Agawam Rides Growing Wave of Momentum

Community Spotlight

Steven (left) and Adam Rovithis in the Pit at Next Level Cowork Space.

They call it ‘the Pit.’

This an open area with several work stations, and it’s built “for momentum, not necessarily quiet,” said Adam Rovithis, adding that it is one of many realms within Next Level Cowork Space, a new venture he and his brother, Steven, launched last spring in Agawam’s industrial park.

There’s also the (Quiet) Cove, another open space, and mostly a no-phone-call zone; the Launch Pad, a conference room ideal for everything from small business meetings to real estate closings; the Lounge, event space featuring everything from a full kitchen to a foosball table (one local family recently rented it out for Thanksgiving); several small (95 to 350 square feet) offices; and some larger tenants, including a marketing firm and a kitchen design outfit.

It all comes together nicely at the region’s latest co-working concept, one the brothers Rovithis said is off to a solid start thanks to what they tout as attractive pricing — $250 a month for one of those private offices and $99 a month for an open desk, for example — a convenient location just a few minutes off Route 57, and an atmosphere they describe as “a community.”

“There’s no corporate feel here … we want it to be more of a community, more like family, than anything else,” Steven said, adding that, while the partners may eventually consider expanding and taking the concept to other markets, for now they’re fully focused on making the Agawam facility a success.

Next Level Cowork is one of many converging stories in Agawam. Others include:

• A small-scale lithium-ion battery storage facility, proposed by Long Road Energy in response to an RFP from the state, and planned for 404 Silver St., formerly home to Lucia Lumber. The proposal has drawn widespread opposition from residents, who cite everything from safety concerns to environmental impact and property values, but Mayor Christopher Johnson said the city is working with the developers to implement strict safety ordinances;

• Ongoing construction of a new Agawam High School. The $226 million project is being undertaken in phases, with current work focusing on the community wing of the school;

• A new police station, which opened recently in the former HUB Insurance building on Suffield Street. The $14 million facility, a price tag that includes acquisition of the building, was put beyond schedule by delays in procuring electric switch gear and a backup generator, said the mayor, but the ceremonial ribbon was cut early last month; and

• Several other new businesses, including a new Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, which is taking over the former American Freight space in the Southgate Shopping Plaza, Convenient MD Urgent Care & Walk-in Clinic on Suffield Street, a new Baystate Ob/Gyn facility on Silver Street, and Fancy Bagels, also in the Southgate Shopping Plaza.

“There’s a lot happening — it’s an exciting time in Agawam,” said Robin Wozniak, president of the West of the River Chamber of Commerce, which includes Agawam. “We’re seeing a lot of momentum in the community.”

As for the battery storage facility, the Silver Street proposal was not among the four chosen recently in the first round of projects — sites in Everett, Somerset, Chelsea, and Tyngsborough, which together will create 1,300 megawatts of battery storage, were selected — but there will be subsequent rounds, Johnson said.

“It’s a benign facility — it’s not what you see when you Google ‘battery storage facility,’ like in New York and California, where they had the fires. That’s not what they build today.”

He noted that such facilities are needed and are going to be placed … somewhere. With the proper safeguards in place, Agawam could and should be one of those places, he said, adding that a facility will bring some jobs, but it would also become the second-highest taxpayer in the city behind Six Flags.

“It’s a benign facility — it’s not what you see when you Google ‘battery storage facility,’ like in New York and California, where they had the fires,” he told BusinessWest. “That’s not what they build today.”

For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes a look at the many converging storylines in Agawam, and the many forms of progress in this city of almost 29,000.

Watt’s Happening?

The proposed battery-storage facility is a comparatively small project — 250 megawatts, according to Johnson. By way of comparison, the proposal for Everett, on the site of 22 old oil storage tankers, would procure more than 700 megawatts of battery storage.

Overall, the state plans to lock in 5,000 megawatts by 2030, said Johnson, adding that Agawam’s proposal will likely be resubmitted for subsequent rounds of projects.

Unlike the Everett proposal, Agawam’s site borders a residential neighborhood — the Agawam Industrial Park is on the other side of Silver Street, Johnson acknowledged, adding that there are safeguards in place for such facilities.

