding requests should reflect one or more of Lee Bank Foundation’s primary focus areas, which include education and literacy; food security and nutrition; economic growth and development; health and human services; mentorship, internship, and school-to-work initiatives; and arts and culture. Applicants may submit only one application in a 12-month period. Online applications and information can be found at www.leebank.com/community-impact/donations-sponsorships.html.

Market Mentors Receives Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Certification

SPRINGFIELD — Market Mentors, the region’s largest marketing, advertising, and public-relations agency, announced it has received certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses thrive and grow. WBENC certification provides Market Mentors with access to a vast network of support, including targeted business opportunities and increased visibility in corporate and government supply chains, education, and development programs. It is also an approved third-party certifier for the SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business federal contracting program. WBENC certification validates that a business is at least 51% owned, controlled, operated, and managed by a woman or women. One or more women must have unrestricted control of the business, a demonstrated management of day-to-day operations, and a proportionate investment of capital or expertise. To become certified, business owners undergo a thorough vetting process, including review of business documentation and a site visit. After working in media for more than a decade, Abdow founded Market Mentors in her home in 2003. Over the past 18 years, it has grown into a team of more than 20 professionals with multiple areas of expertise and breadth of experience across a range of industries.

WSU Receives $1.5M Grant to Increase Healthcare Access

WESTFIELD — Westfield State University’s (WSU) Department of Social Work received a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for its Integrative Behavioral Health (IBH) Equity Project. The project builds a specialized workforce within rural, medically underserved areas as well as among diverse and historically marginalized populations to address barriers identified by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in social determinants of health. This HRSA award will be distributed over the next four years and will train 92 Westfield State graduate students in the master of social work (MSW) program in the following integrative behavioral-health specialties: child, youth, and family; health social work; substance use and addictions; and Latinx community health. These students will receive $920,000 in training stipends over the next four years. Westfield State President Linda Thompson, whose background is in nursing, health sciences, and public policy, noted that the IBH project continues the university’s growth in building important healthcare programs that meet the needs of the Commonwealth. The Field Education Team in Westfield State’s Department of Social Work established IBH/Integrated Primary Care and interprofessional training partnerships across Western and Central Mass. to train students to gain proficiency as they provide in-person and telehealth services to children, youth, and families as well as individuals living with addiction and mental-health issues. It is broadening to include organizations that serve the Spanish-speaking Latinx population. The IBH Equity Project will also increase linguistic and cultural access to social-work education by offering classes in Spanish to impact the structural health inequities that affect students and clients throughout the Pioneer Valley. WSU is the first institution in the area to offer social work courses in Spanish. The project advances the university’s progress toward an institutional goal of gaining the federal Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation. Achieving the designation is part of a larger commitment by Westfield State to address systemic racism and inequities on the campus, such as in its policies and practices.

Professional Drywall Construction Expands into New York State

SPRINGFIELD — Professional Drywall Construction Inc. (PDC), a commercial drywall company headquartered in Springfield, is expanding its footprint into New York State, having recently opened a new office in Malta on July 1. Leading the expansion is Randall Berkebile, who will serve as project executive and New York regional manager at the new branch. “We have been looking into expanding into New York for quite some time, and Malta is a great, centralized location to set up our new shop,” said Ron Perry, owner of PDC. “We brought Randall in to help establish our company in the capital district and beyond. His years of experience and deep contacts in the region will assist in us creating a strong foothold in the community.” Berkebile, a resident of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is a graduate of Ball State University. He has almost a decade of experience in construction-management roles and will be responsible for overseeing projects and growing the New York branch. PDC also has a branch office in Norwalk, Conn.

Public Art to Be Installed in Springfield’s Pynchon Plaza

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Museums and Springfield Cultural Partnership announced the artists chosen to augment the newly renovated Pynchon Plaza. The SPark! Igniting Our Community call resulted in many quality applications. The chosen artists include Roberly Bell (Pelham), artful seating; Lauren Celini (Springfield), utility art; Michelle Falcón Fontánez (Boston) and Alvilda Sophia Anaya-Alegría (Springfield), mosaic art; RT Woods (Springfield), fencing art; Beth Crawford Haydenville), 3D sculptural art; Jeffrey Lara (Springfield), 3D sculptural art; Make-It Springfield, library box; and Outdoor Musical Instruments (United Kingdom), sound sculpture (to be embellished by a local artist). The call was open to all artists, and special consideration was given to installations that include Springfield artists, artists of color, LGBTQA+ artists, and female artists. Funding of these eight projects comes from a combination of public and private monies, including a National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Program Grant and a City of Springfield Community Development Block Grant. The project is designed to engage city artists, residents, community stakeholders, and cultural institutions to actively participate to reimagine public art that celebrates Springfield’s citizens, culture, and historical legacies. Competitive proposals will be inspired by aspects of Springfield itself, including its historic and/or present-day people, cultures, places and landscapes, architecture, etc., and can be literal or creative, interpretive representations. The SPark! Art Committee included representation from the Springfield Cultural Council, Springfield Parks, the Apremont Quadrangle Civic Assoc., Skyview Downtown, and the Springfield Technical Community College Carberry Fine Arts Gallery.

Picture This

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Picture This

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

Supporting Education

Elms College announced it has named its center dedicated to improving fairness and opportunity in K-12 education as the Cynthia A. Lyons Center for Equity in Urban Education (CEUE). Lyons has been a member of the Elms College board of trustees for the past 15 years, serving the last seven as board chair. In addition, the Lyons family committed $1 million in support of the CEUE, which was launched in 2019 to help bridge the 800-teacher annual gap across K-12 schools in Chicopee, Holyoke, and Springfield, especially in the STEM fields. Pictured, from left: William Lyons III, Cynthia Lyons, Elms President Harry Dumay, and Paul Stelzer, incoming chair of the Elms College board of trustees.

Heritage Week

Mercy Medical Center celebrated its Heritage Week on July 19-23, a time when the organization reflects on its early days and the many contributions the Sisters of Providence have made to the local community. Pictured: Mercy President Deborah Bitsoli presents a bouquet of flowers to Sister Mary Caritas, Mercy board member and former Mercy Hospital president, at a colleague barbeque, where Caritas recounted stories about the beginnings of the health ministry and thanked colleagues for their continued commitment to providing a healing environment.

Round Up for Change

Wild Oats Market in Williamstown recently celebrated the one-year anniversary of its Round Up for Change program with a $3,353.57 donation to the Williamstown Farmers Market’s Community Essentials Initiative. The program allows customers to round up their total purchase amounts at checkout to benefit a local nonprofit. All funds collected go directly to that month’s featured partner. Since initiating the program in June 2020, Wild Oats has donated more than $38,000 to 13 different organizations. Pictured, from left: Netse Lytle (center) of Wild Oats Market presents a check to MaryEllen Meehan (left) and Anne Hogeland from Williamstown Farmers Market.

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Court Dockets

The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Cristina Lopez v. City of Springfield

Allegation: Motor-vehicle negligence causing personal injury: $5,978

Filed: 6/23/21

Renee Davis as mother and next of kin to Jayden Crudup v. Six Flags New England

Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $3,190.52

Filed: 6/23/21

Commerce Insurance Co. as subrogee of Mary Hebert v. City of Chicopee

Allegation: Negligence causing property damage: $44,611.63

Filed: 6/29/21

Robert Palazzi v. Domaney’s Liquors and Fine Foods Inc. and Dosi, LLC

Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $52,336

Filed: 7/6/21

Nelson Gomez v. Ironsides Property Group and Couture Partners, LLC

Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $8,448

Filed: 7/6/21

Elizabeth Ibarra v. Roberto’s Sports Bar & Grille Inc. d/b/a the Zone and Paul Ramesh

Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $31,504.54

Filed: 7/7/21

Jan Sourdiffe v. Mutt Rescue Inc.

Allegation: Negligence causing personal injury: $328,040.87

Filed: 7/8/21

Constance Brawders v. Town of East Longmeadow

Allegation: Breach of employment contract: $80,000+

Filed: 7/9/21

Denise Labelle v. Flodesign Sonics Inc. and EMD Millipore Corp.

Allegation: Employment discrimination: $2,293,109

Filed: 7/12/21

Agenda

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Agenda

Virtual Information Sessions at Asnuntuck Community College

Aug. 4, 12: Asnuntuck Community College will hold two more Admissions & Financial Aid virtual information sessions this summer, on Wednesday, Aug. 4 at 3 p.m., and Thursday, Aug. 12 at 5 p.m. Potential students need to attend only one of the sessions. Participants will receive information about the admissions and financial-aid process, as well as learn about the many resources and course offerings available at Asnuntuck. The 60-minute session will also include time for questions and answers. Visit asnuntuck.edu/admissions/how-to-enroll to register for a session. Classes begin on Aug. 26 for the fall semester.

Ad Club Creative Awards Nominations

Through Aug. 5: The Advertising Club of Western Massachusetts encourages the community to apply for the 2021 Creative Awards before the deadline on Thursday, Aug. 5. Applicants can find the guidelines and application form by visiting www.adclubwm.org/events/creativeawards2021 or contacting the Ad Club at (413) 342-0533 or [email protected]. Award winners will be announced at the Ad Club’s Creative Awards show scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 14. Participants may qualify for entry in a variety of categories, including advertising, copywriting, design, interactive and web media, photography, video and motion, and student work.

Super 60 Nominations

Through Aug. 6: The Springfield Regional Chamber (SRC) is seeking nominations for its annual Super 60 awards program. Marking its 31st year, Super 60 recognizes the success of the fastest-growing privately owned businesses in the region. The last awards ceremony took place in 2019, honoring winners from 21 communities across the region and representing all sectors of the economy, including real estate, transportation, sports, dining and entertainment, insurance, energy, healthcare, technology, manufacturing, retail, and service. After a hiatus due to COVID-19, the award program is back, with a nomination deadline of Aug. 6. Each year, Super 60 identifies the top-performing companies in the region based on revenue growth and total revenue. To be considered, companies must be independently and privately owned, be based in Hampden or Hampshire county or a member of the Springfield Regional Chamber, have revenues of at least $1 million in the last fiscal year, and have been in business for at least three full years. Companies are selected based on their percentage of revenue growth over a full three-year period or total revenues for the latest fiscal year. Companies may be nominated by financial institutions, attorneys, or accountants, or they can self-nominate. Along with an application, nominators must provide net operating revenue figures for the last three full fiscal years, signed and verified by an independent auditor. All financial information must be reported under generally accepted accounting principles and will be considered confidential. Nomination forms can be found at www.springfieldregionalchamber.com and can be submitted by faxing to SUPER 60, Springfield Regional Chamber, (413) 755-1322. The Super 60 awards will be presented at the annual luncheon and recognition program on Oct. 22 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Bienvenidos Latinx Scholarship Applications

Through Aug. 6: The Holyoke Community College Foundation allocated $75,000 to endow a new scholarship fund specifically for Latinx students attending HCC. Through the Bienvenidos Latinx Scholarship, HCC will provide financial support up to $2,500 each to eligible Latinx students attending or planning to attend HCC. The foundation plans to award Bienvenidos scholarships totaling $50,000 to 20 students during the inaugural year, with the remaining $25,000 set aside in an endowed fund for future years. The deadline to apply for Bienvenidos scholarships for the 2021-22 academic year is Friday, Aug. 6. The online application is available on the HCC website at hcc.edu/bienvenidos. Beyond the direct financial support, scholarship recipients will also be connected to peer and alumni mentors and workshops to ensure their ongoing success. Applicants selected for scholarship awards by the college’s Hispanic Leadership Committee will be invited along with their families to celebrate during a first-ever Bienvenidos Latinx Scholarship reception on the HCC campus on Saturday, Aug. 28. To be eligible for the Bienvenidos scholarship, students must be enrolled or intend to enroll in at least six credits at Holyoke Community College for the fall 2021 semester and must identify themselves as a Hispanic, Latina/o, or Latinx. The Bienvenidos Scholarship is open (but not limited) to DACA, undocumented, and international students. Preference will be given to students residing in Holyoke, Springfield, and Chicopee.

Fly LUGU Flight Training Open House

Aug. 7: Fly LUGU Flight Training will host an open house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Westfield-Barnes Municipal Airport, located at 110 Airport Road in Westfield. The flight school will celebrate its reopening after the pandemic, and the public is welcome to attend a meet-and-greet with instructors, learn about discounted discovery flights, and enjoy food and music. Interested individuals can call (833) 359-5848 for more information on flight training.

