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Amherst Strives to Take Advantage of Its Many Assets

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Jeff Bagg says Amherst is well-stocked with assets as it goes about competing with other area communities for the dollars spent by visitors.
Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Community Spotlight

Jeff Bagg says Amherst is well-stocked with assets as it goes about competing with other area communities for the dollars spent by visitors.

Jeff Bagg says Amherst is well-stocked with assets as it goes about competing with other area communities for the dollars spent by visitors.

Jeff Bagg says he’s come full circle. Sort of.

He graduated from UMass Amherst back in 2002 and then worked for the town of Amherst as senior planner from 2008 to 2016. But now, after gaining different types of experience in various settings, he’s back in Town Hall, serving as director of Planning & Economic Development, a melding of two roles.

He started in December and has spent the past four months getting reacquainted with a community that is in a seemingly constant state of motion, but with challenges and opportunities that have been present for decades.

“I knew a lot about the town of Amherst, but it had been 10 years since I last worked there, so there was a learning curve,” said Bagg, who is involved in several initiatives at present, from a project to set new design standards for the downtown to a study of the East Amherst area with an eye toward creating core commercial development opportunities, to the collection of data to be used in creation of the town’s first economic development plan in several years.

“What we have available is pre-pandemic, and there have been really big shifts in the way people spend their money,” he said of that last initiative. “Knowing that businesses need a strong customer base and foot traffic, we really need to figure out ways to bring more residents out and visitors in, and the data drives a lot of that.”

“Knowing that businesses need a strong customer base and foot traffic, we really need to figure out ways to bring more residents out and visitors in, and the data drives a lot of that.”

These are just some of the many converging storylines in Amherst, a community that those we spoke with said is a college town, but so much more. Others include:

• Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, which continues to grow membership and become ever more diverse — Executive Director Jacob Robinson said the chamber added 57 new members in 2025, roughly double the number welcomed in 2023 and the years prior — and build new events into the schedule, including a revitalized business expo;

• A Business Improvement District (BID) that is working with the chamber and individual businesses to make the community a true destination year round;

• The ongoing success story that is the Drake, a downtown live-performance venue that is planning 200 nights of performances for 2026 involving 500 artists from both the 413 and around the globe and more than 33,000 audience members, many of whom will support other hospitality-related businesses before and after those shows;

• The ongoing saga of Hampshire College, which has been fighting for survival in recent years amid declining enrollment and continuing fiscal hardship. That fight took a new twist recently when the New England Commission of Higher Education announced late last month that it will require the school to show cause in June as to why it shouldn’t be placed on probation or have its accreditation withdrawn over concerns the college may no longer be meeting the organization’s institutional resources standard; and

• Continued evolution of the community’s downtown, including several new businesses, the owners of which told BusinessWest there is a rhythm to the downtown, one dictated by the calendar, which takes some getting used to (much more on this later).

For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, we take an in-depth look at one of the more intriguing communities in the region — one marked by learning of all types.

 

Developing Story

Bagg brings a diverse résumé to his new position in Amherst. Indeed, after his stint as senior planner there, he served as project manager for the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission before beginning what would become a six-year stint as director of Planning and Economic Development in Easthampton and then serving as senior planner for the BSC Group in Worcester.

He described his new role as a “good fit” and an opportunity to return to the public sector — in a community where change is a constant.

“I’ve been working in many different communities in Massachusetts, and more and more towns have increased their efforts to attract visitors; it’s an intense competition for people’s time and limited disposable income.”

Like others we spoke with, he said Amherst has both a number of assets and … let’s call them liabilities.

In that first category, he started with the obvious, the three colleges that provide the community with its distinct flavor — Amherst College, UMass Amherst, and Hampshire College — but also its many cultural attractions, ranging from the Emily Dickinson Museum and the Eric Carle Museum to the Drake and Amherst Cinema, which make it more than your typical college down.

John Page says downtown Amherst is in a seemingly constant state of change and is always welcoming new businesses.

John Page says downtown Amherst is in a seemingly constant state of change and is always welcoming new businesses.

On the downside, this can be a difficult town to do business in, and Bagg acknowledged this with a comment intended to be diplomatic.

“We have a very engaged community, but there is some lack of agreement on where new growth should happen. Amherst struggles with its vision for the future and an identity that we can get most people to agree to,” he said, adding that town officials are making it a priority to make it easier to do business in town, such as with the hiring of a permit administrator to facilitate the process of setting up shop there.

Which brings him back to the economic development plan, and the collection of data that will help drive it.

“What we don’t have a good handle on is where people are spending their money — we don’t know where residents are spending their money, we don’t know where visitors spend their money when they come here, and how all that relates to demographics — population changes, the age of people coming and going, those are factors for what’s going to drive new businesses in Amherst, and we don’t really have a handle on that.

“I’ve been working in many different communities in Massachusetts, and more and more towns have increased their efforts to attract visitors; it’s an intense competition for people’s time and limited disposable income,” he went on, adding that this competition is one of myriad factors that will go into the development of an economic development plan over the next year or so.

Overall, the community is well-suited to succeed in this competition to attract visitors, said John Page, executive director of the Amherst BID, adding that there is already plenty to do in town — such as the recent Fire and Ice Winter Festival, which drew more than 2,000 people — and plans to provide more good reasons to make the trip.

That list includes the Amherst Literary Walk on April 11, a day of literary events throughout the downtown, including readings, workshops, literary trivia, and more, said Page, adding that one of the BID’s broad goals is to get people out and have them experience Amherst.

Another is to help bring new businesses to town and create an environment that will enable them to succeed year-round. Like others we spoke with, Page said Amherst has some unique assets, but especially the colleges and the people who go there to learn and to work.

“We have to keep showing up for these businesses that give this place its identity. These are not just storefronts — they create jobs, they build relationships, and they shape the character of the community.”

“There is this youthfulness,” he said, speaking to the environment created by the melding of the higher learning institutions and the omnipresent arts and culture. “You’ve got bands, you have artists of all ages, and a college town both because of the students and the faculty. There’s this appreciation for arts and culture — we have a lot of museums and a lot of live music going on, and that goes hand-in-hand with a college community, and that helps us out even when the students aren’t here because that reputation is great in the summer, when we want to invite other people to join us from across Massachusetts, across New England, and across the world.”

Robinson agreed, noting that the chamber is committed to promoting and supporting the downtown, but other ‘villages’ in the community as well, such as the Mill District in North Amherst and the South Amherst section of town.

“We have to keep showing up for these businesses that give this place its identity,” he said, summing up the chamber’s mission. “These are not just storefronts — they create jobs, they build relationships, and they shape the character of the community.”

 

What’s in Store

As she spoke with BusinessWest, Becky Guyer was gearing up for Easter, but also a very busy three-month stretch that includes Mother’s Day, college and high school graduations, some weddings, and other events that require flowers.

She can speak from experience about what this time means for her Floral Affairs shop in downtown Greenfield. But the one she opened last July on North Pleasant Street in Amherst … not so much.

Indeed, Guyer said she is still experiencing a learning curve when it comes to doing business in downtown Amherst. She was invited to look at the North Pleasant location, long a flower shop, at the behest of the building’s owner, who thought she might be interested in opening a second location there.

Amherst at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1759
Population: 39,263
Area: 27.7 square miles
County: Hampshire
Residential Tax Rate: $16.91
Commercial Tax Rate: $16.91
Median Household Income: $48,059
Median Family Income: $96,005
Type of Government: Town Council, Town Manager
Largest Employers: UMass Amherst; Amherst College; Hampshire College
* Latest information available

After some due diligence, she determined that she was.

“I thought that this could be a good opportunity — this is a college town, there are some venues in town, some that we already do weddings with, as well as UMass events and Amherst College events,” she said, adding that the location was also across the street from a funeral home, which, in the floral world, is a real benefit.

“There were a lot of positives,” she went on, adding that the storefront, which had to be completely gutted, wasn’t one of them. But she moved forward with confidence, has found the move worthwhile, and has high praise for the chamber and the BID. But there has been a learning curve as she adapts to life in a college town.

“When the college kids leave … it was the worst Christmas I’ve ever seen in my life — so much so that it’s made us completely restructure our game plan,” she told BusinessWest. “I don’t necessarily have a designer in Amherst — it’s meant for convenience; all orders get run out of Greenfield, and we’ve made this location more of a convenience store.”

Overall, the downtown Amherst location is a work in progress, she said, adding that she is learning the cadence, if you will, of this college town, and the nuances of the calendar. Christmas was a letdown, and she’s not sure what to expect this summer, but she is optimistic about the upcoming few months and what they could bring, and the location itself.

“The walk-up traffic is fantastic — there’s a young, growing community there that comes in quite a bit,” she said. “There are a lot of $10, $15, and $20 sales, which is great.”

Andrea Marion is also getting used to the rhythm of Amherst’s downtown. She moved the Closet from a location in the Mill District to a storefront (a former restaurant) on Main Street last fall. She enjoyed the Mill District atmosphere but said there is more foot traffic in the downtown, and that suits her operation.

She described her business as a “curated resale boutique,” and herself as a “fashion concierge.”

“I hand-pick every piece that comes into the store — I don’t do consignment, generally, and I try to make sure I have something for everyone … I sell for all genders and all sizes,” said Marion, a nonprofit manager before she went into business for herself, adding that, while many items would be described as high-end (Fendi, Givenchy, and Prada handbags, for example), she has items at all price points.

Like Guyer, Marion said it takes some time to get used to the patterns of the downtown, especially when it comes to the students’ schedules, but overall, she says the area is becoming ever more vibrant and remains a good place to do business.

“There’s a lot of energy and activity,” she said, adding that she is accessible to more people now, which has broadened the customer base and made it more diverse, especially age-wise. “Amherst’s downtown has so much potential, and I’m really happy to be here.”

Challenges Remain, but the Golf Business Is Healthy

By
Ed Twohig Jr.
Sports & Leisure

Steady Course

Ed Twohig Jr.

Ed Twohig Jr. says the game — and business — of golf are in relatively good health, although for many, it has become a nine-hole proposition.

 

Ed Twohig Jr. has been in and around the game of golf for more than 60 years now.

So he speaks from experience when he says that, while he’s seen the game healthier, it is, at the moment, in a comparatively good place.

By that, he meant people are getting into the game and, by and large, staying with it, despite its cost, degree of difficulty, and demands on time. Therefore, he said, the business of golf is relatively good, with courses faring well, but also related ventures, everything from the growing number of simulation facilities to retail outlets to the remaining practice and learning facilities, such as the Western Mass Family Golf Center in Hadley, where he provides lessons to a diverse mix of students, from middle schoolers to those pushing 80.

“Over the past few years, I’ve taught a lot of college and high school kids, both men and women, who want to get into the game.”

“Overall, the game is very, very healthy,” said Twohig, who grew up around the game as his father, Ed Sr., served as the pro at Amherst Golf Club, and Ed Jr. would later serve as the pro at the Orchards Golf Club and Springfield Country Club. “Over the past few years, I’ve taught a lot of college and high school kids, both men and women, who want to get into the game.”

Jesse Menachem, executive director and CEO of the Massachusetts Golf Assoc., agrees on the general state of the game and the business of golf. He said maybe the best measure of health and vitality of the game — the number of rounds played at courses across the Commonwealth — has continued to rise since a COVID-triggered surge in 2000, but there are other barometers as well.

“Rounds played, golfer engagement, wait lists at many of the private clubs, tee times that are still in high demand … these are all indicators that the health of the game is strong,” he told BusinessWest, adding that, while the total number of rounds is up only a few percentage points, the upward trend continues.

One of the best examples of the strong health of the game is the stunning turnaround at the Ledges Golf Club in South Hadley, which this year will mark its 25th anniversary. Once a losing proposition for the town and its taxpayers and an example of overreach when golf was booming in the late ’90s, it is now turning a profit and putting these proceeds back into the course, with effective results.

Mike Fontaine says the Ledges continued its growth trajectory in 2025 and is eyeing more of the same for the season ahead.

Mike Fontaine says the Ledges continued its growth trajectory in 2025 and is eyeing more of the same for the season ahead.

“We had another fantastic year in 2025 — we probably made $1.7 million, more than covering operating expenses for the town,” General Manager Michael Fontaine said. “And our goal is to do it again.”

Elaborating, he said ookings of outings is ahead of the solid pace set last year, and the course can afford to pick and choose which events it wants to host, another departure from the rough times years ago.

Still, there are challenges for those in the business, especially those who own and manage its courses, including a winter that has been unlike anything the region has seen in some time.

Indeed, despite some closures in recent years — Southwick Country Club, Hickory Ridge Golf Club in Amherst, and Elmcrest Country Club in East Longmeadow, for example — there is still considerable competition at a time of rising costs for everything from fertilizer to labor to gasoline for the carts.

“Rounds played, golfer engagement, wait lists at many of the private clubs, tee times that are still in high demand … these are all indicators that the health of the game is strong.”

Fontaine said he’s been getting some calls and visits from those managing other courses in the area essentially asking how the Ledges is doing all this. He said there’s no real secret, other than to provide a good product and essentially count revenue, not rounds — and price the product appropriately.

Elaborating, he said he believes many courses keep their prices lower than they should — probably a nod to all the competition in the area — and could go higher and still be competitive, not just with courses in this area, but in other markets as well.

 

Winter of Their Discontent

As he talked with BusinessWest by phone on March 13, Ted Perez Jr., the long-time pro at East Mountain Country Club in Westfield, paused on a few occasions to take calls to the pro shop. They pretty much told the story of a winter the likes of which the region hasn’t seen in maybe a decade or more.

“Yes … we’re open,” he told one caller, who then moved on to finding out just how playable the course was. “I just talked to a guy who made the turn … he said it’s … not bad out there.”

Not many courses in Massachusetts were open that day, but most of them were getting calls about when they would be, said Fontaine, who fielded a few himself. Like others we spoke to, he said this long, harsh winter should create substantial amounts of pent-up demand, which will help override what will likely be a later-than-usual start, probably the first or second week of April.

“That’s what we’re hoping for; it’s been a long, brutal winter,” he said, adding that some of the calls he’s getting are from people in the eastern part of the state, including the Cape, where courses can generally open earlier. But not this year.

Overall, he said the Ledges logs a good number of rounds involving people outside this area code, including the Hartford and Worcester areas, where golf is somewhat more expensive.

“We draw from everywhere — Albany, Worcester, Boston … our biggest is probably Connecticut, and I think it’s mostly because we’re a little cheaper,” he said, adding that the course’s rate of $75 with a cart on weekend mornings (the price drops later in the day) is better than what can be found in those other markets.

He’s not sure what impact rising gas prices might have on all this, but for now, golfers are willing to travel to save a few bucks — if the product and experience are good.

“I don’t think they figure the gas bill into the equation — it’s just grab your three buddies, get in the car, and go have a good round of golf in South Hadley, have a burger, and head home,” he said, adding that this equation could work for others as well if they maintain the quality of the product and market it effectively.

Overall, many courses did well in 2025, said Menachem, adding that they were helped by generally good weather — there was a stretch where it rained at least one weekend day for 10 straight weeks in the spring — as well the opportunity to open early and stay open into December.

They won’t have that luxury this year, he went on, adding that, despite considerable melting in early March, snow still covered many tracks. Meanwhile, the large amounts of snow will leave courses wet and in need of time to dry out, firm up, and clean up.

But he expects this late start to be overcome by pent-up demand.

“Given the climate of golf and the demand we’ve seen and continue to see, players are going to be ready and willing,” he said. “It might be a shock to the system for these courses to get prepared on short notice, but once they open, they should do well.”

Meanwhile, other aspects of the golf business are reporting growth as well, especially the simulation facilities, which provide a hedge against New England winter weather and provide opportunities to practice year-round.

“Anecdotally, it seems like more facilities are opening by the week,” he said, adding that there have been several new additions in and around Boston, including facilities that are focused on food and beverage as much as they are on golf. “And it’s serving as a nice complement — keeping clubs in people’s hands throughout the year.”

 

Going for the Green

It was the spring of 1983 when Perez took over the pro shop register from his father, Ted Perez Sr., who essentially designed and built East Mountain Country Club himself in 1963. With 43 years under his belt, he’s seen all kinds of winters — or ‘non-winters,’ as he calls what the region has seen more of in recent years — and he’s seen the game ebb and flow as well.

He remembers the halcyon days in the late ’90s and early 2000s after Tiger Woods arrived on the scene, when East Mountain was averaging roughly 50,000 rounds a year. He also remembers 2008 and the years that followed, when the course averaged about half that number, and the overall outlook was quite bleak.

“These days, it’s nowhere near 50,000 rounds, but it’s much better than it was,” he said, adding that it was during those down times that East Mountain started diversifying, if you will, using its banquet facilities for everything from comedy nights to bands to pro wrestling matches to bring in revenue and help pay the bills.

“We get 150 people in here for the wrestling — they have some food and some drink and watch some wrestling,” he said, adding that there is another such event scheduled for later this spring.

The venue is still used for a variety of revenue-producing purposes, he said, but, overall, golf is doing better than it was, and the outlook remains bright.

Twohig agreed, but noted that, despite healthy interest in the game, challenges such as its cost and time demands remain. So he’s seeing some fundamental changes.

“I believe that, for the majority of players, it’s going to be a nine-hole sport because of the time element,” he explained. “If you look at the clubs and the leagues … it’s all nine holes. People get their golf in, but they’re not spending their whole day there; there are too many options in the world now.”

Meanwhile, golf doesn’t have to mean nine or 18 holes on a course, he said, adding that many now enjoy practicing or playing courses on a simulator or simply hitting balls at the few remaining driving ranges in the area.

Drew Michael says golf has maintained the momentum generated during the pandemic, drawing new players of all ages.

Drew Michael says golf has maintained the momentum generated during the pandemic, drawing new players of all ages.

Drew Michael, store manager at Dave DiRico’s Golf in West Springfield, which features several simulators, agreed, adding that the surge in interest in the game since COVID is reflected in many aspects of his business.

That includes equipment sales, he said, adding that, in some respects, technology has helped make the game easier for many, and the winter and early spring months are generally the time to check out what’s new, whether it’s clubs, balls, shoes, or training aids.

And, like Twohig and others we spoke with, he said the sport — and the many businesses related to it — are maintaining the momentum gained during COVID.

“We’re seeing a lot of younger players, 25 to 35, and we’re seeing an uptick in women playing as well — those are the two fastest-growing categories,” he said. “It’s not quite like the book during COVID, but there’s still a lot of momentum with golf retail.”

He attributes this to the game gaining more exposure through everything from YouTube to TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League), a high-tech, indoor, team golf competition that has succeeded in capturing the attention of many younger fans.

“You don’t have to tune in to CBS on a Sunday afternoon to watch a golf tournament,” Michael said. “YouTube is really big, TGL is gaining viewers, and you can watch any way you want — on your phone, computer, TV … all this is creating a wider audience.”

And it’s translating into more people getting into the game — and, in many cases, staying with it. Challenges remain, but golf seems to be a good place regionally, and on a steady course.

Callaway Uses Technology, Experience to Build a Better Golf Ball

By
The growing popularity of golf is a boon to manufacturers, as the average player uses about three balls per round.
Features Special Coverage

Getting a Bounce

Algis Norkevicius says Callaway is the world’s second-largest golf ball manufacturer, and has its sights set on number one.

Algis Norkevicius says Callaway is the world’s second-largest golf ball manufacturer

 

Algis Norkevicius says it’s difficult to effectively quantify and qualify the overall impact from all those close-up shots of Callaway golf balls during television broadcasts as the professional golf tournaments wind to their climax on Sunday afternoons.

But he knows it certainly helps when ‘Callaway players’ such Akshay Bhatia storm from behind and win the Arnold Palmer Invitational, as he did earlier this month, or when Xander Schauffle is in contention at the Players Championship — and also at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Or when Sam Burns is near the top of the leaderboard at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

“It’s great exposure for our products, and it’s fun to watch and follow these players,” said Norkevicius, senior director of Global Golf Ball Manufacturing for Callaway, which has facilities in different corners of the globe, but makes most of its balls in a sprawling facility on Meadow Street in Chicopee that was once home to Spalding.

He said these strong performances from those Callaway players comprise just one of many factors contributing to the company’s rise to number two among golf ball manufacturers, behind Acushnet, maker of Titleist, and on a path to steady growth — in sales, and in the number of balls produced at the Chicopee facility.

Another factor is the continued strong health of the game, which enjoyed a surge during COVID and has, by and large, been able to maintain that momentum since.

“Rounds of play and golf ball sales are directly correlated; statistics show that the average person uses around three golf balls a round,” Norkevicius said. “As rounds of play increase, so do golf ball sales. Last year, the National Golf Foundation released its annual report — golf grew again by 1% over the previous year, which was a record year.”

Then there are new products, such as the company’s recently introduced second generation of the Chrome Tour line, balls that tout greater speed, more consistency, and tighter dispersion, and are expected to be popular with players at all levels.

“We’ve grown our workforce, and we’ve increased our technical staff — all in pursuit of making a better golf ball.”

Norkevicius calls what’s going on at Callaway a “transformation,” one marked by everything from new products and the growing popularity of those products to new efficiencies in the manufacturing processes and, overall, more than $130 million in capital investments inside the facility.

“We took a look at each process and upgraded the equipment,” he said. “It started with our mixing line, and then core molding and injection molding; our printing equipment has been upgraded; and the last thing we’re upgrading is our packaging line, and we’re in the middle of that now.

“We’ve grown our workforce, and we’ve increased our technical staff — all in pursuit of making a better golf ball,” he noted, adding that recent results have shown that these substantial investments are certainly paying off.

Looking forward, he said the company is looking to continually grow its market share — the new Chrome Tour products are certainly expected to help improve those numbers — and eventually become the number-one golf ball maker in the world.

To get there, the company will look to make ever-greater use of technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) to not only produce a better golf gall, but achieve the most important quality in the manufacturing of these products: consistency.

The growing popularity of golf is a boon to manufacturers, as the average player uses about three balls per round.

The growing popularity of golf is a boon to manufacturers, as the average player uses about three balls per round.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Norkevicius about the golf ball business, the manufacturing of those products, and how Callaway continues on a strong growth trajectory.

 

Positive Spin

Norkevicius has been involved with golf ball manufacturing for nearly 30 years now. He started at Acushnet, which is both a company and a town in Bristol County where the golf balls are made.

He came to Callaway in 2019 to lead worldwide golf ball manufacturing operations, meaning the facility in Chicopee, but also other plants in Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam that produce mostly value and range products. He’ll visit those facilities once a quarter, on average, spending the bulk of his time in Chicopee.

“That knowledge base in how to make a golf ball is one of the key assets we have here.”

Over his time at Callaway, the company’s share of the overall golf ball market has risen from roughly 14% to 22% (Achusnet remains on top, with nearly 50% of the market). He attributes this to products that have captured the attention of players at all levels, such as those within what’s now known as the ‘Chrome family’ — the Chrome Tour, Chrome Tour X, Chrome Tour Triple Diamond, and Chrome Soft — but also other offerings, such as the popular Supersoft, Superfast, and Warbird.

Many of these balls are made in Chicopee, including the Chrome Tour products, as well as the Supersoft and the ERC Soft, he said, adding that the facility will churn out 5 million dozen golf balls a year, or 25,000 dozen a day, with three shifts operating five days a week (there are roughly 450 employees), with overtime on weekends during busy seasons — like this one.

Indeed, the months leading up the start of the golf season in the Sun Belt (March) and then the rest of the country (early- to mid-April) are among the busiest times for the Chicopee facility.

“There’s a seasonality to the business,” Norkevicius explained. “Typically, the summer months are one of the slowest times, and then it will ramp up in September and October in advance of the holidays, and then plateau — and then, around Memorial Day, it starts to get a little lighter.”

Overall, 2025 was another sold year for both the company and the Chicopee plant, he told BusinessWest, adding that the game continues to grow a percentage point or two a year in terms of the number of rounds played; as noted, this translates directly into more balls being used.

“We’ve created what I’d call a quantum data universe; on any given day, we’ll take 150 million data points from our processes, equipment, and our testing, and we load this data into the cloud. And from there, our engineers will use AI to help predict outcomes or potentially get ahead of failures before they occur.”

And this growth pattern is expected to continue in 2026, especially as the company releases the next generation of its Chrome Tour products, first introduced in 2024.

“We changed the ball so significantly that we separated Chrome Tour from Chrome Soft,” he explained. “That marked a leap in technology and performance. And over the past two years, we’ve continually refined the golf ball, working with R&D on some material changes as construction changes to optimize it even more, adding more speed and more distance, and then we were able to decrease our dispersion along the fairway; the ball lands in a tighter spot compared with previous models.”

The Chicopee plant started producing the new Chrome Soft balls last summer, he went on, adding that production has ramped up as the new season draws closer.

 

Drive to Improve

As he gave BusinessWest a tour of the Chicopee plant, Norkevicius said its best asset is its workforce, which boasts many team members who have been making golf balls for decades — some for a half-century.

“That knowledge base in how to make a golf ball is one of the key assets we have here,” he said, adding that the company has been working to blend this experience with new technology and improved processes to take golf ball manufacturing to the proverbial next level.

This includes the use of AI, which Norkevicius called one of the plant’s more significant advancements over the past several years.

“We’ve created what I’d call a quantum data universe; on any given day, we’ll take 150 million data points from our processes, equipment, and our testing, and we load this data into the cloud,” he explained. “And from there, our engineers will use AI to help predict outcomes or potentially get ahead of failures before they occur.

“They can monitor our processes, and as soon as there’s an indication that a process may be going out of control, they will alert a technician or engineer, and they can address that before we make a bad product,” he went on, adding that, with golf balls, the most important quality — even above distance, which is still important — is consistency.

“With every golf ball you use, you want it to perform the same … and we want to ensure that each ball goes the same distance, has the same dispersion, same flight, same spin,” he said. “And to do that, it’s difficult. Making golf balls is hard, and if we can understand and control all these parameters, we can make it a little easier.”

Elaborating, he said there is much that goes into the making of a golf ball, from its core to its cover; from rubber chemistry to injection molding, and maintaining quality through the many stages of the complex process is as difficult as it is essential.

“It’s not an easy process — it’s very challenging, especially to make things consistent,” Norkevicius told BusinessWest. “We need to have those controls in place, we need to have the knowledge of our processes, and we need to have those tools to help us identify when those processes go out of control — or start to go out of control.”

AI also helps the R&D teams create better products, he added.

“They can create virtual models based on what’s going on here, and then come up with an even better model for the next generation,” he explained. “They can basically do this analysis and future trials, utilizing AI to do that — they can then predict outcomes. Things that would take weeks to do, to test and compile … we can do that in minutes today.”

With this focus on quality and the use of technology to not only make better products but produce them more efficiently and more consistently, Norkevicius believes Callaway is well-positioned to not only continue on its strong growth trajectory, but achieve that ambitious goal of rising to the top among golf ball manufacturers.

“With the investments we’ve made here and the continued improvements to our products and processes, we know we have the foundation in place to increase our market share,” he said, adding that Callaway shares a goal common with golfers of all handicap levels — continuous improvement.

In Business Consulting, Samalid Hogan Speaks from Experience

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Samalid Hogan
Special Coverage Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now?

 

Samalid Hogan

Samalid Hogan as a 40 Under Forty honoree in 2013 (below), and today.

Samalid Hogan in 2013

Samalid Hogan in 2013

 

Samalid Hogan likes to say she practices what she preaches.

By that, she means she applies what she tells her small business consulting clients — as well as those she assists as director of Business Support Services for the Boston Impact Initiative — to her own entrepreneurial ventures, including her latest one, Greylock Management Consulting, for which she has some ambitious expansion plans we’ll get to in a bit.

“I tell people the most important things are to know what your business is really good at, and keep an eye on the market, the industry, so that you know where things are going in the future, so you can be prepared to pivot and change your business model,” she said, adding that she does just that with Greylock, a growing venture that provides a wide portfolio of services that will soon get wider.

Hogan also likes to say she speaks the language of small business owners — because she’s been there (and is there), so she can relate to what they’re going through. She can speak from experience about what has gone right and, just as importantly, the mistakes she’s made and seen others make.

Hogan’s résumé is complete with a number of stops involving work with small businesses, many other aspects of economic development, and work on both a community- and region-wide basis. And while assisting entrepreneurs at many of these stops, she has always been entrepreneurial herself.

Indeed, her first professional stop was chief of staff for state Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera in 2003. Later, she served as an economic development and policy analyst for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission.

She was working as senior project manager and brownfields coordinator for the city of Springfield when she was selected as a member of BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2013, and she was serving as regional director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center when she won the coveted Alumni Achievement Award — given each year to a 40 Under Forty alum who has most notably built on their success — in 2017.

Along the way, there have been entrepreneurial ventures of her own, such as CoWork Springfield and different consulting ventures, culminating with Greylock, which she launched in 2021.

There have been several other awards along the way as well, everything from the Women Trailblazers and Trendsetters Award from the Latino Chamber of Commerce to the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s Entrepreneurial Spirit Award; from the Gateway Cities Innovation Award to her latest honor, the ALX 100 Award for Latino Leaders in Massachusetts.

“I don’t like telling people what to do. I want to help them discover their path, but also learn from others’ mistakes, so they don’t make those same mistakes, which can be costly.”

The various words in those award titles — ‘leader,’ ‘innovation,’ ‘trailblazer,’ and others — speak to how Hogan has dedicated her career to not only inspiring entrepreneurship and assisting small businesses, but also being involved in the community on many different levels.

And while the honors are nice, she says a greater reward has been her involvement, at various levels, with some intriguing entrepreneurial success stories — in this region and beyond. These include Las Kangris Restaurant & Bar in Springfield, for which she helped secure a $50,000 BizMPower grant from MassDevelopment; GJC Signs & Digital Signs; and Rozki Rides, a transportation service in Springfield.

For this latest installment of its Where Are They Now? series, BusinessWest checks in with Hogan, who is always getting down to business — and helping others do the same.

 

Reaching Higher

As for Greylock Consulting, that name was chosen as a nod to the state’s highest mountain and how she can help her clients achieve similar altitude, if you will, with their ventures.

“We want to take small business to new heights,” she said, adding that, as a consultant, and in her work with the Boston Impact Initiative, she acts as a guide of sorts, but one that lets the business owner choose the path. She acts to help keep that path clear of crippling setbacks.

“I don’t like telling people what to do. I want to help them discover their path, but also learn from others’ mistakes, so they don’t make those same mistakes, which can be costly,” she told BusinessWest. “It’s a great advantage, and I think I speak with a lot of credibility with the entrepreneurs. They’ll say, ‘she knows, she understands, she knows this is a 24/7 thing.’ As a business owner, you’re never off the clock. You might go on vacation, but you’re still thinking about it.

“I understand the frustration and the hard work it takes to run a successful business and the ups and downs that come along the way,” she went on. “Whether you’re dealing with people or cash flow issues, or your industry is changing, such as with AI, there’s always juggling.”

Helping business owners keep the many balls they’re juggling in the air has become a career for Hogan. In her current capacity with the Boston Impact Initiative, she provides strategic advisory and technical assistance to early-stage and growth-stage businesses, helping entrepreneurs strengthen business models, financial stability, and community impact.

In that role, she’s been involved in several key initiatives, including the securing of $532,000 in state Small Business Technical Assistance funding to launch and operate Accelerate Your Impact, the agency’s pre-investment business coaching program, as well as co-designing the GreenEdge Accelerator, a statewide program supporting 23 women and minority-owned businesses in the clean energy and climate sectors.

At Greylock Consulting, she is part of a small team that provides an array of services, including business development, operations development, financial models and business plans, applications for funding, technical assistance, marketing, and more.

That team, and that list of services, are both set to grow, Hogan said, adding that she is responding to recognized need in the marketplace with expansion plans.

“We’re going to be offering business support services in addition to the coaching that we do; this will include bookkeeping, human resources, payroll, marketing, and website development, as well as AI tools,” she said, noting that these additions will be launched in April.

“I understand the frustration and the hard work it takes to run a successful business and the ups and downs that come along the way.”

She’s been contemplating this expansion effort for some time now, noting that it was inspired in part by a study on barriers confronting minority contractors in Western Mass. as they bid for contracts. It revealed that, while these contractors were good at their various trades, they needed help with various aspects of running their businesses, such as back office help.

So Greylock is responding to this need in an aggressive but measured way, another example of practicing what she preaches to her small business consulting clients.

“I said, ‘we need something here in Western Mass. that can provide all those services under one umbrella,” she said, sounding like a true small business owner when she added, “I’m excited about all this, and I think it’s going to be great, but I’m also a little nervous. It’s a lot of moving pieces, and I’m bringing on three additional people.”

 

Stepping Out

As she moves forward with plans to expand her business, Hogan is also getting more involved in the community, another aspect of being in business that has always been very important to her.

Indeed, she is currently a trustee at Springfield Technical Community College, a board member at Tech Foundry and the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Governor’s Latino Advisory Committee, and vice president of the Rotary Club of Springfield.

“Slowly, I’ve been able to support more community more,” she said, citing, as just one example, becoming a sponsor of the Service Above Self luncheon put on by the Rotary Club and the Basketball Hall of Fame. “To me, it’s very rewarding to be able to make those investments in our community.”

All this sounds fitting for someone who has not only a 40 Under Forty plaque on her desk, but an Alumni Achievement award as well — and continues to build on all of it.

Holyoke Looks to Seize Momentum

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Eric Nakajima says he wants to take full advantage of Holyoke’s many assets, including mill space, a business-friendly government, and green energy.
Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight

Eric Nakajima says he wants to take full advantage of Holyoke’s many assets, including mill space, a business-friendly government, and green energy.

Eric Nakajima says he wants to take full advantage of Holyoke’s many assets, including mill space, a business-friendly government, and green energy.

 

Eric Nakajima recalls that, while earning his master’s degree in city planning from the University of California, Berkeley 25 years ago, one of first assignments in one class was to essentially explain why he was there.

“I said that I wanted to learn how to help communities like Holyoke,” he said, adding that he got to know the city soon after his family moved to Amherst from New Jersey when he was 7 and was later struck by how much the community was impacted by the loss of its manufacturing base. “I named Holyoke all the way out in California; I wanted to understand better how you work with the city, work with the community, work with the markets, work with the business environment you’re in to create jobs and good placemaking.”

And 25 years later, that’s essentially his job description as the new director of Holyoke’s Office of Planning & Economic Development, succeeding Aaron Vega, who is now serving as president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council.

He arrives in City Hall with a diverse résumé, including roles with the Deval Patrick administration on Beacon Hill, and at an intriguing time for the community, one of progress on several fronts, including housing, downtown revitalization, entrepreneurship, and job creation, but also some setbacks, especially when it comes to what was shaping up to be one of the city’s better economic development stories. That would be Sublime Systems, which had plans to build a plant on Water Street and produce low-carbon cement — plans now on hold after the loss of a large federal grant.

“I named Holyoke all the way out in California; I wanted to understand better how you work with the city, work with the community, work with the markets, work with the business environment you’re in to create jobs and good placemaking.”

When asked about whether those plans might eventually materialize, Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia shook his head slowly for emphasis and said, “it certainly doesn’t look like this is going to happen.”

But while Sublime likely won’t be part of the picture in Holyoke, there are plenty of bright spots in the Paper City, including:

• New housing projects in various stages of development, from 700 recently completed units at the former Farr Alpaca mill (and more in phase 2 of that development) to 84 units planned for Open Square, to several smaller projects in and around the downtown area. Add them all up and they make a real dent in the city’s huge need for housing and bring promise to spur new businesses to support those residents;

• A chamber of commerce that is moving on from controversy involving its former president, Jordan Hart, who was terminated just over a year ago and is the subject of a criminal complaint alleging financial misappropriation. Interim Director Lisa Totz said the agency is adding members as well as events to the schedule and, in general, looking for new ways to bring value to its members;

• A utility, Holyoke Gas & Electric, that continues to be a force in economic development by offering clean, comparatively lower cost energy that is bringing attention to the city from different types of businesses, including data centers, which are looking at several possible sites, including the property on Water Street that was due to become Sublime’s new home (more on that later);

• A cannabis sector, spawned by that lower-cost energy and hundreds of thousands of square feet of vacant mill space, that is “holding its own,” said the mayor, despite turbulence in that sector;

• Plans to redo and simplify the city’s zoning and permitting processes to facilitate new business development;

• A massive retail center, the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, that continues to adjust to changes in the marketplace with a mix of tenants that is shifting increasingly toward the entertainment side of the spectrum, with a massive pickleball facility being the latest addition and a huge Dick’s House of Sport, an immersive facility complete with batting cages, golf simulators, and rock climbing walls, set to open in the spring of 2028;

• A new initiative called Greater Ingleside 2050 that will bring together stakeholders in that area of the city and create a roadmap for what it could look like in the milestone year; and

• Long-term projects such as revitalization of the Victory Theater and a planned sports complex, which, if they become reality, could greatly contribute to the vitality and quality of life in this community of nearly 40,000.

For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the many converging storylines in Holyoke, starting with its new economic development director.

 

Background — Check

Nakajima said that, while he knew a lot about Holyoke before taking the economic development job, there has still been a learning curve, and on many levels.

“I’ve worked with a lot of city halls, but I’ve never worked in a city hall,” he told BusinessWest. “So understanding and navigating city hall has been a challenge itself. I haven’t found it hard, but if you haven’t done it before, there are a set of processes to learn; it’s similar, but distinct from what you have at the state level.”

As noted earlier, he has plenty of experience at the state level, especially during the tenure of former Gov. Deval Patrick.

Pickleball Kingdom opened its doors and its courts just a few months ago at Holyoke Mall.

Pickleball Kingdom opened its doors and its courts just a few months ago at Holyoke Mall.

Indeed, he served the Patrick administration first as senior innovation advisor within the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, starting in 2010, and then as assistant secretary for Innovation Policy in that office from 2012 to 2015. During that time, he became involved in several initiatives involving Holyoke, including as project lead for all aspects of developing the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC).

Before and after his work in the State House, Nakajima has been involved with economic development, especially with Gateway cities, such as Holyoke, on many levels and with many different agencies.

His résumé includes a stint as senior research manager for the Economic Policy Research Unit at the UMass Donahue Institute; a short stint as director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, a division of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative; work as a consultant in economic development policy and planning; and, most recently, as a director of Government Relations for the Massachusetts Teachers Assoc.

“My work with the city then, on behalf of the state, made me fall in love with Holyoke and really believe in the potential of this city.”

This body of work has made him more familiar with Holyoke and the challenges and opportunities it faces, he said, adding that, in addition to his work on the high-performance computing center, he’s been involved with several area Paper City initiatives, from the Lyman Terrace housing project to the introduction of rail service to the redevelopment of the Cubit Building, now home to several market-rate housing units as well as the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute.

He said he was drawn to the job in Holyoke’s Office of Planning & Economic Development for the same reasons he listed back at Berkeley, as well as his previous experiences with the city and a desire to build on the momentum that’s been created there in recent years.

“My work with the city then, on behalf of the state, made me fall in love with Holyoke and really believe in the potential of this city,” he said. “I really admire the people that I’ve worked with, many of whom are still around today. It’s what attracted me to come here.”

He said there are several priorities moving forward, including efforts to encourage more housing development, work to redevelop the many vacant or underutilized properties on and around High Street in the downtown area (housing is certainly one of the possible uses), and continued encouragement of entrepreneurship.

As for ongoing work to revamp and simplify zoning and special permit processes, Nakajima said this work isn’t sexy, but it can and will certainly help with economic development efforts.

“This is going to make City Hall easier to deal with, and it will advertise the fact that we are open for business in ways that we’ve always said we were, but now it’s going to feel like it when people come here and knock on the door and work through the process,” he said. “It’s a very big deal.”

As for housing, Garcia said the city will work to encourage not only more development, but housing across a broad spectrum, including market-rate units, such as those planned for Open Square, which could serve to keep people in Holyoke.

Holyoke Mall is evolving, with entertainment-related facilities now accounting for roughly 30% of its space, compared with 10% just a decade ago.

Holyoke Mall is evolving, with entertainment-related facilities now accounting for roughly 30% of its space, compared with 10% just a decade ago.

“Holyoke has traditionally done very well with making sure we looked out for our most vulnerable populations, but we never really thought about what happens when people’s circumstances improve,” he explained. “Currently, we have a system where you start here, you get on your feet, and once you do well, you leave. We’re still going to support affordable, workhouse housing, because that’s important, but we want to introduce market-rate housing much more aggressively into that portfolio.”

 

Getting Down to Business

Nakajima said he also plans to take full advantage of the city’s many assets moving forward. These include that aforementioned mill space, which can be converted for many different uses; a city government bent on being business-friendly; and green — and comparatively cheap — energy.

That last item on the list has certainly helped with economic development efforts, especially in recent years, as companies continue to seek green energy alternatives, said Jim Lavelle, general manager of HG&E, adding that this asset certainly caught the attention of cannabis growers.

And, more recently, it has drawn attention from developers looking to build data centers, he said, adding that the city has the land — including the site Sublime had targeted — and the capacity to attract such facilities.

Still, there is concern about the high energy and water usage of AI data centers and also about large amounts of real estate being absorbed for comparatively few jobs, said Lavelle, noting that a proposal was introduced recently to amend the city’s zoning ordinance to effectively ban data centers in the city.

The proposal was under discussion of the ordinance committee and continued until later this spring, he noted, adding that, while there are concerns about such facilities, privately operated data centers do bring some jobs and needed tax revenue.