The Lounge at Next Level Cowork Space.

“For lack of a better way to describe it, these facilities are broken down into containerized units on the property,” he explained. “There will be a number of units on the property, each one containing batteries; they’re monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year — every cell of every battery is monitored for performance.”

Overall, he said such a facility would be a safe, quiet, mostly unnoticed addition to the tax base, and a welcome addition given the cost of infrastructure and capital projects in the city — especially the new high school.

A pet project of Johnson’s and the primary reason he returned to the corner office in January 2024, 24 years after he first served in that capacity (he later served on the City Council), the new high school is an ambitious undertaking, which, as noted earlier, is being undertaken in stages.

“There will be a number of units on the property, each one containing batteries; they’re monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year — every cell of every battery is monitored for performance.”

The first stage is what Johnson calls the ‘community wing’ portion of the building, now under construction. It includes the gymnasiums, auditorium, cafeteria, locker rooms, media center, office space, and other facilities, he explained, adding that this phase is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year or the beginning of 2027.

Phase 2 is the academic wing, construction of which will entail demolition of a portion of the existing high school, said Johnson, adding that the community wing will be temporarily connected to the academic wings of the current high school to ensure there is no disruption to any programming during ongoing construction.

Phase 3, scheduled to be completed in June 2028, involves demolition of the existing building and completion of athletic fields. This phase will be completed by the end of 2028, said the mayor, adding that the undertaking is on time and, more importantly, on budget.

Agawam officials cut the ribbon on the city’s new police station early last month.

As for the new police station, it replaces a nearly 40-year-old facility (a renovated elementary school) on Springfield Street that was cramped not long after it opened, the mayor noted.

“This station has more room — there’s built-in additional capacity, and it’s laid out to better accommodate workflow,” he explained, adding that renovation of the old insurance property came with a price tag that is roughly half of what new construction would have been.

Work in Progress

When asked about the name affixed to their new venture, Steven and Adam Rovithis both pointed to the sign on the wall in the conference room reading “Welcome to the Next Level.”

It was placed there to help motivate those working at the real estate company they formed (Rovithis Realty, later rebranded ROVI Homes) and moved into the former laboratory facility on Herbert P. Almgren Drive in the Agawam Regional Industrial Park, on the site of the former Bowles Airport.

“One of the marketing people said, ‘why don’t we just call it Next Level?’” Steven recalled, noting that the name helps indicate that this is co-work space with some different, innovative twists.

The property was acquired by the two brothers — who come from a family of entrepreneurs; their uncle, Manny, owned the appliance chain that bore his name, and their father, Steve, helped him get that venture off the ground — to house the real estate business, but other tenants as well. These included an attorney’s office and the kitchen design company, said Adam, adding that, with the real estate employees working remotely during and after COVID, there was more space available to lease out, and co-working space became an increasingly attractive option.

Indeed, while the co-working movement has had its ups and downs — some ventures have thrived, while others, most notably the large-scale Venture X facility in Holyoke, have not — the brothers thought their community concept would work and forged ahead.

In putting together their venture, they borrowed from other co-work facilities and office spaces and tweaked concepts, said Steven, noting that they had seen variations of the Pit and the Lounge in other settings.

They currently boast several tenants making use of the different kinds of spaces available, especially the private offices and the Pit. Clients have ranged from permanent tenants to professionals who have made use of the space and its amenities after dropping off teenagers at nearby Six Flags and before picking them up again.

Current tenants include an IT professional, a software development company, two financial services professionals, a healthcare consultant, a hazardous waste consultant, and others, said Steven, adding that the community aspect of the venture is punctuated by regular networking events among tenants on the third Thursday of every month.

“We get all of our business owners together, have some food and drink, talk a little bit of business, and do some networking,” he said. “We have a few deals come together in the lounge — two different businesses saying ‘hey, I can help you.’”

As noted earlier, the partners believe this is a concept that can work in other markets, and expansion is certainly an option down the road.

“I think we can do more, but right now, we’re still so new at this that we want to make sure that we nail this location,” Steven said. “If this works, we can definitely do more. I think co-work is picking up again, and this concept, 99 bucks a month to get out of your house … that’s appealing to many people.”