ROAR! Comedy Club

Aug. 14, 28: ROAR! Comedy Club is back and ready to bring the laughs. Tickets to see comedians Ray Harrington on Saturday, Aug. 14, and Marty Caproni on Saturday, Aug. 28, are on sale at mgmspringfield.com/roar. ROAR! Comedy Club is located in the refurbished Armory at MGM Springfield. MGM Springfield and John Tobin Presents will host comedy nights in ROAR! through the remainder of the year, with more shows to be announced in the upcoming weeks. The club, which launched in 2019, is a staple of MGM Springfield’s entertainment offerings.

Healing Racism Trainings

Aug. 16-17, 19-20: The Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley (HRIPV) announced the return of its in-person programming with its two-day signature Healing Racism trainings on Aug. 16-17 and Aug. 19-20. Sessions take place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days of each series at STCC Technology Park in the Corridan Center Conference Room, 1 Federal St., Springfield. For a limited time, registration is discounted at $475 for the two-days. To register and view more seminar dates, visit www.healingracismpv.org/seminars#inperson. Since the Healing Racism Institute of Pioneer Valley was formed in 2012, more than 1,000 people from Western Mass. and throughout Massachusetts have participated in its signature two-day Healing Racism program. In addition, HRIPV offers half- and full-day board/staff training and cohort development, providing tools and training that allow organizations to continue the internal process of examining racism and its impact on organizations and the larger community.

Three County Fair

Sept. 3-6: The Three County Fair is back, returning on Labor Day weekend. Last year, the COVID-19 health crisis forced the fair to be closed to the public while hosting only limited arts, baking, crafts, and livestock competitions to comply with capacity restrictions. This year, the 204th consecutive fair returns to normal operations and capacities with discounted general admission and four-day passes on sale exclusively at 3countyfair.com. The fair’s attractions include carnival-style rides and games; adult and youth livestock, agricultural, and arts and crafts competitions; live music concerts; area food trucks; comedy variety shows; plus the ever-popular demolition derbies each day. General admission to the fair is $15 for ages 12 and up and free for ages 11 and under, with discounts for seniors and veterans. Further discounts are available by purchasing tickets online and in advance on the fair’s website. For example, the four-day pass, sold online only for $30, is 50% off the gate price for a general-admission adult ticket for four days.

Professional Drywall Construction Charity Golf Tournament

Sept. 9: Professional Drywall Construction Inc. (PDC), a leading commercial drywall company headquartered in Springfield, will host its fifth annual PDC Charity Golf Tournament at 11 a.m. at Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke. All proceeds from the tournament will be donated to Baystate Children’s Hospital. The tournament features an 18-hole round of golf, lunch, and a dinner reception. Registration is open now, and sponsorship opportunities are also available. To register online, visit app.eventcaddy.com/events/2021-pdc-charity-golf-tournament and click ‘register.’ To purchase a sponsorship online, click ‘store.’ The deadline for registration is Friday, Aug. 13.

RVCC Golf Tournament

Sept. 10: River Valley Counseling Center (RVCC), a multi-faceted mental-health agency, will hold its sixth annual golf tournament fundraiser at East Mountain Country Club in Westfield. The event is presented by Action Ambulance Service Inc. Funds raised will support the programs RVCC provides to children and teens in the community, in schools, and through local partnerships. The cost per golfer is $100 and includes greens fees, a golf cart, a gift bag, lunch, and dinner. Golfers will also be able to participate in course contests and a raffle. Registration will begin at 9 a.m. with a 10:30 a.m. shotgun start. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Visit rvccinc.org/golf for more information and to register or sponsor online.

40 Under Forty Gala

Sept. 23: BusinessWest’s 15th annual 40 Under Forty gala will take place at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The class of 2021 was introduced to the region in the magazine’s May 12 issue, and the profiles may be read online at businesswest.com. Tickets cost $80 per person. An extremely limited number of tickets are still available. To reserve a spot, call (413) 781-8600, or e-mail [email protected].

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

People on the Move

Lynn Gray

Holyoke Mall recently welcomed Lynn Gray back to the shopping center as its new general manager. She brings more than 25 years of experience in the shopping-center industry. She has held various roles over her combined tenure with Pyramid Management Group, including customer service representative, receptionist, Marketing assistant, assistant Marketing director, Marketing director, and, most recently, general manager of Hampshire Mall. In addition to her numerous years of experience with Pyramid Management Group, Gray held various roles over the span of 10 years with General Growth Properties, now Brookfield Properties, including director of Field Marketing for the East Region. Gray is a graduate of Holyoke Community College with an associate degree in business administration. A lifelong resident of Western Mass., she is actively involved with several community and nonprofit organizations. She serves as president of the board of directors for the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce and the board of directors for the Amherst Boys and Girls Club. She is also a CDH International Massachusetts ambassador and volunteers for CHERUBS, the support division of CDHi. Bill Rogalski, outgoing general manager of Holyoke Mall, retired on June 30 after 19 years in the position.

•••••

Elizabeth Wambui

Increasing diversity in the construction workforce is an important topic and has become a measure of each project’s success, just like schedule, budget, and safety. To that end, Fontaine Bros. Inc. has named Elizabeth Wambui to serve as the company’s director of Diversity, Inclusion & Impact. Wambui will play a critical role in leading the company’s projects and project teams to maximize opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises as well as attracting a more diverse workforce. Fontaine Bros. will be partnering with unions, trade schools, and other community partners to more actively promote and provide opportunities for diverse and local residents. She will immediately step in and support Fontaine’s work across the Commonwealth, including the new $242 million Doherty Memorial High School project and the new $75 million DeBerry-Homer Elementary School in Springfield. Before joining Fontaine, Wambui served as director of Advancement at Nativity School of Worcester (a longtime Fontaine community partner). A graduate of North High School and the College of the Holy Cross, she is passionate about engaging with the community. She currently serves as a board member at the Bancroft School, Shine Initiative, Women in Development of Central Massachusetts, Worcester Historical Museum, and YWCA. She is also a Mechanics Hall Modern Mechanics Guild member, a Worcester Art Museum corporator, and has served as a Greater Worcester Community Foundation early childhood committee member and scholarship community reviewer. She was part of the Leadership Worcester class of 2016-17 and has been recognized in the Worcester Business Journal’s 40 Under Forty.

•••••

Dr. Ann Errichetti

Bay Path University announced that Dr. Ann Errichetti has been appointed associate provost and dean of the School of Education, Human and Health Services, and will begin her role on Aug. 23. Errichetti returned to New England in the summer of 2018 after successful careers in healthcare management and in cardiology. Most recently, she served as the chief operations and academic officer at Presence Health, a $2.6 billion Catholic health system in Chicago with 12 acute-care hospitals, more than 25 senior-living facilities, and 16,000 employees. She was a core member of the turnaround team that improved operating performance by $200 million and led to a successful acquisition by Ascension Health in 2018. Prior to joining Presence Health, Errichetti served as CEO of St. Peter’s Hospital and Albany Memorial Hospital in Albany, N.Y.; president of Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, Ill.; and president of Advocate South Suburban in Hazel Crest, Ill. In addition to her role as president, she held the position of chief academic officer for Advocate Health Care, serving as the liaison between three medical-school affiliates and more than 600 medical residents and fellows. She was also an associate dean at Rosalind Franklin University, Chicago Medical School. Errichetti graduated from Fordham University, received her M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School, and earned an MBA from Clark University. Her husband, Dr. Mark Keroack, was a medical-school classmate and currently serves as president and CEO of Baystate Health in Springfield.

•••••

Harmony Cross

Holyoke Community College has named Harmony Cross its first dean of Student Development, Engagement and Inclusion. This new position combines the responsibilities of two previous jobs at the college — dean of students and director of Retention and Student Success — with an increased emphasis on education equity. Before coming to HCC, Cross served as director of the New York State Education Department’s Higher Education Opportunity Program at Marymount Manhattan College in New York City, where she managed and developed holistic services and high-impact practices for students who might not have considered attending college because of their academic and economic backgrounds. Prior to that, she worked as program director for the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx and area coordinator for 15 coed residential facilities at Widener University in Chester, Pa. She has also taught college-level, first-year transition courses and leadership classes and coached students on conflict resolution and mediation techniques. Cross earned her master’s degree in educational leadership with a concentration in higher education at Temple University and holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from North Carolina Central University, where she was a Division I collegiate athlete in track and field. She is currently working on her Ed.D. in higher education administration at Bradley University.

•••••

Tony Ieraci

Excel Dryer Inc., manufacturer of the XLERATOR Hand Dryer, has added a new director of Marketing to the team. A seasoned professional with 24 years of experience, Tony Ieraci will be responsible for helping Excel Dryer create and execute long-term marketing strategies that will help grow the brand. Ieraci has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in marketing from Western New England University. He has spent the last two decades working in marketing and communications for leading manufacturers like Scapa North America and Dymax Corp. Ieraci will now head up the marketing team at Excel Dryer to develop and implement effective global communication plans that advance the company’s business goals and objectives.

•••••

Adam Baldwin

Arrha Credit Union announced the Adam Baldwin has been named Springfield branch manager. Baldwin has more than seven years of banking experience and been recognized throughout his banking-industry career as a rising star with superior service awards. He is also a Rotarian with the Springfield Rotary Club. “I am excited to be part of the Arrha Credit Union family and serving the Springfield community and its members,” Baldwin said. “I look forward to providing caring service, offering rewarding membership benefits to existing and new members, and growing these relationships.”

•••••

Bulkley Richardson recently welcomed Dr. Lisa Harty as an associate in the firm’s litigation and professional malpractice groups. Harty earned a bachelor’s degree from Mount Holyoke College in 2001, an M.D. degree from St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine in 2009, and a juris doctor degree from Western New England University School of Law in 2020. “As an attorney who has earned degrees in both medicine and law, Lisa brings a unique perspective to our healthcare and medical professional clients,” said Mike Burke, chair of Bulkley Richardson’s professional malpractice group. “She will add tremendous value to our team.”

•••••

Sharale Mathis

Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Sharale Mathis as its vice president of Academic and Student Affairs. Mathis was most recently the dean of Academic and Student Affairs at Middlesex Community College in Connecticut, where she was previously a tenured professor of Biology, course coordinator, department chair, and STEM Division director. At Middlesex, she taught both lab and non-lab science classes on campus, online, and in hybrid formats. She was an early adopter of open educational resources, utilizing online resources for supplemental instruction, designating that course as no cost to students. Mathis earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern Connecticut State University, a master’s degree in biomedical sciences from Quinnipiac University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Hartford.

•••••

The Hitchcock Center for the Environment announced William “Billy” Spitzer as its new executive director. He brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience in the areas of science education, climate communication, and network building along with a vast network of national and international connections. Spitzer will be influential in the continued growth and impact that the center has seen in recent years as it continues on its mission to educate and inspire action for a healthy planet. Spitzer comes to the center as the former vice president for Learning and Community at the New England Aquarium, where he was responsible for applying learning and social-science research across education programs, exhibits, visitor experience, and community outreach for more than 20 years. Working with organizations such as the National Network for Ocean and Climate Change Interpretation, Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network, and North American Assoc. for Environmental Education, he has been involved in many successful collaborative projects with a focus on environmental education and awareness along with the promotion of public engagement in climate change. In 2014, Spitzer was recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change for Engaging the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders. In 2016, he received a Visionary Award from the Gulf of Maine Council for innovation, creativity, and commitment to marine protection. He holds a Ph.D. in oceanography from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

•••••

Matthew Sosik

Matthew Sosik was recently elected to the 20-member board of directors of the Massachusetts Bankers Assoc., the only association representing FDIC-insured community, regional, and nationwide banks serving consumer and business clients across the Commonwealth. Sosik is the CEO of Hometown Financial Group Inc., a $3.4 billion mutual multi-bank holding company based in Easthampton. He also serves as president and CEO of bankESB, a subsidiary of Hometown Financial Group. Sosik joined Hometown Bank, now bankHometown, in 1996 after five years as a bank examiner with the FDIC. In 2013, he became the president and CEO at bankESB and began to build Hometown Financial Group through a combination of organic growth strategies and merger-and-acquisition transactions. He is also a board member for the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, whose mission is to work with communities to create innovative policy and financing solutions that provide affordable homes and better lives for the people of Massachusetts. He also serves on the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council and is a member of the board of directors of COCC Inc., a technology company headquartered in Southington, Conn., that serves the financial industry.