“Some of the inquiries we’re fielding are for facilities in the 50- to 60-megawatt realm,” he said, adding that, for perspective, the MGHPCC is a 5-megawatt facility.

The HG&E could handle one or even a few of these larger facilities through expansion of its substations, said Lavelle, adding quickly that one 60-megawatt data center would nearly double its current peak summertime load of 75 megawatts.

Holyoke at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1786
Population: 38,238
Area: 22.8 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $17.43
Commercial Tax Rate: $38.15
Median Household Income: $37,954
Median Family Income: $46,940
Type of Government: Mayor, City Council
Largest Employers: Holyoke Medical Center, Holyoke Community College, ISO New England Inc., PeoplesBank, Universal Plastics, Marox Corp.
* Latest information available

And while the city looks to build on its business base, its chamber of commerce continues work to rebuild its image and its core of services and move on from the recent controversy, while remaining in its long-time home on High Street.

“We’re being resilient and adaptive,” said Totz, a business consultant by trade who was working in the Holyoke chamber office providing support to small businesses and, because of her familiarity with the office and its members, stepped into the interim director role.

She used the massive conference room table that used to dominate the chamber’s offices — recently gifted to City Hall — as a symbolic example of all this.

“Now, I have eight tables that I can configure into a classroom, a giant table, a seminar space; I can tuck them away in the corner and actually have an open room … we can now do things that were impossible to do with that giant table in there.”

Resilient and adaptive will be the watchwords moving forward, Totz went on, as the chamber continues to rebuild, add members, and bring value to those members through traditional programming, such as its recent St. Patrick’s Day breakfast at the Log Cabin, and new initiatives, such as those now possible in its remodeled office.

“I want people to see that we’re forward-thinking, we’re supportive, we’re looking back at the history with respect and lessons learned, but we’re trying to bridge from where we’ve been to where we can be,” she told BusinessWest, adding that this work is ongoing.

 

What’s in Store?

When asked to speculate on the course of retail in the years to come, Lynn Gray, general manager of the Holyoke Mall, said she couldn’t project too far into the future, and for good reason. Indeed, the scene is changing rapidly — and constantly — as recent additions to the mix attest.

“I certainly didn’t have pickleball on my bingo card two years ago,” she said with a laugh, adding that Pickleball Kingdom, which opened its doors and its courts just a few months ago, now occupies roughly 50,000 square feet at the mall that was most recently home to Bob’s Discount Furniture and is already drawing members at a steady clip.

Its emergence is a sign of the times and the movement toward entertainment-related facilities — which now account for roughly 30% of the space in the mall, compared with 10% just a decade ago — as well as the pace of the change and difficulty with pinpointing just what will come next, said Gray, adding that the present tense is keeping her busy enough.

That includes buildout for the new Dick’s House of Sport, a facility that blends retail and entertainment, putting it in a category all its own, one Gray called “experiential retail.” This is a massive undertaking — as that two-and-a-half-year timeline indicates — that will include essentially lopping roughly 50,000 feet off the old Sears building at the mall to fit the retailer’s needs and creating an elaborate new entrance.

“We’re really excited about this development,” she said, adding that, when it opens its doors, the new Dick’s should become a huge draw, one that, like Pickleball Kingdom, will bring in people to help support retail businesses and a changing mix of restaurants, and attract more of both — especially the latter.

“We’re working with a few local and regional restaurateurs to bring their flavors to our shopping center, and with the news of Pickleball Kingdom being open and how it’s bringing in additional foot traffic, and with the news of Dick’s House of Sport, I believe we’ll be able to attract some new dining options for our shoppers,” Gray said.

Meanwhile, she is encouraged by statistics showing that the younger generations prefer in-store retail as opposed to online shopping, which bodes well for the retail side of the spectrum, which “remains our life’s blood,” she said.

While the mall continues to evolve, so does the larger Ingleside area, which extends in both directions from the mall, south to the West Springfield line and north along Whiting Farms Road. The area has seen change and new additions in recent years especially, and Greater Ingleside 2050 will focus on creating a long-term vision for the area and a blueprint for making that vision reality.

Garcia noted that, while the mall dominates the area, there are many smaller players that add to the overall vibrancy, and there is opportunity for additional, complementary development.

“We’ve been so focused on downtown, and for good reasons,” he added, “but we want to put our heads together and make sure we don’t neglect another important part of town that has had, and continues to have, potential for growth in the commercial, economic development space.”

BusinessWest Workshop Series to Address Potential of AI

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Cover Story

Joining the Revolution

 

When asked to generalize about how much manufacturers know about artificial intelligence (AI), Scott Longley said, “well, they know the letters. Beyond that…”

Elaborating, he said most manufacturers understand that AI is coming at them fast, that it will be revolutionary in its impact (if it isn’t already), and that they need to get on this train — and soon — to remain competitive. But they don’t yet understand how it works and, more importantly, how it can work for them.

“The total impact of AI … I don’t think anyone knows what it is,” said Longley, a manufacturing expert in residence for FORGE, a nonprofit with a mission to help innovators navigate the journey from prototype to commercialization and impact at scale. “It’s going to impact all industries with regard to manufacturing; they’re talking about the concept of ‘lights out factories,’ and it’s very realistic.”

Manufacturers will learn just how realistic that concept is and, more importantly, how they can learn how to put this technology to use at the first in a series of workshops on the broad subject of AI to be presented by BusinessWest, with a number of partnering organizations, including FORGE.

The series, called StratAI — its tagline is “Practical AI Strategies. Smarter Operations. Stronger Growth.” — begins on Thursday, March 26 from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the Brian Corridan Center in the Technology Park at Springfield Technical Community College, and will feature pitches from those in the industry as well as breakout sessions, where participants can “get their hands dirty,” said Paul Silva of of Innovate413, another of the partners in this endeavor.

Paul Silva

Paul Silva

“Manufacturers, especially Western Mass. manufacturers, have had their hands so full dealing with the regular chaos of the economy that taking time for new technology has never been at the top of the priority stack, and understandably so.”

Future workshops — dates and locations to be determined — will address the impact and potential of AI in other sectors of the economy, including professional services such as law, accounting, and financial services; and the service sector, said Kate Campiti, associate publisher of BusinessWest, adding that the program was created to address what she called a “seismic force” in business.

“AI will impact every business, large and small, and in every sector,” she said. “It’s more than the proverbial ‘next big thing’ — it’s game-changing technology on many levels, and business owners need to understand the many ways it can impact them; help build efficiencies in repetitive, time-consuming tasks; and create time for planning and growth.

“StratAI was created to be educational, but also to give participants tools they can put to work the next day,” she noted, adding that, when it comes to AI, knowledge is power.

The manufacturing workshop will feature breakout sessions led by experts on manufacturing and AI technology, including:

• Ali Usman, founder and CEO of PixelEdge, which creates software to give businesses a competitive edge;

• David Arturi, president of TetraLabs, the company behind Tetra, an AI platform that helps manufacturers modernize company-wide operations and reduce downtime; and

• Ben Grande, president of the Western Mass. chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Assoc. and president of Meridian Industrial Group in Holyoke.

Usman told BusinessWest that his breakout session will focus on how companies can achieve return on investment in AI, and the many forms that ROI can take beyond cost savings on labor.

“It goes beyond simple head count,” he said, while acknowledging the importance of cutting labor costs, especially in manufacturing, and noting that ROI can and often does come from improved efficiency, streamlining processes, and letting AI handle simple tasks, thus allowing people to focus on more important matters.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with some of its partners in this ambitious AI series about this revolutionary technology and what it means for businesses.

Making More History

Both Silva and Longley said there is some symmetry, if not poetry, to staging the manufacturing-focused AI workshop at the Technology Park, which sits on the grounds of the Springfield Armory.

Indeed, the Armory, built on a site chosen by George Washington, played a huge role in the emergence of the precision manufacturing sector in Western Mass. — and well beyond — and in manufacturing innovation itself.

Scott Longley

Scott Longley

“In order to survive, you’ve got to look at the situation and understand the potential and realize that you either get on board or get left behind.”

The assembly-line style of mass production was pioneered at the Armory by Thomas Blanchard, who invented a lathe that turned and finished gun barrels in a single operation. The Armory was also the site of Shays’ Rebellion, an unsuccessful attempt, led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays, to seize the arsenal’s weaponry and overthrow the government.

AI is revolutionary in many respects, Silva and Longley said, adding that, while it has been talked about seemingly without end for several years now, many manufacturers have yet to move on this front in a meaningful way — and for reasons that are in many ways easy to understand.

“Manufacturers, especially Western Mass. manufacturers, have had their hands so full dealing with the regular chaos of the economy that taking time for new technology has never been at the top of the priority stack, and understandably so,” Silva told BusinessWest. “It needs to be a conservative industry. You spend a lot of money for capital assets, so you can’t afford to really screw up; they have to be very careful.”

Meanwhile, technology is moving at an ever-faster pace, he went on, and it is increasingly difficult to stay on top of these advances, a situation that creates both risks and opportunities on a very large scale.

Indeed, with AI, companies will find they can no longer afford to be conservative and that ‘screwing up’ can take on new meanings and new dimensions with this technology and how quickly and effectively it is put to use.

“It’s tremendous chaos, and there’s going to be survivors, and then there’s going to be people who are left behind,” said Longley, adding that a thin line will likely separate the two groups. “And in order to survive, you’ve got to look at the situation and understand the potential and realize that you either get on board or get left behind.

About the Series:

What: StratAI: Practical AI Strategies. Smarter Operations. Stronger Growth.
Where: Brian Corridan Center, Technology Park at STCC
When: Thursday, March 26, 4:30 to 7 p.m.
Presented by: BusinessWest
Admission: Free
To Register: Go HERE

“It’s like getting on a plane; the plane is flying, but it’s a prop-driven plane,” he went on. “And you look out and see a Concorde or a space shuttle … you realize, ‘I better get on that one, or I’m gone.’ That’s what’s going to happen with AI, and it’s going to happen very fast.”

Attendees at the upcoming workshop will gain an appreciation for just how fast, while also getting an opportunity to hit the ground running, if you will, through a sampling of the technology and how it can be put to use.

“In some cases, attendees can walk in with a laptop and walk out with a piece of AI that can help them with their business the next day,” Silva said. “It’s not going to transform their business, it’s not going to double their profit margin, but people will be able to say, ‘in just one workshop, I came back with a taste of what this technology can do. Imagine if I spend more time; imagine if I get a couple of people at the company to really think about how this can be a lever we can push to get some modifications.’”

 

Learning Curves

When asked about the broad impact of AI in manufacturing, Longley said it comes on many levels, but especially the ability to lower the cost of production, which is a game changer for many players in this region and this country, where the costs of labor are higher.

As an example, he relayed the story of a Connecticut-based plastics manufacturer.

“They were competing against a plastics manufacturer in Asia, and what they did was buy a robotic arm, and using AI, they were able to automate their quality control,” he said. “They were able to use their robotic arm to accept certain pieces and segment certain pieces out. And then they were able to take those pieces and transfer them from one workstation to another, run them through the process, and then pull out the finished goods and get them ready for packaging.

Ben Grande

Ben Grande

“What they need to know is that, if they’re not looking into AI, they’re falling behind already.”

“That entire process was done [before] by people on their shop floor,” he went on. “They essentially created a work zone that was seamless, from the process of loading to finished goods to packaging, quality control … everything. And by doing that, they were almost able to reach cost parity with that Asian competitor. That’s a complete game changer when you’re able to do things like that.”

That’s just one example of how AI can help level the playing field and perhaps provide a competitive edge, he continued, adding that the upcoming StratAI workshop will provide insight into the many types of return on investment possible from AI, and how to maximize it.

Grande, like Silva and Longley, said most manufacturers have only recently started dabbling in AI — perhaps using ChatGPT to help write an email, for example. But they know they need to probe deeper.

“What they need to know is that, if they’re not looking into AI, they’re falling behind already,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the National Tooling and Machining Assoc. is working on a regional and national level to educate manufacturers on this subject, and BusinessWest’s series on the subject represents another important step in that process.

Usman agreed, adding that the focus moving forward should be on educating manufacturers on the many ways AI can benefit their operations.

“The indirect savings are sometimes overlooked by the industry,” he said, adding that AI can be used to improve safety and reduce the number of accidents, for example, and it can also be used to help capture the knowledge of retiring machinists — a huge issue for this industry.

“You can use AI to grab the knowledge that these people have and make the training much more effective,” Usman noted. “There are so many different ways to gather and use the information from these talented people, and once it’s been captured, that information can be converted more effectively into training programs.”

These are just some of the ways manufacturers can utilize AI and join the revolution, if you will, and the upcoming workshop, the first of several on this subject, will help bring these concepts to light.

Collaborative Efforts Enable Auto Business to Stay Afloat

By
Peter Kearing, left, and Harley Andrew in the new home of Springfield Tyre Track and Auto Service.
Commercial Real Estate Special Coverage

Driving Forces

Peter Kearing, left, and Harley Andrew in the new home of Springfield Tyre Track and Auto Service.

Peter Kearing, left, and Harley Andrew in the new home of Springfield Tyre Track and Auto Service.

 

Harley Andrew remembers feeling down, emotionally, and then up, as in way up.

He remembers packing up some things one day and then, seemingly just a few days later, unpacking them and returning them to their place in a Springfield auto shop where he had worked for decades.

“We went from being dead to being in business again,” he said. “There was a huge swing of emotions.”

This swing is perhaps the best way to sum up a unique … let’s call it real estate transaction, one that has allowed a thriving business to remain in an area of the city that has long been neglected.

That business, Springfield Tire and Auto Service Inc., was located on a parcel that was acquired by a team looking to build a new Springfield courthouse in the area just south of the North End, a parcel dominated by the former, long-vacant W.F. Young factory. And with that acquisition, Peter Kearing, owner of the auto service center — and several others across the region — was told to vacate.

“We went from being dead to being in business again. There was a huge swing of emotions.”

He was doing just that when Jeb Balise, leader of the development team that acquired the property, presented Kearing with an opportunity to move one block north, into the Tyre Track Automotive Center, a staple in the region that was started by Andrew’s father, Tim, and that was closing amid the land grab accompanying the state’s pursuit of a new site for a courthouse.

Kearing seized on that opportunity, and Andrew seized on an opportunity to join Kearing in a business that brings the names of both ventures together — Springfield Tyre Track and Auto Service.

In that way, two businesses have been melded into one, where there might not have been any, and Balise has demonstrated his commitment to that area, north and east of downtown, whether his group’s plan is ultimately chosen for the courthouse or not.

“Pete was prepared to close down his business, but then, it was like, ‘why?’ And we said, ‘OK, let’s do it,’” said Balise, comparing, on some levels, his work in this section of downtown with initiatives in the South End, where Balise has a huge presence that includes several dealerships, a collision center, a laundromat, and, most recently, the purchase and gifting of a building near Square One’s new facility on William Street for agency operations.

“We don’t know what the plans are long-term for that property,” he said of 175 State St., noting that the courthouse project may change the trajectory of that site. “But the bottom line is, whatever it is, my outlook is no different from what we did in the South End. Pete will not be deserted by me; we’ll figure this out, and that’s what’s so fulfilling to me — figuring out the win-wins.”

The two ventures have essentially merged and are now doing business at 175 Dwight St.

The two ventures have essentially merged and are now doing business at 175 Dwight St.

As for Kearing, he’s thinking short-term and also potentially long-term, noting that, in the larger scheme of things, the 175 Chestnut St. location isn’t an ideal site for an auto services business given recent changes in the business community — there are fewer people working downtown — and the higher cost of doing business in an urban setting, “but being in the footprint of where Jeb Balise wants to build a courthouse is ideal.”

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest looks at how this deal came together, and what it means for that section of downtown moving forward.

 

Court of Opinion

Our story begins with Kearing, a serial entrepreneur who, as noted earlier, would eventually own several auto service centers across the region.

He started as an employee of the business at 435 Dwight St. in 1980, and would eventually run it as a company-owned Gooodyear store, thus beginning a 45-year relationship with that neighborhood and the eclectic clientele of the store, which included area residents, but also large numbers of downtown employees taking advantage of its location for tuneups, tire rotations, inspections, and more.

“The neighborhood was pretty rough back then, and there were a lot more people working downtown,” he recalled. “And in 1980, on a hot day, all you could smell was W.F. Young; Absorbine Jr. permeated the senses of the city in 90 degrees.”

Eventually, he would go on to acquire the property from his landlord and continue that relationship with the neighborhood.

And it was a desire to continue serving that area that led him to discussions with Balise about strategies for keeping that business in operation — not at 435 Dwight St., but at 175 Chestnut St., home to Tyre Track, which, like the Goodyear facility, had become an institution of sorts in that region, serving generations of area residents and downtown workers.

Balise acquired that property last fall for $1 million amid widespread speculation — and property acquisition — regarding sites for a new courthouse.

“Having the number of people who would work in a courthouse right next door to you would be awesome. Jeb’s vision is to build a whole neighborhood there, but he doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.”

His original intention was to convert 175 Chestnut St. into a central service center for advanced driver assistance systems, said Kearing, adding that such a facility was planned to centralize the service on such equipment for the Balise company’s many dealerships across the 413.

But his discussions with Kearing concerning that section of downtown, and his desire to continue serving a customer base he had built up over nearly a half-century, prompted Balise to change those plans.

“I went to him and said, ‘you’re taking 10 bays away here [Goodyear] and six bays away there [Tyre Track] … that’s a big hit on the neighborhood,” Kearing recalled. “He thought about it and said, ‘you’re right,’ and he gave me a very sweet deal to operate out of this place.

“People still shop for automotive service in a tighter radius than they do for tires or shop for cars; they want to operate within a few miles of where they live or work,” he went on, adding that, while there are fewer people working five days a week, or at all, downtown, there is still a solid customer base for the ‘new’ business.

Meanwhile, auto service centers are, by and large, being priced out of urban centers like downtown Springfield, he continued, adding that the taxes and rents are both high, and, often, the numbers don’t pencil out.

They do in this case, Kearing said, adding that the picture will be exponentially brighter if the Balise site is chosen for the new courthouse.

“Having the number of people who would work in a courthouse right next door to you would be awesome. Jeb’s vision is to build a whole neighborhood there, but he doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.”

 

Bottom Line

Balise concurred with that assessment, noting that, while Kearing may not be looking past his 18-month lease on the property, he is.

“I think there is a great opportunity long-term — we just have to figure it out,” Balise said, adding that that this section of the city wants and needs this business to continue operating in that neighborhood.

The parties involved have figured out how to transform two ventures into one and keep it in business, so they’re confident they can figure on the next chapter in this intriguing story as well.

Under New Leadership, Greenfield Savings Bank Forges Ambitious Plans

By
Peter Albero, left, takes the reins from Tom Meshako on April 1.
Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Time of Transition

Peter Albero, left, takes the reins from Tom Meshako on April 1.

Peter Albero, left, takes the reins from Tom Meshako on April 1.

 

As Tom Meshako remembers it, by the time he was done interviewing Peter Albero, he was convinced the latter was not only his best candidate to become CFO and treasurer at Greenfield Savings Bank, but also a possible successor when he moved into retirement in a few years.

“I thought we had a lot of similarities — we felt the same way coming from a public institution; we came here for the same reason, the right reason,” said Meshako, noting that, like Albero, he came to GSB to be in a mutual bank setting and in a position to give back to the community it was serving.

Albero, who came to GSB from Salisbury Bank in Connecticut after it was acquired by NBT Bank, added that, “as a community bank, we didn’t do a lot for the community, because we had to pay dividends to shareholders. “I wanted to work at an institution where we could give back to the community instead of giving to shareholders.”

Meshako’s initial thoughts back in the summer of 2023 turned out to be prescient, as Albero prevailed in nationwide search last year for a successor to Meshako, who will retire to Florida in the spring.

Albero, who will take the helm on April 1, does so at an intriguing time in the bank’s history — although he says the banking industry is “always interesting.”

Indeed, the institution is expected to reach $1.5 billion in assets in the first quarter of 2026, an important milestone and another threshold as GSB continues its quest for an all-important commodity in the banking industry — size.

“I wanted to work at an institution where we could give back to the community instead of giving to shareholders.”

“Scale matters, and our goal is to continue to grow our loan book without increasing our head count and become more efficient,” said Albero, noting that much of the bank’s growth has come on the commercial lending side.

Meanwhile, the bank will cut two significant ribbons in the coming weeks. One will be at the renovated Leavitt-Hovey House next door to the bank’s headquarters on Main Street in Greenfield, and the other will be at its latest branch, a key piece in a massive redevelopment project at the site of the former Tasty Top in Easthampton.

The former is a nearly $7 million initiative that will transform the landmark, built in 1797 and home of the city’s public library between 1909 and 2023, into a home for the bank’s trust and wealth management, residential lending, and cash management teams.

GSB’s ‘southern headquarters’ in Easthampton is slated to open within the next several weeks.

GSB’s ‘southern headquarters’ in Easthampton is slated to open within the next several weeks.

The latter is a $7 million investment that marks the bank’s latest and boldest effort to “move south and east,” as Albero put it, meaning into Hampden and Worcester counties, and beyond the bank’s historic base in Franklin and Hampshire counties.

And as the bank continues this expansion east and south, the ‘community’ it serves has become much larger, noted both Albero and Meshako, adding that GSB has responded accordingly, increasing its charitable giving from $300,000 when Meshako started at the bank a decade ago to $1.2 million last year, with that number expected to move higher as the bank continues to grow.

“Tom and I both agree that, if the bank does better, the communities can do better,” Albero said. “When you move into a community, you have to support that community and its nonprofits.”

For this issue and its focus on banking and financial services, BusinessWest talked with Albero and Meshako about the transition in leadership at GSB and what’s in the broad business plan for this 157-year-old institution.

 

Purposeful Journey

Albero spent the bulk of his career in a setting far removed from rural Greenfield — New York City.

He spent 26 years in senior roles in the financial controller group at Morgan Stanley and also worked as a risk advisory consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Desiring a change from the Big Apple, he joined Salisbury Bank & Trust in Connecticut as CFO.

He did that for six years before Salisbury was acquired by NBT Bank in 2023, prompting him to seek another significant career change, this time in the mutual bank setting.

“Tom and I both agree that, if the bank does better, the communities can do better.”

“Salisbury Bank was a community bank, but it was public,” he noted. “We found that it was very hard to grow as a public bank, trying to compete with much larger institutions, when you’re focused on growth and earnings quarter over quarter.”

While Albero was chosen as GSB’s new CFO in early in 2023, he stayed with Salisbury until the merger with NBT had been finalized before coming to Greenfield, a wait Meshako was willing to endure.

“I waited nine months for Peter to finish that transaction because I knew he was the person I wanted,” he recalled. “We seemed to be on the same page, and I kind of knew he was the person that would be taking my position when I retired; I knew he’d make a great candidate.”

As he takes the helm, Albero will be focused on keeping the bank on a strong growth trajectory, a pattern that has emerged “organically and safely,” and continued in 2025, with roughly 6% growth.

“Sometimes, when you try to grow your portfolio, you’ll do a little higher risk rating, but we didn’t — we stayed with high-quality customers while also moving more south,” Meshako said, adding that the move to open a branch in Easthampton is the latest and boldest manifestation of this strategy.

The renovated Leavitt-Hovey House will become home to the bank’s trust and wealth management business, residential lending, and cash management teams.

The renovated Leavitt-Hovey House will become home to the bank’s trust and wealth management business, residential lending, and cash management teams.

Actually, this will not be just a branch, Albero said, referring to it instead as the bank’s “southern headquarters.”

Indeed, the facility, due to open its doors later this month or early in April, will include a commercial lender, a wealth management and trust services representative, and a residential lender, as well as the branch, he noted, adding that it will serve as a staging point, if you will, for continued growth in Hampden County, in all facets of banking, but especially commercial lending.

Indeed, where once the bank’s commercial portfolio had 50% to 60% or more of its originations in Franklin County, that number is now less than 25%, a nod to both slow growth in the Greenfield area and the bank’s pursuit of business east and south of its traditional base.

“We have a lot of borrowers in the Springfield market, and they refer other borrowers to the bank because of our ability to get the deals closed,” Albero said. “And we have some other borrowers more toward Worcester, and they refer more borrowers to our commercial team for the same reason.”

Meanwhile, with assets now approaching $1.5 billion, GSB has expanded its sweet spot when it comes to commercial loans, its niche now being the $3 million to $7 million range, where it was once $1 million to $3 million.

“That’s another way that you can grow, not just doing more loans, but larger loans as well,” Meshako said, adding that this higher ceiling creates many more opportunities to do business across the region.

 

Points of Interest

When asked about plans for further expansion beyond Easthampton and when and where that might take place, Albero said there was nothing on the drawing board yet.

Indeed, the bank is focused on its two large investments — the Easthampton facility and the renovated Leavitt-Hovey House — and assimilating those into the corporate portfolio.

“We have a lot of borrowers in the Springfield market, and they refer other borrowers to the bank because of our ability to get the deals closed.”

“Our plan is to make sure that Easthampton becomes profitable very quickly,” he noted. “We’ll continue to evaluate the markets, but we’re not going to jump in immediately. We have a lot to digest from a cost perspective.”

Renovation of the Leavitt-Hovey House represents a different kind of investment in the community — not a check to a nonprofit, but the restoration and reuse of a city treasure, Meshako said.

“If we didn’t buy it, I think it would have sat in the state that it was in and continue to deteriorate,” he said. “This is something we did to help the city of Greenfield and create some tax revenue. We needed additional space, and we were looking for some place to build or possibly buy, and we thought that renovating the Leavitt-Hovey House would help this whole corner of downtown.

“We’re bringing it back to its original luster,” he went on, referring to the color scheme from the 1950s, when the home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, adding that the facility is slated to open late this month or early in April.

Peter Albero says GSB’s overall growth strategy involves moving “south and east.”

Peter Albero says GSB’s overall growth strategy involves moving “south and east.”

As for Easthampton, the leaders at GSB saw that community as the logical spot for its southern expansion. That city is similar to Greenfield in many ways — a former manufacturing hub that is reinventing itself as a center for the arts and hospitality, especially in renovated mills — but it also neighbors thriving Northampton, a city where the bank already has a presence.

“There’s been quite a resurgence in Easthampton,” Meshako said. “That whole mill district just took off, and it has helped the whole downtown. The city continues to prosper, and we decided that this is where we wanted, and needed, to be.”

As for the former Tasty Top site itself, plans call for a Starbucks, a steak restaurant, housing, and other developments that should bring foot traffic — and additional business — to the bank.

Continued growth is important to GSB, as it is to all banks, said Albero, as the cost of doing business continues to rise on many fronts, and institutions seek economies of scale.

“Technology costs continue to rise, and it’s difficult, also, to attract employees, particularly where we are in Western Massachusetts, so you ending up paying higher salaries to attract individuals,” he explained. “We find that’s it’s challenging. Every time you continue to grow, you can’t just continue to add head count; you must become more efficient, but the technology costs to do that are very expensive.”

And while the bank plans to continue to grow organically and safely, as Meshako mentioned, it will explore options for acquisitions as well.

“We will consider M&A transactions, but we will be the acquirer,” he told BusinessWest. “But our focus over the next three years is on efficiency, increasing our earnings, and boosting our capital so we have a long runway for organic growth. And while we’re doing that, we’ll keep an eye on the M&A market; if the opportunity is there, we’ll take advantage of it.

“We’ll keep our options open,” he went on, adding that this might be considered the overall game plan moving forward for an institution that it is in a time of transition — in many different ways.

Home & Garden Show Lets Contractors Put Their Best Foot Forward

By
The leadership team at Ace Chimney Sweeps, Kelly Kapinos and her sons, from left, Kelly, Matty, and Joey.
Home Improvement Special Coverage

Getting Down to Business

The leadership team at Ace Chimney Sweeps, Kelly Kapinos and her sons, from left, Kelly, Matty, and Joey.

The leadership team at Ace Chimney Sweeps, Kelly Kapinos and her sons, from left, Kelly, Matty, and Joey.

 

Kelly Kapinos says it started with one of those cereal box records that were prevalent in the ’60s and ’70s.

Her husband, Jay, was looking at a trade magazine in a doctor’s office after an on-the-job injury, she explained, when he came across an item for chimney sweeping.

“It talked about how you could be your own boss, help people stay safe, meet a lot of people, and not have to work in a cubicle,” she recalled, adding that he sent away for the record, which started with “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from Mary Poppins.

“It talked about the advantages of being a chimney sweep, like being outside in the nice weather. It didn’t talk about how cold it gets, or how hot it can be on roofs, or how dangerous it can be,” Kapinos recalled with a laugh, adding that, after some deeper due diligence on this business, they bought in and hung out their shingle. Sort of.

They kept their full-time jobs and started cleaning chimneys on weekends before it became a full-time pursuit called Ace Chimney Sweeps. And 40 years later, Kelly and her three sons, Matt, Jamie, and Joe, are still at it (Jay went on to get his class A license and now moves heavy construction equipment), as one of the very few locally owned chimney sweep companies still doing business in the 413 and just beyond.

And this is one of the points they stress to visitors to their booth at the Original Western Mass Home & Garden Show, which will stage its 71st edition at the Big E on March 26-29.

The company has become a regular at the show over the past several years, said Kapinos, adding that it uses those four days to help fill an already-crammed schedule for the coming seasons, but also just to get the word out and build some brand recognition.

“For the first time in a long time, people want to sign up to get work scheduled. In past years, they’ve been so busy … they came to the show because they didn’t want to lose their spot and they wanted to keep their name out there, but they really weren’t trying to sell work. This year, there’s a different mindset.”

These are the main motivations for vendors at the show, many of which have been appearing for decades, said Andy Crane, president of the Home Builders & Remodelers Assoc. of Western Mass., which produces the show.

The showcase provides a great opportunity for businesses to do some brand building and, quite often, put some business on the books, said Crane, adding that, with the economy slowing in some respects, many vendors are more focused on looking for work than they have been in recent years, when they were booked solid heading into the show.

“A lot of businesses are really busy, but there are many businesses that would like to see more booked jobs to feel good,” he explained.

Meanwhile, for visitors, the show presents an opportunity to get a break from winter (especially this year), see what’s new, and perhaps find someone to handle the next project on their to-do list.

For BusinessWest, its annual show preview provides a chance to tell the stories behind some of the vendors — like Dimauro Carpet & Tile. The East Longmeadow-based company, now celebrating 30 years in business, will be making its first appearance at the show, and Jeff Beturne, project manager for the company, is expecting … well, he’s not really sure what to expect.

“I’m excited about what it might bring — we’re really not sure,” he said, adding that members of the company’s leadership team are putting together a game plan for the show, including deals to be offered to customers.

Overall, they will be looking to introduce themselves to the region and “get our personality out there,” he went on, adding that the company will stress its longevity and the fact that it is locally and family-owned.

Andy Crane

Andy Crane says the Home & Garden Show provides vendors with an opportunity to be visible — and also put some business on the books.

For Earthlight Technologies, an energy solutions company based in Ellington, Conn., and with offices locally in Northampton, the goals are similar, said Andrew Bessette, content manager.

“The trade show is a good way for us to get more visibility and get direct lines to our customers,” he noted, adding that, while the company gains several jobs directly from the show, it also builds name recognition and tries to separate itself from competition that is not as focused on quality and customer service (more on this later).

For this issue and its focus on home improvement, BusinessWest previews the Home & Garden Show and talks with several area businesses about why these four days at the Big E are time very well-spent.

 

Home Work

This is the slow season for chimney sweeps.

It starts in January and goes until about the end of winter, said Kapinos, adding that this general quiet allows the company to make the significant investment in time required of home show vendors.

“We start revving up for spring cleanings, and then we’re out straight again until next January,” she explained, adding that the show, while time-consuming, is a solid investment for Ace when it comes to getting its name out and making acquaintances.

“The show keeps us in front of people that have been coming to us for years,” she said. “They stop by the booth to say ‘hi’ and put my face with my voice on the phone, and also meet the guys because they’re at the show with me.”

This business of putting faces with voices and ‘meeting the guys’ might be the unofficial mission of the home show, said Crane, who said organizers are on track for another sellout when it comes to vendor space.

Crane noted that, in the wake of COVID, a time when people spent more time at home — and also when many had more disposable income — most contractors and home improvement companies had all the work they can handle. Some didn’t want to come to the home show and tell those visiting their booth that they couldn’t put them on the schedule for several months at least.

Most contractors are still busy, he said, but there is now more need to get in front of people and, hopefully, fill the calendar with work.

“For the first time in a long time, people want to sign up to get work scheduled,” he said. “In past years, they’ve been so busy … they came to the show because they didn’t want to lose their spot and they wanted to keep their name out there, but they really weren’t trying to sell work. This year, there’s a different mindset.”

Like many home improvement companies, Dimauro received a significant boost from COVID, said Beturne, noting that the company’s portfolio leans heavily (about 80%) toward commercial and municipal work, and there was a lot to be found in 2020 and 2021.

“Municipalities had an influx of money, and it was just sitting there,” he explained, adding that the company gained a significant amount of work taking out carpeting and putting in hard surfaces.

“This past year was the first quiet year after all of that,” he went on, adding that there was less work to be had on the municipal side and more competition for what did emerge, and it was also slower on the residential side amid inflation, tariffs, and general uncertainty. The company is looking at home show participation as one strategy for putting more work on the books for 2026 and beyond.

“We want to be aggressive; we want to put our best foot forward in terms of getting people to knock out the room they’ve been holding out on,” he explained. “If they’re renovating a room, a home office, bedroom, you name it, then we want to be able to provide products at excellent prices.

“It’s about making sales, but it’s also about getting our name out there,” Beturne added. “It will be good to remind people that we’re here and that we’re willing to travel to handle a project.”

For Earthlight Technologies, there are several motivating factors when it comes to trade show participation, and the company takes part in several, Bessette noted.

It does so to educate the public on its many products and services, he said, listing EV charging stations, energy efficiency, and other energy solutions. But it’s best known for commercial and residential solar, which remains a popular option, despite the end of the 30% federal solar tax credit on Dec. 31 with the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“The value proposition doesn’t really go away because there’s no tax credit,” he explained. “The sky is not falling; solar is still going to be a very viable option for a long-term return on investment.”

There is a good amount of work on the books for 2026, he noted, adding that the show will hopefully generate more, while also helping the company tell its story and differentiate itself from what is still a crowded field of competitors.

“The trade show is a really good way for us to stand out, specifically when customers can talk to our sales reps,” Bessette said. “Unfortunately, our industry doesn’t have the best reputation. In any industry, there are bad actors or people that might promise more than they can actually deliver. You have that in any industry, but it’s fairly prominent in the solar industry. When you talk to our sales reps and the people at our company, that’s a differentiating factor — we take really good care of our customers.”

 

Bottom Line

Each company has its own message to get across, said Crane, adding that the Home & Garden Show has been connecting contractors with the public — and existing and potential customers — for seven decades now.

This tradition will continue later this month, with a four-day show at which vendors and visitors can get down to business, in every sense of that phrase.

Lenox Keeps Building Its Brand as a Destination

By
Marion Hayden says she’s always had a “love for color, design, and merchandising,” and all three come together in her new venture, Home on Main.
Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Community Spotlight

Marion Hayden says she’s always had a “love for color, design, and merchandising,” and all three come together in her new venture, Home on Main.

Marion Hayden says she’s always had a “love for color, design, and merchandising,” and all three come together in her new venture, Home on Main.

 

When it comes to the arts, hospitality, history, and architecture, Sara Goodberlet says, Lenox has an extremely strong brand.

It’s been built over time and is fortified by institutional landmarks such as Tanglewood, Shakespeare & Company, the Mount (Edith Wharton’s home), Ventfort Hall (home to the Gilded Age Museum), spas, inns, restaurants, retail shops, nature trails, and much more.

And as the relatively new director of the Lenox Chamber of Commerce, she said one of her primary directives is to protect, nurture, and enhance that brand.

“I want to keep building Lenox as a brand, as a destination,” she said. “It’s a strong brand, but I want to freshen it up a little bit. We’re in a unique position … we have some older, mature, historical roots, but then we also have this fresher, modern vitality that’s also in the mix.”

Elaborating, Goodberlet said one of her goals is to educate and inform the public about not only the pillars of Lenox’s strong arts and hospitality sector — like Tanglewood, which has two Paul Simon concerts featured in a packed 2026 schedule, or Shakespeare & Company, which also a full slate of shows starting in June — but the many small businesses and nonprofits that help make this brand as strong as it is, and the people behind them.

People like Molly Lyon-Joseph, who owns two restaurants in town — Frankie’s, an Italian-American eatery, and Pizzeria Boema — and is set to open a third, Bea’s House, in a historic property, the former Café Lucia on Church Street.

“I want to keep building Lenox as a brand, as a destination. It’s a strong brand, but I want to freshen it up a little bit. We’re in a unique position … we have some older, mature, historical roots, but then we also have this fresher, modern vitality that’s also in the mix.”

Or Scott Shortt, a former financial services veteran turned serial entrepreneur whose latest venture is a unique event space, called the Belvedere, carved out of a former retail space in downtown Lenox.

Or Marion Hayden, a long-time employee at the former Annie Selke store in downtown Lenox, who, after the store closed, decided to keep that destination alive with a venture she calls Home on Main.

Individually and collectively, these businesses (much more on them later) contribute to the vibrancy that defines Lenox for at least three seasons each year — winter is considerably slower and a challenge for many businesses — and also to a highly supportive environment.

“I wouldn’t choose to do business anywhere else — I love the Lenox community. I feel like everyone supports each other; there’s collaboration on many levels,” said Lyon-Johnson, adding that the many hospitality businesses benefit from Tanglewood, especially, but all the major draws, and they support those institutions in kind.

Added Goodberlet, “I’ve never been in a business climate where there’s so much being created. It’s such a treat to help support them, bring people together, and market our area and continue to give it the personality it has.”

For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Lenox and how its brand is stronger than ever.

 

The Play’s the Thing

Jaclyn Stevenson, director of Marketing & Communications for Shakespeare & Company, described 2026 as an important year for the live theater venue, for many reasons.

For starters, it will be a time to remember Tina Packer, the company’s co-founder and founding artistic director, who passed away on Jan. 9. There will be a celebration of life on May 31 at the Shakespeare & Company campus, said Stevenson, adding that Packer remains an inspiration to all those at the company, and in her honor, the Tina Packer Legacy Fund has been established to support the future of the institution and the work she founded.

Meanwhile, 2026 will mark a financial milestone — this will be the first time since its founding in 1978 that the nonprofit theater is completely debt-free, having paid off the remaining $1.7 million of the $4 million mortgage on its campus, thanks to contributions from its board of trustees and a combination of successful property transactions, community support, and a strong box office season, Beverly Hyman, chair of the board of trustees, described this financial development as a turning point for the institution.

The Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre, seen here during last season’s production of Romeo and Juliet, is one of three outdoor theaters at Shakespeare & Company.

The Arthur S. Waldstein Amphitheatre, seen here during last season’s production of Romeo and Juliet, is one of three outdoor theaters at Shakespeare & Company.

“We have some long-term board members who have been around the block a few times in terms of financial ups and downs, and even they see this as a turn into all new territory,” she said. “We now have the opportunity to expand education programs — including our nationally recognized Shakespeare in the Courts program — and to focus on our Center for Actor Training, which requires highly skilled faculty.”

There are other developments as well, said Stevenson, noting that Shakespeare & Company, named by Newsweek as one of the top outdoor theater companies in the country, is now the new home to six sculptures created by noted philanthropist Harold Grinspoon. Each more than 30 feet high, the sculptures create a new attraction on the property that visitors can enjoy year-round.

Then there’s the 2026 schedule, which includes a limited run of Midsummer Dreamers, a two-person interpretation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Matthew Barber’s Fireflies; and a production of Twelfth Night.

Goodberlet said that, while large institutions such as Tanglewood, Shakespeare & Company, and the Mount are in many ways the foundation of Lenox’s arts and hospitality base, this sector has many moving parts, with the emphasis on moving.

“You always put together a plan, you make assumptions, and you work through the details and consider a lot of scenarios and how things will work. But it’s all theory until you actually start putting it into practice.”

Indeed, while there are some constants, there is always change and new additions to the landscape, all of which contribute to the overall Lenox vibe.

These pieces include Lyon-Joseph’s restaurants, which, in addition to fine dining, provide jobs to people of all ages, but especially young people. She said she’s diligent about providing not just a paycheck, but learning experiences on many levels.

Indeed, she recently took her leadership team to the Gramercy Tavern in New York City’s Flatiron District to get a first-hand look at how that landmark establishment provides customer service, and to learn from what patrons experience.

“The Gramercy Tavern is known for their hospitality,” she said, “and I wanted my team to see what it’s like on the other side of that, so they can take it home and have that amazing experience.”

As for Lyon-Joseph’s latest endeavor, it involves renovating an 1853 landmark, as well as opening another restaurant, in this case one focused on contemporary new American cuisine.

“I love old antiques, and I’ve spent the past year and a half collecting things that are going to be placed in the restaurant,” she explained, listing, among other things, a telephone from the early 20th century that will carry a sign that says ‘Call Mom.’

“We’re a very serious restaurant in terms of our menu and our wine list, but our approach is very whimsical; we don’t take ourselves too seriously,” she told BusinessWest, adding that she’s expecting to open later this month.

 

Designs on Growth

Hayden brings a diverse background to her new role as shop owner and entrepreneur.

Indeed, she worked in publishing for many years, and later as an assistant to Doug Trumbull, Academy Award-winning film director and visual effects producer, before studying interior design at the New York School of Interior Design and then working for local designers.

She became the on-site manager of the Anne Selke store on Main Street in Lenox, named after the interior designer who created, and later sold, the Pine Cone Hill and Dash & Albert brands of home décor.

When the store that was created to showcase those brands closed in October 2024, Hayden sensed the disappointment among customers and those in the community and decided to take an entrepreneurial plunge and open a similar outlet at that location, taking her career in a different and rewarding direction.

Lenox at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1767
Population: 5,095
Area: 21.7 square miles
County: Berkshire
Residential Tax Rate: $9.85
Commercial Tax Rate: $14.37
Median Household Income: $85,581
Median Family Income: $111,413
Type of Government: Select Board, Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Canyon Ranch, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Kimball Farms
* Latest information available

“I have always had a love for color, design, and merchandising,” she told BusinessWest. “Opening Home on Main gave me the opportunity to stretch those creative inspirations and knowledge. I can merge this creative side with my administrative skills — because a retail business heavily relies on both when you are the sole owner.”

Home on Main opened in January 2025 and recorded a solid first year thanks to a a wide range of brands, including Pine Cone Hill and Dash & Albert, and products ranging from rugs — there’s a ‘rug library’ that affords individuals the opportunity to take out samples and see how they look in their homes — to candles, diffusers, and pillows.

Hayden said she attracts a broad base of customers that include local residents, those with second homes in and around Lenox, and those vising the community and taking in all it has to offer.

“Once Tanglewood opens, the population swells — it’s a big draw,” she explained, adding that, like other businesses in town, she struggles during ‘shoulder season,’ but understands the year-long pattern of business and plans accordingly.

Shortt, as noted earlier, worked in finance for many years before moving to Lenox in 2010, when he purchased an inn and spent seven years renovating it and then operating it before selling it in 2022.

He then put his focus on renovating the former retail space at 21 Housatonic St. into something he said was lacking in Lenox, a versatile event space that could host everything from weddings to company retreats to nonprofit events.

Opened just over a year ago after an extensive, two-year renovation that included construction of a commercial kitchen, the Belvedere has become a popular alternative for all types of gatherings.

“We’ve done birthday parties, weddings, rehearsal parties, corporate meetings, product launches, baby showers, bridal showers, a little bit of everything,” Shortt said, adding that the facility’s first year was solid, and the business now has a firm foundation on which to build.

“We got our legs under us, and we had a large number of various events,” he noted. “The thing that was great was … you always put together a plan, you make assumptions, and you work through the details and consider a lot of scenarios and how things will work. But it’s all theory until you actually start putting it into practice and have all those different types of events to make sure it comes together.

“And it did — we’ve proven it out in various scenarios and ways, and we’re very pleased,” he went on, adding that, for year two, the goal is to continue adding events, especially meetings and other corporate uses.

“Those typically happen outside the summer season and usually happen in the middle of the week,” Shortt explained. “So those events are additive — they don’t take away from weekend social events.”

The Belvedere is just one of dozens of businesses contributing to the Lenox ‘brand,’ one that has stood the test of time and continues to grow, evolve, and make this community a truly unique destination.

Gasoline Alley’s Businesses — and Customers — Create a Unique Environment

By
Tim and Andrea Monson, owners of Monsoon Roastery.
Features Special Coverage

‘A Place, an Idea, an Inspiration’

Tim and Andrea Monson, owners of Monsoon Roastery.

Tim and Andrea Monson, owners of Monsoon Roastery.

 

Technically, it’s a collection of old industrial buildings on Albany Street in Springfield in the shadow of the huge oil storage tanks that provide its name.

But Gasoline Alley is so much more, say the people doing business there now.

They describe it as a community, an incubator of sorts, a sustainable business collective, a place for events, and … well, did we mention community?

“It’s an amazing place,” said Andrea Monson, co-owner, with her husband, Tim, of Monsoon Roastery, one of several businesses now part of what’s called the Urban Food Brood, also described as an avant-garde culinary haven.

It was created, with the help of a MassDevelopment grant, by the Monsons; Teri Skinner, owner of Nosh Café and Restaurant; and Jack Wysocki, owner of Urban Artisan Farm — entrepreneurs who knew each other and were already partners of sorts.

The vision was to build a pandemic-proof business, a place for “community, collaboration, and culinary innovation,” said Monson, adding that, in recent years, like-minded individuals have joined the venture as tenants within the collaborative. These include the owners of Rumspringa Books, Corsella Butcheria, Forest Doe Botanicals, Journeys Lemonade, and Happy Man Freeze Dried, which, as name suggests, specializes in all things freeze dried, from smoothies to dog treats.

Monson described the assembled businesses as family, with each member taking on the many challenges of operating a business individually, but also collectively.

“It’s a family, and with any family, there’s conflict and resolution,” she explained. “We don’t give up on each other.”

“We each have our little part that we do that creates that magic that we have here.”

Skinner agreed. “It’s definitely an interesting community, and the best thing about it is the support that you have from your fellow partners or entrepreneurs that are working here,” she said. “Everyone in this place is a business owner, and that alleviates some of that pressure from being the sole business owner who has to do everything. We each have our little part that we do that creates that magic that we have here.”

The Urban Food Brood is a huge part of the broad picture at Gasoline Alley, but there is a diverse list of other tenants as well, including Chris Marion Photography, Street LXL Mixed Media Arts, FJR Towing, and many others.

Collectively, they are continuing a long tradition of entrepreneurship, innovation, and collaboration at this location.

Indeed, since 1990, more than 1,000 jobs have been created through more than 100 alumni companies, including Al’s Beverage Co., Marty’s Soda Mix, the Salon at Gasoline Alley, Mad Gab’s, the ReStore, and many others, said Joe Sibilia, founder and creator of Gasoline Alley, which he describes as “a place, an idea, an inspiration,” and so much more than a mailing address.

“Culturally, it’s a campus and culture that embraces the arts,” said Chris Marion, who started taking pictures as a side hustle years ago and eventually made it his career, and Gasoline Alley his home — a studio out of space that was formally a club for motorcycle police. “It’s a fun place to be. We all have our own businesses, but in a lot of ways, it’s like family.”

Joe Sibilia describes Gasoline Alley as an ever-evolving community of entrepreneurs.

Joe Sibilia describes Gasoline Alley as an ever-evolving community of entrepreneurs.

Behind the ventures that now call Gasoline Alley and the Urban Food Brood home are entrepreneurs who are, as Skinner noted, learning from one another and often leaning on one another as they try to grow their ventures.

“What’s nice about being here is that, as a small business owner, I have the ability and opportunity to talk it over with other small business owners,” said James Brooks, owner of Happy Man Freeze Dried. “We’re always helping each other out; it’s a great environment to be in.”

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at a truly unique spot on the local business scene, a community of business owners who all contribute to the magic being created there.

 

Coming Together

Sibilia doesn’t really like to talk about himself or his various roles at Gasoline Alley.

He would rather put the focus on the businesses and the programs there — and that’s essentially what he’s done from the beginning. When pressed, he said he’s a landlord, yes, but he’s also a facilitator of sorts and a mentor to many, passing on advice to entrepreneurs and sometimes advising them that it might be best if they found something else to do.

He said Gasoline Alley has had a long history of not only incubating businesses and hosting them — sometimes for a dozen years or more — but also for supporting local police (there remains on site a stable where police horses are fed) and providing job training and life skills to young people.

“We had, for many, many years, young men between the ages of 15 and 20 who hadn’t graduated from high school, never held a job, some of them homeless or living with extended family, may or may not have been convicted of a crime, on a six-week job training program here — basically triage for the local thugs,” he said, adding that the program ran until COVID. “That was very rewarding.”

Kate Forest (left) and Missy Doe are co-owners of Forest Doe Botanicals

Kate Forest (left) and Missy Doe are co-owners of Forest Doe Botanicals, one of the many diverse and interconnected businesses at Gasoline Alley.

Sibilia is proud of Gasoline Alley’s strong track record for helping businesses get off the ground and get to the next level. The list of alumni also includes several other soda companies, the Springfield Journal, Todd Lemieux Design, Artifact Cider, and even state Rep. Athan (Soco) Catjakis. The list goes on and on, everything from a skincare salon and car detailing shop to photography and yoga studios and a car wash.

They’ve all called that relatively hidden slice of Springfield home. And now, it’s time for the current generation — an equally eclectic mix of businesses that live by one of Gasoline Alley’s credos, “to give value to that which has been abandoned” — to thrive.

“In nature, and in humanity, there is no waste,” said Sibilia, adding that another credo is for the businesses there to create a “learning community,” which is another tradition that continues today.

He referenced almost all the current tenants on a tour during which he emphasized everything from the diversity of the businesses to the many, often unlikely, success stories, such as FJR Towing, to the manner in which the businesses support one another and create a community.

Ventures like Forest Doe Botanicals. Founded by Kate Forest and her wife, Missy Doe, the venture specializes in a broad range of eco-friendly gifts, including plant-based body care — soaps, salves, face and beard oils, relaxation roll-ons, and body oils handcrafted with organic, vegan ingredients.

“Our mission is around self-care and planet care,” Forest explained. “We’re helping people be a little more eco-conscious about the products they put on their bodies, the products that they use that go off their bodies and down the drain and into our bodies of water and affect our marine life and go into our air and effect our breathing.”

“What’s nice about being here is that, as a small business owner, I have the ability and opportunity to talk it over with other small business owners. We’re always helping each other out; it’s a great environment to be in.”

The two started three years ago in Doe’s kitchen, dabbling in oils and shea butter, and eventually expanded into soaps and took their act on their road, transforming a 2016 Ford van into a home on wheels. On their travels, they met a soap maker, and “it snowballed from there.”

Like many, they frequented Gasoline Alley and the eateries in the Urban Food Brood — Nosh catered their wedding roughly 18 months ago — before making it their own business home.

“We walked into this space, and Teri [Skinner] said, ‘they’re bringing vendors in here,’” Forest recalled, referring to a space created when a wall was knocked down within the 5,000-square-foot complex that was home to the Urban Food Brood. “We asked if they would consider letting us come in with our production space and our retail space. Teri said, ‘let’s talk to Joe,’ and we signed a lease a week and a half later; it was pretty quick.”

The two set up shop last April, becoming the first tenants in the marketplace. Their large suite includes a production area and the retail space, and it was expanded into recently vacated space for an eco-conscious gift shop.

“It’s such a great community to be involved in,” Forest said of Gasoline Alley. “As we grow together, we become more like a family — it’s great to be a part of this.”

 

Food for Thought

Those sentiments were echoed by others we spoke with, especially in the Urban Food Brood — open Friday through Sunday — where things are generally humming.

Even within this small space, there are some intriguing stories about entrepreneurs finding a home — and finding their stride.

Like Brooks, an operating room nurse by trade who once made jerky but found it wasn’t a good business model, and who is perhaps better known as the ‘freeze dried guy.’

During the pandemic, he did some scrolling, came across the freeze drying process, and eventually decided he could create a business that would fit in nicely with the overall mindset at Gasoline Alley.

“It’s very much what Joe Sibilia wanted — there’s no waste at all, and the health benefits are off the charts,” he said as he showed off his space and his equipment.

Brooks noted that he freeze dries just about everything, from fruit to meats; from candy to those smoothies and dog treats. He was making some of the latter when he spoke with BusinessWest.

“It’s all chicken,” he said of the treats. “There’s no additives; there’s no preservatives. This machine will freeze the chicken livers to like 20 below zero, and over a period of time, it starts to heat back up … this vacuum pump turns on, and the water from the chicken collects on the cylinder on the inside. It takes out 96% of the water and holds 96% of the nutrients, so it’s shelf-stable.”

The smoothies are a recent addition to the stable, he said, adding that he makes them in a blender and then pours the mix into a mold, creating small squares that are put into a freezer and then the freeze drier, creating snacks that have become a best seller, with flavors such as mango, pineapple, banana, and more.

Brooks is a tenant, but he has also helped Sibilia build out some of the spaces at Gasoline Alley. And as he noted earlier, the businesses support one another in many different ways.

Skinner agreed, noting that she decided to expand into Gasoline Alley with a second location after a space became available — and some prompting from the Monsons and Wysocki. And while there were some logistical challenges and build-out issues, “now, it’s awesome.”

Skinner said that, while the businesses started the process of creating the intriguing overall environment at Gasoline Alley and its Urban Food Brood, the customer base that has emerged has certainly contributed to that ‘magic’ she described earlier.

“We have a really diverse base of customers,” she said, noting that, while the Urban Food Brood is open only three days a week, those days are busy, and the location has become a real destination for people living across the 413.

Andrea Monson agreed, noting that she and Tim explored Gasoline Alley at Wysocki’s advice — the two ventures crossed paths at a winter farmer’s market.

“Tim actually went first and, unbeknownst to me, signed a lease,” she recalled. “And then we both went to check out the space and meet Joe.”

They opened in 2019 and survived the pandemic through a delivery service and then a walk-up window on the Gasoline Alley property. “People would come in the rain and the snow; they’d order at one window and walk around and pick up at the other window.”

Through the MassDevelopment grant, they and their other partners embarked on what would be a three-year journey to create the Urban Food Brood, which, with its condensed schedule — a broad effort to address changing spending habits as the economy slowed — has become a bustling destination those three days of the week.

“On Saturday, it’s packed — there’s a line out the door,” she said, adding that the businesses take full advantage of a location just off several major highways. “We get a lot of people passing through, but we also have a large number of regulars.”

They come for the traditional offerings, but also special events like farm-to-fork table dinners on Thursday nights, where Skinner handles the food, Andrea Monson mixes drinks, and other businesses in the complex chip in as well.

“People come, and they spend three hours with us for a six-course meal,” she said, adding that Gasoline Alley has become a gathering spot for businesses and patrons alike, continuing a unique tradition at a place that is most certainly also an inspiration.

Deerfield Is ‘a Front Door and a Backbone’

By
Victoria Tubbs and Vytautas Sukys have big plans for Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory.
Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Community Spotlight

Victoria Tubbs and Vytautas Sukys have big plans for Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory.

Victoria Tubbs and Vytautas Sukys have big plans for Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory.

Victoria Tubbs says her first visit to Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory in Deerfield was certainly a memorable one.

Indeed, as she and her brother, Vytautas Sukys, offered a tour of the business they now own and manage, she pointed to the bridge over the small koi pond in the conservatory and said, “I was proposed to right there 16 years ago.”

As she and Sukys stopped for a photo on that very spot, with one of the 4,000 or so butterflies inhabiting the place at any given time fluttering in the background, they said their broad goal is to create special memories for others while taking this business — now celebrating 25 years as one of the pillars of Franklin County’s tourism scene — in new and different directions.

These include a greater focus on events and creating more experiences for the thousands who come here every year, everything from glassblowing to classes on various subjects, blending nature with art and education.

Magic Wings, as noted, is one of the major draws in Deerfield. Others include Yankee Candle, Tree House Brewing Co., Historic Deerfield, and the Rock Fossil and Dinosaur Shop, all of these on or accessible from Routes 5 & 10.

Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory

Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory

Together, they contribute to an outsized role in the local tourism sector, its workforce opportunities, and overall regional identity for a town of just over 5,000 people.

“I like to say Deerfield consistently punches above its weight,” said Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce & Regional Tourism Council. “Deerfield works as a front door and a backbone in a lot of ways. It’s where a lot of visitors first experience Franklin County, and it’s also home to businesses that quietly operate on a regional and national scale, and it’s great that they found their home here.”

Elaborating, she said easy access off I-91 and multiple attractions combine to make Deerfield a destination for people looking for fun and education across a broad spectrum, whether it’s candles, beer, butterflies, or 18th century history — lots of it.

The last item on that list can be found at Historic Deerfield, an outdoor museum that interprets the history and culture of early New England. And, like other venues celebrating that time in the nation’s history, it is gearing up for the country’s 250th birthday with several new exhibits.

These include “Picturing the Revolution,” an exhibit that explores the diverse ways in which 18th-century individuals ‘pictured’ or understood the revolution as it unfolded, with maps, drawings, ceramics, and even satirical cartoons; “Dressing the Revolution: Fashion and Politics 1760-1789,” a display that includes more than 20 garments, accessories, textiles, and prints that illuminate the role of clothing at the time of the Revolution; and “A Town Divided: Deerfield in the Age of the Revolution,” an exhibit that explores how this rural Massachusetts community responded to the upheaval of the late 1760s through the 1780s.

They will all open April 18, said Amanda Lange, director of the Curatorial Department and curator of Historic Interiors for Historic Deerfield, adding that these and other programs will shed light on a time being brought into focus by the 250th celebrations — as well as some current events — and also bring more people to the museum and Deerfield.

“It’s an increasingly interesting time to be re-examining the birth, or origins, of the United States of America and the foundational documents,” Lange said, “as well as what was going on here, especially in Western Massachusetts, at that time.”

Amanda Lange

Amanda Lange

“It’s an increasingly interesting time to be re-examining the birth, or origins, of the United States of America and the foundational documents, as well as what was going on here, especially in Western Massachusetts, at that time.”

Overall, it promises to be an intriguing year for Deerfield, with new owners at Magic Wings, new programs at Historic Deerfield, more concerts at Tree House, and the many other draws. For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest looks at how Deerfield lives up its billing as a both a front door to Franklin County and the backbone of the region’s tourist economy.

 

Taking Flight

Tubbs told BusinessWest that she’s held leadership positions at several businesses, including a stint as wedding and event coordinator for the former Yankee Pedlar in Holyoke, but never owned one until now.

“I’ve always made money for other people,” she said, adding that all this changed, and she started working for herself, when she saw a notice on the internet that Magic Wings was for sale. “I thought, ‘that’s nice,’ and I closed my computer, but my brain would not let it go.”

Thus began a lengthy process of due diligence, learning a business that would be foreign to just about everyone, and talking her brother, an aerospace engineer by trade, into coming out for a look, and then eventually to come along for the ride.

“I knew there was a lot of stuff I didn’t know about — heating and cooling, for example — that I needed his help with,” she explained. “I do know weddings, I do know events, and I knew that this place was awesome.”

Sukys, who was working for GM in Michigan when his sister first started the exploratory process, said it was a slow, gradual course by which the two decided not only that they wanted to buy the business, but that they could make it a success.

“From the get-go, we were excited about it, but it was over time that we came to realize that we could make Magic Wings happen and also thrive,” he explained. “Then, it was like a full-out commitment, and I moved out here entirely; I got a lot of hands-on experience just being here.”

“From the get-go, we were excited about it, but it was over time that we came to realize that we could make Magic Wings happen and also thrive.”

All of the above took about two years, and in mid-January, they began a new era in this venerable business, officially taking over for another sister-and-brother team, Kathy Siore and George Miller.

The business plan calls for everything from updating the heating system and making it more efficient — a temperature of 70 to 75 degrees must be maintained for the butterflies — and also making the conservatory even more of a destination, especially for events. Several weddings are staged there each year — ceremonies and receptions alike — and Tubbs wants to do more of them, as well as birthday parties and other gatherings.

Meanwhile, there are plans to add a glass-blowing studio, reopen the café at the facility and broaden its menu, incorporate more local art in the gift shop, and offer classes in everything from painting butterflies to preserving butterfly wings they find in nature.

This is a year-round business, Tubbs noted, and January is actually a popular time to visit, both to beat back cabin fever and enjoy a few minutes without needing a winter coat.

“It’s the best way to get to the tropics without going very far,” Sukys said, adding that people come just to get a break from winter and smell the flowers in the conservatory.

Magic Wings and its new owners comprise one of many intriguing business stories in Deerfield, said Deane, noting that, while tourism is the dominant force, the town’s economy is quite diverse, featuring a solid mix of hospitality ventures, retail, manufacturing, education, agriculture, and service businesses.

This image is one of many that will be on display as part of the “Picturing the Revolution” exhibit to open on April 18 at Historic Deerfield.

This image is one of many that will be on display as part of the “Picturing the Revolution” exhibit to open on April 18 at Historic Deerfield.

It also boasts both legacy businesses and institutions, such as Deerfield Academy, Historic Deerfield, and Yankee Candle, and relative newcomers, such as Marty’s Local, a regional food distribution company founded in 2015 that connects more than 100 local farms and food producers with restaurants, schools, grocers, and institutions across New England and New York.

“That’s the best part about Deerfield — it’s not one product or one sector; it’s really an ecosystem,” she noted. “There’s agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and culture, and they’re all intersecting in Deerfield in a visible way.

 

Stitch in Time

As she talked about the new exhibits soon to open at Historic Deerfield, Lange noted that she’s sensing growing interest, not just in that round-number anniversary celebration to climax on July 4, but in the period being celebrated.

The Ken Burns documentary The American Revolution has certainly helped fuel such interest, she said, as have the many commemorations in area communities of the Henry Knox Trail, the route of Col. Knox’s famous ‘noble train of artillery’ from Fort Ticonderoga in New York to the army camp outside Boston, a trek that ended in January 1776.

Knox and his men didn’t pass through Deerfield, Lange said, but there was plenty of other history written in this community, as a trip to the museum will reveal.

And the new exhibits to start in April will shed more light on the period and the people who lived through it, she said, adding that the museum has been planning for the 250th for some time now, especially with regard to assembling items for display, both from its own collection and other sources.

The “Picturing the Revolution” exhibit, for example, will include some battle plans for an engagement in 1780, showing the arrangement of the regiments and troops of the Continental Army.

“It didn’t happen because they were betrayed by Benedict Arnold,” she explained, adding that the plans were scrapped, and the forces were instead deployed to reinforce the fort at West Point.

The battle plan is among the dozens of items that will be on display at the museum across three exhibits. The “Dressing the Revolution” exhibit will focus on fashion, but also the manufacturing of items here and the profound shift — after the imposition of onerous taxes on British-made goods — toward non-importation. The “Town Divided” exhibit, meanwhile, will present multiple perspectives on how Deerfield residents embraced, rejected, or questioned Revolutionary ideals, said Lange, adding that the community was evenly split, more so than other area towns, between Loyalists and Whigs.

Other programming includes three one-act plays set in Deerfield during July 1774, on the eve of the Revolution, as well as a recreation of a tea party staged by Loyalists in defiance of non-consumption agreements. Historic Deerfield expects these various exhibits and programs to draw more people to the museum than would be considered typical.

Meanwhile, at Tree House, the brewery will continue to be a major draw, when it comes to both beer and music.

“Tree House has always been a destination, and not much has changed in that regard in the past decade,” co-founder Nate Lanier said. “We draw from all over — we’ve had visitors from more than 50 countries in the past year alone.”

Music has become a big part of the scene, he added. “Music has always been part of the Tree House experience. It goes all the way back to a record player in our original red barn in Brimfield. We started our concert series in Charlton with a small show, developed relationships with artists and promoters, and grew from there. Today, we’re hosting nationally touring acts; it’s been a natural evolution.

“Last year, concerts accounted for roughly 10% of our foot traffic in Deerfield,” he went on. “The concert-going crowd is significantly more diverse than our regular customers, which is great for us and for the region. Concerts are a challenging business, as we’ve learned the hard way, but they’re a significant economic driver: they generate regional lodging, food, and transportation spending, along with foot traffic to other businesses in the area. We’re proud of the role we play in making Deerfield a unique destination.”

And the backbone of the region’s tourism economy.

Zeno Temple

By
Zeno Temple
Class of 2026

Founder, Just Us Movement

He Shows Up Every Day Striving to ‘Get One Better’

 

Zeno Temple played football at Western New England University.

He started on the defensive line and eventually moved to offensive guard. He played all four years he was at the school, and the teams he played on did well, winning the Conference of New England title each year and advancing to the Division III playoffs.

Temple, who spent several years working as a community safety outreach specialist at the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office, says he takes a number of lessons from his playing days into his current work — both as a senior legal analyst with the law firm Royal Parker Spruce, working toward becoming a lawyer (he’s on track to graduate from Western New England University School of Law in May and envisions specializing in employment law); and with a nonprofit he launched called the Just Us Movement.

In both cases, he strives to do something his former head coach, Keith Emery, or ‘Coach E,’ always told his players.

“Human rights and civil rights are not things where you can sit back and be like, ‘OK, I have those, and everything will be fine.’ These are things that always have to be advocated for and fought for.”

“He told us, ‘you gotta show up every day and get one better,’” Temple recalled, noting that the one refers to 1%. “He said it every day — ‘one better, one better.’ I keep that handy and ready because it’s true; I try to get one better in some aspect of my life every day.”

This philosophy, if you will, of continually getting 1% better is reflected in the broad mission of the Just Us Movement — to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and dismantle systemic barriers through legal education, health and wellness initiatives, and dynamic leadership programs — and its specific initiatives.

They fall into three categories — education, law, and health — and include everything from a program called Nourish the Neighborhood, through which Temple and his team have served hundreds of families with fresh meals; to a series of Know Your Rights workshops, free webinars covering topics from immigration encounters to mental health in the workplace; as well as the distribution of Red Cards, pocket-sized constitutional rights guides.

Temple is also establishing what he calls the Emerging Leaders Council, a pipeline for young professionals and students entering fields like law, education, and healthcare. It’s designed to cultivate the next generation of justice-driven leaders, he said — people who will carry forward the values of equity, service, and community advocacy.

“Zeno is one of Hampden County’s emerging leaders, whose work is transforming how communities access support, advocacy, and empowerment,” wrote Khadijah Allen, the Just Us Movement’s chief of staff. “His leadership reflects a clear vision — that justice and community well-being must be accessible to everyone, not just those who know how to navigate complex systems. That belief is the foundation of his work and the driving force behind the movement he leads today.

“Zeno is a Difference Maker because he doesn’t just witness inequities — he responds to them with action,” Allen went on. “Through the Just Us Movement, he has built a model of leadership that uplifts, empowers, and unites communities. His work is not only changing individual lives; it is shaping the future of justice and advocacy in Hampden County.”

Zeno Temple says the Just Us Movement aims to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and dismantle systemic barriers

Zeno Temple says the Just Us Movement aims to empower individuals, strengthen communities, and dismantle systemic barriers.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Reflecting on what’s been done in the year since he started the nonprofit — and the work still to come — Temple said there are many needs within the community, including equal access to justice.

“It sounds so simple, and it sounds so basic, but it’s true — justice as a whole needs to be accessible to everyone, period. And I don’t think that we’re doing a good enough job of that as a society, and my goal is to make that a reality.”

 

Knowing the Score

Temple grew up in Philadelphia and recalls that his early aspiration was to become an architect.

“As the years went on, I got more in tune with current events and things that were going on, like Trayvon Martin,” he said, referring to the case of the Florida teenager shot and killed by a neighborhood watch member who claimed self-defense and was eventually acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter. “I was glued to the TV and, for the first time, saw what was going on.

“I started becoming more interested in the law,” he went on, adding that this interest, while keen, took a back seat to athletics. He played football in high school and in his senior year commenced a search for schools where he could continue playing.

“I visited a ton of schools and fell in love with Western New England,” he said, adding that, while playing, he also majored in law and society and became a life-skills mentor to younger players on the football team.

“When the freshmen would come in as athletes, we’d be the people to look out for them, help them out, check in on them, make sure their grades were good, and get them any resources they needed,” he recalled, adding that these experiences helped inspire his advocacy efforts to come later.

After graduating in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, he took some time off, went back to Philadelphia, did some policy work, and helped with a few political campaigns, before getting an offer to return to Springfield and work in the DA’s office as a community safety outreach specialist.

In that role, he worked as part of a small unit that worked within the community on several initiatives, everything from school visits to talk with students on a variety of subjects to court tours, by which young people became acquainted with the legal system, from arraignment to trial.

“Zeno is a Difference Maker because he doesn’t just witness inequities — he responds to them with action.”

“It was a cool job … we went into schools across Hampden County, getting to students early and doing prevention work,” Temple explained. “We talked about internet safety, alcohol and drug abuse, driving safety, and more. We had those discussions in big group settings, but also smaller sessions as well.

“Having that connection with the students was amazing,” he went on. “Being out in front of 100 high school students or middle school students and talking about important topics … it was not just educating the students, but also educating myself, trying to keep up on what’s new and what’s happening so we can be most productive and most helpful to the community. It gave me the opportunity to work on my public speaking skills, while also finding lanes to grow as an individual.”

Temple started attending law school at night in 2022, and is closing in on his degree, with intentions to focus on employment law and civil rights. As a paralegal and senior legal analyst at Royal Parker Spruce, he is gaining additional learning experiences while sitting in on mediations and other sessions.

Inspired by several factors — everything from the example set by his mother, a social worker, to the work he’d become involved with at the DA’s office, to various, and obvious, needs within the community, he started the Just Us Movement roughly a year ago.

As noted earlier, the Chicopee-based agency has a broad mission and service area (Western Mass. and Northern Conn.) and several focus points.

These include Nourish the Neighborhood; a Community Earth Day initiative (tree planting and neighborhood beautification); virtual programs to connect community members with information and resources; a back-to-school teacher supply drive in Hartford; participation in the Dignity Grows Partnership, a national initiative that provides hygiene and menstrual care products to individuals experiencing period poverty; a Black Balloon Day webinar on March 6 to join others in honoring those lost to overdose; and more.

 

The ‘Rights’ Thing to Do

Each of these initiatives grew out of need and a desire to meet it, Temple said, adding that the Nourish the Neighborhood effort is a good example. It was inspired by efforts undertaken by a friend at shelters in Philadelphia.

“I was thinking, ‘we should definitely do something like that up here,” he recalled, adding that the first effort, one that provided meals to more than 70 people — with his mother, also a caterer, doing most of the cooking — was in Hartford, with others to follow in the 413.

“We knew it was the right thing to do and that we were on the right track,” he said, adding that two more events followed over Thanksgiving and Christmas, with more planned for this year.

Another key element of his mission is education, including Know Your Rights seminars. These are free webinars on topics such as “Bridging the Gap: Access to Justice and Community Engagement,” “Know Your Rights: Law Enforcement and Immigration Encounters,” and “Mental Health in the Professional World.”

“We have some amazing people come in and speak on these panels — judges, attorneys, people who work in the community,” he said, adding that there have been seven of these webinars to date, with other subjects ranging from employment law matters to record sealing and expungement, and they are available on YouTube and various social media platforms.

The most recent offering was on Feb. 7, a program on housing featuring officials with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

And the response has been very positive, he said, adding that several dozen people have attended the live webinars, and there are usually energetic rounds of Q&A at the end of each one.

Behind these events is the simple philosophy that information is power and that access to justice and the rights that many take for granted is in many cases not equal.

“Human rights and civil rights are not things where you can sit back and be like, ‘OK, I have those, and everything will be fine,’” he said, adding that recent events in Minneapolis and elsewhere have driven home this point. “These are things that always have to be advocated for and fought for, and right now is the most important time to have people speak up for human rights. We need to realize that we all matter.

“The easiest thing to say would be, ‘I want peace and happiness, and things like that,’” he went on. “But we also have to realize that history repeats itself, and we all have to do a better job of learning from history, in all facets of life.”

Looking ahead, Temple wants to keep growing the Just Us Movement and broadening its impact. “I want us to be an organization that reflects the community we serve, and I want it to be an organization that will serve the community based on access to justice.”

This brings him all the way back to that notion of getting 1% better. It’s a personal goal, of course, but also something everyone involved in the Just Us Movement strives for.

“That’s what we do here — 1% better,” he said. “If you try to shoot for 1% better every day for a year, and you reach that, at the end of the year, you’ll be doing well.”

That mindset certainly helps explain why Temple is a Difference Maker.

Edward Sokolowski

By
Edward Sokolowski
Class of 2026

Managing Partner and Wealth Advisor, Pioneer Valley Financial Group

He Sets the Tone at a Company That Cares About Community

 

Ed Sokolowski calls it the ‘triangle.’

It comprises what he says are the three sides of any company that wants to consider itself truly successful.

One side involves the client and, more specifically, providing consistent, quality service — “you need to be there for them; we pick up calls on the weekend,” he said. Another involves employees, taking care of them, and giving them the tools they need to succeed in whatever role they might perform.

And the third involves the community and giving back to it, said Sokolowski, managing partner and wealth advisor with Pioneer Valley (PV) Financial Group in Ludlow, the company he and a few partners founded in 2002, adding that these three sides must be equal, and he makes sure that, with his business, they are.

“If we equally take care of those elements — you put the clients on top, you have the employees and the community, and you put PV in the middle … we’ll be OK,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re not here to make the most money; we’re here to make a difference in all three of those areas.”

Indeed, from the beginning, he has stressed that the company, and everyone who works for it, must be focused as much on the community as on the team and the customers.

“It’s in our mission statement — we believe in helping our clients and community live better,” he said. “Our legacy is the people and lives we have touched.”

“If we equally take care of those elements — you put the clients on top, you have the employees and the community, and you put PV in the middle … we’ll be OK. We’re not here to make the most money; we’re here to make a difference in all three of those areas.”

This philosophy has manifested itself in countless ways — from the PV Charitable Fund, which Sokolowski funds out of his own pocket, to the annual Slide into Summer Safely programs on the last day of school in Ludlow, Wilbraham, and Hampden (more on this later); from an annual First Responders Dinner, a salute put on by the company in conjunction with the local VFW, to small donations to myriad nonprofits across the region.

It has also manifested itself in a relatively new position at the firm — Community Outreach manager, a post held by Katherine (Kat) Ferri, who acknowledged that it is rare for a company this small (just 20 people) to have someone in such a role, which also includes marketing duties. But the fact that it exists, she added, speaks volumes about Sokolowski and his belief in giving back.

From left: Antonio Bastos, Ed Sokolowski, Karen Nogueira, and Kelly Haber at the Boston Business Journal’s Corporate Citizen Awards in 2025.

From left: Antonio Bastos, Ed Sokolowski, Karen Nogueira, and Kelly Haber at the Boston Business Journal’s Corporate Citizen Awards in 2025.

“Going back to when I was first interviewed, Ed talked about the company and how it has a focus on finance and helping people plan,” Ferri recalled. “And then, he went all in about the work we do in the community, the events we do, and the importance placed on giving back to the community.”

This hard focus on community has led to some recognition. Indeed, PV Financial, an employee-owned company, made its first appearance on the Boston Business Journal’s list of the state’s most philanthropic companies (what it calls its Corporate Citizenship Awards) in 2025, placing 96th in total giving ($145,000, not counting another $50,000 from the charitable fund — a large number for a small company) — but first in the average number of hours per employee devoted to community work, roughly 75 a year. The company was also among the first to be recognized by the Springfield Regional Chamber’s Super 60 category known as ‘Give Back.’

The awards are nice, and they bring attention to what is truly a team effort, said Sokolowski, adding quickly that the greater rewards come from seeing the impact of that team’s work in the community — the smiles on the faces of children at Slide into Summer Safely events or the appreciation from first responders at that annual dinner, for example.

“I don’t know how much it’s helped; we’ll probably never know, but we’ve had thousands of kids participate over the years, and we certainly think this is worth doing. It’s enjoyable to see the kids, knowing that they’re having fun, but learning.”

“I know we were happy when we crossed $100 million in assets, and then $200 million, $500 million, and on our way to $1 billion. I know I was proud, but I don’t remember the dates; I don’t remember the weather that day; I don’t remember too much,” he said. “But I do remember the kids’ faces and something that someone might say to me when it comes to charitable giving. I’m just as proud of those things, and they’re more memorable.”

 

Sharing the Wealth

Every Monday at 9, the staff at PV Financial gathers in the conference room for a weekly meeting. This room was carved out of the former LUSO Federal Credit Union offices, and there is still a teller’s window looking out onto what used to be a drive-thru.

These meetings start with Sokolowski giving what he calls a ‘state of the union’ report on the company, its performance, and its financial health. The agenda also includes updates from partners Kelly Haber and Karen Nogueira on compliance and initiatives to serve clients, before things are turned over to Ferri, who gives a lengthy update on upcoming events and all other matters involving the company’s involvement in the community.

This is just another indicator of the importance placed on this work, said Sokolowski, who told BusinessWest that he knew what he wanted to do for a living when he was 12, when he visited the EF Hutton office that his sister worked in and saw the ticker-tape machine used to print stock prices.

As he advanced these career plans, he decided early on that he wanted to work on the financial consulting side, rather than the stockbroker side.

“There’s a big difference between buying and selling stocks and doing financial planning,” noted Sokolowski, who ran the investment arm of the former Palmer Goodell Insurance before launching PV Financial Group in 2002. “I like watching money grow, but I’d rather watch what it does for people at the other end. Money can help in so many ways; it doesn’t necessarily buy happiness, but it helps, for sure.

The team at PV Financial puts a hard focus on community involvement.

The team at PV Financial puts a hard focus on community involvement.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“I didn’t want to call people and say, ‘I have a hot stock tip for you,’” he went on. “I’d rather do that longer-term planning.”

This thoughtfulness, this caring about people and their futures, permeates every aspect of this company, and all three sides of the triangle. That includes the community side, which includes many different types of giving.

The list includes monetary donations — almost all of them small in nature, meaning a few hundred dollars — to a wide array of groups of causes, from Rick’s Place and Ludlow High School hockey to the WillPower Foundation and Baystate Children’s Hospital; from Belchertown Little League and the Southwick Animal Shelter to the Miracle League of Western Massachusetts and the Michael J. Dias Foundation.

“We rarely say no when we’re asked,” said Sololowski, adding that the company likes to spread the wealth, if you will, and support as many causes and agencies as it can.

But it’s important to note that the giving back goes well beyond writing checks — and, again, it’s a company-wide effort, with Sokolowski setting the tone.

He said he was influenced by his upbringing — he grew up in a low-income household and attended a state university (what is now Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts) — and also by mentors, especially Bob Carnavale, president of Palmer Goodell.

“He was a very philanthropic person — he gave back a lot, and that’s how he ran his business,” said Sokolowski, adding that, like Carnavale, he and his team members make giving back a corporate philosophy.

 

Getting Creative in the Community

When it comes to those 75 volunteer hours that employees spend on average, Sokolowski — who’s very proud of that number and knows it by heart — said the company likes to get creative in this regard.

By that, he meant fun and productive, such as staging putt-a-thons and fling-stick challenges to raise additional money at charity golf tournaments, rather than playing in the event.

“We try new things,” he said, putting the Slide into Summer Safely programs in that category. Undertaken in cooperation with local police and fire departments, and started a dozen or so years ago in Ludlow and later expanded into Wilbraham, they place on the last day of the school year.

“The thinking was that, if we can talk with them right before they head into summer break, that would be ideal; that’s when they get into trouble — riding bikes without helmets, fireworks, swimming,” he said, adding that the challenge would be how to get students to come to such a program after school let out, and then how to get to them to listen and respond to what they were being told.

The answer was a program that’s as entertaining as it is educational, with ice cream, slides, popcorn, and more.

“I don’t know how much it’s helped; we’ll probably never know, but we’ve had thousands of kids participate over the years, and we certainly think this is worth doing. It’s enjoyable to see the kids, knowing that they’re having fun, but learning.”

“In order for the kids to get free popcorn and ice cream, they have to go up to a police officer or firefighter,” Sokolowski explained. “They’ll be asked a question — like a firefighter asking, ‘what do you if you light yourself on fire?’ And the kid has to say ‘stop, drop, and roll.’ If it’s a police officer, he’ll ask, ‘what do you do when you swim?’ And the kid has to say, ‘you swim with a friend.’ Their wristband gets marked, and then they get the free food.

“I don’t know how much it’s helped; we’ll probably never know, but we’ve had thousands of kids participate over the years, and we certainly think this is worth doing,” he went on. “It’s enjoyable to see the kids, knowing that they’re having fun, but learning.”

Another program the company has initiated is a first responders dinner event, staged in conjunction with the local VFW post. First responders from across the area, including the Ludlow, Wilbraham, and Hampden police and fire departments, the Massachusetts State Police, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office, veterans, and others participate, said Sokolowski, adding that the event has grown in size since it was initiated eight years ago.

Meanwhile, in the planning stages is another event to recognize several of the area’s nonprofits, perhaps five a year, across different realms, with the twin goals of educating people about their missions and how they are carried out, while also raising money for these groups.

“For every dollar we spend, we should fundraise the same dollar amount back,” he said, adding that organizers are looking at higher-end bingo and raffles as options for fundraising. “It’s a way for the nonprofits to just show up and not have to worry about planning the event or fundraising.”

Meanwhile, the event should provide another creative way for PV Financial employees to volunteer, he said, adding that the company is always looking for fun ways to get employees involved in the community.

It’s just another example of how PV Financial focuses on that third leg of the triangle — one of the keys to this company being truly successful, and one that makes Sokolowski, who sets the tone for all of this, a true Difference Maker.

Julie Quink

By
Julie Quink
Class of 2026

Managing Principal, Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C.

She’s a Role Model, Tone Setter … and Great Listener

Julie Quink says it’s easy for accountants to get involved in community.

Indeed, she said, there’s no shortage of small nonprofits who need CPAs on their boards to help handle the books, and over the years, she’s done some of that, as almost everyone in the profession has.

And she encourages all members of the team at Burkhart Pizzanelli, P.C., the firm she serves as managing principal, to get involved as well — and, when possible, to go much further than crunching numbers for nonprofits and regional institutions, although that’s important, too. And here, she sets the tone.

She’s affiliated with several professional groups, such as the Massachusetts Society of CPAs and the Assoc. of Certified Fraud Examiners; sits on some boards — those at Baystate Health, Greater Springfield Senior Services, Monson Savings Bank, and Square One, among others — and serves as treasurer for the Quaboag Hills Chamber of Commerce, I Found Light Against All Odds, and the Estate Planning Council of Hampden County.