•••••

Daniel Burger

Christina Gonzalez

Daniel Burger has joined OMG Roofing Products as a product engineer for the company’s solar business. In his newly created position, Burger is responsible for creating and managing technical support for rooftop solar and pipe-support products, including product design, testing, and voice-of-customer feedback. He will also support product-certification efforts with the International Code Council, Factory Mutual Global, and others, as well as support application engineering at engineering, procurement, and construction firms. Burger brings solid environmental-related engineering experience to OMG. For the past few years, he was with the Dennis Group as a site civil engineer. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Hartford. Meanwhile, OMG Roofing Products also announced it has hired Christina Gonzalez as a product manager. She is responsible for developing sales and marketing opportunities for new and existing OMG discretionary products throughout the company’s extensive network of independent roofing distributors across the U.S. For the past four years, Gonzalez has been an associate product manager with the FastenMaster Division of OMG Inc., where she led cross-functional teams to help commercialize several new products annually. Earlier, she was in a management-training program with Sherwin Williams. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Connecticut State University.

•••••

East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed Grace Barone as its executive director. Barone is an experienced business-development leader in senior living as well as a past small business owner of a successful bridal boutique for 17 years. She said she is always struck by the power of community and what can be achieved when working together, and she looks forward to unlocking opportunities to bring people together, share ideas, and learn from one another to promote business environments that foster economic growth. The chamber serves the communities of East Longmeadow, Hampden, Longmeadow, Ludlow, and Wilbraham.

•••••

Country Bank recently announced the recipients of the 2020 President’s Platinum Award. The bank’s recognition program, CB Shines, encourages staff members to be on the lookout for co-workers who embody the bank’s corporate values of integrity, service, teamwork, excellence, and prosperity. Within this program, an employee can receive different levels of recognition: Silver Spotlight (awarded anytime), Gold Star (awarded quarterly), and President’s Platinum (awarded annually). The 2020 President’s Platinum award was presented to both Dianna Lussier, Risk Management officer, and Nicholas Thompson, assistant manager, Customer Care Center.

Doing Business as Certificates

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of July 2021. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

AMHERST

Café Design Interiors
137 Columbia Dr.
Eva Palacios

Emerson Properties
151 Barefoot Cove
Gary Cook

Jack Watson
85 Montague Road
Jack Watson

MedZu Inc.
29C Cottage St.
Paul Killinger

TickReport
29C Cottage St.
Paul Killinger

VIP Nails
181 University Dr., Suite B
Minh Lang

ZIK Management
26 Brookside Court
Zahava Koren

CHICOPEE

Bitcoin Depot
577 East St.
Lux Vending, LLC

Bitcoin Depot
659 Grattan St.
Lux Vending, LLC

Jaffa’s Photography
33 Chapin St.
Joshua Cochran

Prestige Builders 413
20 Ward St.
Jason LaBeau

Stop and Chill
400 East Main St.
Iffat Ruby

DEERFIELD

B & N Industries
124 North Main St.
Stephen Barrett

Baranowski Cleaners & Tailors
7 Elm St.
Jerzy Bielski, Theresa Bielski

The Bars Farm
146 Mill Village Road
Dean Landale

BiPolar Lives Matter Inc.
5A Adams Court
Joseph Arshawsky

Country Roads
18 Upper Road
Joseph Kostiuk Jr.

Energy Works Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine
265 Greenfield Road, Suite A
Gabrielle Freels

Gauthier Enterprises
38 Elm Circle
Kelly Gauthier

Gauthier Investigations Services
38 Elm Circle
Kelly Gauthier

Howard Pest Control
36 Hillside Road
Richie Ackerman

Z & E Property, LLC
43 Conway St.
Jessica Petersen

EAST LONGMEADOW

Go Progress Media
201 Gates Ave.
Dannia Guzman

Louis & Clark Medical Supply
436 North Main St.
Clark Matthews

Perron’s Automotive
197 Shaker Road
Brian Perron

Pretty Pineapple Beauty Bar
42 Harkness Ave.
Eliana Espejo

Quilts & Treasures
56-58 Shaker Road
Valerie Morton

SammyC Photography
5 Murray Court
Samuel Conroy

Stephanie Barry
51 Prospect St.
Stephanie Barry

Yejide Bell
40 Crane Ave.
Yejide Bell

HADLEY

Athleta #6320
339 Russell St.
Jared Heuer

Galvin & Sons Masonry and Construction, LLC
95 North Maple St.
Jason Galvin

Gomes Home Health Care
248 Russell St., #2
Ester Gomes

Hadley Triad
46 Middle St.
Hadley Senior Center

John Noreika LMT
185 Russell St.
John Noreika

Little Heaven
229 Russell St.
Dorjee Dolma

Lynette’s Got It
138 Russell St.
Haley Shipman

PRH Construction
115 Mt. Warner Road
Peter Heronemus

Riverside Fencing Club
162 Russell St.
Taro Yamashida

HOLYOKE

3M Consulting
8 Ross Road
Willie Spradley, Patricia Spradley

AKB Stonework
22 Florida Dr.
Andrew Braunschweig

Cape Cod CAD Concepts
203 Huron Ave.
Ted Wojcik

E-Z Storage
623 South Summer St.
Javier Gonzalez, Evelyn Gonzalez

K & B Market
4 Adams St.
Rigoberto Lantigua

Mambo Café & Nightclub
497 Main St.
Cruz Rosario

Open Square, LLC
1 Open Square Way
John Aubin

Spradley Deluxe Coffee
8 Ross Road
Willie Spradley, Patricia Spradley

Star Dancers’ Unity
172 High St.
Alexcelin Saldana

Team Vado
39 View St.
Kevin Singh

NORTHAMPTON

The Center for Feldenkrais and Movement Arts
35 Rust Ave.
Fritha Pengelly

Coin Cloud
150 Main St., Suite 8
Christopher McAlary

Emerald Oak Wellness
46 Evergreen Road, Apt. 204
Donna Whyte

Hampshire Cardiovascular Associates
22 Atwood Dr.
Hampden & Franklin County Cardiovascular Associates, P.C.

The Hamptons Self Storage
547 Easthampton St.
Dick Berry

The Hamptons Self Storage
547 Easthampton St.
Sharie Tweedy

J & B Construction
43 Fair St.
Joseph Jasinski

L3 KEO
50 Prince St.
Michael Kemp

Little Wren Farm
35 Rust Ave.
Pamela MacEwan

Rose Hill Farm
1367 Westhampton Road
Rose Marie Damon

Scotti’s Drive-In & Meadowcrest Golf Range
90 Haydenville Road
Amanda Ashton

Wool & Dye Works
52 Maple St., Suite 101
Christine Bielak

Zest Bags
58 Belmont Ave.
Maria Holguin, Brian Foote

SOUTHWICK

Angelo’s Barber Shop
513 College Highway
Andrew Daley

It’s Sew U.S.
21 Matthews Road
Lauri Scott-Smith

Trufit Health
5 Mallard Lane
Shane Dowd

SPRINGFIELD

Capo’s Landscaping
33 Harper St.
Thomas Capobianco

Carol Clothing
51 Merwin St.
Carol Coombs

Casa Vallarta Mexican Restaurant
302 Cooley St.
Casa Vallarta

Changework Financial Coaching
43 Harvard St.
Kimberly Miner

Fade Studio
835 Belmont Ave.
Jaime Correa

Family First Family, LLC
143 Main St.
Andre Hickson

Firestone Complete Auto Care
1666 Boston Road
Firestone Complete Auto Care

Firetean Co.
143 Main St.
Anthony Valderrama

Foodies House, LLC
623 Parker St.
Asia Kenney

Fortune Infinite Republic Enterprise, LLC
30 Merrick Ave.
Timothy Baymon Jr.

Johnny V’s Handyman Service
13 Onondaga St.
John Verducci

Jonathan Encarnacion
25 Churchill St.
Jonathan Encarnacion

KC Cabinet
38 Cherrelyn St.
Carlos Cruz-Cedres

Kell Nails
31 Robert Dryer Circle
Keishla Melendez

Kozy Kidz Center
59 Blake St.
Sharonda Faye

Lead Guard Academy
798 Belmont Ave.
Ruben Del Rosario

Oak Contemplations
97 Olmsted Dr.
Christine Mary

Oceans Productions
31 Undine Circle
Juan Dominicci

Peña Roofing & Remodeling
348 White St.
Nancy Ureña-Peña

Premier Choice Realty
916 Belmont St.
Premier Management

Pretty & Perfect
90 Newland St.
Viviannette Torres

This Close Productions
6 Kenway Dr.
Gavin Ulias

Three Point Stop
427 State St.
Burrenton Crowley

Tilted Hair Studio
143 Main St.
Talasia Flowers

Try Me Too Seafood
427 State St.
Damin Mullen

Unique Detailing
1304 Worcester St.
Samuel Lozada

Wandell & Co.
66 Montrose St.
Monica Waddell

Whitley’s Home Improvement
160 Woodwin St.
Donovan Whitney

Yazz Crafts
132 West Alvord St.
Yazmin Santiago

WESTFIELD

Apex Dent Repair
72 Kane Brothers Circle
Thomas Cutler

Christina Rosario Photo
13 Noble St.
Christina Rosario

G & G General Contracting
18 Grandview Dr.
Geraldine Hui

Paws Up Pet Sitting
6 Madison St.
Katherine Cartagena

Perfect Care Inc.
26 Hampden St.
Kevin Allen

Persistence Investigations
11 Lozier Ave.
Peggy Meyer-Ducheney

PJ Trucking
12 Madison St.
Eric Perrier

Racelyn Cole Venturing, LLC
50 Lowell Ave.
Ruth Aborjaily

Ryna Zia Force, LLC
50 Lowell Ave.
Ruth Aborjaily

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Aero3DS
75 Hanover St.
Oleg Gladysh

AJ Logistics
279 Belmont Ave.
Ashley Gomes

Ascension Energy Spa
1399 Westfield St.
Christine Sgambati

Associated Home Care
138 Memorial Ave.
Associated Home Care, LLC

DA Heat Station
865 Memorial Ave.
Samuel English

DX2 Fitness
1452 Memorial Ave.
Daniela Fernandez

Entre Technologies
138 Memorial Ave.
Norman Fiedler

Gena L. Dube MSW, LICSW
117 Park Ave.
Gena Dube

Northern Security Services
203 Circuit Ave.
Damion Cameron

O’Brien’s Lawn Care
145 Western Ave.
Joshua O’Brien

One Stop Mart
636 Kings Highway
Muhammad Awan

Rapidox Logistics, LLC
1095 Westfield St.
Emanuel Lopez-Muncz

Bankruptcies

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Bankruptcies

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

Anderson, Mary P.
36 Edward Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/29/2021

Bailey, Richard D.
Bailey, Susan E.
P.O. Box 160
Warren, MA 01083
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/21/2021

Brown, Jeanette
205 Tyler St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/30/2021

D’Arcy, Kenneth N.
26 Springfield St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/30/2021

Davis, Frederick G.
a/k/a Christmas, Frederick G.
a/k/a Davis, Fred
a/k/a Davis, Frederick Garland
a/k/a Christmas, Frederick Garland
34 Oxford St., Apt. #3
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/17/2021

Dejesus, Erasmo
414 Chestnut St., Apt. 325
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/24/2021

Greenwald, Igor
64 Boylston St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/28/2021

Hawley, Andrea L.
Boyden, Andrea L.
1183 Westfield St., Apt. 19
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/18/2021

Hurd, Nicole M.
332 Wallingford Ave., Apt. 1
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/30/2021

Irwin, Kate E.
5 Olney Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/22/2021

J.F. Griffin Publishing, LLC
33 Main St., Fl. 2
North Adams, MA 01247
Chapter: 11
Date: 06/21/2021

Jacobs, Linda J.
241 Wilbraham St., Apt. C
Palmer, MA 01069
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/21/2021

Mathieu, Terri L.
6 Whiteman Way #2
Turners Falls, MA 01376
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/16/2021

Moriarty, Michael P.
32 Deerfoot Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/25/2021

O’Brien, George W.
106 Wait St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/22/2021

Perkins, Darlene L.
Perkins, William T.
112 East Acres Road
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/20/2021