“One of the things that Square One does is allow us, when the coats come in, to help the kids choose their coat, and some of our team members take part. It’s a completely amazing event for us, and over the years, it has helped the team share my commitment to that organization because we can see that the little work we do for this fundraising really has an impact on these kids.”

But she does, indeed, go further, such as with Square One’s Operation Warm, a program that provides winter coats for kids; she has made the firm the sponsor of that initiative and inspired team members and clients alike to support those efforts.

“One of the things that Square One does is allow us, when the coats come in, to help the kids choose their coat, and some of our team members take part,” she noted. “It’s a completely amazing event for us, and over the years, it has helped the team share my commitment to that organization because we can see that the little work we do for this fundraising really has an impact on these kids.”

Julie Quink with Burkhart Pizzanelli co-owner Deborah Penzias

Julie Quink with Burkhart Pizzanelli co-owner Deborah Penzias.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

With that, she tells the story of a now-retired staff member at Burkhart Pizzanelli who had a sign outside his office that read ‘Grumpy Old Man.’

“He was self-proclaimed,” Quink said. “He went one year when the team met with the kids to hand out coats, and he was on his knees with these little people, and he had the biggest smile on his face. And I just thought, ‘if there was nothing else worth it in this whole entire thing, just seeing the look on his face and the joy that doing what he was doing brought … that’s what it’s really about for me.’”

Quink’s success with creating such moments is one of many reasons why she will be among those honored as Difference Makers in 2026. Others include the way she serves as a mentor and role model to those on her staff, creating an atmosphere that is more like a family than a business.

“Julie believes that we live and work in a community, and everyone has a very important role to play,” said Rebecca Connolly, director of the Auditing Department, who nominated Quink for this award. “She takes her role as a business owner and as a role model — not only for her staff, but her family and clients — seriously.

“At work, we joke that we don’t think Julie sleeps because she is so busy with helping small business owners with their businesses, helping them to grow their businesses, navigating tough financial times, while coming out on the other side feeling more supported and in better financial position,” Connolly added, noting that she does all this while serving on several boards, supporting the initiatives of several nonprofits, and serving as adjunct faculty in the MBA accounting program at Elms College.

Quink says she enjoys all aspects of this balancing act and finds the time for all of it, even during tax season — which isn’t really a season anymore, she noted, saying, “it never ends.”

“I can tell you personally that I take away much more than I give when it comes to organizations I belong to and work with, as a board member or even as a volunteer,” she told BusinessWest. “It makes everything worthwhile when you see the impact that you have on someone else’s life.”

Julie Quink spends a moment with a Square One student as winter coats are distributed as part of Operation Warm.

Julie Quink spends a moment with a Square One student as winter coats are distributed as part of Operation Warm.

Overall, Quink excels at listening, responding, and being there for people — in all aspects of her life and every corner of the community.

 

It All Adds Up

Quink told BusinessWest that, while in high school, she developed an affinity for numbers and accounting.

“My accounting professor recognized that I had a talent in that area — I wasn’t even focused on it, really — and urged me to explore it,” she recalled. “It was interesting to me, and I understood it; I’m not a scientist, and I could never be a medical professional — I don’t have the stomach for that sort of thing — so accounting was it.”

She considered UMass Amherst and Elms College, and chose the much smaller, much more intimate setting, and never regretted that decision, becoming the first in her family to graduate from college.

“I’m a firm believer that you end up where you’re supposed to be,” she said, adding that she enjoyed the small class sizes there. “In hindsight, had I gone to a large institution, I probably would have gotten lost in the system. It was a benefit to me, and that’s one of the reasons I teach at Elms.”

She started in the field as senior accountant at what was then KPMG Peat Marwick in Springfield and later worked for 17 years at J.M. O’Brien & Co., P.C. in Springfield as director of Audits and Business Issues.

She came to West Springfield-based Burkhart Pizzanelli, now celebrating its 40th anniversary, in 2011 as part of a succession plan, serving first as senior manager of Audit/Consulting before becoming a principal in 2013 and then managing principal in 2015. She’s now spent 35 years in the profession and has seen a good amount of change, especially when it comes to culture.

“When I came on, you were expected to work long hours, you were expected to travel … it was just something you knew was part of the job; it was expected of you, and you did it,” she explained. “Now, it’s a lot different in terms of culture; we’re really focused on our team members here, their wellness, their well-being, their career trajectory. It’s really come a long way.

“Quality of life is really important to the younger generations, understandably, and the meaningfulness of what they do is important,” she went on. “We’ve had to adapt to all that.”

Elaborating, she said Burkhart Pizzanelli was at what she called the “front end of that curve,” which is one of the things that attracted her to the firm. And as managing principal, she is determined to stay ahead of that curve.

“What’s really important for us is balance,” she told BusinessWest, noting that there is now a staff of 25. “I think we, as a leadership group here, are really in tune with what’s impacting our team, and we can make changes and adapt workloads quickly if we see that someone’s overwhelmed.”

Beyond balance, she and others on the leadership team are focused on mentoring and being positive role models for younger staff members.

“All the leaders here have a strong desire to make sure our team is happy, growing in their positions, exposed to new opportunities … so we all take mentoring very seriously,” she said. “If I were to look at where I spend my time during the day, I’d say maybe an hour or two a day is spent in conversation about ‘how can we do this better? Where are we at? And how can I be a resource for you?’ We want to be hearing what’s going on, and we want to be adapting where we need to make change, and that takes a lot of listening. So I like to think I spend a lot of time listening.

From left: Julie Quink with team members Sarah Lapolice, Rebecca Connolly, and Deborah Penzias

From left: Julie Quink with team members Sarah Lapolice, Rebecca Connolly, and Deborah Penzias.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“If I want people to come to me as a leader with a problem, an issue, something I can solve, my advice … I must be authentic, and they need to feel like they’re being heard,” she went on. “I’m really focused on what’s important to them because, if it’s important for them, then it becomes important for me.”

 

Warm Thoughts

This ability to listen and act on what she’s hearing is one of the many reasons why Connolly considers Quink, the tone-setter for the company, a Difference Maker.

“She really believes in family — she remembers everything about you,” she said. “No matter if it’s April 15 and a client needs her or something has happened to a staff member health-wise, her first response is, ‘do what you need to do; we’ll cover you.’ That’s what we do — we’re a team, and we support one another.”

Indeed, Connolly said, if there is one word that perhaps best sums up Quink and all aspects of her life, it would be ‘supportive.’ That’s true when it comes to the team at work, clients, her students at Elms, and the community.

“I can tell you personally that I take away much more than I give when it comes to organizations I belong to and work with, as a board member or even as a volunteer. It makes everything worthwhile when you see the impact that you have on someone else’s life.”

With that last realm, she stressed that she gets involved with agencies and causes that she’s passionate about, and she encourages others at the firm to take that same approach. “I tell them, ‘don’t just volunteer and not feel like you’re getting meaning out of your volunteering.’”

This sentiment explains why she became involved with healthcare organizations such as Baystate Health — which is going through a challenging time, as all hospitals and healthcare systems are — as well as Greater Springfield Senior Services and Square One.

“I’m on the board of Greater Springfield Senior Services because of the really great work they do with seniors in the catchment area and folks that really need the services we can provide and connect them to,” she said, explaining that she has chaired this board for several years now. “Especially as our population ages, we want people to be able to age at home if they like.”

Julie Quink, left, and other Burkhart Pizzanelli team members take part in a program run by the Parish Cupboard, which provides meals and groceries to individuals and families in need.

Julie Quink, left, and other Burkhart Pizzanelli team members take part in a program run by the Parish Cupboard, which provides meals and groceries to individuals and families in need.

She was also drawn to I Found Light Against All Odds, an organization that helps secure housing for homeless young women — efforts that made it a Difference Maker in 2022.

“The need exists, probably more than we recognize or are aware of,” Quink said. “Homelessness is a real issue among young women, and that’s what drew me to that organization; we’re actively working toward increasing programming and creating more supports for women in that age group and in those insecure situations. Our goal is to get them off the streets or out of the situation that is harmful for them.”

With Square One, she was approached by now-retired president and CEO Joan Kagan to join the board, and almost immediately started looking for ways to get involved on a deeper level.

She recalled a conversation with Kris Allard, the agency’s vice president of Development and Communication, about the coats program.

“They had someone who worked with them prior who was backing out of the coat campaign, and she approached us about sponsoring that effort,” Quink noted. “We sat across this conference room table, and both had tears in our eyes as we talked about the conditions these kids are dealing with.

“I said, ‘sure, we’ll do what we can — we’ll be a sponsor,’” she went on, adding that it soon became a firm-wide initiative, with fundraising and then and distributing the coats.

The fundraising goal this year was $5,000, she said, noting that more than $10,000 was raised, enough to buy more than 400 coats.

“Over the years, the campaign has evolved to where our clients have gotten involved, and they remind us to send them information on the coat campaign because they want to donate,” she continued. “It’s really become important to us, but also our clients.”

And it’s just one example of how Quink and members of the firm get involved beyond handling the books for nonprofits. And another example of why this role model is also a Difference Maker.

Darby O’Brien

By
Darby O’Brien
Class of 2026

Owner, Darby O’Brien Advertising

This Unconventional ‘Mad Man’ Has Always Been Ready for a Fight

Darby O’Brien

Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

They call it the Fishing Buddies Lodge.

It’s a very informal meeting space within the suite of offices for Darby O’Brien Advertising in South Hadley, and, obviously, it is decorated to look like a fishing cabin.

It is crammed, as in crammed, with collectibles and wall art that start to tell the story of the founder of this company. There are bobbleheads, baseball gloves, New York Yankees and Mickey Mantle merch (he’s a long-time fan of the team and grew up, as many his age did, idolizing #7), a scale model of the Bluesmobile, various photos of JFK, countless mugs, hats, and, on the wall, a framed, autographed photo of Ken Osmond, famous for playing the insincere flatterer and provocateur Eddie Haskell on the classic sitcom Leave It to Beaver.

“I was a fan of Eddie’s — he was the king of mischief,” said O’Brien, the Holyoke native who shares that trait with Haskell, one of many that make him a unique character, in every sense, and contribute to his being named a Difference Maker.

Others include creativity — his ads certainly stand out as different and, generally speaking, effective — as well as genuineness, sincerity, and a passion for getting involved, often with underdog groups and causes.

“On the way out, Jeremy grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘will you fight for us? Because we can’t fight.’ I said, ‘yeah, I’ll fight to the finish, because this is wrong.’”

With that last one, there is a long list, everything from efforts to reopen Holyoke’s reservoirs to fishing and bring back his childhood baseball team, the Elmwood Jets, to lobbying against the quarrying of a local ski area with his ‘Mount Tom, I Don’t Dig It’ campaign; from early efforts to thwart casino gambling in Springfield to a campaign protesting the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council’s (EDC) decision to hire a Tennessee-based firm to rebrand the region for tourism efforts, rather than use local marketing talent.

And then, there was the Phoebe Prince case.

Prince was a student at South Hadley High School when she took her own life after persistent bullying. O’Brien is credited by many with taking the case to a regional, national, and even international stage, attention that eventually led to charges against several students and the passing of anti-bullying legislation at the state level called ‘Phoebe’s Law.’

Soon after the matter starting getting press, O’Brien remembers getting a call from Prince’s parents, Jeremy and Anne, asking if they could meet with him.

“On the way out, Jeremy grabbed me by the arm and said, ‘will you fight for us? Because we can’t fight,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘yeah, I’ll fight to the finish, because this is wrong.’

“No one was standing up,” he went on, adding that he pressed the matter, despite repeated warnings that it would be bad for his business and, eventually, several death threats.

But as with other cases in which he’s gotten involved, he’s ignored such warnings and plowed ahead. Indeed, while he likes to say he’s gotten involved in most of the issues listed above “by accident,” those who know him well say otherwise.

“He literally does not back down from a fight or a wrong,” said John Garvey, a friend and fellow marketing firm owner. “And he encourages other people to not back down when they see a wrong.”

This is certainly the case with a weekly blog of sorts that he started at the height of the pandemic as a way to keep people connected, informed, and even entertained, and also to generate dialogue on the issues of the day.

While some offerings are whimsical, such as taste testings (fruitcake and Twinkies, for example) involving his grandson, Flynn, others are poignant and thought-provoking, such as a recent tribute to his brother David (known to most as ‘Moon’) who died last month, a remembrance of one of the students shot at Kent State in May 1970, who died recently, and sharp criticism of Newton officials for making a man take down an ice rink he created in his front yard during COVID because he lacked a special permit.

“Imagine doing that to kids during this COVID-19 winter?” O’Brien asked rhetorically. “Jackasses. Look the other way and let the kids have good, clean fun, will ya?”

Such sentiments, and the williness to express them, help explain why he’s a true Difference Maker.

 

Getting the Message

O’Brien said he took note of all the things marketing experts said not to do as he was starting his business — such as not getting involved with retail or political campaigns — but, by and large, he ignored them.

Indeed, among his first clients were the men’s clothing store A.O. White and Holyoke mayoral hopeful Marty Dunn, who was waging an underdog (there’s that word again) campaign to unseat long-time incumbent Ernie Proulx.

“He was a sure-shot loser because Ernie Proulx had been mayor for 12 years, he won every ward, every precinct, and had a reputation for demolishing Irish candidates,” O’Brien recalled, adding that he drew inspiration from boxer Sugar Ray Leonard’s ‘stick-and-move’ tactics to defeat Marvin Hagler and ran a successful campaign that he called “a real strong statement about being creative.”

Suffice it to say that O’Brien has been doing things his way — not the way the experts advise — since he started his company — and, actually, long before that.

Like when he was in high school — actually, several of them, as it took him six years and several institutions to earn a diploma. He said he joked to his frustrated father, a vice president with the construction firm Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, “dad, the longer I’m in school, the smarter I get.”

He added that “I hadn’t really thought about advertising, although I was kind of a promoter as a kid.” But he was eventually “discovered” by the owner of the local firm Bewick Advertising.

“He called me, hired me, and put me in charge of new business, which I knew nothing about,” O’Brien recalled, noting that he eventually started his own agency in 1980, taking with him many of his clients from Bewick and focusing on the goal of getting more of the larger businesses in the region to use local marketing talent.

Over the course of roughly 45 years in business, O’Brien has made his mark in many different ways, starting with his approach to marketing — which is to almost dare clients, and potential clients, to look beyond what would be considered safe — something he laments that very few are willing to do now.

His ads can certainly be defined as different and creative, to the extent that the phrase ‘Darby ad’ has entered the lexicon, a reference to something bold — and at times controversial — that stands out.

One of the many marketing initiatives that could be described with the phrase ‘Darby ad.’

One of the many marketing initiatives that could be described with the phrase ‘Darby ad.’

Like the billboard featuring a Hot Table panini and the headline ‘Bite Me.’ Or the billboard for lawyer Raipher Pellegrino with the words, ‘The Iceman Sueth.’ Decades ago, there was a newspaper ad for the Springfield Civic Center promoting a tennis match at the then-Springfield Civic Center between Springfield native Tim Mayotte and Czechoslovakian Ivan Lendl. The headline read, ‘On February 9, BayBank Invites Tim Mayotte Back to Springfield to Bounce a Czech.’

As O’Brien tells the story, Lendl called the event organizers saying that was backing out of the match due to the ad, which he considered offensive, then started laughing, saying he was just kidding.

Then there’s the ad O’Brien put together for a group opposing casino gambling in Springfield. Featuring a picture of a masked man pointing a gun at the reader, it took the headline, ‘If You Build It, They Will Come.’

“You hire Darby because you want ideas,” Garvey said. “You don’t hire Darby to run your ideas by him. And for God’s sake, don’t fight him on the creative — because that is holy ground.”

Peter Rosskothen, the serial entrepreneur who has been a client of O’Brien’s for more than 30 years and worked with him on campaigns for the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, the Delaney House restaurant, and his current venture, Delaney’s Market, agreed — sort of.

In fact, he has fought him on creative content on a few occasions, but most of the time, he’s been talked into ads that were, well … different.

“He likes to push the envelope, and he makes a difference with his uniqueness,” Rothkossen said. “He’s very bold, and he tells me as a client that I’m being too conservative. I like that — I like the fact that the material tends to be different and stands out.”

 

Taking a Stance

While his marketing and advertising impact has been noteworthy, so too has O’Brien’s work within the community, much of which has involved young people, Holyoke, or some combination of the two.

Such as his efforts to reopen the Paper City’s reservoirs to fishing, a campaign that featured a group he created called the Fishing Buddies, and some escapades involving O’Brien and Peter Jourdain in Blues Brothers-like outfits. He said this effort started by accident when he and an acquantaince, who fished the reservoirs when they were young, tried to relive old memories several decades later and were chased off by police.

The Fishing Buddies Lodge

The Fishing Buddies Lodge at Darby O’Brien Advertising is crammed with collectibles that speak to O’Brien’s interests — and passions.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“There’s no reason why inner-city kids can’t fish out here,” he said, adding that, while the fight was ultimately unsuccessful, despite widespread support — the reservoirs remain closed to fishing — he had some fun and gave people something to think about. And that could be described as his MO.

It was the same with the EDC’s decision to hire a Tennessee firm to rebrand the region. After the ad campaign was created, O’Brien famously challenged then-EDC President Allan Blair to a winner-take-all ping-pong game in an ad that appeared in BusinessWest.

“I told him that if he beat me, I’d shut up and he could put me on his board, and that if I beat him, he’d give the work to the local talent,” said O’Brien, adding that, while Blair never responded, he got his point across, and had some more fun.

With the Phoebe Prince case, though, his involvement was taken to new and far more serious levels.

Encouraged by his father, who thought South Hadley officials were trying to sweep the matter under the rug, O’Brien reached out to Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen and went on the record for a piece titled “The Untouchable Mean Girls,” which was essentially the first news story to suggest that bullying was the root cause of Prince’s suicide.

“All hell broke loose,” recalled O’Brien, adding that national and global media were soon all over the story. Soon thereafter, he met with Prince’s parents and committed to do whatever he could to generate more press and hold those responsible accountable. And in the months and even years to follow, he was the subject of threats to his business, health, and life.

Rosskothen said he’s one of many who have, over the years, advised O’Brien that it might not be good for his business to get involved — with the Prince case, but also many of the other issues he’s become entangled with.

“A conversation like that with Darby is a pretty normal conversation because he pushes hard,” Rosskothen said. “As a friend, I sometimes tell him that; he listens, but that doesn’t mean that he follows the advice.”

O’Brien continues to push for what he considers right in his weekly blog, which he calls “Keep Up Your Dukes,” something he said repeatedly to a close friend during his recent cancer fight.

He acknowledged that the more common phrase is ‘put up your dukes,’ a nod to someone that you’re ready to fight and that they should bring it on. His take is different — meant to say that one should always be ready to fight when necessary.

He’s always been that way, and that’s what makes him a Difference Maker.

Theory Skate Shop Owners Grab Some Air

By
Frank Langone (left) and Dan Dziuban at Theory’s Holyoke Mall location. Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging
Cover Story

Top Entrepreneurs 2025

Frank Langone (left) and Dan Dziuban at Theory’s Holyoke Mall location.Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Frank Langone (left) and Dan Dziuban at Theory’s Holyoke Mall location.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

A Thrill Ride

For Dan Dziuban, running a business is a lot like skateboarding and snowboarding.

“When you fall down, you’ve got to get right back up,” he said, offering one of many analogies between these activities, all of which feature twists and turns, trial and error, aches and pains (of either the figurative or literal variety), a fast pace, and an always-changing landscape.

Watch more from this year’s Top Entrepreneurs: 

Success in all these realms also requires persistence and some luck, said Frank Langone, Dziuban’s partner in the venture known as Theory Skate Shop, which is coming up on 30 years of growth, evolution, thrills, spills, no less than 18 moves within the Holyoke Mall, and rewards on many different levels.

“It’s been a real roller-coaster ride,” Langone said. “There have been a lot of ups and downs, but mostly, it’s been a lot of fun.”

More ups than downs, to be sure, for Theory, which also sells apparel, including its own brand of clothing, and a wide range of accessories, and now operates two locations, with the other in Northampton, and has a strong online presence as well.

But it’s not just the retail aspect of this venture that has earned Dziuban and Langone BusinessWest’s coveted Top Entrepreneur honor, first awarded 30 years ago. There is also the manner in which they have promoted these sports, and especially skateboarding, bringing the sport more into the mainstream and greatly upgrading facilities locally.

Indeed, they have worked with several area communities to design and build skateboard parks — the latest such initiative is in Westfield — and there have also been summer camps, an indoor skateboard park they operated in Springfield for 14 years called Junction, videos, skating events, and more to bring people into the sport — and sometimes, through their influence, into the professional ranks.

“We’ve had three local guys come up and become professional skateboarders, and one become a professional snowboarder who’s left a huge mark on the sport; he grew up riding at Blandford, shopping here, and working for us,” said Dziuban, adding that helping people get into these sports and then watching some excel at the highest level is among the greatest rewards from all their hard work.

Another is seeing and hearing from young people who attended their skateboard camps and frequented the indoor skateboard park and have not forgotten those experiences.

“You’ll be in a restaurant, and someone will tap you on the shoulder … you don’t recognize him because it’s 20 years later and he was just a kid then, but he’ll tell you how much the skate park impacted his life, kept him out of trouble, kept him busy,” Dziuban said. “You could be in Rhode Island and that would happen, and it would happen all the time. And that’s very rewarding.”

“You’ll be in a restaurant, and someone will tap you on the shoulder … you don’t recognize him because it’s 20 years later and he was just a kid then, but he’ll tell you how much the skate park impacted his life, kept him out of trouble, kept him busy.”

Our story begins in the mid-’80s, with both Dziuban and Langone becoming part of what could be called the rise of skateboarding, fueled by highly visible professionals, especially Tony Hawk, who pioneered vertical skateboarding and would go on to become a successful entrepreneur — with his own skateboard company, Birdhouse — and philanthropic, helping to build skateboard parks around the world.

Dziuban and Langone have essentially followed this pattern within the 413 and a little beyond. They started with a small store on Main Street in West Springfield in 1998, and would go to set up headquarters, if you will, in the mall. They would diversify — into snowboarding, as that sport became more popular, and also into footwear and a wide array of clothing, including Theory branded items, while also getting involved in the community, especially with building skateboard parks and operating skate camps. They would add several other locations over the years, most of which did work out long-term.

Dan Dziuban describes the company’s journey as a roller-coaster ride.Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Dan Dziuban describes the company’s journey as a roller-coaster ride.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Which brings us back to Langone’s reference to a roller-coaster ride, which this has been — a fun, rewarding thrill ride that has become a story not only of entrepreneurship, but of giving back; not just doing business in a community, but becoming a positive force within that community.

For this issue, we talked with Dziuban and Langone about the ride, about grabbing some air, as they say in the skateboarding world, and about the possible next chapters in an intriguing story.

 

Ramping Up

As he talked with BusinessWest in the Holyoke Mall just before it opened for the day earlier this month, Dziuban referenced the new Dick’s House of Sport soon to open in the old Sears footprint, just a few doors down from Theory’s current location.

The new Dick’s will be massive — and interactive — with batting cages, rock-climbing walls, a turf field, and much more, in addition to its vast inventories of sporting goods. Dziuban was asked if he worried about what would seem to be intimidating new competition.

Frank Langone says being an entrepreneur is much like mastering a skateboard or snowboard — there’s lots of trial and error.Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

Frank Langone says being an entrepreneur is much like mastering a skateboard or snowboard — there’s lots of trial and error.
Photo by Bob Zemba, Simple Truth Imaging

“The younger me would definitely be worried about what this might mean for us,” he said. “This older me? I can see how this will be good for the mall and bring more people here — and possibly to our store. I’d prefer to focus on the positive aspects of this.”

Those comments show a maturity that comes with nearly three decades of experience in retail; time in the trenches that has included countless learning experiences on many levels; coping with new challenges like COVID and, more recently, tariffs; and, as noted earlier, some falling and getting back up again.

Before doing it in business, both Dziuban and Langone were doing it on skateboards on the streets of Springfield.

“Someone in the neighborhood got a board … you tried it, and then you wanted one,” Dziuban recalled, adding that this pattern was being repeated countless times across the region and the country.

“A friend of mine and I … we bought our boards together and started from there,” Langone said. “We met new people, and then Dan and I met eventually down the line.”

In addition to some passion for the emerging sport of skateboarding, Langone, who left for California for a year in the mid-’90s before returning to Western Mass., and Dziuban also shared some entrepreneurial blood, if you will. Langone’s father owned a flower shop in Springfield’s South End, and Frank worked there growing up. Meanwhile, Dziuban’s father operated a cleaning service.

So they knew what they were getting into — sort of — when they opened their first store on Main Street in West Springfield, looking to tap into the growing popularity of the sport.

“I just had an idea — I thought starting a shop would be a cool thing to do, and Dan agreed. We pooled our money together and got started,” said Langone, who also worked for a time at the Board Room, one of the region’s first skateboard shops, in Northampton.

“When you’re 23 or 24 years old … at that age, you pretty much think you can do anything.”

Neither one quit what would be considered their day job as they set up shop — Langone was still working at the flower shop, and Dziuban was still stocking shelves in the frozen food aisle at the Food Mart on Allen and Cooley streets in Springfield — and they couldn’t afford to pay themselves for a while, either.

But they were laying a foundation for a business — and a brand.

Indeed, the name originated with a class in criminal theory that Dziuban was taking at Westfield State University, and the logo, an ornate ‘T,’ which has stood the test of time, was created by his roommate, a graphic design major.

Soon after they opened and established a firm footing, they started laying another foundation, this one for work in the community, specifically with West Springfield to create its first skate park within the city’s Cooks Park.

“We had built a lot of ramps for ourselves over the years, so we knew what to do, and we played a pivotal role in getting that park built,” said Dziuban, adding that they did so thinking the facility would be for the community, but also inspire more people to take up the sport.

The partners would soon get involved in more parks in communities such as Belchertown, Amherst, Monson, and Sturbridge, he went on, joking that, before long, the business had what could be called a construction division, often converting little-used tennis courts into skate parks.

Summer skate camps, like the one seen here, are among the many ways Theory and its founders get involved in the community and give back.

Summer skate camps, like the one seen here, are among the many ways Theory and its founders get involved in the community and give back.

Meanwhile, the two partners started conducting summer skate camps — they still participate in city-run camps in Agawam and Westfield — that bring more people into the sport and forge some relationships that have lasted for decades.

And in 2000, they started created their first skateboard video, called “Thesis,” featuring local skateboarders on the Theory team. It was designed to promote both the sport and the company, and it would be the first of many.

“It was the first of its kind for this area,” Dziuban said. “We premiered it at CityStage — there more than 400 people there; it sold out. That video was on VHS, we sold 1,600 copies — it was very well-received, and that was the tipping point for us doing eight more of those videos, and business boomed after that.”

 

On a Roll

Looking back on the early years, the partners acknowledged that, while there was some of that fear that comes with opening any kind of business, there was also a certain confidence that comes from youth — and perhaps from being able to master difficult skateboarding maneuvers.

“When you’re 23 or 24 years old … at that age, you pretty much think you can do anything,” Langone said.

Dziuban agreed, adding, “in all honesty, we didn’t have much time to think. We opened the store, then we built that skateboard park in West Springfield, and every year we were doing a new skateboard park or a new store or trying something new. There was no time to relax and little time to think.”

Soon after getting started, the partners would add snowboard equipment to the mix, as many skate shops have, bringing needed diversity to a business focused on a sport that more or less shuts down for the winter months. The sports are similar in many respects, and many who skateboard also snowboard.

They eventually set up a holiday pop-up store at the Holyoke Mall in 2006, an experience that would lead them to become year-long tenants there, although not with enough confidence to sign anything approaching a long-term lease.

Which explains the 18 moves within that facility, said Dziuban, humorously noting that he knows every inch of the mall because he’s operated in every corner of it.

“Sometimes, there were two moves in the same year,” he recalled. “It was every six months for a few years.”

The moves within the mall — in addition to four moves in West Springfield earlier in the life of the company — reflect the newness and trial-and-error aspect of this specific niche within retail, the partners noted.

And with the successes have come some setbacks. Indeed, Dziuban and Langone have opened shops or acquired existing facilities in various locations, including Amherst and Northern Connecticut, that have not worked out. There was also Junction, the indoor skate park that, though it eventually closed, was a huge part of the business and its efforts to introduce people to skateboarding.

“We were out there all the time, skating with everyone, teaching skate camp, working there — we were becoming friends with our customers. It was amazing,” Dziuban said.

“We were throwing a lot of darts, and we were younger and more eager to try things,” said Langone, adding that, collectively, these were learning experiences that have made Theory a stronger company and the partners wiser entrepreneurs.

Today, there are the two locations — in addition to two large booths at the Big E they’ve had for 20 years now — as well as the summer camps and events at the skate parks.

“We do ‘come skate with us’ events on Wednesday nights; we have a DJ, sometimes we have food, we have prizes for best trick,” Dziuban noted. “We have go-skate events, which are all-day events; we do a Halloween event … we do a bunch. We’re out there interacting with the skateboard community and doing everything we can to keep it fun.”

Such efforts are more difficult on the snowboarding side of the equation — the company used to run bus trips to area ski resorts — but the partners do what they can to build enthusiasm for that sport as well.

Meanwhile, Theory has diversified into brands, and products, that are not skate- or snowboard-related, especially at the mall location, which boasts everything from outdoor clothing (Patagonia and the North Face) to Yeti coolers and accessories, to a wide range of shoes and even sunglasses and backpacks. As for the Theory brand itself, it can be found on everything from T-shirts and hoodies to jeans and baggy shorts.

“The good thing is the skateboard culture itself is popular,” Dziuban said. “The clothing brands, the shoes … you don’t necessarily have to skate to want to buy those products.”

Overall, business has been good, but there is a fickleness to sporting goods in general and some specific sports, like skateboarding and snowboarding. Indeed, Langone and Dziuban referenced how the snows of last December, a stark departure from the past several years, to be sure, helped fuel sales of snowboards during the holiday season — and also how the recent years with little snow before January didn’t drive such sales.

“If you can’t see snow in your backyard, you’re not even thinking about snowboarding,” Langone said. “And with skateboarding, one day it’s really cool, and everyone wants a skateboard for Christmas, and then, five years later, every kid wants a soccer ball, and skateboarding is not cool.”

Dziuban agreed. “The thing about skateboarding and snowboarding is they’re both so volatile,” he explained. “The weather affects snowboarding, and skateboarding comes in and goes out of popularity. So we don’t have much time to think about what the business plan should be. The business plan is pretty much sent to us by the customer.”

 

Making the Jump

Right now, the plan calls for continuous efforts to listen to those customers and respond accordingly, growing the internet sales side of the business, and continuing to get involved with efforts that simultaneously promote the sport and bring new facilities to area communities.

The latest initiative is in Westfield, where the partners, along with Jeff Burke, a Theory team rider who came up through its skate camp, have helped design, coordinate, and raise money for a $1.6 million skate park facility in Amelia Park.

It’s the latest example of how these entrepreneurs have always been more then retailers. They’ve also been promoters — of skateboarding and snowboarding, to be sure, but also safe, healthy communities.

Previous Top Entrepreneurs

• 2024: John and Chris DeVoie, owners of Hot Table

• 2023: The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts

• 2022: Benson Hyde and Bruce McAmis, co-owners of Provisions

• 2021: Dinesh Patel and Vid Mitta, owners of Tower Square in Springfield

• 2020: Golden Years Homecare Services

• 2019: Cinda Jones, president of
W.D. Cowls Inc.

• 2018: Antonacci Family, owners of USA Hauling, GreatHorse, and Sonny’s Place

• 2017: Owners and managers of the Springfield Thunderbirds

• 2016: Paul Kozub, founder and president of V-One Vodka

• 2015: The D’Amour Family, founders of Big Y

• 2014: Delcie Bean, president of
Paragus Strategic IT

• 2013: Tim Van Epps, president and
CEO of Sandri LLC

• 2012: Rick Crews and Jim Brennan, franchisees of Doctors Express

• 2011: Heriberto Flores, director of the New England Farm Workers’ Council and Partners for Community

• 2010: Bob Bolduc, founder and CEO of Pride

• 2009: Holyoke Gas & Electric

• 2008: Arlene Kelly and Kim Sanborn, founders of Human Resource Solutions and Convergent Solutions Inc.

• 2007: John Maybury, president of Maybury Material Handling

• 2006: Rocco, Jim, and Jayson Falcone, principals of Rocky’s Hardware Stores and Falcone Retail Properties

• 2005: James (Jeb) Balise, president of Balise Motor Sales

• 2004: Craig Melin, president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital

• 2003: Tony Dolphin, president of Springboard Technologies

• 2002: Timm Tobin, president of
Tobin Systems Inc.

• 2001: Dan Kelley, president of
Equal Access Partners

• 2000: Jim Ross, Doug Brown, and Richard DiGeronimo, principals of Concourse Communications

• 1999: Andrew Scibelli, president
of Springfield Technical
Community College

• 1998: Eric Suher, president of E.S. Sports

• 1997: Peter Rosskothen and Larry Perreault, co-owners of the Log Cabin Banquet and Meeting House

• 1996: David Epstein, president and co-founder of JavaNet and the JavaNet Café

Coming Off Strong Year, Contractors Eye More of the Same in 2026

By
Dave Fontaine inside the new East Longmeadow High School, now under construction.
Construction Special Coverage

Building Momentum

Dave Fontaine inside the new East Longmeadow High School, now under construction.

Dave Fontaine inside the new East Longmeadow High School, now under construction.

 

 

Bill Laplante says it wasn’t that long ago when a whole-house renovation with a price tag of $400,000, $500,000, or more was extremely rare.

Now, it’s commonplace,” said Laplante, owner of East Longmeadow-based Laplante Construction, which specializes in high-end homes, remodeling, and some light commercial work. “People are staying where they are and just putting the money into the house.”

Still, somewhat high interest rates have something to do with this surge in large-scale remodeling, he said, adding that many people bought their current homes at roughly 3% and are now looking at something just north of 6% (and it’s been higher the past few years) if they want to buy something new. So, in many respects, it makes sense to invest in the current home and stay in it, he went on.

This thinking helps explain why 2025 was one of the best the company has recorded, said Laplante, and also why 2026 is lining up to be another very solid year. “It was probably the largest-volume year in our history. We had a very, very, very good year — we had a lot of projects.”

“There were a lot of questions early last year regarding interest rates and whether they would go down or go up. I think people are feeling a little more comfortable with what they’re seeing recently.”

Bob Provost, co-owner of Greenfield-based general contractor Mowry & Schmidt, agreed, noting that 2025 was a good year for the company, with a diverse mix of projects, including the new hockey rink at Northfield Mount Hermon School and renovation of the former Greenfield Public Library into part of what could now be called the Greenfield Savings Bank campus in the heart of the city’s downtown.

“This past year was a very good for us, and it’s looking very promising for 2026 as well for both commercial work as well as residential,” he told BusinessWest. “There were a lot of questions early last year regarding interest rates and whether they would go down or go up. I think people are feeling a little more comfortable with what they’re seeing recently, and mortgage rates are lower than they have been. All this bodes well for builders.”

Mark Sullivan, president of Northampton-based D.A. Sullivan & Sons, which specializes in commercial and institutional work, agreed. He said the firm handled a lot of work for colleges during the summer break — he calls them ‘summer slams’ — as well as municipal projects in Chicopee and other communities, and has a good amount of similar work on the books for 2026.

There are some issues and headwinds confronting builders — finding enough help remains difficult, scheduling becomes more of a challenge as the volume of work increases, and Dave Fontaine Jr., president of Fontaine Brothers Construction in Springfield, noted that a slowdown in private sector work in the eastern part of the state is creating more competition for public projects, such as a new middle school in East Bridgewater that the firm bid on.

Bill Laplante says a good number of whole house renovations contributed to a record year for his company.Staff Photo

Bill Laplante says a good number of whole house renovations contributed to a record year for his company.
Staff Photo

“Because the firms that generally focus on private work in Eastern Mass. are slow, we’re seeing a lot more competition for work throughout the rest of the state,” he explained. “We just interviewed for the project in East Bridgewater; generally, there would be anywhere between three and four other firms competing, but on that project, I think there were a total of nine firms that submitted bids.”

Still, for the most part, these are good times for construction firms, which are taking full advantage of somewhat greater stability on the national and global fronts (as of mid-January, anyway) and accompanying confidence among business owners and residents alike to move forward with projects.

“We just interviewed for the project in East Bridgewater; generally, there would be anywhere between three and four other firms competing, but on that project, I think there were a total of nine firms that submitted bids.”

Meanwhile, there is a solid amount of public work taking place and on the drawing board, which is good news for firms that specialize in that kind of work, including Fontaine.

Indeed, the firm is moving toward the conclusion of one major school project locally (East Longmeadow High School), in the middle stages of another (Agawam High School), and getting ready to start a third (the new Longmeadow Middle School). And there are projects in other corners of the state as well.

And if all goes well, the company will have to balance all that with construction of a new courthouse in Springfield, one that will likely have a price tag approaching or exceeding $500 million — Fontaine is one of the lead players in a proposal (one of 11 now being considered by the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance) to build a 15-story courthouse roughly across State Street from the current facility.

When asked if the firm could handle all that, Fontaine laughed and said, “I hope that’s a question we have to answer; we’ll manage somehow.”

Renovation of the former Greenfield Public Library into part of the Greenfield Savings Bank campus is one of many projects in the Mowry & Schmidt portfolio.

Renovation of the former Greenfield Public Library into part of the Greenfield Savings Bank campus is one of many projects in the Mowry & Schmidt portfolio.

Right now, most construction firms are managing quite well, and while all those we spoke with cautioned that the scene (globally and nationally) could change quickly, the outlook for 2026 is generally positive.

 

Going Up

Laplante told BusinessWest that, while there was a solid mix of work in 2025, with residential and light commercial contributing to that solid bottom-line performance, it was the high-end renovations that stood out and gave the year some definition.

As he noted, there were more of them, and they signify a trend that likely has some staying power until interest rates come down significantly.

And when he talks about whole house renovations, he means whole house.

“They want a new kitchen, they want new appliances, they want all the bathrooms done over, they want to change out the windows, the siding … everything,” he said, adding that, depending on the size of the house — and most of these are quite large — the final price tag can exceed $400,000, $500,000, or even $600,000.

This new home in Longmeadow is one of many built by Laplante Construction in 2025.

This new home in Longmeadow is one of many built by Laplante Construction in 2025.

As noted, Laplante’s firm did several of those in 2025, most in Longmeadow, East Longmeadow, and Wilbraham. In addition to these renovations, the firm built roughly a dozen high-end new homes — in Western Mass. and also on the Cape, where the company opened a satellite office a few years ago to better serve customers looking to build there or renovate existing homes.

There were also several commercial projects of various sizes and in different stages of completion, including a dental office in East Longmeadow, a warehouse building for Revitalize CDC in Springfield, and another warehouse for GoGraphix in East Longmeadow.

Commercial work comprises just 20% of the firm’s book of business, but it’s an important part of the portfolio, he noted, adding that the company has more from that sector on the books for 2026, including a 24,000-square-foot memory care facility expected to break ground in the spring.

Meanwhile, there is a steady diet of more residential work, especially those high-end renovations, slated for 2026, said Laplante, adding quickly that, as the volume of such work increases, getting on the schedule becomes more of a challenge.

“We have a dozen new home starts, the memory care facility, and more renovation work in the pipeline, to the point where we’re having to push out when it comes to scheduling them,” he explained. “One of the tough things is that we can’t start a major renovation in a month now … we’re having to space them out and schedule them well ahead of time and make sure we get everything ordered and ready to go.

“Overall, we have work on the books for 2026 that should make it as good if not better than 2025,” he went on. “We have a lot in the pipeline.”

Sullivan echoed those sentiments. He said 2025 was a solid year, joking that the firm took on maybe a few more summer slams than it should have, but it fit them all in.

“You can’t start until the students are out, and you have to finish before they get back,” he said, adding that firm handled work at Smith, Mount Holyoke, UMass Amherst, and other schools. “Everything gets squeezed in the middle, so you’re behind before you start, so those are always anxious projects, but they’re interesting.”

In addition, the firm had several anchor projects, as he called them, including renovation of the former public library in Chicopee into meeting space and ongoing renovations to City Hall there (see related story, page 13), as well as a library addition in Fitchburg, work at the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, projects at UMass Amherst, and other initiatives.

He said colleges and municipalities have the resources and confidence to move ahead with projects after a few sluggish years following COVID.

And for 2026, the company already has a good amount of work on the books.

“We entered the year with probably 60% of our targeted year, which is where we want to be, and we have a few potential projects queued up,” he said. “They haven’t been finalized, but they’re trending in that direction, and if they happen, we’ll be over our annual volume goal.”

 

Firm Foundation

Provost offered similar sentiments, noting that, while the outlook is mostly positive, things can change quickly — and profoundly — and this is why diversity is so important for builders, including his firm.

“Being in this area, being in Western Mass., and especially Franklin County, for us, there’s always been a need to stay diverse,” he noted. “You never know where the market’s leaning, so we stay busy in both residential and commercial.”

The latter comprises 65% to 70% of the portfolio, he went on, adding that recent projects in that realm include the ice hockey arena at Northfield Mount Hermon, a $12 million undertaking that will be ready for the 2026-27 season, as well as the historic renovation of the former Greenfield Public Library, a project nearing its completion.

On the residential side, Mowry & Schmidt handles both new construction and renovation, with many extensive projects in that latter category.

“We do a lot of bathroom, kitchen, and addition remodels; we’ve got one going now that involves a sunroom addition, new mudroom entry, and full kitchen addition — basically a whole house renovation,” Provost said, echoing Laplantewhen he noted that more people are staying put and investing in their current home rather than trying to find another one, especially as prices increase and interest rates remain somewhat high.

And there is plenty potentially coming onto the books in 2026, he continued, adding that the firm is bidding on a number of projects — with many customers leaning toward the design-build model, with one firm handling both under a single contract.

By and large, there is confidence within the private sector, on both the commercial and residential sides of the ledger, to move ahead with projects.

“There was a stretch over the past six to eight months where people were a little uneasy,” Laplante said. “But I think they’re starting to relax and say, ‘the world isn’t such a bad place,’ and move forward and don’t worry about everything.”

Fontaine agreed, but said there is still a good amount of volatility to contend with, and the broad construction sector is especially vulnerable to such forces. “I think we’re seeing a market slowdown in the private sector, particularly in Eastern Mass.”

This slowdown began more than a year ago, by most accounts, he went on, adding that it has been fueled by still-high interest rates and uncertainly about if, when, and by how much they will fall, but also by tariffs and price increases on certain products.

Still, Fontaine is busy, with those school projects, in this market and elsewhere; other public sector work, such as an extensive renovation and expansion of Jones Library in Amherst (a project delayed by cost escalation and redesigns) and a public safety complex in Easton; as well as private sector work such as the $70 million initiative to expand and modernize Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington.

The firm generally handles a dozen or so projects at a time, he said, adding that it’s always working to keep a steady flow of work in the pipeline and balance out the projects that are being wrapped up with new initiatives.

And that’s the case with projects like East Longmeadow winding down (it will be ready for the new school year), and others, like Fairview Hospital and Jones Library, just getting started. And bidding never stops for new projects, such as the new middle school in East Bridgewater, Fontaine said, adding that it can be — and often is — several years between when a project first comes on the radar and when a shovel is put in the ground.

The firm is awaiting word on that project, as well as the courthouse — no word on when that verdict will be handed down — while also keeping a vigilant eye out for new opportunities.

By most accounts, there will be a good supply of them in the near future as confidence builds — and individuals, businesses, and municipalities look to build.

Chicopee Anticipates Movement on Stalled Projects

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The vacant Cabotville Industrial Park poses a huge challenge for Chicopee officials.
Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Community Spotlight

The vacant Cabotville Industrial Park poses a huge challenge for Chicopee officials.

The vacant Cabotville Industrial Park poses a huge challenge for Chicopee officials.
Staff Photo

John Vieau says he remembers the event vividly.

It was the fall of 2019. Vieau, a Chicopee city councilor at the time, was running for mayor, and he and many others were on hand for an event, a showcase of sorts, at the Silverbrook Mills Building, formerly Cabotville Industrial Park. Its owners had created two demonstration apartment units, and the event was essentially a party in anticipation of the 600 more to follow.

“We were all excited. I remember those beautiful demos — one-bedroom and an efficiency unit — high ceilings, beautiful views, granite counters, washer-dryer stacks. They were talking about renting the efficiencies for under $1,000 a month,” said Vieau, who would go on to win the election. “I realized the impact that would have on our renaissance that we were trying to create downtown; it would create foot traffic and bring residents who would be interested in goods and services downtown.”

To say things haven’t gone according to that script would be a huge understatement.

Indeed, the pandemic hit soon thereafter, and the plans for the huge, 700,000-square-foot mill, where those two demo units remain, have gone unfulfilled. The ensuing years have been marked by frustration, inaction, repeated scalingcback of plans, a court-ordered eviction of remaining commercial tenants in 2022 due to the property being deemed unsafe, the city being forced to step in pay for needed security measures, and more frustration and inaction, with the current owner “going dark,” the mayor said.

The matter reached a tipping point of sorts recently, when the city began the long, arduous process of taking the property for non-payment of taxes — something it really doesn’t want to do.

Instead, it would prefer to see the property redeemed — either by the current owner, 4 Perkins LLC, a subsidiary of Silverbrook Properties, or another entity — out of tax foreclosure, and then sold to a developer with experience with large mill conversions, said City Planner Lee Pouliot, adding that this remains a possibility, and it represents the best-case scenario at this point.

“We were all excited. I remember those beautiful demos — one-bedroom and an efficiency unit — high ceilings, beautiful views, granite counters, washer-dryer stacks. They were talking about renting the efficiencies for under $1,000 a month.”

“It has to be an entity that has knowledge of doing a conversion from the ground up and has a reputation particularly with public funders — because there will need to be public investment in this to make it happen,” said Pouliot, noting that the price tag for redeveloping the property could exceed $200 million. “Every public program that we could make it eligible for is in place; we just need the right partner now and a developer who can pursue them.”

Historic Chicopee City Hall is undergoing an ongoing, $30 million renovation.Staff Photo

Historic Chicopee City Hall is undergoing an ongoing, $30 million renovation.
Staff Photo

While the Cabotville mill remains a source of frustration, especially as the region and state are in the midst of a housing crisis, there are plenty of positive developments in the second-largest city in Western Mass. These include:

• The start of work to convert one of the remaining parcels within the former Facemate complex into 105 units of workforce housing, with two more phases of that project to come — redevelopment of a brick warehouse and an indoor sports complex;

• The selection of a preferred developer for the redevelopment of the four remaining buildings in the Uniroyal complex, bringing light to the end of a tunnel the city has been in for nearly 45 years as it sought reuse of the property;

• Ongoing work to renovate City Hall, a complex undertaking that involves revamping spaces while city government operates, a game of musical chairs that has reached its second phase;

• The recent opening of the Hub, community space created from redevelopment of the city’s former public library, next door to City Hall;

• Advancement of plans to build replace Berry Elementary School with a new, $124 million facility to be built on the grounds of Szetela Early Childhood Center;

• Plans to move the School Department out of temporary facilities (its former home was closed due to poor air quality) and into the Westfield Bank Loan Center, formerly Williamson’s clothing store, in the heart of downtown, bringing about 80 employees, and more vibrancy, to that area;

• Renovations to Szot Park and Sara Jane Sherman Park;

• A chamber of commerce that is enjoying growth in membership, new initiatives, and the return of its popular tabletop expo (more on that later); and

• Plans to hire the city’s first Economic Development director in several years. The mayor said he has been handling most of those responsibilities in the interim, but the City Council voted to fund that office again.

For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest looks at the many converging storylines in Chicopee and the many forms of progress in the community.

 

Milling About

As they talked about the Cabotville complex, both Vieau and Pouliot stressed that they don’t want this to become “another Uniroyal.”

By that, they meant property the city was forced to take for tax title and then essentially find someone to develop it — a long, difficult, and expensive process that has been playing out for many years now.

Instead, as noted earlier, the city would much prefer that 4 Perkins secure another buyer, one that can take the stalled project forward. And this is where much of the frustration comes in, said the mayor, adding that such a prospective buyer came forward a few months ago.

“He went through the permitting process, but it all came apart at the end; he said his agreement with the owner didn’t work out. He was frustrated and upset,” Vieau said. “In the meantime, entities have been calling and saying they’re interested; it’s a wonderful shell and has so much potential, and it’s really a key to the success of our downtown.

Indeed, several hundred units in that complex would bring people and vibrancy to the downtown area, bolstering existing businesses and probably inspiring new ones, he went on, adding that this is what the city was anticipating at that party back in the fall of 2019.

Chicopee at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1848
Population: 55,560
Area: 23.9 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $15.24
Commercial Tax Rate: $32.60
Median Household Income: $35,672
Median Family Income: $44,136
Type of Government: Mayor; City Council
Largest Employers: Westover Air Reserve Base; J. Polep Distribution Services; Callaway Golf Ball Operations; Dielectrics; MicroTek
* Latest information available

That anticipation has been replaced by large question marks, and time is becoming increasingly a factor as the property sits idle.

“Structurally, the building is in fine shape for being vacant,” Pouliot said. “The concern that we have, and it was similar with Uniroyal, is that the longer buildings sit vacant, the more and faster they deteriorate. So, while it is in good shape, it’s the right time to get a developer experienced with mill conversions to pursue it.”

And the mayor is hopeful that the recent publicity about the city beginning the lengthy process of taking the property will bring more potential buyers to the table or spur the current owner to take some action. Recouping lost years of taxes, liens, and the money the city has spent on security, sprinkler system repairs, and other work is a priority, he noted, but the bigger priority is transforming that dormant property into a catalyst for vibrancy and more redevelopment downtown.

While that process enters its next phase, one clouded by uncertainty, the four-decade-long saga at Uniroyal is entering another phase as well.

Indeed, a preferred developer, Wisconsin-based J. Jeffers & Co., has been chosen and it is in very early-stage work to reimagine the four remaining buildings in the complex — the office building, a small retail building, and two large production facilities.

The company has a deep portfolio of mill conversions and related projects, including conversion of the Milwaukee Grain Exchange into event space and conversion of the former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel building into 141 market-rate apartments, and Pouliot said it is looking at a $300 million investment in the Uniroyal buildings, redeveloping them into roughly 600 residential units (a mix of market-rate and workforce) and some commercial space.

The city was recently awarded a $450,000 MassWorks grant to look into infrastructure improvements in the Chicopee Falls area to support such a project, Pouliot said, adding that, when needed work is identified, the city will apply for additional grants from MassWorks to pay for them. Meanwhile, J. Jeffers will put its financial stack together from an array of sources, and conversion work will take place over the next several years.

 

Opportunities Knock

While the city continues work on those fronts, it can celebrate the completion of another project that took years to conceive and bring to fruition — conversion of the former library into the Hub.

The ceremonial ribbon was cut last fall, and the space started hosting programs in November. These include a series of business development courses, led by Samalid Hogan, CEO of Greylock Management Consulting, as well as several one-offs, said Pouliot, adding that the city will soon launch a webpage on the facility highlighting its use policies, with the goal of filling out the spring schedule.

The library project is part of a larger effort to renovate, modernize, and reactivate historic city properties, including City Hall, built in 1871, which sits next door.

The work there is ongoing, with the recent completion of what Pouliot calls “phase 2, sequence 1,” which involved renovation of the City Clerk, Facilities, and Registrar of Voters spaces. Next will come sequence 2, the Human Resources and Retirement Office spaces, due to be completed later this month.

“I like to say that we’re retrofitting and maxing out every square foot of this building, and being a mayor in a building that’s been under construction since I took office — it’s been a challenge,” said Vieau, who talked with BusinessWest in a temporary office carved out of a portion of what had been City Council chambers. He will move to a new office on the third floor (near the Law Department and the renovated auditorium, which now hosts council meetings) later this year, although he joked that he likes his current space and would prefer to just stay there.

The mayor’s historic office is now a conference room, with its waiting space now part of a larger office for the city clerk.

There will be more shuffling to come in a project that will be completed in 2028 — because the work is being undertaken as city government continues its work — and a total cost of nearly $30 million.

While change comes to City Hall, the old library, and hopefully (eventually) Cabotville, it is also coming to the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce, said Melissa Breor, its executive director, noting that the agency is adapting to the changing wants and needs of its members.

For example, the traditional chamber breakfast has been replaced on the schedule with monthly coffee hours at member businesses. These gatherings take less time to plan and execute, she explained, and they provide additional opportunities for members to network and showcase their businesses.

“We’ve adjusted the style of event to suit the schedules of our members,” she said, adding that the chamber runs at least two events a month — a coffee hour, an after-hours function, or one of its signature events — to give members opportunities to network.

Meanwhile, the chamber is turning back the clock in some respects and bringing back a tabletop business expo, slated for April at the Castle of Knights.

A slimmed-down version of the program staged years ago, which included several different chambers, hasn’t been undertaken since before the pandemic, but this edition will feature Chicopee chamber members (and non-members), said Breor, adding that it’s being brought back at their request.

“Our current members have been asking for something like this,” she said, adding that it’s been so long since a tabletop event has been staged that newer businesses may not be familiar with the format. Thus, the chamber will be doing some Zoom orientation meetings to help participants make the most of their opportunities there.

Commonwealth Packaging Brings More Clients into the Fold

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Elizabeth Gosselin Kouflie didn’t plan on taking over the family business, but she eventually found a passion for it.
Construction Special Coverage

Thinking Outside the Box

Elizabeth Gosselin Kouflie didn’t plan on taking over the family business, but she eventually found a passion for it.

Elizabeth Gosselin Kouflie didn’t plan on taking over the family business, but she eventually found a passion for it.

Elizabeth Gosselin Kouflie says she can’t pinpoint the time when she first came to realize the COVID pandemic was likely to be the best thing to ever happen to Commonwealth Packaging.

But she started to get that sense when customers and potential customers didn’t even bother asking for a price on a job — which, in this business, is saying something.

“Normally, it’s ‘I’d like a quote on this many.’ Then, it was ‘how fast can you get me this; I don’t care what it costs.’ That’s when we knew this was going to be a real opportunity,” said Kouflie, adding that, as the world shut down and people couldn’t get the products they wanted, everything had to be shipped. And that added up to a banner year for Commonwealth, the company started by Kouflie’s father, Joe, in 1982, which she was now managing.

Indeed, in a business where margins are as thin as the cardboard sheets in the warehouse and customers can be lured away by competitors offering to do things for a few pennies less per item, Commonwealth recorded more than 20% growth year over year in 2020, said Kouflie, adding that the plant was busier than it had ever been.

“COVID opened my eyes to what we can produce out of this one-shift factory, and that’s what I want to get back to,” said Kouflie, who officially took ownership of the business in 2019 and has been bringing much-needed change to a company where there had been little of it in the three and half decades prior.

That includes a thorough renovation of the plant on Sheridan Street in Chicopee, its first in decades, as well as new machinery, the addition of a design team, better use of IT — and now AI — as well as a stronger push, with the addition of a sales rep, into Rhode Island.

It also includes marketing, something the company had never really done before, previously relying almost entirely on word of mouth and its reputation for quality and customer service in a business where there is so much emphasis on price.

Commonwealth has started to reach out to customers and potential customers with materials highlighting everything from Kouflie’s ties to Rhode Island (she graduated from Providence College and wears a PC sweatshirt in one marketing piece) to Commonwealth’s status as woman-owned, to the fact that its packages “go out first class” — literally.

Indeed, the shipping and safety supervisor’s name is David First Class.

“His last name is Class, and his middle name is First,” said Kouflie, adding that the marketing efforts, which began roughly a year ago, are starting to pay off.

“A lot of people are talking about Commonwealth right now — people are calling me up that never called before,” she noted, adding that the marketing piece targeting Rhode Island businesses is an example of efforts that have helped grow sales.

“I spent a couple of years just keeping the ship afloat and doing everything so I wouldn’t mess it up, because I was terrified of messing it up, and then I finally got comfortable a few years ago and made this my business. And we’ve changed quite a lot since then.”

“It’s working … we’re getting a lot of business,” she said. “People in Rhode Island love to do business with Rhode Islanders; it’s definitely getting some traction.”

These marketing efforts comprise one of many ways Kouflie is putting her stamp on the company (more on this later), while also maintaining its traditional focus on quality, service, and a ‘customer is king’ philosophy.

For this issue and focus on construction and manufacturing, BusinessWest talked at length with Kouflie about Commonwealth and how this is not her father’s packaging company — or your father’s packaging company — anymore.

 

A Cut Above

As she was earning her degree in business management at Providence College, Kouflie wasn’t sure what she was going to do with it. And eventually running the family business was not a thought that really crossed her mind.

Indeed, while she remembers getting rides on the forklift at the plant’s first location across from the Big E in West Springfield when she was young, and then holding a succession of summer jobs at the company during high school and college, she never intended to make Commonwealth a career.

All that changed in 2003, when, a year after graduating, she returned home to help her father care for her mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. There was an opening for a bookkeeper at Commonwealth; she took that job thinking it would be a temporary assignment, but soon settled in at the family business.

“It was kind of trial by fire — help out wherever you can,” she recalled. “I started doing all the HR stuff, started learning how to spec build, started taking orders … in a family business, that’s typically how it goes — you do whatever needs to be done, help out with the IT, build a web page, whatever.”

Tracing the history of the company, Kouflie said her father worked for Mount Tom Box in West Springfield, gradually moving up in the ranks. When management wouldn’t make him a partner, he bought his own box company, Loreno Packaging in West Springfield.

“He used to tell me that he’d run the boxes in the morning, take customers out to lunch, get the orders, and come back in the morning and run the boxes,” said Kouflie, adding that the business continued to grow over the years, but always kept that customer-focused flavor.

Never big into titles — she says they don’t mean much in a family business — Kouflie held many in the years after joining the business, including Human Resource manager, her role when she was named to BusinessWest’s 40 Under Forty class of 2011, when she was just 30.

In 2013, her father took a step back from the business to spend more time at home and be a caregiver, while also battling cancer himself. And Kouflie continued to take on more responsibilities.

“He stopped coming to the office every day … he gave me some freedom to show what I could do — as long as I did whatever he said,” she noted with a laugh. “I’d have to send him my monthly statements showing him what I did, and he would let me know all the things I could be doing better; that’s how we operated for six years.”

She officially took the helm when her father passed away in 2019, and, after a few years of essentially maintaining the status quo — while also coping with the challenges and huge opportunities presented by the pandemic — started putting her own mark on the business.

“Before, I was running the company the way my dad wanted me to — the same way we’d always done everything; it was just follow the dotted line and do what we’ve always done,” she told BusinessWest. “When he passed away, I spent a couple of years just keeping the ship afloat and doing everything so I wouldn’t mess it up, because I was terrified of messing it up, and then I finally got comfortable a few years ago and made this my business. And we’ve changed quite a lot since then.”

 

The Complete Package

When asked to elaborate, she said the business model has changed, with an emphasis on being more competitive on price, while also maintaining its traditional emphasis on quality and service.

Other changes have included the addition of a design staff with a full-time designer, putting in a CAD table, marketing, renovating the entire building, adding new machinery, updating computer hardware and software, and exploring the use of AI to streamline quoting and other processes.

These steps and others are positioning the company for growth in a highly competitive industry, one often described with the single word ‘cutthroat’ and dominated historically by “price, price, price, price, price,” Kouflie said.

But increasingly, quality is becoming more a factor for many customers, she went on, citing the example of a prominent regional brewer — for years one of the company’s larger customers (Commonwealth makes its beer trays), but one that left when a customer offered a lower price.

“They dumped me, and six or seven months later, they called and I asked if I could come and sit down,” she recalled. “With their new supplier, the glue wasn’t holding on the trays when they put the beer in; the trays are coming in, the bottles are dropping in, the boxes are blowing open, and the beer is going all over the floor. They lost so much product — the pennies they saved on the boxes, they lost in product.”

It’s a story that’s been repeated countless times over the years, she said, adding that, moving forward, the company is looking to retain existing customers and add new ones by more aggressively telling its story and stressing its many qualities and selling points.

These include everything from Kouflie’s Rhode Island ties to the recently garnered ‘woman-owned business’ status.

“It’s part of a multi-pronged effort,” she said of the latter. “I think it catches people’s eyes — there are not a lot of woman-owned box makers.”

Part of the storytelling will be a focus on people — from David First Class to Customer Service Manager Kim Weagraff, highlighted in a different marketing piece.

“We want to show the end users, the buyers, who we are — our people — and the fact that we’re a young group,” Kouflie said. “A lot of our customers feel like we’re their best friends, and a lot of customers think they can just call us up and we’ll take care of them, and we will. But we want our customers to think they’re our only customer, and that we’re sitting here waiting for them to call, and we’re going to take care of them.

“These kinds of things are helping them feel connected to Commonwealth,” she went on. “I like to say that we’re not your dad’s box factory anymore. Lots of box factories are run by older gentlemen who are set in their ways; we’re trying to show our buyers who we are.”

Whether Commonwealth can return to that frenetic pace achieved during the height of the pandemic remains to be seen, but Kouflie is pushing the envelope — or, in this case, pushing the two-piece folder box — to achieve continued growth.

E-book, Cartoons Create Intriguing Dialogue About Aging

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Features

Drawing Conclusions

Ira Bryck says he’s somewhat fascinated by the subject of aging, and he’s found he’s not alone.

Ira Bryck says he’s somewhat fascinated by the subject of aging, and he’s found he’s not alone.

 

Ira Bryck doesn’t recall either of his parents actually saying it, but when he was young, he was definitely given the impression that naps were a waste of time.

“I grew up with two industrious parents — I was not allowed to nap growing up,” he recalled, adding that, while his sisters still refrain from the practice, he now enjoys it and looks forward to the next one.

Which makes him a lot like most … let’s call them people of a certain age. And commonality is one of the many themes he tries to touch on with a new endeavor called Aging Humans: A Complete Breakdown — a play on words if ever there was one.

This is not a business, and it’s not exactly a hobby. Let’s call it the latest endeavor for Bryck, best known as the long-time director of the former Family Business Center at UMass Amherst. During more than two decades in that role, he assisted countless small businesses owned and operated by generations of the same family with the many unique challenges that come with such a management structure — and he was recognized by BusinessWest as a Difference Maker in 2020 for such efforts.

He’s still doing some business consulting and is creating some roundtables to assist fledgling businesses and fill a gap in the entrepreneurial ecosystem (a little more on this later), but much of his non-napping time is spent on Aging Humans: A Complete Breakdown, efforts that might best be described as creating an interactive dialogue through an e-book (irabryck.com/completebreakdown) on the subject of aging, complete with cartoons that he creates through AI “because I draw horribly.”

Indeed, Bryck calls his e-book Collective Wisdom from Real Elders, comprised of comments to questions such as ‘what surprises you most about being the age you are?’ ‘What have you learned from failure, misfortune, and unmet expectations?’ ‘How has your social life changed as you’ve aged?’ ‘How are you deciding and managing work and retirement?’ ‘Do you enjoy being alone? Do you get lonely?’ And even ‘how have your sleep habits changed over time, including napping?’

“I get some good feedback; some people think every one is genius, and others say, ‘I don’t get most of your cartoons.’ Most of my cartoons require some thought, and a lot of times they’re not ‘ha ha’ funny, but they are reflective.”

The responses, often humorous and from people feeling older at many different ages, certainly make for interesting reading. Here’s a sample:

• “When I look in the mirror, I see an old lady, but I still have the wonder and mentality of an 8-year-old.”

• “I thought I was 37 years old for 37 years.”

• “I don’t bounce anymore.”

• “When I wake up now, the only thing that’s stiff is my joints.”

• “When I put on my underwear now, I notice that I stand close to my bed in case I fall over while balancing on one leg.”

• “Closed captioning is my friend.”

• “My hearing aids amplify only what I don’t to hear.”

• “I do not put up with narcissists anymore. What a relief.”

• “Solitude is good; loneliness is not.”

When asked what inspired this project, Bryck, 72, said he’s intrigued by the many aspects of aging, but also research and writing on the subject, such as Erik Erikson’s theory that there are eight stages of psychosocial development, from infancy to adulthood.

“He was the first person to map human psychology through old age,” Bryck said. “And he basically said that, if you were successful in life, you would eventually come to the eighth stage at old age, where it’s ‘are you in a stage of integrity or despair?’ I just always imagined that, as a depressed person of the ’60s, I would end up as a despairing old man, and I was determined to not let that happen. And I’m interested in how people are aging.”

As for the cartoons, Bryck said he’s always enjoyed cartooning, even if he can’t draw, and the images spark more dialogue — about aging, and sometimes about whether they’re funny or not.

“I get some good feedback; some people think every one is genius, and others say, ‘I don’t get most of your cartoons,’” said Bryck, who added that’s he’s developed the requisite thick skin for such commentary. “Most of my cartoons require some thought, and a lot of times they’re not ‘ha ha’ funny, but they are reflective.”

 

Age-old Problems

Like many people of his age, and any other age, for that matter, Bryck has mixed feelings about AI, right down to how much energy is consumed to create it. But when it comes to his cartoons, he can rationalize.

“I felt like I was someone who suddenly had a prosthetic device that allows them to do something they couldn’t do before,” he explained, adding that, by giving AI some specific prompts, he can use it to create images that aging humans can relate to and talk about, such as the one featuring four unhappy looking, balding, graying men with seemingly nothing to say, under the caption, “when your breakfast club votes to curb discussion about health issues.”

“Your challenges are a lot less challenging if you realize how normal they are. Other people live with them, and other people survive them.”

This is one of Bryck’s favorites — he’s now created dozens of cartoons, many inspired by actual experiences or those of others he knows — and it puts a face (or, in this, four faces) on the issues and attitudes of aging humans.

This is what he had in mind when he launched the e-book, which continues to attract new readers and intriguing responses to the questions posed.

And it’s part of the evolving next chapter in Bryck’s career, which started with him working at his family’s clothing business and evolved into his role running the Family Business Center and even writing plays about the many issues facing ventures run by several generations of the same family.

Bryck still does some business consulting, coaching, and facilitating, and all three of these skill sets will be used for roundtables he’s creating for small but established businesses. Called Onward + Upward, the initiative will create what he calls “an advisory board of trusted peers” that will enable participants to work on their businesses together.

As that project comes together, Bryck will continue to generate dialogue about aging, an popular activity as the Baby Boom generation, of which he is a part, reaches its 70s, and with its older members touching 80.

He said the collective comments speak to the many issues and challenges people are facing and are ultimately offered, like many of his efforts over the years, to help people confront them together.

“The 21 questions are really good prompts, and I think a lot of people like to talk about aging,” he noted. “I just had breakfast with someone for two hours, and we talked about what is our stage of life, what are we doing with ourselves, and are we feeling productive?”

And with that, we turn to more thought-provoking comments to the questions posed in the e-book:

• “I didn’t laugh much until I was in my 60s. Now, I laugh all the time.”

• “I have become more direct and clear about boundaries and comfort. I have shifted from being more conscious of pleasing others at times to pleasing myself, within reason.”

• “I don’t imagine ever stopping work; there are so many projects around that I can play with. Maybe I’ll stop remunerative work at some point, but playing with projects … I don’t see that ending while my heart is still beating.”

• “Don’t wait too long to retire — no one knows what the future holds.”

• “Make the absolute most of whatever time you have left. Keep growing and trying new things. Count yourself lucky you got this far.”

There were originally 20 questions, Bryck said, but a friend in Amherst added one of his own: “do you feel responsible and/or guilty that you are leaving such a troubled world to the next generation, or is it their problem now?”

That query has drawn its own share of responses, such as: “I didn’t start the fire, but I probably could have a ton more to extinguish it,’’ and “not in the least bit. I am not convinced the world is all that troubled and different from previous generations. Does anyone remember the ’70s? The ’60s? WWII, etc., etc.?”

 

Beyond the Numbers

Such insight and running commentary is what Bryck was hoping to generate when he started the e-book, the latest endeavor from a business leader who has no intention to retire and intends to continue growing and trying new things.

“I think it’s all revealing, and it’s normalizing,” he said of the sum of what he’s collected so far. “And that was something I bring from the Family Business Center — the idea that your challenges are a lot less challenging if you realize how normal they are. Other people live with them, and other people survive them.”

And most of them, including Bryck, enjoy a good nap.

Auto Industry Faces Dramatic Shifts Heading into 2026

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Ben Sullivan says that, with less urgency to sell EVs, automakers are providing incentives for other models on the lots.
Features

Driving Forces

Carla Cosenzi says the auto industry should see a less tumultuous year in 2026, but there will be challenges.

Carla Cosenzi says the auto industry should see a less tumultuous year in 2026, but there will be challenges.

‘Turbulent.’

Of all the single words that could be used to describe what kind of year 2025 was for the auto industry and individual dealers, Peter Wirth believes that one works best.

And it might even be an understatement.

Indeed, a sector that was working itself back to normalcy after COVID, chip shortages, a lack of inventory, scarce supplies of used cars, and inflation was hit with tariffs as well as a seismic shift in priority when it comes to electric vehicles.

This added up to some interesting times — that’s another adjective used heavily to describe the year that was — as well as a roller-coaster year for sales that ended up mostly flat or a few percentage points higher than 2024.

“It wasn’t a bad year; it was just a lot of ups and downs and changes — with tariffs being the obvious one, but there was also the huge change in course as far as electric vehicle adoption, which had a huge impact on manufacturers, but also on us,” said Wirth, owner of Mercedes-Benz of Springfield, referencing the expiration of federal tax credits for new and used vehicles after Sept. 30 and an abrupt U-turn on mandates concerning the percentages of new car sales that had to be EVs.

Carla Cosenzi, president of TommyCar Auto Group, which boasts four stores selling Nissan, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Genesis, agreed. She said 2025 was a solid year, one that started strong as consumers sought to beat tariffs and ended somewhat sluggishly.

“We started to really see it around October,” she said, adding that manufacturers, perhaps anticipating a slowdown due to factors ranging from tariffs to still-high interest rates, ramped up the incentives to engage consumers, who stand to benefit from higher inventories.

“Overall, it was a really good year for us,” she said, adding that Hyundai and Nissan both posted solid numbers and finished strong, making up for some slower months in the middle.

As 2026 rolls on, the pendulum is shifting even more toward normalcy and perhaps less volatility, although no one can project too far ahead in this business, said Ben Sullivan, chief operating officer for Balise Motor Sales, which owns 26 dealerships across Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Indeed, the focus is shifting back to hybrids and gasoline-powered cars, and manufacturers are providing plenty of incentives to buy and lease them, including 0% financing in some cases, he said, adding that he projects 2026 will be a good year for auto buyers and, thus, a better one for dealers.

“From a consumer point of view, I’d say 2026 will be a very positive year,” Sullivan said. “And from the dealer perspective, we’re actually pretty bullish on where this is going to go. Affordability is such a key part of consumer behavior, and the fact that availability and the incentives are going to be there for the consumers prompts us to believe we’ll be growing by 5% to 7% this year.”

Wirth agreed, noting that Mercedes has rolled out aggressive sales programs for January.

“Mercedes is putting their money where their mouth is as far as being on a growth trajectory,” he explained. “They sold 303,000 units last year, and they want to sell 325,000 to 330,000 this year; that’s a 10% increase, and it’s one of the reasons we’re incredibly optimistic for this year.”

“It wasn’t a bad year; it was just a lot of ups and downs and changes — with tariffs being the obvious one, but there was also the huge change in course as far as electric vehicle adoption, which had a huge impact on manufacturers, but also on us.”

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with area dealers about the turbulence of 2025 and the prospects for more normalcy, probably the most since COVID, in 2026.

 

Shifting Gears

As he talked with BusinessWest about the year that was and the years ahead, Wirth said he sympathizes with car manufacturers, who have had to cope with many different, and often dramatic, changes to the landscape in recent years, especially with tariffs and changing policy on EVs.

“I don’t envy my colleagues in corporate because it’s really hard to deliver on three fronts at the same time — electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, and combustion-engine cars, which is what’s happening right now,” he said. “This significant change in policy — and no one knows how it’s going to change in three years again — makes it really difficult for the manufacturers.”

Sullivan agreed. “For manufacturers, it takes three to five years to develop a vehicle program, and they were all assuming that, at some point, we’d have to be 100% electric, and they put a bunch of their development money down that stream,” he explained. “And now, the federal government is saying that this is no longer what they need to do. So all the manufacturers are trying to adjust and adapt just in the EV market — and that was just one of two large challenges that hit us last year.”

Ben Sullivan says that, with less urgency to sell EVs, automakers are providing incentives for other models on the lots.

Ben Sullivan says that, with less urgency to sell EVs, automakers are providing incentives for other models on the lots.

The other factor was tariffs, which hit some makers harder than others, he said, noting, as others did, that these factors are prompting hard decisions, many of which will take years to materialize, about where cars will be made — and what cars will be made.

For dealers and consumers, these issues changed some buying patterns and, in many ways, altered the sales calendar.

Indeed, when tariffs were first announced last March, there was a surge in sales as consumers looked to beat the tariffs, said Wirth and others we spoke with, making March and April better than they normally are and some of the subsequent, normally heavier months lighter.

“When you look at the first half of the year, it shook out the way we expected; it was just more volatile,” he said, summoning another word to describe 2025. “You had a higher high than you were projecting, and then a lower low.”

This was just one of the many intriguing aspects of this past year, said those we spoke with, noting that what is being called a retrenchment on EVs was certainly another. Indeed, sales spiked in the run-up to the end of the $7,500 federal government purchase incentive on Sept. 30, resulting in a record for the third quarter of 2025 (about 12% of the U.S. market), before falling off in the months that followed.

Cosenzi said EVs are still selling, in part due to incentives offered by the state, but they were off by roughly 10% in 2025 over the year prior — better than many other dealers are reporting because the TommyCar dealerships are in Hadley and Northampton, which she described as a great market for EVs — and this pattern is expected to continue into 2026.

The focus is now shifting to hybrids and gasoline-powered cars, with an even greater emphasis on SUVs, said Sullivan, adding that, due to the tariffs and shifts on EVs, makers are doing some model trimming because some offerings are no longer popular, cost-effective, or both.

 

Drive Time

Looking down the road and toward the year ahead, those we spoke with expressed optimism about the big picture and the manner in which car makers are incentivizing consumers to buy and lease.

As Wirth noted earlier, Mercedes has set ambitious goals for 2026 and is backing them up with programs and incentives that are similar to those intended to drive sales at year end.

“Our January programs are essentially as good as our outgoing December programs were, which is something I’ve never seen before with them,” he noted. “They’re really trying to hit the ground running and maintain and ultimately increase their market share in the luxury market.

“They were all assuming that, at some point, we’d have to be 100% electric, and they put a bunch of their development money down that stream. And now, the federal government is saying that this is no longer what they need to do.”

“And while it’s still very early,” continued Wirth, who spoke with BusinessWest in the first week of January, “they seem to be starting on the right foot.”

Cosenzi and Sullivan agreed, noting that conditions are right for a solid 2026, meaning dealers have inventory (especially for what’s in demand, meaning hybrids and SUVs); they have incentives, including attractive lease deals and financing rates for purchases; and are stocking more used cars, although they’re still in somewhat short supply.

“We’re putting a lot of focus on used vehicles heading into 2026, especially those under that $30,000 price range,” said Cosenzi, adding that TommyCar has created a buying center to maximize opportunities in a still-challenging market and build an inventory.

“We’re really working to have the right-priced pre-owned vehicles that can go through the stringent certified process to give the consumers the confidence they’re looking for,” she explained, adding that there is strong demand for such vehicles, especially SUVs, in the Five College area.

Sullivan said the stars are aligning as the industry moves into 2026. “Interest rates are starting to trend down, and availability of cars is getting better, unlike during COVID,” he noted, adding that the attractive incentives that were being offered to incentivize EVs, back when the pressure was on to sell those models, have been shifted to gas and hybrid models.

“Now that the manufacturers are not under that regulation anymore, you will see in 2026 some better incentives coming back, like attractive lease payments, low APR, and customer cash, because the manufacturers can afford to do that,” he explained. “So I think that will be a very big positive for consumers as we roll into 2026; their affordability matrix will be a lot better than it was in 2024 or even 2025.”

Meanwhile, Sullivan sees some general improvement in used car availability as new car inventories have improved and consumers can replace aging vehicles and enter into new leases rather than buying cars coming off lease, and this is another source of optimism heading into 2026.

As for EVs, dealers still have them, and they’re still selling them, but the pendulum has swung, with those who have been on the fence about such vehicles now more incentivized to stay on the gas or plug-in hybrid side, the latter of which provides some attractive middle ground for those looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

These are just a few of the issues that will shape 2026, a year that will still be interesting, but probably — that’s probably — less turbulent for dealers and consumers.

Monson Complex Presents Challenges, Opportunities

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Jeff Daley at one of the ‘T-bones’ on the MDC campus.
Commercial Real Estate Cover Story Special Coverage

Vision Quest

Jeff Daley at one of the ‘T-bones’ on the MDC campus.

Jeff Daley at one of the ‘T-bones’ on the MDC campus.

Jeff Daley stopped his pickup truck at a building known affectionately as one of the ‘T-bones,’ or ‘dog bones,’ because that’s what they’re shaped like.

It wasn’t the structure he wanted to comment on, necessarily — one of dozens of nondescript, red-brick buildings on the Monson Developmental Center (MDC) campus, this one a residential hall — but rather the view from it, of downtown Palmer and the mountains framing it.

“You don’t get many views better than that,” said Daley, president and CEO of Westmass Area Development Corp., which now owns a significant portion of the campus and is charged with redeveloping it, adding that he envisions this section at the high point of the sprawling complex to be ideal for estate lots of maybe five to 10 acres.

“Maybe a dozen or so could go right here,” he said, referring to an area with several T-bones, which, like almost all of the more than 40 buildings on the campus, are in an advanced state of decay and will be demolished.

“No matter how good you are, I really don’t think you can develop a vision of what this is going to be until these buildings are out of the way and we have a more permanent solution.”

And while he can imagine a large home with a bay window looking out on that view of the surrounding countryside, Daley said that it probably won’t be until all the buildings are down that Westmass and the developers it will likely partner with in this ambitious undertaking can fully understand what they have to work with — and what uses might emerge for this intriguing property.

“No matter how good you are, I really don’t think you can develop a vision of what this is going to be until these buildings are out of the way and we have a more permanent solution,” he noted. “But maybe by this fall we can start talking to developers, have them out, and see what they think.”

As he offered BusinessWest a tour of the rolling campus, Daley drove and talked about what might come next and the many hurdles to be cleared during what will likely be a 10- to 20-year project to transform the landscape into what will be known as the Village at Sawmill Brook and fill in a canvas that few residents of the 413 have seen.

Most of the buildings at the MDC are in an advanced state of decay and must be demolished.

Most of the buildings at the MDC are in an advanced state of decay and must be demolished.

As he did so, he used the word ‘challenging’ repeatedly, in reference to everything from demolition of the buildings, which are loaded with asbestos in the walls, floors, ceilings, and slate roofs, to finding new uses for the property — built on the side of a mountain — that will mesh with Monson’s decidedly rural character and slow, as in very slow, pace of residential growth and new building.

“When you only have 8,000 residents, you can’t plunk down something that won’t fit the community, and that’s something we’re sensitive to when we’re looking at this type of development,” he said. It’s all going to be market-driven; whatever the market dictates and zoning — that’s what we’ll manage.”

For this issue and its focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest visited the MDC campus to get the lay of the land, if you will, and talk with Daley about the next, and quite intriguing, addition to the Westmass portfolio.

 

Peaking Their Interest

Daley said the buildings on the campus have deteriorated quickly since the center shut down officially more than a dozen years ago.

And it’s mostly the elements that have been responsible for the highly visible damage to many of the structures, he noted, adding that there has been little vandalism on the closely patrolled campus and few people willing to ignore the myriad ‘no trespassing’ signs posted on every building, save for the occasional ghost hunters.

“When you only have 8,000 residents, you can’t plunk down something that won’t fit the community, and that’s something we’re sensitive to when we’re looking at this type of development.”

“They come in with their infrared cameras and sound machines,” said Daley, adding that they’ve come out more in the summer months, and there’s no word if they’ve found anything.

Given the history of the MDC, there just might be a few ghosts to be found there.

An aerial view of the MDC campus shows the rolling topography.

An aerial view of the MDC campus shows the rolling topography.

Established nearly a decade before the start of the Civil War, it was first a state almshouse for the poor and eventually evolved into a primary school for poor children and then the Massachusetts House for Epileptics in 1895, and later the Monson State Hospital, housing people with epilepsy and developmental disabilities. The campus grew significantly in the early 20th century — with the complex expanding to more than 70 buildings across 600 acres and the population peaking at about 1,700 residents in 1968 — but faced declining populations with deinstitutionalization.

Redevelopment of the 108-acre main campus will be similar in many respects to reuse initiatives at Northampton State Hospital and the Belchertown State School, also large campuses once owned and operated by the state, said Daley, but each initiative has its own personality, with MDC’s still to be determined, obviously.

While Northampton State Hospital became a mostly residential development — more than 400 homes geared to all income levels have been built at Village Hill — along with a large manufacturing facility, the Belchertown State School property, now known as Carriage Grove, is becoming more of a mixed-use property, with plans for everything from housing to a community center in the old administration building.

The MDC will likely be more like the latter, said Daley, adding that the pattern of reuse will ultimately be shaped by the town and the development community. He said Westmass plans to advance a zoning bylaw to a town meeting vote this spring; the proposed zoning would create a mixed-use district to support long-term development of the property.

“There are a lot of folks around Monson and Palmer who raised families in big farmhouses, and now they’re getting to the point where they don’t need the big farmhouse anymore. But there’s limited housing available to move into; whether it’s a single person or an aging couple, there’s really no housing for them.”

Housing of several different types may emerge as options, he said, listing everything from three- and four-story apartment buildings to multi-family homes to cottages and those aforementioned estate lots. Other permitted uses could include small-scale commercial and office facilities, light industrial, and civic uses compatible with the neighborhood character.

The first step in the redevelopment process is clearing the site and demolition of all but a few of the 42 buildings on the main campus, 18 of which (the larger brick structures) will be mitigated by Westmass, with the state responsible for the rest.

“Unfortunately, the buildings are not savable,” said Daley, adding that preliminary cleaning and demolition work — on buildings as well as several underground and above-ground tunnels to convey steam — is expected to commence within the next few months. Bids are currently being sought, with the goal of clearing the site by the fall of 2027.