Perkins, David A.
140 Appleton Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/26/2021

Pirrello, James C.
192 Hillside Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/22/2021

Regan, Ann-Marie
a/k/a Hamm-Regan, Ann-Marie
PO Box 136
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/29/2021

Reid, Vernita D.
241 Nottingham St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/24/2021

Rodwell, Eric
1356 Main St.
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/28/2021

Shafer, Kelsey Emily
29 Pleasant St.
Orange, MA 01364
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/18/2021

The Frederick, LLC
Kemble Inn
2 Kemble St.
Lenox, MA 01240
Chapter: 11
Date: 06/28/2021

Tower, Brittany A.
57 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/22/2021

Vogue Techniques
DiPietro, Lynn M.
361 Dresser Hill Road
Southbridge, MA 01550
Chapter: 13
Date: 06/23/2021

Walker, William A.
16 Ramah St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/22/2021

Wells, Kimberly A.
11 Normandy Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/16/2021

Zytkiewicz, Linda A.
10 Farnum Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Date: 06/18/2021

Real Estate Transactions

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

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

BERNARDSTON

63 Gill Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Amanda J. Murphy
Seller: Eric A. Vassar
Date: 06/28/21

85 Hillcrest Dr.
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Anthony J. Denofrio
Seller: Helen A. Staiger
Date: 07/06/21

CHARLEMONT

129 Main St.
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Timothy Porter-Devriese
Seller: Wayne D. Filan
Date: 06/30/21

2161 Route 2
Charlemont, MA 01339
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Joseph Mendes
Seller: Josh Simpson Contemporary
Date: 06/28/21

COLRAIN

11 Church St.
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $238,000
Buyer: Cole Whitaker
Seller: Amanda S. Haney
Date: 07/09/21

Crosier Lane
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Sarah M. Wilson
Seller: Stowe Farm Community Home Owners Assn.
Date: 06/30/21

438 Jacksonville Road
Colrain, MA 01340
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Daniel Dubois
Seller: Carolyn B. Cromack RET
Date: 06/29/21

DEERFIELD

43 Conway St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $329,000
Buyer: Jessica E. Petersen
Seller: Paul W. Allis
Date: 06/28/21

14 Elm St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $122,400
Buyer: Hamshaw Deerfield LLC
Seller: Filion Leasing Inc.
Date: 06/28/21

16 Elm St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $557,600
Buyer: Hamshaw Deerfield LLC
Seller: Filion Leasing Inc.
Date: 06/28/21

74 North Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: James Perot LT
Seller: Daniel M. Harper
Date: 06/30/21

ERVING

49 Mountain Road
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $197,500
Buyer: Tristan D. Martineau
Seller: Charest, Paul M., (Estate)
Date: 06/29/21

GILL

235 French King Hwy.
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Michael Vining
Seller: Kurt T. Prondecki
Date: 06/28/21

132 West Gill Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Katelyn A. Wood
Seller: Alan D. Tufano
Date: 07/02/21

GREENFIELD

890 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Nicholas Guidi
Seller: Michele Hoyt
Date: 07/01/21

1113 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $1,660,000
Buyer: Hamshaw Greenfield LLC
Seller: Filion Leasing Inc.
Date: 06/28/21

1123 Bernardston Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $1,660,000
Buyer: Hamshaw Greenfield LLC
Seller: Filion Leasing Inc.
Date: 06/28/21

40 Burnham Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $291,500
Buyer: Nancy L. Carson
Seller: Regrag RT
Date: 07/09/21

103 Burnham Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Rory E. Donohoe
Seller: Carrie H. Dubino
Date: 06/30/21

159 Chapman St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $262,500
Buyer: Jason A. Staloff
Seller: Raymond C. Harris
Date: 07/02/21

201 Chapman St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Rayshawn Yarde
Seller: Alan S. Jackson
Date: 06/28/21

83 Davis St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Jeffrey T. Reynolds
Seller: Jane M. Buchanan
Date: 06/29/21

33 Forest Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Shawn M. Johnson
Seller: Craig Hunting
Date: 07/07/21

39 Grove St.
Greenfield, MA 01376
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Christopher D. Hample
Seller: Paul W. Allis
Date: 06/28/21

99 Hope St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Carmen G. Gonzalez
Seller: Jason Houle
Date: 07/09/21

220-228 Main St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Buudda Brothers LLC
Seller: Ikhlas LLC
Date: 07/08/21

85 Pierce St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Roundabout Books Inc.
Seller: Joel Tognarelli
Date: 07/01/21

8-10 Pond St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: PRB LLC
Seller: Gerald A. Badore
Date: 06/30/21

233 Silver St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Jeffrey P. Francisco
Seller: Robert J. Conlin
Date: 07/07/21

82 Thayer Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Marie G. Mullen
Seller: Redfoot LLC
Date: 06/28/21

303 Wisdom Way
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $1,825,000
Buyer: All Purpose Storage Greenfield
Seller: Wisdom Way Self Storage
Date: 06/28/21

LEVERETT

112 Shutesbury Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Stuberovskis FT
Seller: Robinson, Arija, (Estate)
Date: 07/01/21

LEYDEN

134 Frizzell Hill Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Laura O. Sackton
Seller: Melissa A. Osborne
Date: 07/07/21

MONTAGUE

100 3rd St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Iris Properties LLC
Seller: Brenda J. Harvey
Date: 07/06/21

90 5th St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Alexxis J. Young
Seller: Rich Young Property Management Inc.
Date: 07/06/21

Industrial Blvd.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $157,500
Buyer: River Bluff Group LLC
Seller: Town Of Montague
Date: 07/01/21

27 N St.
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: Jeremy Towle
Seller: Gregory M. Oles
Date: 06/30/21

16 West Main St.
Montague, MA 01349
Amount: $183,000
Buyer: William R. Crosby
Seller: Marilyn C. Watroba
Date: 07/06/21

NEW SALEM

15 West St.
New Salem, MA 01355
Amount: $408,500
Buyer: Yongjun Ruan
Seller: Christopher P. Misra
Date: 06/29/21

NORTHFIELD

63 Glenwood Ave.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Sean P. Ross
Seller: Paul W. Prest
Date: 07/09/21

24 Pierson Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Christopher S. McAdam
Seller: Nancy Carson
Date: 07/09/21

9 Pentecost Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Susan J. Westphal
Seller: Andrea T. Dale
Date: 07/02/21

ORANGE

85 Hayden St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Terry Denney
Seller: Sovereign Von Buren Rlty
Date: 06/30/21

8 Packard Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: Miguel A. Nieto
Seller: Stachelczyk LT
Date: 07/09/21

SHUTESBURY

138 Locks Pond Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $444,900
Buyer: Matteo A. Pangallo
Seller: Ayres Hall RET
Date: 06/28/21

SUNDERLAND

286 North Silver Lane
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Paul R. Miller
Seller: Christopher R. Bourque
Date: 07/02/21

WENDELL

New Salem Road
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Whetstone Wood T. Fund
Seller: Eleanor M. Wetherby
Date: 06/29/21

29 West St.
Wendell, MA 01380
Amount: $147,000
Buyer: Iris Evernow
Seller: Craig Wendell
Date: 06/30/21

WHATELY

200 Chestnut Plain Road
Whately, MA 01093
Amount: $622,000
Buyer: Ellen S. Burt
Seller: Melissa B. Caldwell
Date: 07/01/21

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

37 Alfred Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Robyn M. Hersey
Seller: Kenneth E. Hinckley
Date: 06/28/21

13 Campbell Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Donald Marion
Seller: Patrick S. O’Hare
Date: 06/30/21

22 Cooley St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $263,000
Buyer: Ruth N. Vasquez
Seller: Gregory M. Daniels
Date: 07/08/21

51 Dartmouth St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $329,500
Buyer: Shirley Tosado
Seller: Jennifer E. Bonavita
Date: 06/29/21

70 Elm St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Alycar Investments LLC
Seller: David D. Sanschagrin
Date: 07/08/21

83 Halladay Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Juan C. Santana
Seller: Tamara Milyakova
Date: 06/28/21

102 Halladay Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $331,000
Buyer: Timothy S. Rowan
Seller: David P. Whitehead
Date: 06/30/21

48 Horsham Place
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $323,000
Buyer: Shelley R. Daly
Seller: Oleg Shevchenko
Date: 07/02/21

40 Lealand Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jinmu Staddon
Seller: Andrew J. Fay
Date: 07/01/21

1013 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Thomas Burgess
Seller: Michael Sapelli
Date: 07/09/21

448 Main St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $229,600
Buyer: Kara M. Pulley
Seller: Michael S. Bilodeau
Date: 07/06/21

62-64 Mark Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Kathleen A. Cortese
Seller: Richard J. Langone
Date: 06/28/21

22 Ralph St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Zachary H. Avery-Kondrat
Seller: Frank J. Bond
Date: 07/07/21

10-12 River St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Haskell Holdings LLC
Seller: Nicholas Toma
Date: 06/30/21

47 Rosie Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: John V. Ivanov
Seller: Salamon, Jeffery A., (Estate)
Date: 06/29/21

321 Rowley St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $194,000
Buyer: Marco Scibelli
Seller: Albert R. Desmarais
Date: 07/02/21

604 South West St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $292,800
Buyer: Yury Panchuk
Seller: Anton Melnikov
Date: 07/01/21

194 School St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Dominic A. Carraturo
Seller: Steven D. Gamble
Date: 06/30/21

500 School St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $426,200
Buyer: Mark Karolides
Seller: Jason P. Macari
Date: 07/02/21

557-559 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $182,500
Buyer: Timothy R. Scussel
Seller: Yang Maggie Inc.
Date: 06/29/21

715 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Yoniriz Parrilla
Seller: Clark Dore
Date: 06/30/21

18 Stony Hill Road
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Andrew Fay
Seller: Thomas E. Gorman
Date: 07/01/21

1303 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Alexis Sepulveda
Seller: David Askins
Date: 06/28/21

53 Tobacco Farm Road
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $411,000
Buyer: Brittany M. Progulske
Seller: Elizabeth A. Maher
Date: 06/30/21

BRIMFIELD

45 Dean Pond Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $267,350
Buyer: Eric J. Poirier
Seller: Colleen Thompson
Date: 07/06/21

52 Washington Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: Miaoli Wu
Seller: Michael J. Fusco
Date: 07/01/21

285 Webber Road
Brimfield, MA 01010
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Spring Mountain LLC
Seller: A&B Automotive Prop LLC
Date: 07/08/21

CHESTER

23 Maple St.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Amy Sewell
Seller: Gary J. Dipietro
Date: 07/09/21

CHICOPEE

56 Auburn St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $217,800
Buyer: Carol Maldonado
Seller: Jeffrey A. Pickett
Date: 07/07/21

140 Boutin St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $276,000
Buyer: Cathy A. Tobin
Seller: Victor Borisik
Date: 07/02/21

262 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Daryl L. Lidwin
Seller: Luke J. Tetreault
Date: 06/30/21

166 College St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Robert F. Danczak
Seller: US Bank
Date: 07/07/21

94 Cora Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $246,500
Buyer: Elsie M. Colon
Seller: Charles Constantilos
Date: 06/30/21

29 Deslauriers St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Yajaira Santiago
Seller: Amani Group LLC
Date: 07/02/21

138 East St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Felix Rodriguez
Seller: Daniel E. Perez
Date: 06/30/21

118 Fairview Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $314,000
Buyer: Drew Nalewanski
Seller: J. Michael Muldoon
Date: 07/09/21

67 Falmouth Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Omar Espada
Seller: Donald French
Date: 07/02/21

23 Farmington St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Jesus Matos-Ocasio
Seller: Joshua D. Provost
Date: 07/01/21

61 Fletcher Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: William R. Anderson
Seller: Richard G. Maciolek
Date: 07/07/21

132 Frontenac St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Robert S. Kyser
Seller: Janelle Tarantino
Date: 06/30/21

110 Hafey St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Joubethzy Rodriguez
Seller: Frances E. Darcey
Date: 07/02/21

48 Hamilton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Mykel B. Potter
Seller: Robert J. Galica
Date: 07/01/21

43 Juliette St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Yefri Ciprian
Seller: Amy T. Keaton
Date: 07/02/21

35 Linden St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $289,000
Buyer: Marc S. Lewis
Seller: Justin D. Delonge
Date: 07/02/21

33 Lombard St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Todd Roy
Seller: Sarad, Rita A., (Estate)
Date: 06/29/21

97 Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Santana Real Estate Inc.
Seller: Wilma D. Liaszenik
Date: 07/02/21

61 Moreau Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Wahab A. Mohammed
Seller: Marc N. Turgeon
Date: 07/06/21

24 Mount Royal St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Reginald Green
Seller: Margaret Goodrich
Date: 06/30/21

36 Northwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Katherine E. Smith
Seller: Croteau, Donald B., (Estate)
Date: 07/09/21

15 Oxford St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $301,000
Buyer: Patricia Hourihan
Seller: Margaret E. Gray
Date: 06/28/21

9 Page Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Andre N. Laidlaw
Seller: Kimberly S. McGee
Date: 06/28/21

77 Reed St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Patricia Davey
Seller: Richard P. Beaulieu
Date: 06/30/21

90 Rochester St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Amy Mercer
Seller: Timothy M. Pittman
Date: 07/09/21

74 Saint Jacques Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Trevor McCarthy
Seller: Robert W. Smith
Date: 07/01/21

27 Shirley St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $256,000
Buyer: Jeremiah L. Ruell
Seller: Jamie L. Puckett
Date: 06/30/21

29 Silvin Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $263,000
Buyer: Jose J. Diaz
Seller: Andrew J. Segarra
Date: 07/09/21

527 Springfield St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Diana Pun
Seller: Daria M. Peck
Date: 06/28/21

176 Vadnais St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Christopher Staples
Seller: Timothy F. Ryan
Date: 07/09/21

EAST LONGMEADOW

5 Bella Vista Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $900,000
Buyer: Wandana Joshi
Seller: Ridgeview Development LLC
Date: 06/28/21

21 Channing Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01108
Amount: $139,425
Buyer: USA HUD
Seller: June R. Cleary
Date: 07/09/21

190 Chestnut St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $439,900
Buyer: Kerry O’Reilly
Seller: Lisa Italiano
Date: 06/30/21

2 Clover Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $523,000
Buyer: Gail M. Nassif
Seller: D. R. Chestnut LLC
Date: 07/01/21

87 Edmund St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $275,100
Buyer: Noraimi Rivera
Seller: Stephanie J. Dunaj
Date: 06/30/21

122 Elm St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Chelsea Colbath
Seller: Adam D. Lape
Date: 06/29/21

25 Hillside Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: Michael T. Lynch
Seller: Carlos M. Lopez
Date: 06/30/21

8 Linden Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Johanna Pinero
Seller: Wayne Portier
Date: 06/30/21

8 Lyric Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Joshua K. Lee
Seller: Brian A. Markelonis
Date: 06/30/21

69 Maplehurst Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $244,500
Buyer: Brinsley Chasse
Seller: Quang Luu
Date: 06/30/21

208 Mapleshade Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $233,000
Buyer: Steven K. Mazza
Seller: Diane L. Brady
Date: 06/30/21

45 Oak Brook Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Joan I. Annexy-Lopez
Seller: Girard L. Elliott
Date: 07/09/21

15 Park Place
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: Arthur B. Singleton
Seller: Benjamin L. Cote
Date: 06/28/21

117 Pleasant St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Phil Milstein
Seller: Barry Fitzgerald
Date: 07/09/21

19 Skyline Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Jill E. Cote
Seller: Lisa A. Simon
Date: 06/28/21

GRANVILLE

471 Blandford Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Kristy Bennett
Seller: Thomas L. Anderson
Date: 07/01/21

313 Crest Lane
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $277,274
Buyer: FNMA
Seller: Michael T. Bane
Date: 06/30/21

HAMPDEN

21 Allen Crest St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Eileen P. Hanley
Seller: Raymond C. Bartolucci
Date: 06/30/21

91 Mill Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $372,000
Buyer: Jason P. Catarino
Seller: Donna T. Haskins
Date: 07/09/21

3 Old Coach Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $381,500
Buyer: Jeffrey R. Yarrows
Seller: Janet E. Plumb
Date: 06/30/21

15 South Ridge Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Brian K. Wood
Seller: Paul C. Gagliarducci
Date: 06/30/21

23 Walnut Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $329,900
Buyer: Shawn Sullivan
Seller: Lillian M. Crouser
Date: 06/30/21

193 Wilbraham Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Stephen D. Lamb
Seller: Edward S. Zorzi
Date: 07/02/21

67 Wilbraham Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Carlos Silva
Seller: William H. Bond
Date: 06/29/21

HOLLAND

21 Barry Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $199,900
Buyer: Dana Vilandre
Seller: Steven Verrette
Date: 06/29/21

1 Leisure Court
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $377,000
Buyer: Gerald A. Dente
Seller: Timothy M. Gerry
Date: 07/01/21

13 Leisure Dr.
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Martin Vibert
Seller: James M. Czapiga
Date: 06/28/21

HOLYOKE

198 Allyn St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $165,500
Buyer: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Seller: Jackowski, James J. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 06/30/21

35 Clayton Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jonathan D. Engle
Seller: Kathleen G. Anderson
Date: 07/01/21

13 Cook St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Alexandra Renna
Seller: Jonathan Engle
Date: 06/30/21

19 Cray Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Cray Realty LLC
Seller: Elinor W. Twohig
Date: 07/01/21

7 Cray Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Cray Realty LLC
Seller: Elinor W. Twohig
Date: 07/01/21

1030 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Alexandro R. Ramirez
Seller: Kerry L. O’Reilly
Date: 06/30/21

8 Harrison Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Richard A. DeJesus-Lopez
Seller: Perry Mcdonnell
Date: 06/30/21

302 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Maria E. Camacho
Seller: Kyle Sodano
Date: 07/07/21

47 Mount Tom Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $321,000
Buyer: Adam J. Munska
Seller: Ruth N. Vega
Date: 06/30/21

64 Nonotuck St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $326,000
Buyer: Matthew D. Mayer
Seller: Taylor M. Roberge
Date: 06/29/21

1615 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Cray Realty LLC
Seller: Elinor W. Twohig
Date: 07/01/21

30 Sheehan Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Kyle Renzulli
Seller: Joan I. Annexy-Lopez
Date: 07/09/21

23-25 School St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Leland M. Alexander
Seller: Holyoke 23-25 School St.
Date: 06/29/21

507-517 Whitney Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $7,092,000
Buyer: Valley Ventures LLC
Seller: Valley View Apartments LLC
Date: 07/09/21

LONGMEADOW

15 Bellevue Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Nuno M. Machado
Seller: Kristin P. Mantolesky
Date: 07/02/21

33 Benedict Ter.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $465,000
Buyer: David A. Garro
Seller: Daniel F. Kelleher
Date: 06/28/21

90 Brookside Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $470,000
Buyer: Alexander Torpey
Seller: Ravi K. Narasimhan
Date: 07/09/21

107 Colton Place
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $322,000
Buyer: Robert Allison
Seller: Paul A. Sweitzer
Date: 07/01/21

43 Elizabeth Circle
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Joseph D. Janik
Seller: Thomas R. Maurer
Date: 06/30/21

69 Fenwood Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $449,000
Buyer: Michael P. Taylor
Seller: Michael Czupryna
Date: 06/29/21

148 Hazardville Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Susan E. Lauser
Seller: Jon S. Goldaper
Date: 06/30/21

37 Hopkins Place
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $371,100
Buyer: Nicholas J. Jacks
Seller: Glenn M. Willetts
Date: 07/01/21

1183 Longmeadow St.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Sarah Kenney
Seller: Emily M. Lange
Date: 07/07/21

37 Meadow Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Courtney C. Marquardt
Seller: Mary L. Wilson
Date: 07/08/21

632 Pinewood Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $579,900
Buyer: Ellen S. Alliger
Seller: David B. Mernoff
Date: 06/30/21

19 Quinnehtuk Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Michael Czupryna
Seller: Amrita Roy
Date: 06/29/21

67 Ridge Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Samba NT
Seller: Brian D. Appell
Date: 06/30/21

52 Riverview Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Carrasquillo Fix Up LLC
Seller: Kurtz, Bruce C., (Estate)
Date: 06/30/21

55 Shady Side Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Lloyd Wynter
Seller: Harland Butler J., (Estate)
Date: 07/02/21

59 South Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Hector J. Reyes-Marrero
Seller: David A. Lenn
Date: 06/29/21

158 Wenonah Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Steven Creelman
Seller: Stewart E. Creelman
Date: 07/09/21

420 Wolf Swamp Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Timothy Lucier
Seller: Edward C. Fogarty
Date: 07/01/21

LUDLOW

33 Aldo Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: David Almeida-Morais
Seller: Dubour, Eleanor J., (Estate)
Date: 07/02/21

57 Bruni Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Shawn Bushey
Seller: Lori A. Knowlton
Date: 06/28/21

796 Center St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Mathew Palatino
Seller: Valerie A. Messina
Date: 07/01/21

28 Deer Hill Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Jillian Bowyer
Seller: Lawrence F. Army
Date: 06/28/21

57 Elm St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Stacy M. Benda
Seller: Shorey E. Raymond
Date: 06/30/21

90 Haviland St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Robert J. Schroeter
Seller: Maria R. Santos
Date: 07/09/21

193 Jerad Dr.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $650,000
Buyer: Richard A. Nadeau
Seller: Dwight Manganaro
Date: 07/06/21

291 Moody St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $975,000
Buyer: Ludlow Storage LLC
Seller: Halgas Realty LLC
Date: 07/02/21

427-429 Poole St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $329,000
Buyer: Ian Thompson
Seller: Joseph M. Cabral
Date: 07/02/21

88 Roy St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Tracy Lanou
Seller: Antonio M. Salvador
Date: 07/09/21

Sunset Ridge
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $136,000
Buyer: Raymond L. Belden
Seller: Leonid Shevchuk
Date: 07/01/21

199 Ventura St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Philip T. Garnett
Seller: Lawrence J. Pagliaro
Date: 06/28/21

89 Vienna Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Jacquelyn M. Siddle
Seller: Fernando Blanco
Date: 06/30/21

83 West St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $206,000
Buyer: Amber Curry
Seller: Craig M. Bruneault
Date: 06/30/21

120 Whitney St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Brian Cipoletta
Seller: Sergio Dacruz
Date: 06/30/21

MONSON

40 Bethany Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $141,000
Buyer: Melro Associates Inc.
Seller: Ronald S. Midura
Date: 06/30/21

50 Childs Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $581,000
Buyer: Aaron J. Carpenter
Seller: Dorothy R. Fisher
Date: 07/07/21

39 High St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Devin Finnegan
Seller: Dominick A. Garreffa
Date: 07/01/21

3 Main St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Michael J. Krull
Seller: Kyle Politis
Date: 06/28/21

328 Silver St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Alex Masse
Seller: Paul C. Laflamme
Date: 06/30/21

14 State St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Pamela J. Carney
Seller: Geoffrey D. Houghton
Date: 06/30/21

PALMER

127 Boston Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Jesse Pereira
Seller: Michael C. Lannie
Date: 07/09/21

232 Breckenridge St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Richard J. Brown
Seller: Brandon F. Kilbane
Date: 07/06/21

8 Cedar Hill St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $324,900
Buyer: Marc Coelho
Seller: Alex M. Racicot
Date: 07/01/21

45 Converse St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Lindsey Duby
Seller: David C. Kimball
Date: 06/28/21

23 East Palmer Park Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Sheena Slota
Seller: Frederick Lafortune
Date: 07/09/21

45 Jim Ash Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Bank Of New York Mellon
Seller: Susan J. Bryant
Date: 07/07/21

6 Orchard St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Keila I. Rivera
Seller: Jason R. McBride
Date: 07/02/21

2014-2020 Palmer Road
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Martin Opoku-Kyere
Seller: Nu-Way Homes Inc.
Date: 06/29/21

1352 Park St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Karina Alicea
Seller: Matthew Johnson
Date: 06/30/21

4045 Pleasant St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $237,500
Buyer: Sean O’Donnell
Seller: John Bigda
Date: 06/29/21

23 Riverside St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $278,800
Buyer: Wenwei Ma
Seller: Stephen E. Noga
Date: 07/09/21

65 Riverview Pkwy.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Ashley Segien-Bills
Seller: Ryan P. Balicki
Date: 06/29/21

1350 Ware St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Karen Stutz
Seller: Tonya M. Girouard
Date: 06/28/21

SOUTHWICK

12 Grove St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Steven Ensign
Seller: Craig R. Johnson
Date: 06/30/21

234 Hillside Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Scott R. Pepin
Seller: Stanley E. Sokolowski
Date: 07/01/21