Demolition work is expected to cost roughly $16 million, and after this phase is done, there is considerable infrastructure work to be undertaken — everything from new roads and utilities to a new, wider bridge over Sawmill Brook, which runs through the middle of the property, to work to repair and upgrade the water tower on the campus (there is no pumping station that can supply water to the higher portions of the campus).

As these pieces fall into place, development efforts can move to the next stages.

Demolition of dozens of buildings at the MDC is slated to start later this year and be completed in 2027.

Demolition of dozens of buildings at the MDC is slated to start later this year and be completed in 2027.

“Our goal is to be done with the cleaning and demolition by 2027, and between now and then, we’re going to be working on getting a full design of where the infrastructure — water, sewer, power — will go,” Daley explained. “Then, we can do a road development study and figure out where roads will go and to what part of the development. And at that time, hopefully, some of the easier development pieces can be developed or sold to generate revenues to offset the investment we’re going to have to make on the capital side on the infrastructure.”

 

Grounds for Optimism

While most of the buildings on the campus will come down, a few can be reused, said Daley, who pointed to a structure known, coincidentally, as the Daley Building, a recreation center with a theater on its upper floor as well as a basketball court and a decaying bowling alley.

“Our hope is that we can provide this as a community center for Monson and Palmer,” he explained. “It’s a great hall, and there’s a big gymnasium; we’re not sure how it will all work out, but we’re hoping to keep it for that purpose.”

Meanwhile, Brookside Hall, another residential facility, could be salvaged and converted into senior or veteran housing.

“We’d like to do a veterans housing project — there’s definitely a need for one in this area — but projects like that take four or five years to develop,” he noted, adding that, overall, there is a need for many different kinds of housing, especially affordable options for an aging population.

Indeed, the Commonwealth officially conveyed the property to Westmass as part of larger efforts to utilize properties under its control to address an ongoing housing crisis that is impacting every corner of the state.

“There are a lot of folks around Monson and Palmer who raised families in big farmhouses, and now they’re getting to the point where they don’t need the big farmhouse anymore,” he said. “But there’s limited housing available to move into; whether it’s a single person or an aging couple, there’s really no housing for them.”

Whatever comes of the site from a development standpoint, it will have to mesh with the town’s rural character and not dramatically change the dynamic in a community that hasn’t seen much, if any, residential growth in recent years.

“I think they’ve built something like 12 houses in the last 20 years,” said Daley, who didn’t know the exact figure but did know it wasn’t a big number.

And that statistic represents just one of the many challenges involved with a project that will unfold over the next decade or two and change the landscape of that area — literally and figuratively.

Group Looks to Turn Back Clock at Wilbraham’s Lakeside

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From left: Joe Sullivan, Jordan Healy, Marc Murphy, Mike Rogers, and John Sullivan.
Features Special Coverage

Landmark Decision

From left: Joe Sullivan, Jordan Healy, Marc Murphy, Mike Rogers, and John Sullivan.

From left: Joe Sullivan, Jordan Healy, Marc Murphy, Mike Rogers, and John Sullivan.

Joe Sullivan says he and business partner John Sullivan (no relation) were “looking to hedge our bets and diversify.”

It was the height of the pandemic; the restaurant they co-owned, Nathan Bill’s, was forced to close; and, like most all business owners navigating those difficult and unprecedented times, they didn’t know what was to come next.

“We were looking for real estate purchases and maybe another business opportunity,” said Joe Sullivan, adding that the two would buy a package store and then the plaza in which Nathan Bill’s was located, among other transactions. “And as we were doing all that, someone mentioned this spot to us and said it would be good for a restaurant.

“We already had three restaurants and said, ‘we don’t really want another restaurant, but it looks interesting,’” he went on. “We did our due diligence and realized that we could do something different and really special here.”

That was the genesis of one of the more intriguing development initiatives in the region — work to turn back the clock on the Wilbraham landmark known as the Lakeside.

Once a popular inn and restaurant, the property on Nine Mile Pond, most recently home to a transportation company, had fallen into disuse. John and Joe Sullivan have become partners with the principals at West Springfield-based Lock and Key Realty in an ambitious effort to revive the property and create a 15-room boutique hotel and restaurant, with outdoor dining and lake access.

“We already had three restaurants and said, ‘we don’t really want another restaurant, but it looks interesting.’ We did our due diligence and realized that we could do something different and really special here.”

The project has certainly captured the attention — and affection — of Wilbraham officials (members of the Planning Board are said to have cheered when the project was proposed), as well as the legions of fans of the Lakeside restaurant, often involving several generations of families.

“The community support has been overwhelming — social media has been huge, and we’ve gotten letters from people praising what we’re doing,” John Sullivan said. “Every time I’m out working on the yard, I’ve got people in kayaks thanking us and congratulating us.”

An early ad for the Lakeside Inn.

An early ad for the Lakeside Inn.

Such sentiments were repeated among the five main principals in this venture, who spoke with BusinessWest at the Lakeside recently. Collectively, they talked about how, while this is a solid real estate investment, the endeavor also blends history, tradition, and community, and these attributes bring ample amounts of pride and enthusiasm for what is being undertaken.

“It’s a property the community truly cares about, and with the right vision and redevelopment strategy, it has the ability to become a destination that drives economic activity and sustained local value,” said Jordan Healy, a partner at Lock and Key Realty. “For us, it’s more than a single project—it’s a chance to help reshape a landmark in a way that benefits the region for decades.”

Mike Rogers, another principal with Lock and Key Realty, agreed. “It seems that everyone who comes in has some family that had some experiences here, whether it was recently or decades ago,” he said. “So the appeal of renovating this property and trying to maintain some of that historic charm, like with the gazebo, while also modernizing it, is a huge draw for us and the community, and it’s really something that’s driving excitement in this project.”

As for the business aspects of this venture, the principals say that, while construction has not officially begun, they’re already hearing from people looking to book rooms — from couples planning to get married at the nearby GreatHorse country club to officials and participants involved with the Brimfield antique shows staged three times each year.

Meanwhile, the redevelopment of the former Eastfield Mall into a retail destination promises to bring more traffic to the Route 20 corridor and to businesses like the new Lakeside, said John Sullivan, adding that the new shopping center, coupled with the Lakeside project, is likely to spur new activity along that throughfare and activate currently idle real estate.

“There will be a ripple effect where there will be more investment opportunities and redevelopment along Boston Road,” he said, adding that there are several vacant or underutilized properties that could be reimagined.

For this issue, BusinessWest talked with the principals involved with the Lakeside project about the many aspects of this endeavor, from its history to the way it might well become a catalyst for more development on Boston Road.

On the Waterfront

For Joe Sullivan, the Lakeside project evokes a different time — for both Wilbraham and his family.

Indeed, his grandfather, Barton Sullivan, owned and operated the Auto Inn, an automobile-era lodging establishment, farther north on Route 20 and on the opposite side of Nine Mile Pond from where the Lakeside sits.

“It’s a property the community truly cares about, and with the right vision and redevelopment strategy, it has the ability to become a destination that drives economic activity and sustained local value.”

There were several establishments of that type on or near Route 20, he said, adding that, during the stagecoach era, there was one every 10 or 15 miles.

As for the Lakeside, it opened its doors in the early 1940s and quickly became a popular destination, with a restaurant, a club with bands, a banquet hall, and a few rooms for rent.

“There’s a lot of history here,” Sullivan said, noting an intriguing bit involving the name of the establishment and the body of water it fronts.

“This is called the Lakeside Inn, but this is Nine Mile Pond,” he said, noting that this name connotes how far the pond is from the center of Springfield. “At some point in the ’50s or ’60s, they changed the name of the body of water to Lake Machonish; the Lakeside owners just decided to do that because they wanted to advertise it as a lake. It didn’t catch on.

“We may try that again,” he said with a laugh, noting that it was partly out of a desire to turn back the clock, while making more business history on Boston Road, that prompted him to take a hard look at the Lakeside property. A serial entrepreneur, he and John Sullivan had become involved with several hospitality ventures, including Nathan Bill’s on Boston Road in Springfield, East Village Tavern in East Longmeadow, the Boulevard Bar on Page Boulevard in Springfield, and others.

The Auto Inn, owned and operated by Joe Sullivan’s grandfather, provided some inspiration for the Lakeside project.

The Auto Inn, owned and operated by Joe Sullivan’s grandfather, provided some inspiration for the Lakeside project.

As noted earlier, redevelopment of the property represented not merely a real estate investment, but a unique opportunity to revive what many would consider a landmark.

“Through talking to the architect and talking to the town, we figured out there was an opportunity to build a small boutique hotel and still have a restaurant on the first floor,” Joe Sullivan said. “Everything fit into place and worked out to look like a really successful plan.”

That plan was further solidified by the emergence of a partnership between John Sullivan, Joe Sullivan, and the principals of Lock and Key Realty — Healy, Rogers, and Marc Murphy — who, collectively and individually, have become involved with several business and real estate ventures in the 413, including Shaker Bowl in East Longmeadow and All American Masonry in Indian Orchard, as well as the redevelopment of several fire stations and other properties.

Healy said those at Lock and Key are always looking for real estate opportunities, and the Lakeside made sense on many levels.

“There’s so much history behind it … it just felt like a project where we could reutilize, revitalize, and restore something, make it pretty again — and it’s right in line with what we do,” he noted. “If we can bring some redevelopment back to Wilbraham, it’s a home run for everyone.”

Elaborating, he said there is considerable synergy between the two partnership entities, with Joe and John Sullivan bringing experience in hospitality, and Lock and Key thriving in the redevelopment realm.

Murphy agreed. “Partnering with the Sullivan Group was a natural fit. They have deep experience in hospitality, creating successful restaurant and bar concepts that consistently serve the community at a high level. Together, we blend hospitality vision with market insight to ensure the Lakeside project becomes both a vibrant destination and a strong, long-term asset for the region.”

Joe and John Sullivan officially acquired the Lakeside last August, but talks about the property and the creation of a plan for its redevelopment had been ongoing for a few years prior, Joe said.

“The timing is right because the community is ready for this property to be brought back to life.”

“I wanted to make sure the town approved of what we wanted to do before we bought the property,” he explained, adding that the partners obtained a special permit to create an inn there.

Shore Thing

As for the reimagining of the property, the partners said this will be a major undertaking, with projections for the overall cost to approach or exceed $3 million.

Indeed, while the work falls into the categories of renovation and restoration, it will be much more like new construction, said Joe, adding that, while the property still has good bones, it is no longer suited for either a restaurant or an inn.

“It’s going to be a major construction project — raising the roof, literally,” he told BusinessWest. “The major appeal is that this is waterfront property — they don’t make any more of that. It’s a beautiful spot; even the gazebo needs a little fixing up, but it adds to that picturesque appeal.”

Work is expected to start within the next few months, said John Sullivan, adding that the goal is be finished in perhaps a year to 18 months. The partners are planning a 15-room hotel and a 100-seat restaurant (to be managed by a third party), and they’re already seeing great anticipation for both.

Indeed, John said that, between parents of students at nearby Wilbraham & Monson Academy, wedding parties at GreatHorse, and visitors to the Brimfield shows, there will be strong demand for the inn’s rooms.

“A family from Scotland has asked to rent out the whole place for two weeks for a wedding, and the organizers of the Brimfield fair wanted it block it off for a whole month,” he told BusinessWest, adding that there have been many inquiries about both the inn and restaurant.

And the surge in traffic from the new retail center taking shape a few down the road at the former Eastfield Mall is expected to bring more people to the property, said the partners, noting that, given all they’ve seen and heard, from the Planning Board and kayakers alike, this certainly seems like a sound business investment.

But it has always been more than that, they stressed, noting the attachment the community has to this property and the memories it has created for generations of area residents.

“It’s a good investment opportunity, but it’s a community-focused project as well,” Healy said. “And for a lot of us, that brings a level of excitement that we normally wouldn’t have. You can build 20 houses, and you never get any notoriety from those 20 houses; you do a project like this, and the community gets excited.”

Rogers agreed. “The Lakeside project represents a turning point. It shows what’s possible when investment, vision, and community pride come together,” he said. “Projects like this attract new interest, encourage surrounding revitalization, and help establish the region as a place where people want to live, invest, and build.

“The timing is right because the community is ready for this property to be brought back to life, and market conditions support redevelopment that adds both lifestyle and economic value,” he went on, adding, as others did, that this project will being rewards — for the partners involved and the community as a whole — on many levels.

Agawam Rides Growing Wave of Momentum

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

Community Spotlight

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

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.

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.

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.

Agawam at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1855
Population: 28,692
Area: 24.2 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $14.10
Commercial Tax Rate: $26.67
Median Household Income: $49,390
Family Household Income: $59,088
Type of government: Mayor, City Council
Largest Employers: OMG Inc., Agawam Public Schools, Six Flags New England
* Latest information available

“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.”

Economic Outlook 2026

By
Cover Story Economic Outlook

Watch to see more from Brian Canina:

Clouding the Issue

The Forecast Calls for … More Uncertainty

It’s called the ‘quits rate.’

As that name suggests, it represents the number of employees who voluntarily quit their jobs as a percentage of total employment.

When times are good for workers, the quits rate is understandably higher. When times are not so good, or when there are high levels of anxiety and uncertainty about the economy and the jobs market — and that would describe the current climate — the rate starts to come down.

“Over the past few months, quits have dropped precipitously,” said Bob Nakosteen, a semi-retired Economics professor at UMass Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management, reflecting on a jobs market increasingly described with the words ‘stuck’ and ‘stagnant.’ “People are hanging onto their jobs for dear life, which tells me that they’re not getting offers to entice them to quit, and they don’t feel that they can take the risk to leave their job and look for another one, because they’re just not out there.”

This sentiment is reflected in the latest jobs report: the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a few weeks back that the U.S. economy lost 105,000 jobs in October and added 64,000 jobs in November, with the unemployment rate rising to a four-year high of 4.6% that month.

The falling quits rate and the jobless numbers are just two of the many ways economists and business leaders are trying to quantify and qualify the current economic scene, often described as ‘confusing,’ although quantifying is more difficult with fewer hard numbers to work with — in general, and even more so because of the recent government shutdown.

Another measure is the Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ (AIM) Business Confidence Index, or BCI. Scored on a 100-point scale, with 50 indicating neutrality, the monthly BCI soared to 57.7 when President Trump was elected in November 2024, but quickly fell to 41.5 (a COVID-like level) in April when Trump’s tariff plan was announced, and has continued to hover below 50 since, AIM President Brooke Thomson said.

She told BusinessWest that, overall, the business community doesn’t like uncertainty, and the prospect for more in 2026, reflected in the BCI numbers, poses questions about what kind of year it will be.

Between the quits rate, the BCI, and other measures, the emerging picture is one of continued uncertainty, even about the near term, let alone several quarters out, given ambiguity about matters from tariffs, interest rates, the jobs market, and the AI investment boom (and whether that bubble is about to burst) to inflation and affordability crunch.

There is some optimism following the most recent quarter-point interest rate drop early last month, but there will need to be more of those, and likely more substantial cuts, in the year ahead for a deep impact to result, said those we spoke with.

Bob Nakosteen

Bob Nakosteen

 

“People are hanging onto their jobs for dear life, which tells me that they’re not getting offers to entice them to quit, and they don’t feel that they can take the risk to leave their job and look for another one, because they’re just not out there.”

“With the recent Fed rate cuts, we’re expecting things to probably pick up, modestly, because there is still some potential uncertainty, economically,” said Brian Canina, president and chief operating officer of Holyoke-based PeoplesBank. “If the Fed continues to lower rates, and the lowering of the rates on the short end of the interest rate curve impacts the long-term interest rate, and those come down, we may see some increased lending and some potential refinancing.”

Overall, said Nakosteen, there is a mixed economic picture for 2026, with expectations for slower growth and perhaps — that’s perhaps — a mild, short recession.

But it’s very difficult to project without hard data, with so much uncertainty clouding whatever picture the data presents, and amid a variety of mixed signals, such as GDP rising a robust 4.3% in the third quarter at the same time as bourbon maker Jim Beam announced it would be shuttering one of its distilleries in Kentucky, in part due to tariffs and slumping demand.“

The data are not painting a clear picture at all. Unemployment is going up — kind of gently, but it’s going up. Inflation is rising — kind of gently, but it’s still rising,” he said, adding that the country may be heading for what economists call ‘stagflation,’ a somewhat rare economic condition characterized by high inflation, stagnant economic growth, and high unemployment occurring simultaneously.

 

Ups and Downs

As he talked about 2025 and what kind of year it was for the region, Aaron Vega spoke from two different, but in many ways similar, perspectives — first as outgoing director of Planning & Economic Development in Holyoke and the incoming president and CEO of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council.

Brian Canina

Brian Canina

 

“With the recent Fed rate cuts, we’re expecting things to probably pick up, modestly, because there is still some potential uncertainty, economically.”

“It’s like two steps forward, two steps back, one step to the side,” he said, noting that this was true in Holyoke, but also the region. While new businesses were added, including Pickleball Kingdom at the Holyoke Mall, and new initiatives launched, there were setbacks, such as recent layoffs at Yankee Candle and Sublime System’s decision to pause its project to build a plant in Holyoke following the loss of a U.S. Department of Energy grant.

Elaborating, Vega said the region’s economy was buffeted by some strong headwinds, most of which were beyond its control. These included tariffs, policy changes, inflation, ongoing changes in the retail realm, and even the price of energy.

“We all know that Massachusetts is a bit of an expensive state in which to do business. So how do we entice businesses to come to Massachusetts, and then, how do we get them to come to Western Massachusetts when we’re still developing our hubs and developing our initiatives?” he asked, adding that these same headwinds will prevail in 2026.

This up-and-down nature of the economy was reflected in the BCI numbers for 2025, said Thomson, noting that the index would rise a few points one month, drop a point or two, then rise again, and then fall again; it was up two points to 48.5 in November, for example. This wavering is a symptom of uncertainty and policies that foster it, she said, adding that the sluggish performance in 2025 — some economists say the country is teetering on recession if not officially in it — was different from such cycles in the past.

“Most recessions, or downturns, occurred because of some sort of situation in the financial markets, some sort of causation that deeply hit our financial markets,” she explained. “This was different; it’s almost self-inflicted through policy. There’s nothing inherently wrong in the financial sector.

Aaron Vega

Aaron Vega

 

“It’s like two steps forward, two steps back, one step to the side.”

“There’s still money out there to lend to businesses, there’s opportunities for businesses, but there is feeling on behalf of business leaders that they don’t know what to expect … ‘I don’t know what my bottom line is going to be, I don’t know what my costs are going to be, so I’m not going to take out that loan, I’m not going to do that expansion project, I’m not going to give out big bonuses or hire more people because I don’t know what’s around the corner.’”

This was the picture throughout 2025, and this sentiment is expected to continue into at least early 2026, Thomson said, adding, again, that business owners like consistently and reliability, and these are two commodities missing at the federal policy level, and there has been a resulting trickle-down to states, with some, like Massachusetts, getting hit harder than others.

Indeed, several sectors in the Bay State were deeply impacted by federal policy changes, including healthcare (see related story on page 25), education, and especially manufacturing, due to tariff policies, she noted.

“I’ve been throughout the state this year visiting manufacturers, and even the ones that are managing to do all right are doing it because they’re being really, really creative, despite this,” she added. “And they would never say they’re thriving; they’re saying, ‘we’re being creative, and we’re managing it.’ But I have more stories with people saying, ‘this is killing me — I’m barely making it,’ and there have been two or three small business that have actually closed their doors.”

 

Fear of the Unknown

Carol Campbell, president of Chicopee Industrial Contractors (CIC), spoke for many business owners when she said 2025 was “an interesting year,” marked by those headwinds Vega mentioned, and especially tariffs.

CIC works with manufacturers, handling rigging, machinery moving, machine installation, and other services, and many of those machines are made overseas, said Campbell, adding that the tariffs placed on them — or the threat of tariffs, as well as general uncertainty about what might come next — prompted some hesitation and project delays.

Brooke Thomson

Brooke Thomson

 

“Most recessions, or downturns, occurred because of some sort of situation in the financial markets, some sort of causation that deeply hit our financial markets. This was different; it’s almost self-inflicted through policy. There’s nothing inherently wrong in the financial sector.”

“What we found was just a fear of the unknown,” she explained, adding that, by March, even Fortune 500 companies were hitting pause on some projects.

Things improved as the year went on, and, overall, 2025 was a solid year, she said, adding quickly that there is optimism about 2026, but also some lingering fear of the unknown.

As they look ahead, those we spoke with said several factors will determine the trajectory of the economy, especially the AI investment boom and whether that bubble will burst, inflation, consumer spending, business confidence (especially when it comes to hiring), and, of course, interest rates.

“A lot of it will hinge on what happens with interest rates,” said Canina, adding that the size and frequency of cuts will ultimately determine the impact on the economy.

“A 25-basis-point change is not necessarily going to have a significant impact,” he explained. “But when you see the Fed make consecutive rate cuts, and if they were to drop a full percentage point in a six- to 12-month period of time, I think by the 12-month point you’ll start to see some pickup, and then, it will continue to grow from there.”

Elaborating, he said many businesses remained on the sidelines in 2025 when it came to large investments and expansion initiatives, due mostly to uncertainty about the economy and where things were headed, and partly to interest rates still well above those enjoyed just a few years ago, post-COVID. He’s optimistic that some will get back in the game in the months to come.

Jeff Sullivan, president and CEO of Springfield-based New Valley Bank, agreed.

“The mortgage rates and the longer-term rates, we don’t see them coming down quite as much,” he said. “It’s nothing that’s going to change consumer behavior — we don’t see a refinance boom.

Carol Campbell

Carol Campbell

 

“What we found was just a fear of the unknown.”

“Meanwhile, the idea of borrowing money at 6% or 6.5% doesn’t seem to be unpalatable,” he added, opining that current rates are not stifling activity. “It’s not stopping deals from happening. Would they rather borrow at 5%? Absolutely they would, but where we are now is tolerable. When the rates peaked nine or 10 months ago and it was hard to get under 7%, that was starting to chill the market, but now we’re back down to 6% or 6.5%, and that’s not stopping anyone.”

Overall, Sullivan is more upbeat about 2026 than some others we spoke with. He said 2025 was a solid year for the bank, in deposit growth and otherwise, while he also noted cautious optimism among many commercial customers.

“The overall mood is generally positive,” he said. “The people who are more nervous are the people who do business with the general public, especially with the middle-class, working-class general public. The firms that are business-to-business sales … I think the optimism is there. The firms that are dependent upon lower- and middle-income consumers being their customers … I’m more worried.

“It’s the K-shaped recovery,” he went on. “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer; we definitely see that sentiment among our customer base.”

Meanwhile, he expects the recent wave of mergers and acquisitions to continue, as businesses search for all-important scale and private equity firms continue their hunt for opportunities across seemingly all sectors of the economy.

“These private equity companies have a belief that they’re going to be so successful, they’re paying top dollar to acquire local companies and roll them up into a much larger platform,” he said, adding that the trend extends across the board, even to HVAC contractors, alarm companies, and sprinkler companies. “We hear from customers every quarter that are taking buyout offers; they’re saying, ‘I can’t say no to this. It’s so much money; it’s more than I thought I’d ever get. I wasn’t ready to sell, but I can’t say no.’”

 

Baystate Leader Sees Momentum Even as Seas Get Choppier

By
Peter Banko says that, despite a mountain of challenges, the Baystate Health system has achieved needed momentum.
Healthcare News Special Coverage

Turning the Battleship

Peter Banko says that, despite a mountain of challenges, the Baystate Health system has achieved needed momentum.

Peter Banko says that, despite a mountain of challenges, the Baystate Health system has achieved needed momentum.

Peter Banko was asked if he was frustrated.

He would certainly have good reason to be.

After all, Banko, president and CEO of Baystate Health, had spent the past 17 months or so trying to right the ship at the system — “turning around a battleship in a bathtub,” as he would later tell the audience at a forum on the state of the healthcare sector in the region — and had made a good amount of progress through difficult and unpopular decisions that included layoffs, cutbacks in many departments, and, most recently, buyouts for many employees, resulting in a profitable fiscal 2025.

But by his estimation, provisions within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (or OB3, as he calls it), signed into law last July, will cost Baystate Health $146 million a year through its specific provisions and their aftereffects, and essentially wipe out all that’s been accomplished and bring the system back to where he started in terms of the size of the hole to dig out of.

“Those reductions wipe out our positive cash flow in one fell swoop,” said Banko, noting that the system exceeded budget expectations for fiscal 2025 and recorded a 3.6% EBIDA (earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization). “We exceeded our budget expectations by about $50 million; it was the first time we exceeded our budget in six years. But whatever progress we made this year gets eliminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill; we’re down to zero again, and we start from scratch.”

“We’ve got a lot of great work going on behind the scenes that isn’t glamorous and won’t make headlines, but it’s the right work. I feel more optimistic than I’ve felt in a long time.”

So … while frustration would certainly be understandable, and the picture for 2026 is bleak by most accounts (more on that later), he prefers to be upbeat — to a degree.

“That’s because I believe we’ve created some momentum,” he said. “I’m happy with the momentum we’ve created. We’ve got a lot of great work going on behind the scenes that isn’t glamorous and won’t make headlines, but it’s the right work. I feel more optimistic than I’ve felt in a long time.

“I feel like we have the team and the committed board and committed team members that are willing to do the tough work and make the difficult decisions for it to be successful,” he went on, adding that there are certainly more difficult decisions to be made, and more consolidation likely in the healthcare industry — and 2026 is shaping up to be an ultra-challenging transition year for hospitals.

But, overall, he believes the ship has been turned and is positioned to navigate the turbulent seas that are forecasted.

For this issue and its focus on healthcare, we talked at length with Banko about the progress that’s been made, how much of that progress stands to be undone by the OB3, and what happens next as he continues the turn-around assignment he assumed in the fall of 2024.

 

Time of Transition

Banko said the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will result in $1 trillion in cuts nationally and represents “the largest rollback to federal support for healthcare in our lifetimes.”

Most of the impact to the Baystate system will not kick in until October, a month before the midterm elections, he went on, adding that online estimators project that the overall impact to Baystate will be more than $140 million. Broken down, these cuts involve everything from sharp increases to the number of uninsured individuals from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act to a decrease in funding from Medicaid (MassHealth), to a loss of funds from the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

The impact to the system — and all providers — will be profound, he said.

Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital, one of Baystate Health’s most significant recent projects, opened in Holyoke in 2023.

Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital, one of Baystate Health’s most significant recent projects, opened in Holyoke in 2023.

“A lot of people won’t have insurance, so they won’t have access to coverage or financing,” he explained. “They’re going to delay care, and they’re increasingly have to use the ED when things are really serious, so we’re going to have more overcrowding. It would be shortsighted to say that this will most significantly impact the poor and vulnerable in our community; if you have commercial insurance, you can expect double-digit increases in your premiums the next five years because commercial insurance makes up the difference for Medicare and Medicaid.

“If you’re an employer in this state or anywhere in the United States, you’re going to be paying more for your insurance to cover the gaps here,” he went on, adding that, for systems like Baystate, the impact will be felt in the ER, certainly, but in other realms as well.

When asked to make projections on what will happen across the system and its four hospitals — Baystate Medical Center, Baystate Noble Hospital, Baystate Wing Hospital, and Baystate Franklin Medical Center — Banko said it’s too early to do so, with the specific impacts not likely to be known until the provisions of the bill take effect.

And that won’t be until almost a year from now, he went on, adding that, in most respects, 2026 will be what he called a “transition year.”

“It will be like preparing for a snowstorm,” he told BusinessWest before extending the metaphor further. “Everyone is going to be buying milk and bread and snow shovels; there’s going to be a lot of preparation and action in anticipation of next year.”

When asked how a system prepares for the storm that’s coming, he said the system will continue to make additions and adjustments in the ER in anticipation of more people using that front door instead of primary care.

“We’re aggressively recruiting nurses and physicians for the ER, and we’re working on improving our throughput in the hospital, which impacts the ER,” he explained. “We’re working on improving access and throughput, which will help.”

Overall, he said the system itself will manage, but he’s concerned about the human toll for the cutbacks and their impact on the overall health of the community.

“It will be like preparing for a snowstorm. Everyone is going to be buying milk and bread and snow shovels; there’s going to be a lot of preparation and action in anticipation of next year.”

“Let’s consider this from the humanistic end — someone who had coverage now doesn’t,” he said. “They may be in the middle of cancer treatment; they may be in the middle of a pregnancy. A few months from now, they get diagnosed with a condition, and they delay care, or they’re feeling symptoms, and they know they can’t afford care. From a community standpoint, we’re worried about the impact to the most vulnerable people in our community.

“How do we look our community in the face and say, ‘15% to 25% of you no longer have coverage,’” he went on. “This state has worked so hard, going back to Governor [Mitt] Romney, to provide care for as many people as possible — it’s hard to say all because some people fall through the cracks — and now, it’s all being dismantled.”

 

Bottom Line

And it’s unlikely there will be much, if any, help coming from Washington, Banko opined, noting that, for now, both sides consider what’s happening to be a “political win,” which makes action before the midterms unlikely in his view.

“Behind the scenes, I think everyone knows what the right things to do are,” he went on. “But OB3 has become a political football, so the folks left holding the bag are our governor and our Legislature — they’re going to have to fill a huge budget gap, $4 billion to $5 billion, and I don’t envy them having to try to figure that out. And our healthcare systems are left holding the bag because it impacts us most severely. Who gets lost in this are the people losing coverage — I’m not sure they have a voice at the moment.”

As for the Baystate system itself, Banko said that, when it comes to the progress made in 2025, budget-wise, roughly half is attributable to cost cutting, with the other half coming from revenue growth.

“We saw decent growth in our business last year, above what our expectations were,” he noted, adding that this growth came in ER volume, surgical volume, inpatient volume, and other realms. “More than half our financial improvement was solid revenue growth.”

Looking ahead to 2026, he’s projecting revenue growth of 2% to 3%, with expenses growing 6%.

“And in any business, that’s not a recipe for success,” he went on, adding that the system has identified core growth areas, including overall access to care.

“We lose a lot of our patients to Boston because they can’t get in here. So if we can grow revenue by 6% to 8% and trim some of our costs, that will allow us to stay in the game,” he explained, adding that there will be more cost cutting in the year ahead — at Baystate and most other providers.

There will also be some less profitable services cut back or eliminated by many providers, he said, as well as continued consolidation within the industry as systems look for all-important scale in the wake of the rising costs of doing business.

“We’re talking to a lot of organizations, and with each one, I have a confidentiality agreement that I can’t violate,” he said, withholding comment on rumored talks between Baystate and Mercy Medical Center. “So, I would just say this … everyone is talking to everyone right now. There isn’t a week that goes by that I’m not having a discussion with a competitor, someone in an adjacent market, someone in a non-adjacent market.

“Everyone is viewing the changes from OB3 as transformational, so everyone is trying to figure out the same thing,” he went on. “We’re all talking to one another about, ‘hey, how do we manage this?’ Or ‘can we manage this better together?’”

There is some evidence that scale has not worked out in healthcare, at least as much as it has in other industries, he continued, adding quickly that he believes scale does bring advantages; systems just need to seize those advantages.

“Our overhead costs are about 12.9%,” Banko explained. “Without more scale, we can bring that down to 10%, but best-practice health systems are below 8%, and there’s no way we can get below 8% without more scale.”

In the meantime, and as he mentioned earlier, he senses real momentum across the system, progress in many ways overshadowed by large headlines about layoffs and buyout programs.

“What gets published in the media is just the financial stuff,” he told BusinessWest. “So when we do a layoff or cut costs somewhere, that gets all the media attention, and it gets all the attention inside the organization. But I would say that 80% of the work is non-financial, and we’re making real progress.”

Staying Current with Eversource’s Mike Vedovelli

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Mike Vedovelli seen today at Eversource
Where Are They Now?

Where Are They Now?

 

Mike Vedovelli seen today at Eversource

Mike Vedovelli seen today at Eversource

Mike Vedovelli as a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2011

Mike Vedovelli as a member of the 40 Under Forty class of 2011

Mike Vedovelli says it’s as if he had written the job description for himself.

Indeed, Eversource had posted for a Community Relations specialist, and the job description it sent out indicated it was looking for someone who knew the region — as in the four counties of Western Mass. — and also “knew the economic development side of things,” said Vedovelli, who had all this covered through previous career stops.

These included nearly a decade in Westfield’s Community Development office, several more running the Western Mass. office of the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD), and then a few years as director of Community Development in Chicopee.

He thought that experience qualified him to join the giant utility in the community relations role, and those doing the hiring agreed, thus beginning an intriguing chapter in the career of this 2011 40 Under Forty honoree. And he’s written a few more since joining Eversource, rising in the ranks, first as manager of Community Relations for Massachusetts (overseeing the team of specialists, each serving their own region), and currently as director of Community Relations and Economic Development in Massachusetts.

Based at the utility’s facility on Cadwell Drive in Springfield, but frequently on the road to communities in every corner of the state, Vedovelli now oversees a team of 14, “which rises to 140 during storm events,” he said, adding that one of his many responsibilities is to work with those on his teams to coordinate response to severe weather in the more than 70 communities served by the utility.

“Each city and town has a designated liaison,” he explained, adding that, from an incident-command structure in Boston, he oversees these liaisons as they work with their respective communities on preparation for, and response to, severe weather.

 

Community Focus

We’ll get back to the weather and how Vedovelli and Eversource prepares for it. But first, a look back.

Vedovelli, who grew up in Indian Orchard and stayed in the region, first started working in government and economic development when he became an accountant and Grants Compliance coordinator in the Westfield Community Development office, overseeing HUD initiatives and especially the Community Development Block Grant program.

He worked in Westfield for more than 10 years before becoming a regional director for the Massachusetts Office of Business Development, with the region essentially being everything west of Worcester — 101 cities and towns, a number that has stuck with him.

While getting to know those cities and towns in the 413 and their business communities, he helped several companies, including Titeflex and Smith & Wesson (which would eventually relocate its headquarters and significant operations to Tennessee starting in 2021), stay in the region, expand, and create more jobs.

“I made a point of getting to know all four counties as well as I could — knowing not just the businesses, but the fabric of the communities — and making connections.”

“I was representing the governor and the administration, and you had to be aware of what was occurring on many different levels, not just in business development opportunities,” he said of his work at MOBD and now it would provide him with invaluable experience for career stops to come. “I made a point of getting to know all four counties as well as I could — knowing not just the businesses, but the fabric of the communities — and making connections.”

It was rewarding work that came to an abrupt end with the change of gubernatorial administrations in January 2015. A few months later, one of those connections he’d made paid off when he got a call from then-Chicopee Mayor Michael Kos to see if he would be interested in becoming the city’s next director of Community Development.

Vedovelli was, and spent the next few years on projects ranging from redevelopment of the former Uniroyal plant to the opening of a Mercedes-Benz dealership on Burnett Road.

But then, he read the job description that seemed written for him.

Over the past nine years, he has added several new responsibilities, but maintains that the work still comes down to making connections and building relationships, something he’s been doing his whole career, while “handling all things Eversource, on the gas, electric, and transmission sides.

“Every day is different — that’s the 24/7 nature of the business,” he said of his work and what he likes most about it, adding that his job description is varied and includes everything from educating public officials, communities, and other key partners on Eversource’s projects to conducting outreach for the siting of major projects and strategic initiatives.

 

Power Play

In recent years, a growing focus has been on meeting the state’s decarbonization goals and the many investments needed to make that happen.

“We’re working very closely with our load forecasting team to analyze areas as we move toward decarbonization, and the loads that will put forth on the system,” he explained. “New infrastructure will be needed, and placing infrastructure is always a challenge, while also upgrading the existing system to make it as safe and reliable as we can.

“People are relying on power more and more — not just for their home and business, but for electric vehicles and everything else that requires power,” he went on. “It’s a needed resource.”

Then there’s the weather, which has always been a very big part of this job, he said, adding that the utility contracts with several weather services and partners with the University of Connecticut, which creates the UConn Outage Prediction Model, which is fed with high-resolution weather data to forecast a storm’s impact on the electric grid.

The model takes into account everything from snowfall amounts to wind speeds to the amount of foliage in trees (a huge factor in the devastating impact from the pre-Halloween storm in 2011) to project the level of power outages, he went on.

“With the information that we get from the weather service and the information we get from the prediction models, the incident commander can make decisions on enacting an emergency response plan,” Vedovelli explained. “Everyone in the company has a storm role.”

And while the community liaisons have many responsibilities, he said, the biggest is communicating with officials in that city or town so that they can make informed decisions.

“If they know when a road is going to be open, if they know when power is going to be restored, they can make decisions for their community,” he told BusinessWest, adding that this is especially true during weather events that stretch over several days.

Preparation is always the key, he said, adding that Eversource is prepping for hurricane season from June to early November, and there are regular training programs to help ensure that those at the utility are prepared for whatever might happen and have the necessary resources in place. Such was the case with three tornadoes that touched down on Cape Cod in July 2019, an unexpected weather event, he noted.

“If you think about the Cape and how many people are there in July … now mix in a tornado,” he said. “That tornado came through on a Tuesday, and everything was buttoned up and cleaned up by Thursday. That shows you the power of being prepared.”

Helping the utility and communities across the state be prepared for such calamities is now a big part of Vedovelli’s job description. No, he didn’t write it himself, but his past experiences have enabled him to carry it out and make a surge — yes, that’s an industry term — in his career.

 

Common Capital Helps Entrepreneurs Realize the Dream

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Cover Story

Getting a Leg Up

Alysia Bryant, founder of Carefree Cakery

Alysia Bryant, founder of Carefree Cakery

 

It was the height of the pandemic, and Alysia Bryant had reached an inflection point.

She was managing a Sherwin Williams store, and increasingly asking herself …. ‘why?’

“I was considered an essential worker, but it didn’t feel like the work I was doing actually mattered at all; I was selling paint,” she told BusinessWest. “I thought, ‘if I’m going to be giving this much of myself to anything, it may as well be something that matters to me at my core,’ and that’s what pushed me all the way out of working my comfortable corporate job and doing something for myself.”

That ‘something else’ was baking, something she started doing back in high school when she would bake box mix brownies and sell them out of her backpack. She put this passion aside, thinking she should be “doing something really important with my life,” and started thinking about becoming a doctor.

But that wasn’t the right fit for her, so she looked at perhaps baking with a purpose, as she called it, and opening a free-trade bakery to make sure the farmers providing her with chocolate, vanilla, coffee, and other goods were paid a living wage for their work, a concept that would grow in scope — while she was selling paint — to include being allergy-friendly.

It was a noble concept, but one she quickly understood would only become reality if she got a little help — on the financing side and otherwise.

“I thought, ‘if I’m going to be giving this much of myself to anything, it may as well be something that matters to me at my core,’ and that’s what pushed me all the way out of working my comfortable corporate job and doing something for myself.”

That help came from Common Capital, the Springfield-based agency that offers small business loans of any size up to $300,000 to individuals in the four counties of Western Mass. — capital that can be used for everything from a business startup to working capital, inventory, supplies, and equipment.

Bryant, who said she didn’t even consider traditional bank financing because she had nothing for collateral and wouldn’t be a good candidate, used a loan of just over $100,000 from Common Capital to launch Carefree Cakery in the Mill District in North Amherst, selling cakes and a wide range of other products that have drawn a strong following. But she was quick to note that, beyond the money, the agency has provided support in areas ranging from accounting to marketing that she considers critical to her ongoing success.

Such multi-faceted assistance from Common Capital, founded in 1990, has helped launch and accelerate some of the region’s better-known success stories in recent decades — including the Hot Table chain of panini restaurants, which started in Springfield and now stretches across the state and into Connecticut; Youth on the Move, the Indian Orchard-based transportation company specializing in shuttling young people, which has grown exponentially over the past decade; White Lion Brewing Co., which now has two locations and has expanded its reach across the state; and Rozki Rides, another youth-focused transportation company based in Agawam.

More recently, the client list has grown to include a widely diverse mix of new ventures, from a growing list of behavioral health-related ventures to Elliott Fire, a Holyoke-based company that repairs, inspects, and maintains fire sprinkler systems, to Higher Expectations, a sports training facility on Cadwell Drive in Springfield.

These stories and countless others are all different, but there is generally a shared sentiment that, if it weren’t for Common Capital, the venture likely would not have moved off the ground — and certainly not as quickly.

“White Lion was not a bankable entity. We were a startup; it was a concept,” founder Ray Berry recalled, noting that he became involved with the agency 12 years ago. “I like to say that, if Common Capital wasn’t around, and if it didn’t have the capacity to seed White Lion, I’m not sure where this brand would be right now.”

And while assisting countless entrepreneurs with realizing and then rewriting their business plans, Common Capital is updating its own.

It calls for continually growing a portfolio of loans that has essentially doubled over the past seven years, from $5 million to $9 million, with plans to reach $15 million, said Raymond Lanza-Well, the agency’s president, adding that this threshold will move the organization closer to self-sustainability.

Overall, the agency has been in a strong growth pattern of its own, he went on, building on the foundation laid by Common Capital founder Chris Sikes and aggressively expanding the portfolio through a philosophy of assuming more risk, especially through more smaller loans of less than $50,000, adding new programming, and strengthening partnerships with several constituencies.

Raymond Lanza-Well says Common Capital is in a growth mode

Raymond Lanza-Well says Common Capital is in a growth mode, having doubled the size of its loan portfolio from $5 million to more than $9 million over the past seven years.

These include agencies within the region’s and state’s entrepreneurship ecosystem — from EforAll to the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center; from the Sphere Northampton to the LGBTQ Chamber in Easthampton — as well as the region’s banks and credit unions, which will often refer business loan applicants they have to turn down to the agency.

For this issue, we take an in-depth look at Common Capital, several of the businesses in the growing client portfolio, and what’s ahead for all of them.

 

Getting Down to Business

Chris Elliott had been working for sprinkler installation and service companies for more than 30 years when he reached the point most entrepreneurs reach — the one where they decide that it’s time to work for themselves rather than someone else.

“I like to say that, if Common Capital wasn’t around, and if it didn’t have the capacity to seed White Lion, I’m not sure where this brand would be right now.”

And while he had the drive to strike out on his own, again, like many entrepreneurs, he lacked the capital — and the ability to attain it from traditional sources.

“We simply weren’t bankable,” said Elliott, referring to himself and his wife and business partner, Cristie, adding that the dream was more or less put on ice until, like hundreds of other aspiring entrepreneurs, he was referred to Common Capital.

The Elliotts used their $150,000 loan to set up shop in a building on Main Street in Holyoke. But beyond that, taking advantage of services that go well beyond capital, such as training initiatives in accounting, booking, and website development, they’ve been able to grow the business from humble beginnings — Cristie’s Rav 4 was detailed with the company logo, and it served as the primary operating vehicle for several years — adding several government contracts and large clients such as Tower Square in Springfield and General Dynamics.

The Elliotts’ story — and Bryant’s, and Berry’s — are fairly typical of those who ‘find’ Common Capital, said Roberto Nieves, who left the banking industry to become the agency’s director of Outreach and Communications. He told BusinessWest that this region has always had a deep well of entrepreneurial energy, but the pandemic inspired more people, like Bryant, to pursue dreams and go into business for themselves.

Cristie and Chris Elliott, owners of Elliott Fire

Cristie and Chris Elliott, owners of Elliott Fire, another success story accelerated by Common Capital.

“Many of the essential workers were working longer hours, working double shifts, doing all of these things that were necessary for us to move forward during the pandemic,” he recalled. “And they got to a point, post-COVID, where they said, ‘if I’m going to work this hard, I’m going to do it for me and not for you.’”

This phenomenon was reflected in many ways, from registered nurses starting home health agencies to a surge in new behavioral health agencies to new businesses of all kinds, Nieves said, adding that many of these ventures are being launched by women and people of color, many of whom are living in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods.

All this is reflected in Common Capital’s portfolio of clients, he noted, adding that 80% of borrowers are now women, a rise from 42% in 2020, and many of these are women of color, inspired — and helped along — by the growing number of accelerator programs in the area.

Lanza-Well agreed. He succeeded Sikes as the agency’s president in 2018 after working first in banking and then for a succession of community loan funds, including, most recently, the Vermont Community Loan Fund.

That agency is roughly the same age as Common Capital, but about twice the size when it comes to the loan portfolio, even though it serves a smaller population.

“That told me, without doing anything particularly scientific or complicated, that there was a lot of untapped opportunity for Common Capital to grow,” he told BusinessWest, adding that he and his team of eight have been focused on seizing that opportunity.

Specifically, the agency has been thinking differently about its lending, said Lanza-Well, adding that he has tapped his vast experience in community development lending to expand the portfolio.

“The lending business is a business of risk management,” he explained. “We all take risks as lenders, and I think I helped us look a little bit differently at the risks.”

Elaborating, he said that, for loans up to $50,000 — a fast-growing segment of the portfolio — collateral is not a material consideration.

“We pull credit reports, we look at credit behavior, we spend a lot of time talking to our applicants about their credit behavior, but we don’t use the score itself because the score is based on an algorithm, and the algorithm has all sorts of biases built into it, and we’re dealing with folks who live outside algorithms.”

“We absolutely require every applicant, every borrower, to pledge whatever collateral is available to support their loan,” he explained. “But for most of our loans that are less than $50,000, there’s hardly enough collateral to cover the loan. That would scare the heck out of a bank, but it’s what we do every day.”

Banks are generally not interested in loans of less than $50,000 in most circumstances, he went on, adding that the Small Business Administration’s microloan program, which provides capital for loans up to $50,000, has been a critical factor in the agency’s strong growth pattern. In fact, Common Capital is the largest SBA microlender in the state, as well as the largest non-bank guaranteed lender with the SBA in the state, despite serving a region that has only 17% of the population.

Other goals include broadening its network of relationships with both banks and agencies within the entrepreneurship ecosystem to put more potential borrowers in the pipeline, Lanza-Well said, adding that the average loan amount is currently about $65,000, a number that helps spread risk throughout the portfolio.

Meanwhile, still another growth factor is a philosophy of “lending to people, not paper,” he noted.

Roberto Nieves says a pandemic-fueled surge in entrepreneurship has been led by women and people of color

Roberto Nieves says a pandemic-fueled surge in entrepreneurship has been led by women and people of color, and this is reflected in Common Capital’s loan portfolio.

“Unlike a bank, unlike a credit card company, unlike most conventional lenders, we don’t use credit scores. We pull credit reports, we look at credit behavior, we spend a lot of time talking to our applicants about their credit behavior, but we don’t use the score itself because the score is based on an algorithm, and the algorithm has all sorts of biases built into it, and we’re dealing with folks who live outside algorithms.”

 

It’s Not a Piece of Cake

Bryant said she started off being conservative with her staffing and spending, knowing that many new businesses fail in the first few years due to poor cash flow.

“But I completely underestimated how much the community would be excited about this,” she noted. “We sold out within our first two hours the first day we were open, and that continued for the first two weeks.

“We were exhausted — it was me and one other person,” she went on, adding that she would eventually bring on more help and now has a staff of six. “We’re growing and doing well.”

But despite this success, there are stern challenges to sustainability, she went on.

“I went for a business model that really increases my base prices for many items; our ingredients are just more expensive because they pay the people who make them,” Bryant explained, adding that chocolate prices have doubled since last year. “If this can just work, that will be enough for me. I want this shop to thrive; I want it to be a cornerstone of the community.”

Like others we spoke with, Bryant said the support from Common Capital has gone well beyond the loan — and is ongoing.

“It’s not just, ‘here’s the money,’ and you’re gone,” she explained. “There’s ongoing coaching; I have access to people who have experience running a business, so I can just talk to them, but they can also pair you up with people who can help you with other elements, such as marketing and bookkeeping.”

Indeed, Common Capital’s Business Resource Center provides a wide range of services, from one-on-one business navigation to credit counseling to a series of training webinars.

These offerings include recent programs, undertaken in partnership with the Center for Women & Enterprise, with titles such as “Navigating Change: Embracing Uncertainty” and “Finding Calm in the Holiday Chaos.”

“Even with a business degree and some experience, the ongoing help from Common Capital has been invaluable,” said Bryant, adding that she never feels alone as she continues on the journey of entrepreneurship.

Spreading the word about such impact and growing Common Capital’s own brand is one ongoing mission and yet another factor in the agency’s growth pattern, said Nieves, who noted that relationships, and being visible, are keys to success in these efforts.

“I’m a member of 10 chambers of commerce, and, between Raymond and I, we’re represented on every single economic development committee of significance through all four Western Mass. counties,” he explained, adding that, most recently, there’s been a strong push in the Berkshires, an area that had been perhaps underrepresented in the agency’s portfolio, with better numbers over the past several years.

Such outreach has enabled more people to gain access to capital, programs that help their ventures remain sustainable, and opportunities to ride the roller coaster that is entrepreneurship.

“It’s been a heck of a ride — I don’t get days off at all,” Bryant said. “But it’s the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done, by far.”

And a dream, like so many others, made possible by Common Capital.

South Hadley Says It’s Open for Business

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

Community Spotlight

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Current Events

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

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

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

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

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

South Hadley at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1775
Population: 18,150
Area: 18.4 square miles
County: Hampshire
Residential and commercial tax rate: $15.41 (Fire District 1); $15.74 (Fire District 2)
Median Household Income: $46,678
Median Family Income: $58,693
Type of government: Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Mount Holyoke College; Loomis Communities; Big Y
* Latest information available

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Food for Thought

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Longmeadow Has Landmark Decisions to Make

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An architect’s rendering of the planned Longmeadow Middle School. Construction is slated to start in the fall of 2026.
Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight

An architect’s rendering of the planned Longmeadow Middle School. Construction is slated to start in the fall of 2026.

An architect’s rendering of the planned Longmeadow Middle School. Construction is slated to start in the fall of 2026.

Marty O’Shea says officials in Longmeadow have been discussing what to do with the town’s two middle schools — Williams and Glenbrook — for nearly 20 years now.

The former was opened in 1959 and the latter in 1968, he noted, adding that, beyond their advancing years, the schools were designed to serve a different model of education than the district currently requires.

Charting a course for the school properties and securing funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has been a long journey with many twists and turns, said O’Shea, Longmeadow’s school superintendent, adding that, 18 years after the town first submitted both schools to the MSBA for consideration for renovation or replacement, construction is slated to begin in the fall of 2026 on a new, $151 million facility that will replace both schools.

It will be called Longmeadow Middle School, and it will provide the community not only with a state-of-the-art facility — to be built on the Williams Middle School campus — but a unique development opportunity on the Glenbrook site.

“Our education plan calls for more space that will give kids the opportunities to be involved with project-based learning and give us more opportunities to expand science, technology, and engineering opportunities for kids,” O’Shea explained, adding that the design also prioritizes supporting special education students and the arts, both the performing and fine arts.

“Our education plan calls for more space that will give kids the opportunities to be involved with project-based learning and give us more opportunities to expand science, technology, and engineering opportunities for kids.”

As for the Glenbook site, “we’ll start looking at what to do there soon, so that we don’t wait until the property is vacant to begin that process. We won’t start any construction or final plans, but we will start the community discussion,” said Town Manager Lyn Simmons, adding that the 20-acre campus could have several potential uses, including housing in a community where there are few, if any, available building lots.

Resolution of the middle school question and conjecture about the future of the Glenbrook site are just two of the many converging stories in this residential community of almost 16,000 people. Others include:

• A pending Planning Board vote in early December on a proposal to redevelop the site of a closed Church of Christ, Scientist on Williams Street, abutting the Longmeadow Shops. Plans call for demolishing the church and constructing three buildings to house retail tenants, a bank with a drive-thru, and a coffee shop with a drive-thru — a complex that would, in many ways, serve as an extension of the shops;

An architect’s rendering of a proposed new retail facility, to be built on the site of a closed church on Williams Street.

An architect’s rendering of a proposed new retail facility, to be built on the site of a closed church on Williams Street.

• Work to design improvements to the busy intersection at Williams Street, Redfern Drive, and Frank Smith Road, a project inspired by the project on the church property and made possible by a $287,000 MassWorks grant;

• Ongoing work to decide the best uses for three other town landmarks — the Community House, formerly home to some town offices and now used primarily as a polling place; Town Hall, mostly vacant since town offices were moved to the former Greenwood Park Elementary School off Maple Street; and ‘Old Town Hall’ on Longmeadow Street, vacant for many years. Simmons said a task force will be appointed to consider options for each site and determine the best course of action;

• Early-stage work to replace aging water and sewer lines (60% of which are more than 100 years old), beginning with a water line replacement project, approved at town meeting last month, that will begin with Western Drive. These initiatives have been accompanied by 40% increases in water and sewer rates, which were comparatively low and are still lower than many in the region, Simmons noted;

• A growing stable of eateries — a sushi restaurant and one specializing in Indian cuisine are two of the latest additions — that has made the town a dining destination; and

• Continued growth of a small but eclectic business community, one that is based mostly in retail and hospitality.

That list includes Twin Hills Country Club, which has enjoyed a very strong year, both on the course and with its event business, said Laura Chipouras, club manager.

She told BusinessWest that, in addition to tournaments, weddings, and showers, the club has seen a surge in business-related gatherings, everything from annual retreats to sales strategy sessions.

“We’re seeing lots of retreats, and I think that’s probably due to people returning to the office after COVID and feeling that they need to get together,” she explained, adding that, overall, business has brisk — well ahead of last year’s pace — and the bookings for 2026 have been solid.

For this latest installment in its Community Spotlight series, we take an in-depth look at Longmeadow, and some landmark decisions being made there — literally and figuratively.

 

School of Thought

Reflecting on the middle school project, O’Shea — who has been superintendent for nine years now — noted that, while discussions on the two facilities began nearly two decades ago, the town had other priorities to address, such as a new high school, senior center, and DPW facility.

With those resolved, the middle school discussions resumed, with consolidation emerging as the best option over time, as capital needs grew and enrollment in each of the schools fell to roughly 300 in recent years.

That puts them on the smaller end for middle schools, he said, adding that other communities and districts of similar size, such as neighboring East Longmeadow and the Hampden-Wilbraham School District, which he served as an administrator, have one middle school.

“We did a citizens’ survey just to find out what people wanted to see happen there, and those results were interesting. There was a lot of attachment to Community House, a moderate attachment to Town Hall, and very little attachment to Old Town Hall.”

And there are several advantages to be gained through consolidation, he noted, both on the educational side and the operations side.

“On the educational side, in a single setting, I think we’ll be able to assign staff in ways that are more efficient and also better for us educationally,” he explained. “Right now, we have staff that are, in many cases, stretched across two buildings, such as in the areas of music and oral language, library, and special education.

“We think that having all our educators under one roof will put us in a better position to serve students,” he went on, “and we’ll be able to expand programming.”

Meanwhile, the town should see substantial savings from staffing and operating one larger school rather than two older structures that are now well beyond their expected useful life and in many ways inefficient, he went on, noting that the new, 134,735-square-foot facility will be fossil fuel-free, rely on a ground-source heat exchange system for heating and cooling, and be net-zero ready, meaning it will produce as much energy as it consumes.

“You’re maintaining one campus instead of two, you’re maintaining and repairing one campus instead of two, food service — you’re running a single operation instead of two,” he explained. “On the operations side, there are some opportunities where we could see come savings.”

O’Shea and other administrators and staff have visited several communities that have constructed middle schools recently, including several built by Springfield-based Fontaine Bros., recently chosen as the general contractor for the Longmeadow project, and they’ll visit more as the design process continues and the focus shifts to furniture, fixtures, flooring, lighting, and materials used.

Longmeadow at a glance

Year Incorporated: 1783
Population: 15,853
Area: 9.7 square miles
County: Hampden
Residential Tax Rate: $21.12
Commercial Tax Rate: $21.12
Median Household Income: $109,586
Median Family Income: $115,578
Type of Government: Open Town Meeting; Town Manager; Select Board
Largest Employers: Bay Path University; JGS Lifecare; Glenmeadow
* Latest information available

While that project moves forward, the attention of many town residents is also fixed on the church redevelopment initiative.

Simmons noted that the review process has been slowed by the need to conduct a traffic study and undertake it while school is in session. There have been several Planning Board hearings on the matter, with questions on everything from traffic to storm drainage, she said, adding that a decision is expected soon — perhaps early this month.

The project and the increase in traffic it is likely to produce will necessitate work on the traffic corridor in the area near the site, where several roads converge, said Simmons, adding that, when designs for improvements are finalized, the town will apply for a MassWorks grant round to fund construction.

 

Past Is Prologue

While the middle school and church redevelopment projects move forward, another initiative enters its next phase.

This would be the ongoing work to determine the best possible uses for three unused or underutilized municipal facilities — the Community House, built in 1920; Town Hall, dating from 1939; and Old Town Hall, originally a one-room schoolhouse, built in 1855.

As noted earlier, a task force will be created to consider various options and perhaps suggest an action plan, said Simmons, noting that property condition reports on the three historic structures, submitted by the Springfield-based engineering firm Fuss & O’Neill in September, have unveiled lengthy lists of work needed at all three.

At the Community House, for example, the report concluded that several million dollars in repairs and upgrades are needed — everything from repointing brick to prevent further deterioration and water intrusion to an elevator for access to the second floor, to regrading and repaving the parking area to improve drainage.

There are similar lists for the other properties, she said, adding that, when summing up public sentiment on the landmarks, there are varying degrees of appetite for investment and eventual redevelopment.

“We did a citizens’ survey just to find out what people wanted to see happen there, and those results were interesting,” she told BusinessWest. “There was a lot of attachment to Community House, a moderate attachment to Town Hall, and very little attachment to Old Town Hall.”

Some possible uses were floated in that survey, she went on, adding that there was little sentiment for housing in any of the structures, with most residents preferring an arts and cultural center, a restaurant or café, or recreational programs at all three, with moderate enthusiasm for other uses, ranging from retail to co-working space to a museum.

Ultimately, much will depend on the development community, she said, adding that applications for the task force are being sought, and it is hoped that the panel can wrap up its work in a year.

As for the business community, it continues to grow, especially within the retail and hospitality sectors, said Simmons, adding that the town’s location — it’s convenient to East Longmeadow, Springfield, and Northern Conn. — has made it a retail and dining destination.

That same location has benefited the event business at Twin Hills, said Chipouras, adding that the club has several different event rooms, including a ballroom that can host up to 400, and they’re being booked for a wide range of functions — including BusinessWest’s eighth annual Women of Impact gala on Dec. 9. As noted earlier, business is up across the board, but she is especially encouraged by a rise in corporate outings.

On the day Chipouras talked with BusinessWest, for example, two of the smaller banquet rooms were being used for corporate retreats, which certainly took a back seat during COVID, and there have been several days like that over the course of the past year.

“Later this week, we have an accounting firm coming in to do a class on new tax laws, and we have a bank that’s doing a very large retreat, a learning session,” she noted. “They start early in the morning, and at the end of the day, they do cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.”

Meanwhile, there has also been a surge in proms, weddings, and holiday parties, another tradition that took a hit during the pandemic and the years that followed.

“I’m seeing them come back,” said Chipouras, adding that, while the club sees a large amount of repeat business with clients, it has added new clients to the portfolio as well.

In short, she sees positive momentum — and in this mostly residential town with a small but growing business community, she’s not the only one.

Hospital Administrators Say 2026 Will Pose Stern Challenges

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Healthcare News

Gauging the Ripple Effects

When he came to Holyoke Medical Center as its new president and CEO in 2013, Spiros Hatiras considered it the proverbial best-kept secret.

By most all accounts, it isn’t that any longer.

“It took us a decade or so, but we’re no longer a secret,” he said, meaning that healthcare professionals have found the facility and helped make it a workplace of choice, and area residents have as well, making it their hospital of choice. “We’re in a growth mentality.”

This emergence, if you will, and lost status as a best-kept secret, has helped HMC grow in several ways over the past several years — and remain in a growth mode, even as several colliding forces have created an ultra-challenging environment for all hospitals, one that is projected to be much more daunting in 2026.

Spiros Hatiras

Spiros Hatiras

“It took us a decade or so, but we’re no longer a secret. We’re in a growth mentality.”

Indeed, HMC’s strong performance stands as an outlier in a year that saw continued cutbacks and layoffs within the four-hospital Baystate Health system, including, most recently, an offer of buyouts to some 1,300 employees to cut costs; apparent ongoing discussions that could result in a merger of Baystate Health and Mercy Medical Center; and, most recently, Mercy’s announcement that it is temporarily suspending maternity and newborn services at its Family Life Center, effective Dec. 8, due to what the administration there calls “significant provider and nurse staffing constraints.”

These headlines have mixed with those concerning the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law last summer, which is expected to have a significant negative effect, financially and operationally, on hospitals, primarily through more than $1 trillion in federal healthcare spending cuts.

Overall, the law is projected to increase the number of uninsured individuals, leading to a surge in uncompensated care costs for providers and a growing number of individuals putting off preventive care, as they did during COVID, with detrimental results that are still being felt. Meanwhile, reimbursement for the care provided to those who are insured, especially by Medicaid and Medicare, is expected to decrease and fall even further behind the continually rising cost of providing that care.

Dr. Robert Roose, president of Community Hospitals for Trinity Health Of New England, put things in perspective and talked at length about ripple effects from these cuts.

“The federal changes are going to directly impact people who get coverage through Medicaid and/or any state-based health insurance exchanges, and that impact is going to be profound for those people and their families,” he explained. “The ripple effects will be felt by all of us … the health systems and the communities we serve will feel the effects in other ways. There could be reductions in access and services, longer wait times, and potential impacts in delivering care.”

Kevin Whitney, who became president and chief operating officer of Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, a member of Mass General Brigham, last March, agreed.

“We’re concerned about the rising cost of care, especially since COVID,” said Whitney, a registered paramedic and registered nurse who was serving as vice president of Community Operations for the Mass General Brigham Community Division, as well as interim vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer for CDH, when he was chosen to be its next president and COO. “We always cite a chart showing costs rising at a much higher rate than what we’re receiving for reimbursement, and reimbursement is flat if not decreasing, especially with Medicaid within the Big Beautiful Bill.”

Elaborating, he said that, for a variety of reasons, including the aging of the population, hospitals of all sizes are seeing the percentage of patients covered by commercial payers decrease, with a corresponding rise in those covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

Dr. Robert Roose

Dr. Robert Roose

“The ripple effects will be felt by all of us … the health systems and the communities we serve will feel the effects in other ways. There could be reductions in access and services, longer wait times, and potential impacts in delivering care.”

“What we get reimbursed by public payers really doesn’t cover the cost of delivering care,” he went on. “And traditionally, organizations have relied on commercial payers to help offset those losses and enable us to reinvest in our organization and our people.”

Quantifying the matter, he said the OBBA’s total projected impact on Mass General Brigham, when fully phased in, will be between $120 million to $300 million, with $100 million to $200 million from work requirements, and another $20 million to $100 million from Affordable Care Act cuts.

Those are big numbers, and they are expected to generate a strong ripple effect that will impact hospitals in many different ways, said those we spoke with.

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the many challenges facing hospitals today — and the forecast for the year ahead.

 

Numbers Game

Hatiras told BusinessWest that, while many hospitals struggled in 2025, HMC did not.

“It’s been a great year for us. We’ve grown our business, revenue is strong, we’ve done well with our workforce — it’s going to be a very strong year for us,” he told BusinessWest, noting that HMC’s fiscal year ended in September, and he didn’t have hard numbers yet.

Breaking down the year and the hospital’s performance, he said there were several factors that went into it, including redesign of the state’s waiver system — which he credited to the Executive Office of Health and Human Services and MassHealth officials — which directed more federal money to providers across the Commonwealth.

“Everyone benefited from this, some hospitals more than others,” he said, adding that HMC’s strong fiscal 2025 was also attributable to growth in primary care and outpatient services, with an expansion of the hospital’s overall footprint with new locations, as well as staff retention and the accompanying reduction in the high costs of turnover.

“If you’re struggling with staffing and temporary staffing, that’s a big hit,” Hatiras noted. “We had less of an issue with that than perhaps others did, and that’s just one of the many factors that contributed to a solid 2025.”

Maybe the biggest factor is that lost status as a best-kept secret, he went on, adding that, while area residents are finding the facility, so too are healthcare professionals.

“We see a lot of people from other surrounding facilities, knocking on our door and saying, ‘do you have any openings? We heard it’s a great place to work,’” he said, adding that, years ago, it was rare to see professionals come to HMC from competing hospitals.

Kevin Whitney

Kevin Whitney

“We have to be as proactive as we can to prepare for and manage the impacts of the Big Beautiful Bill, in particular.”

“Now, it happens on a routine basis,” Hatiras said. “And it’s because of our culture; we’ve built a great culture, and people are taking note.”

Overall, while 2025 was a year of coping with challenges at area hospitals, it was also a time to move forward with several new initiatives in the broad realms of patient care and patient experience, said Whitney, listing, at CDH, everything from new, state-of-the-art MRI imaging services as its Amherst location, which opened last month, to expansion of the Emergency Department, to the resumption of no-cost shuttle service, which takes patients from CDH to Mass General Brigham destination hospitals — Mass General, Brigham & Women’s, and Mass Eye and Ear.

The eight-passenger shuttle departs promptly from the hospital’s Atwood location at 6:30 a.m., leaves the Boston hospitals at 3 p.m., and returns to Northampton around 5 p.m., Whitney noted, adding that this popular service is one of many efforts to improve convenience and overall quality of care.

As for the emergency room expansion, it includes a full imaging suite, which brings benefits for patients and staff alike.

“There’s a new CT machine that’s immediately available to our ED patients, and it’s a great support for our team because it’s right there in the department, as well as ultrasound and diagnostic imaging. So it’s a full imaging suite right there in the department, which makes it more accessible but also more efficient for patients and the team,” he explained. “Before, every patient who needed a CT scan, for example, needed to be transported, with an ED staffer, to the imaging department, which is quite a distance away.”

Such initiatives will help position CDH to better handle what could be additional headwinds in the ED, said Whitney, who, like others we spoke with, said hospitals must do what they can to prepare for what is to come and become more resilient in the wake of those forces.

“We have to be as proactive as we can to prepare for and manage the impacts of the Big Beautiful Bill, in particular. It’s about continuing to be the best of the best in quality, safety, and experience,” he said, citing the overriding goal at CDH, “and also making sure that we’re creating the best environment in which to practice, deliver care, and work and staff appropriately. The more we can retain folks, it will create more of a sense of community, but it will also help us reduce the expenses of turnover, for example.”

 

Looking Ahead

Roose agreed, returning to the subject of potential — even probable — ripple effects from the federal cuts, and their widespread impact.

“The emergency room is one example,” he said. “When people don’t have coverage, like Medicaid or a similar insurance product, they often can’t go to their primary care provider, so they turn to the emergency room for routine care, which can result in more crowding in emergency departments, delays, and staffing challenges that impact others.

“So that can have a ripple effect in other areas, including even cost, including the cost for those with private insurance because the system isn’t as efficient and now needs to provide care for many people who don’t have coverage,” he went on. “And that can have a ripple effect that can influence operations and staffing and finances.”

It might be several months into 2026 before the full impact of the federal legislation — many pieces of which won’t take effect in April — and those ripple effects are known, but they could be substantial, he continued, adding that it is incumbent upon health systems to prepare as best they can for what is to come.

“The impact is not insignificant, and it’s something we’re actively planning around,” Roose said. “And we won’t know the true impact until it fully plays itself out — it will be well into 2026 until we fully understand the impact.”

Meanwhile, there are many different kinds of headwinds facing hospitals and health systems, some obvious to the public and some less so, said Hatiras, citing, as one example, the state’s Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) program, which is certainly impacting his hospital — and, from what’s he’s heard anecdotally, others as well.

“We’re pretty good at spotting icebergs. We’re not like the Titanic; we have people out front looking at icebergs, and we’ve spotted a few in the time that I’ve been here, and this is the next big iceberg coming down — for hospitals and other large employers as well,” he warned, adding that the system has, in his view, become abused.

In the case of hospitals, it leaves them forced to fill staffing voids, often with little notice, and, in the case of nurses and other professionals, with usually expensive options.

“Prior to the PFML being enacted, on average, we had about 20,000 to 25,000 hours of leave that people would take in a year, and that was a little less than 1% of our total work hours,” he said. “Last year, we approached 500,000 hours, a 20-fold increase, amounting to 13% of our total work hours, or the equivalent of more than 230 FTEs.

“Try to wrap your brain around that number … this is out of control,” Hatiras went on, adding that this is not an HMC problem, but an industry problem, one that now has the attention of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Assoc., which is surveying hospitals to gather information.

Elaborating, he said that, in addition to the leave being used for long-term health matters, it is being used intermittently, maybe a few days a week, for problems such as stress.

“That leaves us in the lurch,” he explained, adding that, with some positions, such as nursing, it leaves the hospital few options other than overtime or agency personnel, which increases costs significantly.

Whether it’s the many expected ripple effects from the OBBBA or growing detrimental repercussions from PFML, 2026 seems certain to be a year of intrigue and challenge for area hospitals — and the full impact of these forces and other headwinds may not be known for several months.

Veterans’ Home Takes Shape in Holyoke

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The new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke is slated to welcome its first residents next September.
Cover Story Healthcare News

View to the Future

The new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke is slated to welcome its first residents next September.

The new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke is slated to welcome its first residents next September.

An architect’s rendering of the new facility shows its compelling design and ornate gardens.

An architect’s rendering of the new facility shows its compelling design and ornate gardens.

The new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke won’t be welcoming its first residents for another nine months or so, but the gleaming, $500 million structure on a hill overlooking the Paper City has already captured the imagination of the region.

Highly visible to motorists on I-91 and to residents of Holyoke as well, the nine-story, Y-shaped building — a design one of those on the construction team said was inspired by the tricorn hats worn by Revolutionary War soldiers — serves as both a reminder of the tragedy that occurred during the early days of COVID at the structure it will replace, as well as a symbol of the state’s commitment to modernize the facility in the wake of that calamity.

Michael Lazo, executive director of the home, was a member of the National Guard unit that was dispatched to what was then called the Soldiers’ Home in late March 2020 amid a deepening crisis that would eventually take the lives of 76 residents in one of the nation’s worst COVID-19 outbreaks in a long-term care facility.

“I remember first walking in and not knowing what the heck we were walking into,” he recalled, noting that he arrived at the site on March 30, three days after the facility’s leadership made the fateful decision to combine two locked dementia units into a single undersized unit, precipitating the rapid spread of COVID. “Everything looked completely normal; you wouldn’t think anything was going on.”

Lazo would later be offered a full-time COO position at the home and eventually would be named interim director by the board of trustees and then the state. Today, he oversees all operations at the home while also preparing for the opening of the new facility, which will be called the Veterans’ Home, rather than the Soldiers’ Home, in deference to the veterans who served in other branches of the military.

“I think it just came down to money; other priorities probably stepped in and took precedence, so some of the funding this building should have received went elsewhere.”

“Especially the Marines — they’ve never liked Soldiers’ Home,” he joked, adding that he’s also finding time these days to offer tours of the building in progress — to staff, a few elected officials (more of those are scheduled to go through in the days and weeks to come), and a few media members.

BusinessWest was afforded such a tour late last month. As noted, the facility is several months from welcoming its first residents, and only a few floors are even approaching completion. But even at this early stage, it’s apparent that the complex itself is a work of art — one that will integrate the building with the surrounding landscape — and the structure will be state-of-the-art.

Indeed, building systems, designed to LEED Gold certification, include geothermal heating and cooling and facilities that are net-zero energy ready, a high-efficiency exterior envelope with triple-glazed windows, and natural ventilation. The foundation and outdoor retaining wall are made up of Goshen stone. Amenities include a great room, chapel, memory care floor, 40-person adult day health program, dental suite, salon, hobby room, four gardens, and a central kitchen.

Michael Lazo says the new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke emphasizes the privacy and dignity of residents.

Michael Lazo says the new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke emphasizes the privacy and dignity of residents.

Overall, said Lazo, the facility, complete with its curved brick walls, takes the form of three shells that overlap to define three inpatient neighborhoods, each of which benefits from light and views. A typical resident floor will be comprised of three ‘houses’ with 12 beds per house, nursing support, and community spaces, including dining, living, and den. A large garden anchors the complex, and in between wings are smaller, dedicated gardens.

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an early look at what will be one of the biggest stories of 2026, the long-awaited opening of the Veterans’ Home and the start of a new era of service to those who have served their country.

 

Learning Curves

Lazo said he wasn’t around, so he can only speculate and reflect on what he’s been told over the years.

But he believes that, in the years preceding the COVID tragedy, the state “simply forgot about” the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke.

One of his predecessors in the director’s role resigned over what amounted to indifference on the state’s part concerning the facility, he said, adding that, in the decades preceding the COVID tragedy, there was little investment in the facility, and little oversight as well — and it showed, especially in the broad realm of preventive maintenance, or the lack thereof.

“I think it just came down to money; other priorities probably stepped in and took precedence, so some of the funding this building should have received went elsewhere,” he said, adding, again, that he was just speculating.

The tragic events in the early days of COVID and the investigations that followed certainly put the facility front of mind, triggering significant reforms to the state’s oversight of its veterans’ homes, he said, adding that what emerged were plans for a new long-term care facility that would serve more veterans and provide them with state-of-the-art amenities.

An architect’s rendering of the new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke.

An architect’s rendering of the new Veterans’ Home at Holyoke.

There was some talk of expanding and modernizing the current facility, he noted, but building new emerged as the more practical option. And while another site may have been considered, the state became committed to keeping the facility at its prominent hilltop location, a popular decision, but one that has presented challenges to the builders of the new facility as they squeezed it onto the site — and will present more to those that will tear down the current home.

Indeed, when finished, one corner of the new home will be just 10 feet from the current facility, which will eventually be used for parking and a garden area.

The new facility will house 234 residents, almost double the current population of 128. There will be 212 single-occupancy bedrooms and 11 double-occupancy bedrooms in those three neighborhoods mentioned earlier: North House, East House, and West House.

These neighborhoods, which will house veterans of several different conflicts (including World War II) and peacetime periods as well, represent substantial improvements over current facilities, said Lazo, especially in the realms of privacy and dignity of residents — each unit has a private bath and showers, while the current facility features common baths — as well as activities and things to do.

“Each veteran has a good-sized room, and there’s plenty of activity space, both on the first floor as well as in each individual unit.”

“The space for veterans is great,” Lazo said. “Each veteran has a good-sized room, and there’s plenty of activity space, both on the first floor as well as in each individual unit. Each floor will have a different activity; we’ll have an exercise bike or some small weights on one floor and arts supplies on the next floor, so veterans will be able to move about the building to do whatever activity they’re interested in at that time.”

And then, there will be the so-called great room, which will host large gatherings such as holiday activities and Super Bowl watch parties, he said, noting that it will be equipped with a 90-inch television.

 

Tour de Force

As BusinessWest toured the second floor of the new facility and a 30-unit memory care unit under construction there, we were directed to one of the 12- by 16-foot resident rooms, complete with a large window, spacious bath and shower area, space where a 55-inch television will go, built-in storage and shelving units, a desk, and other accommodations.

As the tour continued, Tim Senecal, general supervisor with Commodore Walsh Holyoke, a joint venture comprised of Commodore Builders LLC and Walsh Brothers Inc., referenced common den areas with huge windows and sweeping views of the surrounding area, the facility’s chapel, administrative space, and the location that will become the great room.

A rendering of the planned great room.

A rendering of the planned great room.

“The higher you go, the better the views get, obviously,” said Senecal, who talked as he walked — about everything from those views to the many challenges involved with construction, from excavating for the foundation to the brickwork, made more difficult by the curved nature of the structure, to the Goshen stone retaining wall.

Some of the building’s design elements were borrowed from the new Veterans’ Home at Chelsea, a smaller facility (154 beds) that opened last year, said Lazo, adding that the overall design is distinct, with input from the staff at the current home.

As noted earlier, the first residents will not move into the new home until next September; the first group of 24 will be moved from the fourth floor of the current facility to the third floor of the new one. After that, if all goes well, veterans will move in roughly 20 at a time, with the memory care residents being the last to move. Lazo said his goal is to have all residents moved by February 2027.

That 16-month period will be the most challenging for the staff members at the facility because they will be managing two facilities at the same time, he added, noting that final project completion, including the demolition of the current home, is slated for mid-2028.

As he talked about that teardown and the logistical challenges it will present, Lazo joked that it’s likely that several staff members wouldn’t mind helping with that effort and send the tired, tragedy-scarred property into history.

But that will also be a sad time, he said, noting that several generations from the same families, including his own, lived and died in that home.

The new home, born in many ways from that tragedy of nearly six years ago, will no doubt create its own memories and its own history.

But right now, it’s creating excitement for the next chapter in the story of this fabled property — and with good reason.

The Year in Review

By
Features Special Coverage

From AI to the Courthouse Search, the Landscape Is Changing

By George O’Brien and Joseph Bednar

It is December, time to look ahead to what might happen in the new year, but also look back, at what has been an eventful year, to say the least.

For example, Springfield has become engrossed in the search for a site for a new courthouse, the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council has named a new director, AI is changing the landscape in all kinds of ways, and remote work is becoming more entrenched in the workplace. Then there’s the constantly changing story of tariffs, federal budget cuts that are challenging nonprofits, and an ongoing housing crisis.

As we said, it’s been an eventful year. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest stories of 2025:

 

A Softening of the Job Market

“Job hugging.”

That was one of the workforce trends to unfold in 2025, a year that saw the pendulum swing from this being an employees’ market to one favoring employers. The phrase refers to people hanging onto their jobs longer amid concerns that the grass isn’t any greener elsewhere, amid forces ranging from AI to severe cutbacks within the federal government.

“People are feeling a sense of volatility and continuous change, and when you feel like that, you look for some personal anchors, and for a lot of people, their job is their personal anchor,” Allison Ebner, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, told BusinessWest recently, adding that this is a fairly recent phenomenon dating back to last spring or early summer. “Everything in the world is changing, and they want to keep something consistent, and maybe it’s their job.”

But while people may be hugging their job, they’re still looking around, as evidenced by the strong turnout at the recent job fair staged by the MassHire Springfield Career Center. The turnout was strong on both the job seeker and employer sides of the coin, indicating that, while some sectors are seeing a slowdown, many others, especially healthcare, are still struggling to find qualified help.

 

Seeking New Sources of Funding

This issue of BusinessWest includes the annual Giving Guide, encouraging readers to support local nonprofits. And it couldn’t come at a better time, at the tail end of a year in which federal funding for nonprofits of all types was significantly slashed.

That has caused frustration, but also a new determination among nonprofit leaders to be more creative and collaborative in meeting the many needs of the community.

“People are reaching out, and not just with appeals for direct funding,” Denise Hurst, vice president of Community Impact and Partnerships with the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, told us in May. “They’re asking about opportunities to partner with one another, share ideas, and collaborate in real time to navigate these difficult times.”

Meanwhile, a coalition of local nonprofits working in farming, conservation, food security, health, and environmental justice has come together under the name Resilient Valley to respond to federal funding cuts that have slashed organizational budgets by 25% to 40% or more.

“We realized we were all telling the same story,” said Billy Spitzer, executive director of the Hitchcock Center for the Environment. “Our budgets had been gutted overnight, and the ripple effects were only beginning. We decided we couldn’t face this crisis in isolation. We needed to find strength in each other.”

 

The Impact of Tariffs

President Trump ran on the promise of new, sweeping tariffs, and he has certainly followed through, announcing ‘Liberation Day’ on April 2, followed by months of trade talks, new deals, deadlines made, deadlines extended, and seemingly never-ending speculation about the impact of tariffs on prices, individual businesses, and entire sectors.

Dave Fontaine, CEO of Fontaine Bros. Inc., told BusinessWest earlier this year that tariffs will certainly impact project costs because tariffs on products, such as steel or copper, are applied not when they are ordered, but when they enter the country.

“I think it’s vitally important to bring this area back — it raises the quality of living for those living downtown, and it provides places for people to go and eat.”

“I would equate it to walking into a store … the sales tax is 6.25%, and then, while you’re purchasing the item, the sales tax gets doubled or tripled,” he explained. “That’s going to impact at the register.”

Uncertainty around tariff decisions also triggered fluctuations in the stock market this past spring — and plenty of client phone calls to investment firms. But Jeffrey Liguori, executive vice president of Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc., was one of several experts who told us it’s wise to take a longer view.

“The data is 100% in your favor. Nothing ever goes straight up. We’ve lived through most of these crises — the housing crisis, the tech bubble, the Great Recession,” he said. “All of those, time and again, have been incredible buying opportunities. It’s almost like, if there’s no pain, there’s no gain.”

 

The Search for a New Courthouse

The search for a replacement for the troubled Roderick C. Ireland courthouse in Springield entered an intriguing new phase when the state’s Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) decided to let a private developer build and manage the facility and have the state lease it.

An RFP was issued mid-year, and 11 proposals were received involving a wide range of properties, from the park created by the demolition of the former Steiger’s department store to the Republican building; from the current courthouse site itself to the home of the former Mardi Gras strip club.

DCAMM is now weighing those proposals and is expected to have a decision in the first or second quarter of next year, making for a long and agonizing wait to see how the city’s landscape will be changed.

 

Progress in the Entertainment District

Many of the windows in the storefronts are still boarded up or covered by brown paper, but behind all this, there is some progress in Springfield’s entertainment district.

Noted attorney and developer Raipher Pellegrino, with support from the city in the form of a $2 million grant, is filling in a canvas along a city block of buildings on Worthington Street.

He envisions five restaurants in all, most with doors opening out onto Worthington Street and outdoor dining, in addition to a club and other businesses that will support each other and bring people and energy back to that corridor.

“I think it’s vitally important to bring this area back — it raises the quality of living for those living downtown, and it provides places for people to go and eat,” he told BusinessWest in June, adding that the project is a work in progress. “That was my desire with this, and it’s a much more difficult project than I think anyone envisioned, but I think we’re starting to see it evolve, and we’re seeing a lot of momentum.”

 

A Work of Arts

Another intriguing story in 2025 was the opening of the Hope Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield. Created in the former CityStage space, the center is the culmination of a long-held dream of Bob Bolduc, former owner of Pride Stations and Stores and founder of the Hope for Youth and Families Foundation.

The center, which opened its doors during the summer, and created at a cost of more than $14 million, is designed as flexible learning, rehearsal, and performance space that will advance the mission of the foundation and several partner organizations focused on the arts and helping youth and families in Springfield thrive.

Bolduc said the facility is designed to educate young people, immerse them in the arts, and perhaps inspire careers in that realm.

“The arts are not just entertaining and cultural, which we need in this city; they’re also inspiring,” he told BusinessWest. “Imagine a kid who gets turned on to dance or vocals or an instrument and then goes to a good school on a scholarship … we’ve changed their life.”