13 Point Grove Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Constantin Enciu
Seller: David Y. Kirpichev
Date: 06/30/21

87 Powder Mill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Robert R. Delaire
Seller: Lucas M. Cimmino
Date: 07/09/21

13 Tobacco Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $340,600
Buyer: Garrick Verrengia
Seller: Kim A. Phillips
Date: 07/02/21

SPRINGFIELD

41 Aberdale Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Matthew J. Schmidt
Seller: Michael T. Lynch
Date: 06/30/21

2055 Allen St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $404,000
Buyer: David W. Rivera
Seller: David Padua
Date: 06/29/21

36 Ames St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Joao A. Dias
Seller: Jose M. Goncalves
Date: 07/09/21

94-96 Andrew St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $232,000
Buyer: Josue Ortiz
Seller: Maria D. Sanchez
Date: 06/30/21

16 Angelo St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Boakye Danquah
Seller: Bretta Construction LLC
Date: 06/29/21

82 Ardmore St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Lyn H. Lawrence
Seller: Lori Fisher
Date: 07/01/21

20-24 Baldwin St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $298,000
Buyer: Blaise Ngandjui
Seller: AJS Properties LLC
Date: 06/30/21

175 Barrington Dr.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Stephen D. Agboola
Seller: Bretta Construction LLC
Date: 06/30/21

228 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Kelnate Realty LLC
Seller: Junior Properties LLC
Date: 07/09/21

192 Benz St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Ricardo L. Santiago-Colon
Seller: Richard Marceau
Date: 07/02/21

119 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $800,000
Buyer: Krishna Boston Rd LLC
Seller: Sangy Inc.
Date: 06/30/21

89 Bowles St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Hunter Property Group LLC
Seller: Wei Q. Ni
Date: 07/06/21

81 Brickett St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Citadel Projects LLC
Seller: Grosz RT
Date: 07/01/21

97 Bridle Path Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Nicholas O’Connor
Seller: Jessie L. Channell
Date: 06/30/21

108-A&B Carr St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Armando J. Santiago-Diaz
Seller: Josephine Hall
Date: 06/30/21

163 Carver St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Michael Mensah
Seller: Tracy Le
Date: 06/28/21

125 Catalina Dr.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Julio A. Rivera
Seller: Joey Acevedo
Date: 07/07/21

54 Catalpa Ter.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Yaidelin Amaro-Lebron
Seller: Karen M. Eagle
Date: 06/30/21

89 Chesterfield Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $287,500
Buyer: Eddie Kyles
Seller: Scott M. Beaulac
Date: 06/28/21

37 Chilson St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Kelly A. Dillon
Seller: Lisa S. Kane
Date: 07/09/21

25 Cortland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Mary J. Smith
Seller: Lawrence E. Akers
Date: 06/29/21

59 Daviston St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Michael A. Lopez
Seller: Robert J. Charland
Date: 07/09/21

7 Denver St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: Salina B. Lee
Seller: Maria T. Sanchez
Date: 07/06/21

346 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Son Vo
Seller: STV Realty LLC
Date: 07/09/21

38 Drexel St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Igor F. Santos
Seller: Keith Wilson
Date: 07/09/21

56-58 Dunmoreland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Beverly Bromfield
Seller: Genevieve Construction Development Group
Date: 07/09/21

83 East Canton Circle
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $204,200
Buyer: Molly L. Blais
Seller: Todd Blais
Date: 07/08/21

250 Edendale St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Matthew O’Donnell
Seller: Eileen P. Hanley
Date: 06/30/21

11 Elizabeth St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Stephanie McCrory
Seller: Christa A. Muniz
Date: 07/01/21

99 Euclid Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Nirmala Mizer
Seller: Luis Irizarry
Date: 07/09/21

Feltham Road
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Mark A. Noto
Seller: Nicholas R. Gurau
Date: 06/29/21

212-214 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Tyler J. Calhoun
Seller: Barbara Spear
Date: 07/09/21

216-218 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Emtay Inc.
Seller: Green, Shelley I., (Estate)
Date: 07/07/21

31 Franconia St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Shawn Green
Seller: Carol J. Shapiro
Date: 06/30/21

70 Freeman Ter.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $122,000
Buyer: Abdulazeez Aljashaam
Seller: Krysia L. Villon
Date: 07/09/21

123 Garvey Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Keneil Anglin
Seller: Emerald City Rentals LLC
Date: 07/02/21

23 Georgetown St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Matthew Dooney
Seller: James P. Wright
Date: 07/09/21

40 Glendell Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Alonzo Williams
Seller: Xiuyu Ma
Date: 07/09/21

187 Hanson Dr.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jorge Torres-Rivera
Seller: Alexis Ostolaza
Date: 06/28/21

140 Hermitage Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $164,850
Buyer: Thao T. Pham
Seller: US Bank
Date: 07/02/21

52 Horace St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Alonzo Williams
Seller: Xiuyu Ma
Date: 07/09/21

19 Hughes St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Angel J. Torres
Seller: Edwin Velez
Date: 06/30/21

21 Jean Dr.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: Virginia L. Colon
Seller: Angela M. Blanchard
Date: 07/09/21

22 Jeffrey Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Radhames Cespedes
Seller: Pamela M. Christian
Date: 07/09/21

7-11 Kelly Place
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Joao A. Dias
Seller: Jose M. Goncalves
Date: 07/09/21

37 Kenway Dr.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Allard
Seller: Joyce Williams-Gondek
Date: 06/28/21

71 Kulig St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Samuel Vazquez
Seller: Frank J. Fortune
Date: 07/09/21

84 Lamont St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $132,079
Buyer: Buong V. Le
Seller: USA VA
Date: 07/09/21

176-178 Lang St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Mason St.Pierre
Seller: William R. Wagner
Date: 06/30/21

95 Leavitt St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Kayla N. Gonzalez
Seller: Tiffany L. Crapps
Date: 06/29/21

51-53 Lester St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Manuel Perez-Gomez
Seller: Rafael Gautier
Date: 06/30/21

79-81 Leyfred Ter
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $226,000
Buyer: Alonzo Williams
Seller: Xiuyu Ma
Date: 07/09/21

164 Leyfred Ter
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: 164 Leyfred RT
Seller: Sa Hldg 2 LLC
Date: 07/06/21

42 Lombard St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Pena Lopez Auto Repair
Seller: Condil, Bianca M., (Estate)
Date: 06/28/21

418 Longhill St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $569,900
Buyer: Yazan Haddad
Seller: Nicholas Dyber
Date: 07/08/21

82 Louis Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Bikash Adhikari
Seller: Jeannine Roy
Date: 06/29/21

130-132 Malden St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Yoselin Hidalgo
Seller: Mercedes Salazar
Date: 06/30/21

26-28 Massasoit Place
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Ana Bernardo
Seller: Nery A. Bernal
Date: 07/07/21

106 Massasoit St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $231,000
Buyer: Michael S. Maxwell
Seller: Nery A. Bernal
Date: 07/07/21

174-176 Massasoit St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: 3 Queens LLC
Seller: Israel A. Hernandez
Date: 07/07/21

179-181 Massasoit St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Brian Thai
Seller: Jennifer Y. Perlera
Date: 06/30/21

67 Melville St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Darrell L. Smith
Date: 07/02/21

211 Merrimac Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Keila Nieves-Guadalupe
Seller: Albert Williams
Date: 07/06/21

183-185 Middle St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $292,500
Buyer: Sean M. Ellis
Seller: Soraia Abdulbaki
Date: 07/07/21

60 Monmouth St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Danielle Mesa
Seller: Janine Hernandez
Date: 07/07/21

31-33 Moulton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Marco Luigi-Basile
Seller: Angelo Deguglielmo
Date: 07/08/21

35-37 Moulton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Marco Luigi-Basile
Seller: Angelo Deguglielmo
Date: 07/08/21

25-27 Nye St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Ming L. Tsang
Seller: Joejoe Properties LLC
Date: 06/29/21

215 Oak Grove Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $175,500
Buyer: Prime Partners LLC
Seller: Vicky J. Ortiz
Date: 07/06/21

221 Old Farm Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Henry A. Caldwell
Seller: Craig S. Little
Date: 07/06/21

104 Ontario St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Elena G. Aguirre
Seller: Dussault, Marie M., (Estate)
Date: 07/08/21

2105 Page Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: Gloria Campos
Seller: Taryn M. Dickson
Date: 07/02/21

48 Palmer Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Aida Correa
Seller: Roman A. Aseyev
Date: 07/08/21

160 Pasco Road
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Hodaliz Borrayes
Seller: Anthony F. Almodovar
Date: 07/08/21

260 Pheland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Jose R. Aponte
Seller: Marco Scibelli
Date: 07/02/21

45 Pidgeon Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Aura Ramirez
Seller: Zamiah Restaurant Corp.
Date: 07/07/21

37 Pilgrim Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Francesca M. Bella
Seller: Barbara VanValkenburg
Date: 06/28/21

29 Pine Hill Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $370,500
Buyer: Tiffany Crapps
Seller: Irina Leybovsky
Date: 06/29/21

29 Pinebrook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Binh T. Le
Seller: Hay, Jayne C., (Estate)
Date: 06/30/21

41 Portulaca Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Samantha Woytowicz
Seller: Brian Wood
Date: 06/30/21

186 Prentice St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Wilson Agron-Ruiz
Seller: Ramon A. Guerra
Date: 06/29/21

37-39 Price St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Kenya L. Rodriguez
Seller: David Cote
Date: 07/01/21

46 Ringgold St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Banjineh H. Browne
Seller: Michael Cordi
Date: 07/02/21

122 Santa Barbara St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Derona Beckford-Clarke
Seller: Mickelia A. Pearson
Date: 06/28/21

104 Spikenard Circle
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $258,000
Buyer: Ricardo Robles
Seller: Ricardo L. Santiago-Colon
Date: 07/02/21

126 Suffolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $229,000
Buyer: Ismael Guilamo
Seller: Glenn A. Diefenderfer
Date: 06/30/21

1296 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Eddie L. Gibbs
Seller: Lyons, Virginia P., (Estate)
Date: 06/28/21

109 Sunset Dr.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Jessie Barbee
Seller: Dollinda C. Barbee
Date: 06/28/21

78 Thorndyke St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Grace O. Ramos
Seller: Victor Colon
Date: 07/01/21

503 Tiffany St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Charleston P. Reyes
Seller: Anatoliy Ovdiychuk
Date: 06/30/21

600 Union St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Rogerio Castro
Seller: Nery A. Bernal
Date: 06/30/21

16 Venture Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Lauren N. Dorsey
Seller: Jillian L. Bowyer
Date: 06/28/21

130 West Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Charlene A. Dupuis
Seller: Thomas Adams
Date: 07/01/21

24 White Oak Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Jillian P. Joyce
Seller: Scott E. Warren
Date: 06/30/21

7 Willowbrook Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Christina G. Stuart
Seller: Jacqueline M. Decoteau
Date: 06/30/21

66 Wilton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Jennifer Thomas
Seller: Shale L. Miller
Date: 06/30/21

146 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $185,000
Buyer: Francisco Mora
Seller: Edward R. Rudek
Date: 06/30/21

61 Windemere St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Angel Moran
Seller: Paul D. Vient
Date: 07/02/21

18 Windsor St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Round 2 LLC
Seller: Jeremiah P. Sullivan
Date: 06/29/21

TOLLAND

2000 New Boston Road
Tolland, MA 01034
Amount: $132,000
Buyer: Dina Dumezil
Seller: April L. Collins
Date: 07/09/21

WALES

27 Sizer Dr.
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $159,000
Buyer: Ricardo Jiminez
Seller: Dolloff, Katherine E., (Estate)
Date: 06/29/21

43 Stafford Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Steve J. Youngberg
Seller: Boisvert Kelvin R., (Estate)
Date: 07/08/21

WEST SPRINGFIELD

45 Althea St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Rodolfo Espinosa
Seller: Aleksandr I. Glib
Date: 07/01/21

561 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: MAA Property LLC
Seller: Sandra J. Kieltyka
Date: 07/02/21

89 Baldwin St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: 2 WNB LLC
Seller: Derdy LLC
Date: 07/02/21

8-16 Chestnut St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: Dong West Springfield Inc.
Seller: Marino Realty Corp.
Date: 06/29/21

34-38 Elmdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Juan Espinoza-Naranjo
Seller: Constantin Enciu
Date: 06/28/21

142 Hampden St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Joseline I. Rodriguez
Seller: Amy E. Powers
Date: 06/30/21

137 Lancaster Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $191,720
Buyer: Alexander Pedro
Seller: US Bank
Date: 07/02/21

67-69 Lathrop St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $311,000
Buyer: Vincenzo L. Calabrese
Seller: Scott M. Skorupski
Date: 07/06/21

52 Meadowbrook Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Deana Kiczek
Seller: Custom Home Development Group LLC
Date: 07/08/21

279 Morgan Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Casey K. McBride
Seller: Nello J. Grimaldi
Date: 07/08/21

14 Mosher St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Kamali Miller
Seller: Jason A. Minich
Date: 07/09/21

23 Nelson St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $264,900
Buyer: Maksim Livenstov
Seller: Matthew Flagg
Date: 06/30/21

172 Prospect Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Jamie Mitchell
Seller: Sandra J. Kieltyka
Date: 07/07/21

1583 Riverdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $6,092,000
Buyer: Westwood Court Ventures LLC
Seller: Westwood Court Apts. LLC
Date: 07/09/21

1769 Riverdale St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $900,000
Buyer: PAH Properties LLC
Seller: Janor LLC
Date: 06/30/21

75 Sagamore Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Thomas Wiles
Seller: Gary P. Acebuche
Date: 07/01/21

102 Warren St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Jason Boulanger
Seller: Edward N. Henry
Date: 07/09/21

180 Wolcott Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: Jessie M. Thompson
Seller: Elizabeth Harlow-Harris
Date: 07/09/21

WESTFIELD

64 Blueberry Ridge
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Jennifer Y. Collins
Seller: Jennifer Levesque
Date: 07/02/21

47 Castle Hill Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Robert I. Larose
Seller: Robert L. Larose
Date: 06/30/21

17 Clark St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: David Perez
Seller: Thomas C. Preuss
Date: 06/30/21

92 Crane Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Nathaniel Arkoette
Seller: Harraghy, Kevin W., (Estate)
Date: 07/09/21

1 Crown St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $271,000
Buyer: Lal Gurung
Seller: Kyle T. Smith
Date: 07/02/21

1063 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $322,000
Buyer: Kenneth E. Frisbie
Seller: John J. McCormack
Date: 07/09/21

1343 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Melissa L. Evans
Seller: Sergey Girich
Date: 07/01/21

22 Fairview Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Carol W. Saltus
Seller: Saltus, Stephanie B., (Estate)
Date: 06/28/21

182-A Falcon Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $137,500
Buyer: Dionisio Perez
Seller: Juan F. Rivera
Date: 06/30/21

31 Floral Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Dylan J. Kimball
Seller: Tyler E. Hildack
Date: 06/30/21

31 Florence St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $267,500
Buyer: Christopher R. Parrow
Seller: Jack B. Johnson
Date: 06/30/21

39 Fowler St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Stephanie A. Sanabria
Seller: Thomas St.Jean
Date: 07/01/21

50 Franklin St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $145,500
Buyer: Ildefonso Chimborazo
Seller: Northwest Realty LLC
Date: 06/28/21

129 Franklin St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $341,458
Buyer: City Of Westfield
Seller: Barbara Desabrais
Date: 06/30/21

16 Frederick St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Joshua T. Rivard
Seller: Salim Abdoo
Date: 07/09/21

234 Granville Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Clarke Robinson
Seller: Mary L. Hatton
Date: 06/30/21

65 King St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Eastman
Seller: Loi T. Tong
Date: 07/02/21

6 Lisa Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $421,000
Buyer: Timothy Pittman
Seller: John C. Kiefer
Date: 07/09/21

68 Llewellyn Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $341,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Dougenik
Seller: Roger N. Benard
Date: 06/30/21

198 Lockhouse Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Benjamin Savochka
Seller: David W. Boucher
Date: 06/28/21

312 Northwest Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $236,000
Buyer: Andrew R. Czeremcha
Seller: Stacy M. Benda
Date: 06/30/21

35 Northwest Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Jeremy J. Tremblay
Seller: Amanda M. Raymaakers
Date: 06/30/21

85 Otis St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Petro Makarchuk
Seller: Oleg Dimov
Date: 07/02/21

24 Park River Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Tyler Hildack
Seller: Christine E. Arps
Date: 06/30/21

377 Prospect St. Ext.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Melanie E. Dion
Seller: Deborah A. Dion
Date: 07/01/21

1058 Russell Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $302,000
Buyer: Saad Q. Mohammed
Seller: Christopher P. Labelle
Date: 06/29/21

14 Scenic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Jason R. Danenza
Seller: Ronaldo Alcantara
Date: 07/01/21

27 Summit Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Brooke Miller
Seller: Stefan Paladi
Date: 07/02/21

24 Waterford Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Raymond Hallit
Seller: Timothy J. Dougenik
Date: 06/30/21

12 West School St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Svitlana Pomazniuk
Seller: Andrey Y. Shevchenko
Date: 06/30/21

105 Wildflower Circle
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Bradley White
Seller: Shelley R. Daly
Date: 07/02/21

34 Wilson Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Juan H. Ayavaca
Seller: Maryanne Chmura
Date: 07/09/21

17 Wintergreen Lane
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Lynn Blascak
Seller: Stacey P. Osowski
Date: 06/30/21

110 Woodside Ter.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $148,000
Buyer: Melro Associates Inc.
Seller: Margaret T. Marquette
Date: 07/06/21

WILBRAHAM

3209 Boston Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Joshua Betancourt
Seller: Joyce M. Baron
Date: 07/01/21

25 Brookside Circle
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $352,000
Buyer: Ashley M. McFarlane
Seller: Robert D. Law
Date: 07/08/21

17 Danforth Farms Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $801,000
Buyer: Cabot M. Nunlist
Seller: Nick V. Hastain
Date: 07/06/21

429 Dipping Hole Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Kyle Politis
Seller: Florence R. Gurwitz
Date: 06/28/21

13 Eastwood Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: James K. Fortier
Seller: Margaret F. Fritz
Date: 07/01/21

6 Hickory Hill Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Todd Blanchard
Seller: Michael A. Miller
Date: 07/02/21

24 Leemond St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Grant P. Newman
Seller: Christopher M. Aberg
Date: 06/28/21

33 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $385,900
Buyer: Logan Gumlaw
Seller: Ryan Schmitt
Date: 07/02/21

54 Mountain Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Patrick S. O’Hare
Seller: My T. Nguyen
Date: 06/30/21

246 Mountain Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Justin St.James
Seller: Scott A. Favreau
Date: 06/30/21

512 Mountain Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Xiuyi Liang
Seller: Jennifer C. Kinder
Date: 07/09/21

29 Pineywood Ave.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $226,500
Buyer: Douglas W. Smith
Seller: Logan Gumlaw
Date: 07/01/21

29 Pleasant View Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Adam David
Seller: Anthony J. Verrochi
Date: 06/28/21

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

1360 Bay Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $389,900
Buyer: Michael Barrett
Seller: Olga Gealikman
Date: 07/01/21

9 Echo Hill Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $325,009
Buyer: Daniel P. Cook
Seller: Michael E. Moussa
Date: 06/30/21

16 Forestedge Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $451,000
Buyer: Nathan A. Burgess
Seller: Phyllis D. Sleigh
Date: 06/28/21

194 Glendale Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Joseth D. Alvarado
Seller: Cedric L. Douglas
Date: 07/01/21

29 Hawthorn Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $715,000
Buyer: Giuseppe Labianca
Seller: Mary J. Ratnaswamy RET
Date: 07/01/21

10 Hitching Post Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Karen L. Ching
Seller: Laurel Goodhind
Date: 07/07/21

446 Main St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: John T. Wrobleweski
Seller: Guidera RT
Date: 06/30/21

468 Old Montague Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: David Jilek
Seller: Rosemary Caine-Natenshon
Date: 07/02/21

137 Shutesbury Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $910,000
Buyer: Egbert Bakker
Seller: L. Rudder Baker 2013 TR
Date: 07/09/21

257 Shutesbury Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $655,000
Buyer: Angela L. McCubbin
Seller: Timothy A. Lang
Date: 07/09/21

180 Summer St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $392,000
Buyer: Debra R. Kolodny
Seller: Daniel P. Kramer
Date: 07/01/21

279 West St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Tomas Graham-Black
Seller: Matthew K. Leitl
Date: 06/30/21

BELCHERTOWN

525 Federal St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Maria DeLaVega
Seller: James A. Streeter
Date: 06/30/21

141 Oakridge Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Carrie B. White
Seller: Carol C. Greeley
Date: 06/28/21

122 Old Bay Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $327,238
Buyer: MTGLQ Investors LP
Seller: Leta Herman
Date: 07/02/21

23 Old Pelham Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Martha E. Lofland
Seller: Patricia L. Fuller
Date: 07/01/21

86 Sabin St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Kerry D. Griscti
Seller: Elizabeth A. Adams
Date: 07/02/21

55 Sheffield Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $487,000
Buyer: Christopher M. Shelton
Seller: Odet Zulkiewicz
Date: 07/02/21

11 Sherwood Dr.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: R. A. Zuidema-Blomfield
Seller: John A. O’Brien
Date: 06/30/21

South Gulf Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $620,000
Buyer: Kestrel Land T. Inc.
Seller: Donald A. Dubois
Date: 06/28/21

597 State St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $328,000
Buyer: Matthew Lacoille
Seller: William R. Malmstedt
Date: 06/29/21

103 Turkey Hill Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Lun Huan-Zhang
Seller: Cornerstone Homebuying LLC
Date: 07/06/21

EASTHAMPTON

5 Boylston St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Mary E. Gowins
Seller: Lisa Jaffe
Date: 07/06/21

5-7 Briggs St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Betty L. Duprey
Seller: Mountain View Investors LP
Date: 06/30/21

21-23 Federal St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Felicia A. Jadczak
Seller: John Knybel
Date: 07/08/21

Ferry St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Julia Wojciechowski
Seller: David M. Lepine
Date: 06/29/21

10 Hannum Brook Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Lorin Baumgarten
Seller: New England Remodeling
Date: 06/30/21

145 Holyoke St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $172,500
Buyer: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Seller: Richard A. Beneduce
Date: 06/30/21

4 Kania St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Ganulin FT
Seller: John L. Hoar
Date: 07/01/21

1 Park Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $427,500
Buyer: John A. Soler
Seller: Sandra M. Costello
Date: 06/30/21

108 Plain St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Gonzalo Iribarne
Seller: Lee Frankl
Date: 06/30/21

GOSHEN

696 East St.
Goshen, MA 01096
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Mathew Apeseche
Seller: Mark R. Liimatainen
Date: 06/28/21

22 Westshore Dr.
Goshen, MA 01032
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Weiner Schrader FT
Seller: Philip A. Wajda
Date: 07/01/21

GRANBY

53 Barton St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $616,000
Buyer: Taylor Family 2017 RET
Seller: Veda L. Andrus RET
Date: 07/09/21

6 Dian St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Alexander Goldberg
Seller: Richard Landry
Date: 07/08/21

206 West St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Perry McDonnell
Seller: Stella Virchick
Date: 07/01/21

176 West State St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $2,250,000
Buyer: 176 West State St. LLC
Seller: Granby Dg Series LLC
Date: 07/08/21

HADLEY

16 Crystal Lane
Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $824,800
Buyer: Feng Qiu
Seller: Bercume Construction LLC
Date: 07/02/21

61 East St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Ronald Keith
Seller: Josephine B. Keeley
Date: 07/09/21

47 Knightly Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $590,000
Buyer: Amanda F. Sundberg
Seller: Elizabeth A. Brabec
Date: 06/28/21

121 Middle St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Danu Farm LLC
Seller: Henry J. Malek
Date: 07/09/21

45 Old Mountain Road
Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Saul Kuhr
Seller: Rosemund LLC
Date: 07/08/21

HATFIELD

36 Bridge St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $732,500
Buyer: Roland C. Carantit
Seller: Melissa A. Hession
Date: 06/29/21

96 Bridge St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $850,000
Buyer: Timothy J. Menz
Seller: Andrew J. Black
Date: 07/08/21

21 Pantry Road
Hatfield, MA 01088
Amount: $369,000
Buyer: Lee W. Goss
Seller: Kenneth J. Banas TR
Date: 07/09/21

197 Pantry Road
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Kenneth W. Como
Seller: Minisci, Brenda E., (Estate)
Date: 06/30/21

HUNTINGTON

16 Park Ridge Dr.
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Mei S. Situ
Seller: Mark A. Rehbein
Date: 07/09/21

NORTHAMPTON

575 Bridge Road #G1
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Zachary Charren-Diehl
Seller: Christopher A. Bryant
Date: 07/09/21

207 Brookside Circle
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $401,500
Buyer: Amanda K. Sergiy
Seller: Anne-Marie Mann
Date: 06/30/21

12 Calvin Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $605,000
Buyer: Jennifer R. Curtis
Seller: Sherry A. Pasternack
Date: 06/30/21

24 Chesterfield Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $453,000
Buyer: Jordan I. Thomas
Seller: Robert Ferris
Date: 07/09/21

14 Day Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $487,000
Buyer: Lorelei E. McLaughlin
Seller: Evelyn A. Santon
Date: 06/29/21

369 Florence Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Eric Boggio-Conz
Seller: Lisa M. McCray
Date: 07/08/21

62 Ladyslipper Lane
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Sari Fein
Seller: Roberta Townsend
Date: 07/01/21

76 Lake St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Melissa Nohelani-Parrish
Seller: Madeline R. Bailly
Date: 06/30/21

11 Lincoln Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Baishakhi Taylor
Seller: Stephen M. Rogers
Date: 07/08/21

7 Longfellow Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $601,000
Buyer: Scott D. Gregory
Seller: Michael R. Fuller
Date: 06/30/21

6 Massasoit St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Pamela S. Swing
Seller: Michael D. Ford
Date: 06/30/21

2 Matthew Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Shalane Loehn
Seller: Susan J. Loehn
Date: 06/28/21

117 Olander Dr. #2
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $469,600
Buyer: James R. Moreau
Seller: Sunwood Development Corp.
Date: 06/30/21

117 Olander Dr. #20A
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $408,659
Buyer: Mary A. Lanier
Seller: Sunwood Development Corp.
Date: 07/07/21

117 Olander Dr. #20B
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $489,509
Buyer: Eleanor V. McLaughlin
Seller: Sunwood Development Corp.
Date: 06/28/21

28 Pencasel Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $205,631
Buyer: Lodge Properties 3 LLC
Seller: Thomas R. Venne
Date: 06/30/21

44 Sheffield Lane
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $219,000
Buyer: David P. Wicinas
Seller: R. Joseph Deflorio TR
Date: 07/06/21

29 Sherman Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Sovereign Builders Inc.
Seller: Alan Scheinman
Date: 07/01/21

108 State St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $625,000
Buyer: Emily D. Demartino
Seller: Emmett Leader
Date: 07/01/21

22 Stoddard St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: Jeffrey M. Parker
Seller: Kathleen C. Hupfer
Date: 07/01/21

15 Strong Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $1,250,000
Buyer: Citrine Real Estate LLC
Seller: Strong Ave LLC
Date: 07/01/21

107 Williams St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $208,000
Buyer: 4 Aces Realty LLC
Seller: Arthur W. Sousa
Date: 07/02/21

SOUTH HADLEY

434 East St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Stephanie Rypysc
Seller: Todd M. Florence
Date: 06/30/21

11 Fulton St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Brian S. Garcia
Seller: Toni M. Kelly
Date: 07/09/21

35 Highland Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Collett
Seller: Normand R. Girardin
Date: 07/07/21

86 Park St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $551,350
Buyer: Richard D. Gallo
Seller: Homes By Leblanc Inc.
Date: 07/02/21

15 Richview Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Rachel Moloshok
Seller: Krystal Morace
Date: 07/08/21

44 Willimansett St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Crossroads Realty Holdings LLC
Seller: Big Y. Foods Inc.
Date: 06/28/21

6 Yale St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Kathleen D. Piotrowski
Seller: Thomas J. Gajewski
Date: 06/30/21

SOUTHAMPTON

92 Crooked Ledge Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Harold A. Butson
Seller: Leo P. & Carol A. Dube IRT
Date: 07/01/21

10 Geryk Court
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: Tal Shaffar
Seller: Eric R. Armentrout
Date: 06/28/21

127 Middle Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: New England Remodeling
Seller: Maxine A. Caouette
Date: 07/01/21

WARE

302 Beaver Lake Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $505,000
Buyer: Scott A. Snyder
Seller: Karen K. Sierakowski
Date: 06/30/21

320 Belchertown Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $402,000
Buyer: John E. Carroll
Seller: Aaron M. Sundberg
Date: 06/28/21

37 Benham Ave.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: 4J Real Estate Group
Seller: Scott Gagnon
Date: 07/09/21

72 Eagle St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $115,000
Buyer: Angelina Roman
Seller: SE Homes LLC
Date: 07/08/21

32 Gilbertville Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Joshua Berube
Seller: Kristyl Constant
Date: 06/30/21

25 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: David M. Martel
Seller: Robert Nompleggi
Date: 07/07/21

116-118 North St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Blackwell Properties LLC
Seller: Scudder Bay Capital LLC
Date: 07/06/21

355 Palmer Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $1,395,750
Buyer: Alpine Income Properties
Seller: Micromont Holdings 23 LLC
Date: 07/08/21

WILLIAMSBURG

94 Old Goshen Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Robin Paradis-Stern
Seller: Sarissa Markowitz
Date: 06/30/21

18 Williams St.
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $188,000
Buyer: Courteny R. Morehouse
Seller: Tomasin Whitaker
Date: 06/28/21

WESTHAMPTON

79 Montague Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Erik Q. Vinh
Seller: Joseph A. Auger NT
Date: 06/30/21

218 North Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $540,000
Buyer: Zhongqi Yuan
Seller: Arthur E. Belanger
Date: 06/29/21

WORTHINGTON

340 Sam Hill Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: David P. Demary
Seller: Joel G. Lagergren
Date: 06/30/21

5 Thrasher Hill Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Brenda L. Fortin
Seller: Jacques C. Lerolland
Date: 06/28/21

Building Permits

By BusinessWest Staff August 4, 2021

Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of July 2021. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

AMHERST

Amherst College
220 South Pleasant St.
$4,000 — Repair existing stairs at Barrett Hall

Amherst College
82 Lessey St.
$32,000 — Replace exterior stair, repair portion of existing stair

Amherst College
32 Northampton Road
$16,000 — Repair existing stairs

Amherst College
155 South Pleasant St.
$10,000 — Repair existing stairs

Amherst College
220 South Pleasant St.
$53,000 — Repair existing stairs at Octagon

Amherst College
12 Walnut St.
$26,000 — Repair existing stairs

LEE

Rodney Clark, Christine Clark
189 Water St.
$5,600 — Roofing

South Lee Assoc., LLC
501 Pleasant St.
$11,374 — Install new exhaust fan and associated duct work

LENOX

Aspinwall Acquisition, LLC
293 Main St.
$5,000 — Selective investigative demolition

Chu Chen, LLC
506 Pittsfield Road
$15,000 — Repair building damaged by automobile strike

Trinity United Methodist Church
6 Holmes Road
$9,000 — New entry door with concrete pad

NORTHAMPTON

Atelier, LLC
20 Ladd Ave.
$2,720,000 — Renovation for cultivation and processing of adult-use marijuana

Atwood Drive, LLC
15 Atwood Dr.
$250,000 — Interior buildout for dental office

Paul D’Amour
162 North King St.
$19,000 — Demolish Jiffy Lube building

Paul D’Amour
162 North King St.
$279,000 — Construct new retail motor-vehicle fueling depot

Spero Phillips
100-102 Main St.
$53,000 — Renovate storefront

Smith College
44 College Lane
$45,000 — Updates to Room 216 of Sabin Reed Hall

Southern New England Conference
354 Elm St.
$123,000 — Interior renovation of Blessed Sacrament Church

PITTSFIELD

Blue Chair Properties
0 Tamarack Road
$5,000 — Demolish concrete building

Blue Chair Properties
0 Tamarack Road
$5,000 — Demolish metal garage

Forty One Wendell Road, LLC
41 Wendell Ave.
$51,550 — Install fire-protection sprinklers in entire building

JJ Sweeney Properties, LLC
77 Park St.
$22,170 — Roofing

KO Resources, LLC
495 Dalton Ave.
$125,000 — Demolish existing building

Reginald, LLC
549 North St.
$6,891 — Install new fire-warning system

Seven Oh Three Nominee Trust
703 West Housatonic St.
$21,604 — Replace existing fire-alarm system with addressable system

SPRINGFIELD

Astro Logistics, LLC
126 Memorial Dr.
$26,300 — Add fire-alarm devices to existing system, add security devices to existing system

B2R, LLC
52 Mulberry St.
$68,000 — Alter space to be used as a mixed-use property, with first-floor offices and second and third floors combined and utilized as one dwelling unit

City of Springfield
732 Chestnut St.
$543,000 — Alter existing room at Lincoln Elementary School into new kitchen, including new doors, floors, ceilings, walk-in refrigerator, and utility connections to new food-service equipment; remove selected corridor doors and install new draft curtains; modify central stair handrails and guardrails

Drama Studio Inc.
41 Oakland St.
$29,000 — Install new and replacement fire-separation doors along egress paths and stairs

Lingo Associates, LLC
20 Carando Dr.
$347,518 — Alter interior space for freezer upgrades at Smithfield Foods

Mercy Medical Center
271 Carew St.
$1,177,177 — Alter interior space, including relocation of chapel to atrium area and expansion of Emergency Department to accommodate six more behavioral-health beds

MGM Springfield Redevelopment, LLC
95 State St.
$30,000 — Remove and replace three antennas, swap three associated radios, and add three hybrid lines on existing roof-mounted T-Mobile wireless facility at MGM Springfield casino

Mittas Hospitality, LLC; DD Development, LLC; Rudra Realty, LLC
2 Boland Way
$150,000 — Install new fire-alarm system in Tower Square Hotel

T-Mobile, LLC
375 Pasco Road
$25,000 — Install 12 antennas and eight remote radio units on existing tower, install new equipment cabinets and generator on concrete pad

Western New England College
1215 Wilbraham Road
$11,550 — Alter interior office space and relocate vestibule door in Deliso Hall

WILBRAHAM

1997 Boston Road Wilbraham Eat, LLC
1997 Boston Road
$525,000 — Construct new building for Valvoline Instant Oil Change

1997 Boston Road Wilbraham Eat, LLC
1997 Boston Road
$40,000 — Install complete HVAC system

1997 Boston Road Wilbraham Eat, LLC
1997 Boston Road
$5,000 — Wall sign and ground sign for O’Reilly Auto Parts

Wilbraham & Monson Academy
40 Faculty St.
$64,000 — Replace outdated gym bleachers with new, power-operated bleachers

Trending Now

The Road Ahead

Doing the Math

For accountants, the past 18 months have been a time of change, challenge, and adapting to everything from new ways of doing business to new responsibilities with clients to ever-changing tax laws. Looking forward, they note that many of these changes are permanent in nature.

A Taxing Time

Crunching the Numbers

Bottom Line

Getting Up Off the Floor

Measures on the Table

Bottom Line

Firm Commitment

One-stop Shop

Business as Usual, Sort Of

Strong Signals

Here and There

Change Can Be Good

Community Spotlight

Filling the Gaps

Great Barrington at a glance

Hit the Road

Where There’s Smoke…

Best of Both Worlds

Culture of Caring

Culture of Collaboration

Unexpected Absence

Life on the Cutting Edge

Editorial

Country Bank, WooSox Announce Community Giving Campaign

Fontaine Brothers to Tackle Court Square Project

Lee Bank Foundation Announces $64,500 in Community Funding

Market Mentors Receives Women’s Business Enterprise National Council Certification

WSU Receives $1.5M Grant to Increase Healthcare Access

Professional Drywall Construction Expands into New York State

Public Art to Be Installed in Springfield’s Pynchon Plaza

Supporting Education

Heritage Week

Round Up for Change

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Virtual Information Sessions at Asnuntuck Community College

Ad Club Creative Awards Nominations

Super 60 Nominations

Bienvenidos Latinx Scholarship Applications

Fly LUGU Flight Training Open House

ROAR! Comedy Club

Healing Racism Trainings

Three County Fair

Professional Drywall Construction Charity Golf Tournament

RVCC Golf Tournament

40 Under Forty Gala

Blog Posts

News

Contact

Advertise

Events