 

AI Has Become a Force

Wherever artificial intelligence takes us, we’ll look back at 2025 as the year it firmly established itself as a force to be reckoned with. Businesses in sectors ranging from law to accounting to healthcare are finding new ways to utilize AI to create new efficiencies and, in some cases, trim their workforce expense.

Meanwhile, for those in the workforce, as well as those looking to enter it, the ability to use AI has rapidly become a skill they must have.

Indeed, Ebner told us, “the phrase you hear now is, ‘AI won’t replace all the people, but it will replace people who don’t have AI skills.’”

Nicole Polite, CEO and founder of the East Longmeadow-based MH Group, agreed, telling BusinessWest that employers are becoming more skills-focused in their hiring.

“I often talk to people during the interview process and ask them what training they’ve had in terms of AI and make sure they stay in front of it,” she noted, “because AI is here for the long haul, so we have to adjust to it.”

 

Remote Work Is Here to Stay

Also seemingly here for good is remote work, as 2025 saw remote and hybrid models becoming more entrenched, regionally and nationally, even as some major employers were scaling back on the practice, if not cutting it out.

Indeed, while business leaders such as J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon enforced return-to-office policies, requiring most employees to work in person five days a week — arguing “you can’t learn working from your basement” — most businesses locally have preferred to stay with hybrid schedules as a way to retain valued talent — and attract new talent.

And while the practice seems to work for most businesses and their employees, it is definitely having an impact on businesses in central business districts in cities regionally and across the country — as well as the commercial real estate owners who rely on them, not to mention the restaurants and retailers who count on people working nearby and stopping in.

 

The Housing Crisis Continues

An ongoing story in 2025 was the housing crisis that has enveloped the county and this region. As BusinessWest continued its Community Spotlight series, leaders in cities and towns across the 413 spoke of the need for more housing of all kinds, especially the affordable variety.

Housing is needed for many reasons, they said, from helping seniors stay in their hometowns as the cost of homes skyrockets to enabling those in the workforce to afford to live in or close to the communities where they work, a problem that is especially acute in the Berkshires, where home prices have soared.

And while new housing projects are underway or planned in several area communities, from Pittsfield and Lee to Springfield and Chicopee, in many cases, the new units will only scratch the surface when it comes to what is needed.

 

A New Effort to Spark Entrepreneurship

They’re calling it VVM 2.0, and that’s a poignant name.

VVM is an acronym for Valley Venture Mentors, the nonprofit started to inspire entrepreneurship and provide fledging businesses with the mentorship and technical support needed to get to the next stage. The agency thrived for several years, but essentially didn’t survive the pandemic and other challenges to its existence.

Paul Silva, one of VVM’s founders, with support from the Davis Foundation and the MassMutual Foundation, recently launched a new initiative called Innovate413 that is designed to spark new tech-based startups in the region.

When asked how it would work, Silva said the initiative will provide startups with what he called “an unfair advantage,” in the form of access to potential customers, meaning large, regional employers that will talk about problems facing them and all those in their industries, and access to the latest artificial intelligence and product development techniques.

“When you’re in Silicon Valley or in Boston, you have access to that stuff, but the vast majority of the country doesn’t,” he told BusinessWest.

 

Aaron Vega Chosen to Lead the EDC

Rick Sullivan, president of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC), announced his retirement early in the year, and soon thereafter, a nationwide search for a successor commenced.

It ended this fall with the announcement that Aaron Vega, director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development in Holyoke, would assume that high-profile position in January. Vega brings a diverse résumé to his new job. Indeed, he worked for many years as a freelance film editor and also owned his own yoga studio before becoming a city councilor in Holyoke and then a state representative.

Vega told BusinessWest that his first order of business is to conduct a lengthy listening tour. Longer-term, he wants to build on progress made with developing new business sectors, such as food science, clean energy, and cybersecurity, while also being more aggressive with efforts to promote the region and tell its story.

 

Hub of Progress

Speaking of the EDC, it recently celebrated a major milestone for the innovation economy, with Western Mass. being designated as both a Quantum Technology TechHub and a Food Science TechHub through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. In addition to the two designations, funding in the form of $1 million to advance a feasibility and design study of a quantum supply chain accelerator (QSCA) was awarded to Springfield Technical Community College.

“Western Massachusetts is the only region in the Commonwealth to receive two TechHub designations, which is a testament to the strength of our innovation ecosystem and the collaboration that defines it.”

The QSCA will build on the foundation established in Holyoke at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center and the state’s first quantum computing complex launched with QuEra Computing Inc. The accelerator, which will be the first regional facility of its kind to drive commercialization, support startups, and strengthen advanced manufacturing supply chains across the Pioneer Valley, will be located at the Springfield Technology Park.

“Western Massachusetts is the only region in the Commonwealth to receive two TechHub designations, which is a testament to the strength of our innovation ecosystem and the collaboration that defines it,” said Rick Sullivan, outgoing president and CEO of the EDC. “These designations, and the $1 million dollar investment in the quantum supply chain accelerator, represent years of hard work and vision from our regional partners.”

 

A New Chapter for the Monson Developmental Center

Housing is one of the many potential new uses for the Monson Developmental Center, which is an intriguing new addition to the large portfolio of Westmass Area Development Corp.

Indeed, in July, the Commonwealth officially transferred the sprawling campus to Westmass, touting the transaction as part of ongoing efforts to utilize existing properties to build more housing in the state.

And with that transfer, Westmass, in partnership with DCAMM, will commence work to create what will be known as the Village at Sawmill Brook, named for the brook that runs through the property, which closed in the ’90s. This village will take shape over the next 10 to 20 years, said Westmass President and CEO Jeff Daley, adding that this is a large and difficult undertaking for the agency, but one laden with potential.

“It’s an imposing site, and there’s a ton of work that has to be done,” he told BusinessWest. “And there’s a lot of money that has to be invested just to make the site developable again.”

 

Something to Sink Your Teeth Into

BusinessWest continued a 30-year tradition by honoring its Top Entrepreneur in 2025, with the award going to John and Chris DeVoie, founders of the Hot Table chain of panini restaurants.

Launched in 2007, the chain has grown to 13 locations and well beyond its roots at the Brightwood Plaza — to several communities in the 413 and also Central Mass. and into Connecticut.

The past few years have been extremely busy, with the opening of five new restaurants — in Westfield, Chicopee, West Springfield, and Franklin, as well as Manchester, Conn., a time that has been followed by a period of absorbing such rapid and profound growth. Further expansion is possible, but the high costs of building has prompted the partners to hit pause while they continue to search for new opportunities.

“We always want to be nimble — the market changes quickly; that’s one of the things COVID taught us,” Chris said. “We always have our eyes open and our ears to the ground, watch what’s happening in other cities and with trends, and not chase every shiny object, especially when it comes to the menu — do what you do, and do it well.”

The New Courthouse Will Change the Landscape — Somehow

By
Cover Story

Where Will It Go?

 

 

Chuck Irving says he’s surprised that none of the other groups that responded to the state’s request for proposals to build a new Springfield Regional Justice Center submitted plans that focused on the current courthouse site.

“We see an opportunity to not abandon the current courthouse location, but embrace it and make it even better,” said Irving, a principal with the Davenport Companies, who is partnering with Thomas O’Brien, CEO of HYM Investment Group, on two proposals for a new courthouse, one involving redevelopment of the current site off State Street. “We want that site to be the tentpole that it is in terms of holding up the economy of downtown.”

That’s his opinion.

And everyone, it seems, has their own opinion on this project, which has captured the attention of the development community, the business community, the legal community, and the city as a whole — to an extent that has impressed Adam Baacke, commissioner of the State Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM), which issued the RFP and will decide — probably in Q1 of next year — which of the 11 proposals received will be the winner.

“We do a lot of projects, both construction and leasing, and the vast majority of them don’t garner the level of interest and, dare I say, excitement that this is generating in Springfield.”

“We do a lot of projects, both construction and leasing, and the vast majority of them don’t garner the level of interest and, dare I say, excitement that this is generating in Springfield,” he said. “We’re happy to be involved with something that the community sees as such a significant project for its city.”

Efforts to build a replacement for the troubled Roderick L. Ireland Courthouse reached an intriguing phase last month, when DCAMM released the list of 11 proposals submitted by a wide range of local and regional developers (see box).

The submissions cover an eclectic mix of properties, ranging from the park created when the Steiger’s department store on Main Street was razed nearly 30 years ago to the building that houses the Republican and its giant printing presses; from the site of a factory where Absorbine Jr. was made to a now-vacant property that was home to a strip club.

An architect’s rendering of the proposal submitted for the property at 55 State St.

An architect’s rendering of the proposal submitted for the property at 55 State St.

Meanwhile, the list of developers includes a notable who’s who when it comes to major projects in Springfield and the Commonwealth, from Davenport and HYM to the brothers Picknelly (Paul and Peter, each heading their own proposal); from Greatland Realty Partners, which recently prevailed in a similar competition to build the state’s new crime lab in Marlborough, to the team of Jeb Balise, president of Balise Motor Sales, and Tom Dennis, president of the Dennis Group, which both have downtown Springfield development projects in their portfolios.

These groups were drawn in by a unique opportunity whereby DCAMM has decided to use a private developer to identify a site, permit, and build the new justice center and then lease it back to the Commonwealth. The terms are quite attractive — a 40-year lease, a rarity in commercial real estate — with an obviously high-credit tenant, and these conditions certainly contributed to what Baacke considers a robust response.

“We’re very happy with the quantity of responses, and I think it’s a clear reflection of how attractive this opportunity is in the development community,” he noted, adding that the RFP has attracted a solid mix of local and regional developers. “This is a very substantial requirement from the largest commercial tenant in Massachusetts that also happens to be one of the strongest credit tenants available in the marketplace, and this is a time when the commercial real estate market is not as strong as it has been at other times.”

Adam Baacke

Adam Baacke

“This is a very substantial requirement from the largest commercial tenant in Massachusetts that also happens to be one of the strongest credit tenants available in the marketplace, and this is a time when the commercial real estate market is not as strong as it has been at other times.”

Overall, this method creates opportunities for the city (in tax revenue from what will be a privately owned facility, as opposed to state owned) and both the state and the chosen developer, said Baacke, adding that it enables the justice center to be built more quickly and perhaps more cheaply, although cost is not the overriding reason for going this route, which was also chosen for the crime lab.

“The biggest benefit for the state, especially in this instance, is the speed with which we can deliver the project,” he explained. “The process that the private sector undertakes for construction procurement is more efficient — time-efficient and probably cost-efficient as well — than the process the Commonwealth is required to undertake for a public building.

“That results in some benefit in how quickly we can deliver the project,” he went on. “But the really big factor in this case is that this is a pretty sizable project, and fitting it into an already-oversubscribed capital plan would push the project further out than would otherwise be necessary.”

The current courthouse at 50 State St. is considered obsolete in many respects.

The current courthouse at 50 State St. is considered obsolete in many respects.

As for what will go into the decision-making process, Baacke said several factors will be considered, from cost to accessibility to “having a positive economic impact on the city.” And given all that, there was a requirement within the RFP that the courthouse be built in the center of the city, a broad area that covers all 11 proposals, from Maple Street to the south to a parcel on the riverfront to the north.

For this issue’s focus on commercial real estate, BusinessWest examines the many aspects of the courthouse project, from the process to the players to the factors that will go into the decision.

 

Court of Opinion

Baacke noted that, while the ‘sick’ nature of the current courthouse has added a degree of urgency to the matter, the 46-year-old facility is in many ways obsolete, from operating efficiency to design.

“That building reflects old thinking around everything from security to how the building welcomes the public and celebrates the importance of justice,” he said, adding that, with recently constructed courthouses, such as the one in Lowell and those under design in Quincy, Framingham, and Lynn (all to be built by the state), there is a “different feel to the buildings and a very different organization, particularly around circulation and security, and it’s just not possible to retrofit that building, which was designed for a very different philosophy around judicial architecture.”

“We believe we’re ready to move as fast or faster than anyone. We’ve got a fully formed team that has built basically the last several courthouses to the state’s specifications and satisfactions, so there will be no learning curve for anyone involved. And we have a site that is basically shovel-ready.”

As noted, the state’s quest to replace the structure has attracted a broad range of development teams, many of which have helped reshape the landscape in Springfield in recent years.

In addition to Davenport, which has been involved in several projects in Springfield, including the recent conversion of the Willys-Overland building on Chestnut Street into market-rate housing, redevelopment of the former RMV building in Springfield, and the new Square One facility, teams submitting proposals include the owners of Tower Square, Vid Mitta and Dinesh Patel, who successfully retenanted the downtown landmark, bringing in the Greater Springfield YMCA, White Lion Brewing, and others.

The new courthouse in Lowell is one of several opened recently or in the design/construction phase.

The new courthouse in Lowell is one of several opened recently or in the design/construction phase.

The two partners have submitted three different proposals, one involving 1550 Main St., the office building adjacent to Tower Square that they acquired in 2023; another involving the park across the street, created when Steiger’s closed and was torn down; and a third entailing the site of the former YMCA building on Chestnut Street, most of which has been demolished, with the remaining portion used for affordable housing.

As for Greatland, company President Kevin Sheehan said the company’s portfolio is dominated by projects in the eastern part of the state, including the crime lab, and the Springfield courthouse represents a growth opportunity in a different market.

Sheehan didn’t want to discuss the Springfield project in any detail other than to say the company looked at several sites and ultimately concluded that the Republican building represented the best option for the city and the trial court.

Other developers also chose to refrain from comment on their projects, opting, as one put it, to “let the DCAMM process play out.”

The Balise/Dennis partnership, for example, issued a simple statement on their proposal, which involves a city block between Dwight, Taylor, and Chestnut streets that includes the former home of W.F. Young, maker of Absorbine Jr.

“We see this project as an opportunity to transform downtown Springfield in a way that connects the metro center’s various neighborhoods and increases community pride,” it reads. “By tying Union Station more closely to the rest of downtown, we can bring new energy and life to the area while revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood. Just as important, our proposal prioritizes the health, safety, and well-being of everyone who works and visits the new courthouse, giving Springfield the modern facility it deserves.”

 

Building Momentum

But other developers were more open about their proposals and willing to tout their attributes.

Irving said both Davenport/HYM proposals have merits. The second, for the building that once housed the Mardi Gras strip club, is just a block from Union Station, he noted, adding that a courthouse on that location could provide a substantial boost to that section of the downtown.

But the group’s other school of thought was that moving the courthouse from its current location would be devastating for the city’s downtown, so it submitted two plans.

Kevin Sheehan

Kevin Sheehan

“I definitely wouldn’t say there’s no risk, but I think that, with a high-credit, long-term lease, you’ve solved a lot of the risk in real estate development. It’s a smart strategy for the state to get what it wants, a nice new facility, and not take the risk on construction overruns and instead push that to the developer.”

“We said, let’s give the state its choice,” he noted. “But the best thing we’re offering to DCAMM is the depth of our development experience. Between a massive company like HYM, which has done work for DCAMM around the state, and Davenport, which has vast experience in Springfield, I think we bring a team that can deliver, and I think that’s the biggest issue for this project — who can deliver. The state needs this to be done on budget and on time, and we can do that.”

Meanwhile, Paul Picknelly gushed about the proposal submitted by Monarch Enterprises for the property he owns at 55 State St. — and the team behind it.

That team includes Finegold Alexander, a women-owned architecture firm that has designed several courthouses, including the one in Lowell, as well as the one under design in Framingham; Springfield-based Fontaine Construction, which has a deep portfolio of projects in the city, including the MassMutual Center and the Court Square apartment complex, a block from the current courthouse; Dimeo Construction, which built the courthouse in Lowell and is currently building the one in Framingham (Fontaine and Dimeo recently collaborated to build the new Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester); and Westmass Area Development Corp., chosen to see oversee redevelopment of the existing courthouse site.

Picknelly and David Fontaine Jr., president of Fontaine Construction, talked about what they consider to be a strong case for their proposal, including everything from design (it bears a strong likeness to the Lowell courthouse, also built vertically) to how quickly their concept could move from demolition to construction, to its location across the street from the current courthouse — proximity, they say, that brings everything from familiarity to better odds for successful redevelopment of the existing courthouse when it is demolished.

“We believe we’re ready to move as fast or faster than anyone,” Fontaine said. “We’ve got a fully formed team that has built basically the last several courthouses to the state’s specifications and satisfactions, so there will be no learning curve for anyone involved. And we have a site that is basically shovel-ready.”

Even parking, a consideration for all proposals and a problem for some, won’t be an issue for the 55 State St. site, said Picknelly, who referred to his recent call for jury duty at the Springfield courthouse to get his point across.

“It instructs me to park in the I-91 South lot,” he said, referring to the facility under the highway, adding that these instructions won’t change if the courthouse is built at 55 State St.

 

New Lease on Life

The Springfield Regional Justice Center will be the largest undertaking by the state when it comes to using a private developer to build a facility and then leasing it. But this method has been used with many facilities, including smaller courthouses, such as the one in Westfield.

“The state has about 7.5 million square feet under lease across the Commonwealth, including dozens of properties on behalf of the Trial Court,” Baacke explained, adding that what makes the Springfield project unique is its scope and the length of the lease.

Approved by the state’s Asset Management Board, which authorizes leases longer than 10 years, the 40-year commitment was considered necessary for this project to work.

“During the process of working with the Asset Management Board for the authorization for this project, we really tapped into expertise of the development community members of that board for their recommendations about what length of term would enable developers to not only be interested, but obtain financing on terms that could be most favorable, ultimately, to the Commonwealth in what they would pass through in terms of the lease cost.”

In those respects, this project is most similar to the new State Police crime lab in Marlborough, a 200,000-square-foot, $300 million project that comes with a 20-year lease; construction is due to start in early 2026.

Sheehan said there are many similarities between the crime lab project and the courthouse initiative. He described the former as an effective process, one with advantages for both the state and the chosen developer — and even for the host community.

“In terms of working together with a private developer and the state and the local community … that has resulted in a pretty successful outcome,” he told BusinessWest, referring to the crime lab. “It can be a great partnership; it allows us to do what we do, and by publishing a long-term lease, the state can use its credit to support the construction of this facility without putting all the cost up front and without committing its resources to the design and construction and procurement process, which I think we can a little more efficiently than the state government.”

Irving agreed. “The state provided an opportunity to have a 40-year lease, and in my lifetime, I’ve never seen Massachusetts offer a 40-year lease, which is pretty much the equivalent of a bond,” he explained. “So, this is really well done because it makes this easily financeable, and it makes that financial modeling much easier, and that’s why you have 11 proposals on the table; it’s an amazing opportunity.”

And while there are certainly fewer risks for developers with a project of this nature rather than building a spec office building or renovating a tenanted office facility (where leases typically run five to 10 years) given recent trends with remote work, there are still risks, even with the state as a tenant and a 40-year lease.

“In the development world, there are three basic risks — the leasing risk, the financing risk, and the construction risk,” Sheehan noted. “If it’s a pre-leased facility, you’ve solved the first one, and if you’re using the state’s credit, you’ve somewhat solved the second one, but there’s still fluctuations in interest rates that certainly impact cost, so that’s a risk. And then, there are the construction risks — cost escalation, trade tariffs, labor rates, and general execution risk from construction of the building.

“So I definitely wouldn’t say there’s no risk, but I think that, with a high-credit, long-term lease, you’ve solved a lot of the risk in real estate development,” he went on. “It’s a smart strategy for the state to get what it wants, a nice new facility, and not take the risk on construction overruns and instead push that to the developer.”

 

Heavy Wait

Getting back to the factors that will ultimately decide which proposal is chosen, Baacke said there will be several, from the proposed lease terms to accessibility; from meeting the state’s decarbonization and climate goals to a project’s ability to positively impact the city economically.

“We do want this project to be a benefit to the city of Springfield,” he told BusinessWest. “As a former gateway city planner myself, I know this is the kind of facility that can be influential in attracting people to an area. It can have a positive impact, and it can also have, if it’s placed in the wrong location, a negative impact on areas that benefit from the location of the current facility.

“The biggest factors in selecting the best proposal are going to be about how the proposal aligns with the needs of the Trial Court,” he explained. “And that’s a little bit about siting, but more about the design of the facility and how well it meets the program and is consistent with their expectations for a hall of justice.”

And then, there’s the cost.

“This is not going to be a decision that is made on which project is cheapest, but which project delivers the best value to the Commonwealth,” Baacke continued. “The project that has the strongest alignment with the needs of the Trial Court, at the best price available to the Commonwealth, is what we’re ultimately going to be looking for.”

Which proposal best does all that will be decided over the next several months.

Now comes what may the hardest part of this process — waiting for a decision.

The Majestic Theater Has Staged a Showing of Perseverance

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From left, Todd Kadis, Danny Eaton, Sue Dziura, and Terry LaCasse.
Features Special Coverage

A Long-running Success Story

From left, Todd Kadis, Danny Eaton, Sue Dziura, and Terry LaCasse.

From left, Todd Kadis, Danny Eaton, Sue Dziura, and Terry LaCasse.

 

It’s been more than 30 years now, but Danny Eaton can still vividly remember the first time he saw what was left of the historic Majestic Theater on Elm Street in West Springfield.

There wasn’t much to look at, he recalled, adding that the back area of the old moviehouse, where Mickey Rooney once played Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Three Stooges had performed, had become a crumbling dumping ground of sorts.

A scene from Steel Magnolias, currently playing at the Majestic.

A scene from Steel Magnolias, currently playing at the Majestic.

“There were carpet remnants, some broken office furniture, and all kinds of junk like that,” said Eaton, the actor, director, playwright, and entrepreneur who had been leading a group of like-minded individuals in the creation of a nonprofit professional theater company called the Theater Project, which was, at that time, looking for a permanent home.

A board member who taught business at Westfield State University arranged for two interns to work with the fledging troupe, and their primary assignment was to find a venue. They were steered to the old theater, built in 1928, by the town’s assessor. And after being let in by the owner of a delicatessen that occupied the front part of the theater, they could see what they had to work with.

That same board member thought he was crazy to do anything but look at the Majestic, but Eaton said simply, “I loved it … it spoke to me.”

Nearly three decades after the theater opened with a showing of The Buddy Holly Story, it’s still talking — to Eaton and to the tens of thousands of people who visit it every year.

“We’ve always seen new people, first-timers, coming to the theater, based upon the offerings.”

And the Majestic — not the building, necessarily, but the institution — has become part of the fabric of the region, said Eaton and others we spoke with.

“People have grown up with us,” he noted, referring to both the audiences for the shows, which span generations now, and some of the performers as well.

Like Ben Ashley, who played Buddy Holly in the The Buddy Holly Story and has reprised that role a few times, while performing in several other shows at the theater as well, including its upcoming Home for the Holidays. And Robbie Simpson, who grew up attending shows at the theater, then started performing in some, and has gone on to star on ABC’s General Hospital and Hulu’s The Path. He returns to West Springfield for shows at the Majestic, such as 2023’s The Glass Menagerie.

The historic Majestic Theater opened in 1928.

The historic Majestic Theater opened in 1928.

Like the plays shown at the theater, the Majestic has several plotlines and props, from the framed showbills that line the café area celebrating shows that include the well-known (Death of a Salesman, Hamlet, Miss Saigon, and Judgment at Nuremburg, for example), and the not-so-well-known (Golf: The Musical) to the annual fundraising car raffle, another institution — first prize this year is a 1962 Corvette convertible; the drawing is Dec. 31.

And then, there are the coffee mugs. Given each year to subscribers — who now total more than 4,000 — they’re printed with the names of the shows from each season.

Subscribers passionately collect them, said Sue Dziura, producing director for the Majestic, and look for them every year.

“They’ll tell us when they come in — ‘I have all my mugs,’” she said, adding that, in many ways, the mugs have become symbols of the Majestic’s two enduring traits — creativity and perseverance.

Indeed, between the shows, the mugs, the cars, a playbill supported by more than 100 local businesses, and more shows, the Majestic has become a long-running success story, one complete with its magic moments and stern challenges, like the pandemic, but also the rising expenses associated with professional theater, from paying the actors to insuring the property.

“Danny has programmed it so that there’s something for everyone, whether that’s genre-related — a comedy and a drama and sometimes a whodunit.”

For this issue, we look behind the curtain, if you will, at nearly 30 years of a class act — literally and figuratively.

 

Setting the Stage

When he spoke with BusinessWest as the 10th anniversary of the theater’s opening approached in 2006, Eaton recalled how, at that opening, a local journalist remarked that his dream had come true.

Eaton said he had to correct him to a degree and note that getting the doors open wasn’t the dream, or the hard part, or the end of the story. Keeping them open was, and is, the dream. And the hard part as well.

From left: Todd Kadis, Sue Dziura, Tery LaCasse, and Danny Eaton in a ‘mug’ shot.

From left: Todd Kadis, Sue Dziura, Tery LaCasse, and Danny Eaton in a ‘mug’ shot.

And nothing has really changed in that regard over the past three decades, he said, adding that the overriding mission can be boiled down to those four words: keeping the doors open.

Actually, there’s much more to it than that, said Todd Kadis, the Majestic’s treasurer, who has also been here from the beginning.

Indeed, the overriding goals are to make theater accessible and affordable (tickets are under $40), he said, and also to draw people who might not otherwise attend theater.

“We’ve always seen new people, first-timers, coming to the theater, based upon the offerings,” he explained, adding that most of these first-timers will return, and many of them will become subscribers.

It all started, as noted, with The Buddy Holly Story, which returns every five years at the Majestic. Actually, our story really begins in 1992 with the creation of the Theater Project, which performed shows at the Church of the Good Shepherd, just down the street from its current home, to raise money to open the Majestic’s doors.

Or new doors, to be precise, because the current front entrance still led to the deli, so a new entrance had to be built in the back of the structure.

“We spent summers hammering nails and lugging concrete blocks,” Eaton recalled, adding that the team put in two and half years of sweat equity to get the theater ready for prime time. And that hard work essentially set the tone for all that has happened since.

“One of things we found with The Buddy Holly Story is that we could get people to come to the theater who had never been to the theater before and maybe had a notion that it was a highbrow thing that couldn’t be part of their lives.”

Over the years, the Majestic has added more framed playbills to the walls — to the point where there’s no remaining room; raffled off 29 vintage cars; transformed its café into a gathering spot, with patrons showing up an hour or more before a show starts for a quick meal and a beverage; maintained its core audience while attracting new patrons; and become one of the cornerstones for growth and new businesses in the Elm Street area.

Very little, if anything, has been easy, said those we spoke with, but the Majestic has persevered through hard work, imagination (in all its forms), and the ability to stay engaged with its audience.

All these traits were on display during the pandemic, when the lights went down, literally, on March 21, 2020, and didn’t go back on again until August 2021, when the Majestic picked up right where it left off.

Kadis said the institution was kept afloat by PPP and also a much-needed Shuttered Venues Operating Grant, a federal program that, as its name suggests, provided grants to shuttered venues ranging from theaters to aquariums to museums.

And while the theater was dark, those at the Majestic found ways to stay engaged with subscribers and the community at large through online programs such as “Behind the Curtain,” a series of interviews with actors and directors who had done shows at the Majestic, providing a backstage perspective.

 

Shows of Force

The Majestic now hosts between 250 and 300 shows each season, which begin in September, said Dziura, noting that the simple strategy is to “create as much art as possible.” Each season features five subscription shows as well as Home for the Holidays and a packed summer schedule that includes more than 100 performances, including a children’s theater.

In putting together that five-show slate, organizers strive for diversity and a solid mix of plays and at least one musical, a lineup crafted to appeal to both subscribers — who provide a rock-solid base for the theater company — and single-ticket sales.

“Danny has programmed it so that there’s something for everyone — a comedy and a drama and sometimes a whodunit,” she explained, adding that this year’s slate is no exception.

The season started with Once – The Musical, which tells the story of an Irish street musician and a Czech immigrant who form an unlikely bond over their shared love of music. Currently running is Steel Magnolias, a comedy set in a small Southern beauty salon. In January, The Hound of the Baskervilles, a parody of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic, will begin its six-week run, followed by a ‘two-hander,’ an two-person performance called Dear Jack, Dear Louise, described as heartfelt and comical play that unfolds through the letters exchanged between a young Army doctor and a nurse during World War II. The season concludes with Come From Away, an uplifting musical that tells the true story of 7,000 passengers who were stranded in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland after the events of 9/11.

Each year’s schedule is crafted to provide variety, but also more opportunities to bring new people to the theater and bring back those who have already found it.

“Being a nonprofit theater in a small community in an area that is not particularly known as a cultural hub is a challenge,” Eaton said. “One of things we found with The Buddy Holly Story is that we could get people to come to the theater who had never been to the theater before and maybe had a notion that it was a highbrow thing that couldn’t be part of their lives.

“We changed their minds,” he went on, adding that this might be the unofficial mission statement for the Majestic. “I’ve always maintained that, if I can get 10 new people to come to theater for the first time in their lives, I’ll get seven of them to come back, and I’ll get five of them to become subscribers — and that’s held true in many respects.”

Looking ahead, the simple goal is to keep changing minds about theater, said Kadis, while also maintaining and growing the subscriber base and attracting audiences of all ages. He noted that the average age of attendees is roughly 65, and it has been this way for some time, meaning the theater group has managed to retain subscribers who joined years ago and add new, younger ones as the original subscribers move into their 70s and 80s.

Terry LaCasse, the Majestic’s managing director, agreed. “There’s a multi-generational appeal here,” he noted. “I remember my first week here … I was introduced to a parent, a grandparent, and a child at one of the shows. They were sitting in the back, and they said, ‘we’ve had these seats for years, and we’ve passed then down from generation to generation.’”

That story, and others like it, speak volumes about what the Majestic has become over the years in terms of a cultural institution and tradition.

“The Majestic is a true-to-form community anchor,” said LaCasse, speaking for all those at the table, adding that it promotes the arts, supports local businesses, and makes this region more of a destination.

And that’s why the show has gone on for nearly 30 years — and counting.

Lee Strives to Be More Than a Gateway

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Community Spotlight Special Coverage

Community Spotlight

An architect’s rendering shows the various buildings and parcels to be developed at the Eagle Mill complex in Lee.

 

Jeff Cohen says he was “looking for something to do.”

That was how the long-time developer, lawyer, and one-time police officer casually described how he began what has become a 14-year journey (and counting) to redevelop the Eagle Mill in Lee, one of the oldest paper mills in the country.

It certainly hasn’t been an easy journey — “I have lot more gray hair now than when I started,” Cohen said — but the Eagle Mill canvas, if you will, is filling in, and there is more on the drawing board for this parcel bordering downtown.

Indeed, nearly 60 units of affordable housing are in the process of being leased, and should be occupied next spring. Meanwhile, roughly 150 more units are planned, as well as commercial space, in subsequent phases of the project, including a recently announced plan for 69 units of affordable housing on property across the street from the Eagle Mill.

As these different phases of the project unfold, the impact on Lee, its downtown, its business community, and different constituencies searching for affordable housing will only grow.

Alex Heddinger

Alex Heddinger

“Our walkable downtown is lined with one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants, many family-owned for generations, and there’s a real sense of connection among the people who live and work here.”

“This is going to create a village at the north end of town,” Cohen explained. “As you drive from the Berkshires through Lee along Route 20, there will be a great-looking community, and there will be lots of people on the street. This is going to enable Lee to attract people who want to work in and around the town, it’s going to put more kids in the schools, and it’s going to enhance the businesses in town and probably create opportunities for new ones.”

Redevelopment of the Eagle Mill complex is one of many converging stories in this community of almost 6,000 people. Others include:

• A slight cooling of its housing market, which was one of the hottest in the state just a year or two ago. Town Manager Chris Brittain said the market has returned to something approximating pre-COVID days, before prices exploded amid the surge of remote work and strong interest in rural settings from which to do it;

• Ongoing efforts to encourage development of other mills in Lee, and there are many of them — the community was once home to two dozen mills making more paper than anywhere else in the country;

• Progress toward construction of a new and much-needed public safety complex — groundbreaking is slated for next month — as well as discussion of converting the historic fire station into a community space;

• Continued efforts to make this community, known as the ‘Gateway to the Berkshires,’ more of a place to stop, dine, shop, recreate, and more, rather than being a gateway to other, better-known destinations, including Lenox, Stockbridge, and Pittsfield; and

• Some new restaurants and other small businesses that are certainly helping in these efforts to make Lee more of a destination.

“Our walkable downtown is lined with one-of-a-kind shops and restaurants, many family-owned for generations, and there’s a real sense of connection among the people who live and work here,” said Alex Heddinger, a Lee native who became executive director of its Chamber of Commerce this past spring. “We also have one of the most diverse dining scenes in the area — Mexican, Indian, Peruvian, French, pizza, new American, pub fare, diner classics, and even a Burmese restaurant.

Brooke Healy

Brooke Healy

“When it comes to affordable housing, many people have preconceived notions about it, but it can really impact everyone — from families to young professionals just starting out in their career like I was.”

“Lee has a way of making visitors feel right at home,” she went on, adding that one of the goals moving forward is to make business owners feel at home as well.

For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at Lee and the many intriguing storylines converging there.

 

Milling About

Cohen told BusinessWest that he and his wife moved to the Berkshires in 2012, and soon thereafter, he became fascinated with the Eagle Mill and the prospects for developing it.

The property had been abandoned since 2008, he said, adding that the various buildings were in poor condition when he acquired them, but still historic. He contracted with an architect and started meeting with various groups in town to get a sense “for what could be attractive to the town and be profitable for me, and that’s how it started.

“I’m not the type of person who buys something and says, ‘here’s what I’m going to do,’ and then present that to whomever is going to approve it,” he explained. “My style is a little different; I try to work with people in the neighborhood, various town officials, and various interested community groups to get a sense for what’s going to pass muster.”

It took several years to identify the preferred use, he said, adding that various uses, including a 100-room hotel and a Faneuil Hall-type retail market, were considered. Overall, it’s been a long, difficult journey, made much more complicated by the pandemic, but pieces to a complicated puzzle are coming together, starting with phase 1 — 56 units of affordable housing in the two original mill buildings, the Union Mill and the Eagle Mill.

Phase 2 includes 44 new apartments at the eastern end of the site; phase 3 is another new building with 35 units of housing and 4,000 square feet of retail, with construction slated for 2028 if all goes as planned; phase 4 involves redevelopment of the historic machine shop building for commercial and retail use, including a restaurant; phase 5 will consist of five condominium townhouses on the Housatonic River; and phase 6 will be 69 more units of affordable housing on the corner of West Center and Canal streets.

Cohen described the sum of these parts as game-changing, and Lee Town Planner Brooke Healy agreed.

“These new units will provide a boost to our downtown business owners and stores,” she said. “You’ll have people walking up and down Main Street — the restaurants are going to get a boost, the stores are going to get a boost … and while some people will work in Lee, others will work in surrounding towns, meaning this will benefit not just Lee, but the Central and Southern Berkshires.

Healy speaks from experience when she said many workers in the Berkshires face lengthy commutes between their jobs and housing they can afford, and the Eagle Mill project will be a difference maker in this regard and make a huge dent in the demand for housing, especially the affordable variety.

“I took this job about a year ago, and it took me a few months to find housing that was less than an hour away; I’m very lucky to live close to downtown Lee,” she told BusinessWest. “When it comes to affordable housing, many people have preconceived notions about it, but it can really impact everyone — from families to young professionals just starting out in their career like I was.”

Meanwhile, there are several other mills that remain vacant or mostly vacant, Healy said, adding that the town is working on revamping zoning bylaws and other strategies for making these mills more “developer-friendly.”

Lee at a Glance

Year Incorporated: 1777
Population: 5,788
Area: 27 square miles
County: Berkshire
Residential Tax Rate: $11.25
Commercial Tax Rate: $11.25
Median Household Income: $41,556
Median Family Income: $49,630
Type of Government: Open Town Meeting
Largest Employers: Lee Premium Outlets; Onyx Specialty Papers; the Landing at Laurel Lake; Oak n’ Spruce Resort in the Berkshires; Big Y
* Latest information available

The town recently collaborated with UConn students to create a site reuse assessment and master plan for three mills — Columbia Mill and Greylock Mill, both on Columbia Street; and Greenwood/Mountain Mill on Forest Street, which was recently sold by the town at auction.

“When a lot of the current bylaws were written, most of these mills were still functioning, and people didn’t really think about the next steps if these mills were to ever go out,” she explained. “Looking forward, we have some mills that are not being used, and there’s been some discussions with the owners of those properties to make sure they know the town has their interests in mind and will help in any way it can.”

 

Progress Report

Brittain told BusinessWest that Lee’s current fire station, a granite and marble structure built in 1912, was designed for horses, not 21st-century firetrucks.

Which means the town has had to special-order trucks to fit into the doors of this facility. And they just barely fit.

“The last one had five-eighths of an inch clearance on either side,” he said, adding that a few mirrors have been lost over the years.

Wider doors are just one of the myriad design elements to a new, 37,000-square-foot public safety complex, said Brittain, adding that the facility, with a projected price tag of roughly $32 million, will bring the Police, Fire, and Building departments under one roof on the site of the former Bull’s Eye Pub in downtown Lee. And, as noted, the town is in early-stage talks concerning what to do with the current fire station, also downtown.

These developments are just some of the emerging stories in the community’s eclectic downtown, which is just a few miles off Exit 10 of the turnpike, a unique asset that has certainly helped the town’s efforts to promote tourism, while also attracting other types of businesses, such as biotech and enterprises such as Sharp Sterile Manufacturing and Boyd Biomedical, both on Pleasant Street, just off the turnpike exit.

Getting back to the downtown, visitors pass through on their way to Tanglewood and other Lenox attractions, as well as Pittsfield, said all those we spoke with, adding that the goal is to get them to stop along the way — or, better still, make Lee the destination.

There’s a growing list of reasons for doing so, said Heddinger, adding that there is a good mix of restaurants, including some recent additions, such as the Station Gastropub, so named because it’s housed in a former train station.

“Downtown has restaurants, shops, several different kinds of businesses, a park where we stage events, and much more,” she said, adding that this central business district is more than a place to drive through on the way to somewhere else.

Brittain agreed. “We’re seeing a lot more people dining and staying here than we used to, and our hotel and restaurant taxes reflect that,” he said, adding that the growing number of restaurants, and the diversity of those offerings, is a big reason why. “More people are stopping and enjoying the downtown area on their way to Tanglewood or the Norman Rockwell Museum, or whatever.”

Meanwhile, the town is developing strategies for bringing more businesses to the community, such as the “Friend-Lee Approach to Business” marketing campaign, which Healy described as a work in progress, likely to be ready for the new year.

“We’re trying to break down the barriers for developers and residents interested in owning businesses,” she explained. “We want them to able to come in and have conversations face-to-face with various departments and understand what is needed to open a business.

“It can very overwhelming to try to open a new business,” she went on, adding that the campaign will likely ask the question ‘why Lee?’ and then focus on the town’s many attributes — from recreational facilities to that turnpike exit to proximity to other destination communities.

It’s all part of an effort to promote this Gateway to the Berkshires, but also make it much more than that.

Raspberries Records Taps into a Vinyl Revival

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Bob Roccanti says vinyl is enjoying a resurgence among people of all ages.
Features

The Tables Are Turning

Bob Roccanti says vinyl is enjoying a resurgence among people of all ages.

Bob Roccanti says vinyl is enjoying a resurgence among people of all ages.

 

As he was explaining why vinyl has been staging a dramatic comeback over the past decade, Bob Roccanti stopped, reached into a box, and pulled out a Stevie Wonder album, circa 1972.

“Look at this … you buy this, you’ve got some artwork,” he said as he showed the cover. “And there’s lyrics, inside you’ve got some more things …a lot of these record albums tell a story.

“It’s a lot warmer than this,” he went on, holding up his cell phone and opining that this is just one reason why some Baby Boomers are rebuilding the record collections that filled their dorm rooms in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s and also why their children and even grandchildren are embracing vinyl — although Taylor Swift is probably the biggest reason there.

All this also explains Raspberries Records, a long-held dream and entrepreneurial gambit (although he says it’s not much of a gamble) for Roccanti, a retired wireless industry executive.

“You can put a record store anywhere, and they will find you.”

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do — I’ve always been into music,” he said, adding that he opened his first location in Ludlow, where he lives and plays much of his golf, in 2022, and then expanded into a strip mall near the center of East Longmeadow roughly 18 months ago. Neither location is in a busy urban area, but they don’t have to be, he explained.

“You can put a record store anywhere, and they will find you,” he told BusinessWest, adding that ‘they’ means visitors from around the corner, halfway across the state, or even another state who arrive in person or go online to browse or find a specific item.

That list includes everything from a copy of the Beatles’ White Album — he generally has a dozen or more in the inventory that sell for $30 on average — to vintage band T-shirts; from blank album covers and frames to put them in to eight-tracks, tapes, and CDs; from 45s to vintage ’60s and ’70s stereo systems.

“We’re like the old Sears — we have good, better, and best, he said, pointing to a few stereos on the floor and on racks selling for between $500 and $1,000.

But the albums, new and vintage, are the big sellers. They cross all genres, and they’re being picked up people coming into stores or ordering them online, he said, adding that he ships out 10 to 12 a day on average.

“We get a lot of Baby Boomers in here, but we also get their children, and they think this is the coolest thing,” he said, adding that he believes this renewed interest in vinyl has legs and is not a fad.

For this issue, we talked with Roccanti about his venture, the record business, and the still-growing interest in vinyl.

 

Music to His Ears

As he talked with BusinessWest in the back room of the East Longmeadow store, Roccanti was surrounded by thousands of albums covering every genre and every letter of the alphabet.

Along the top row of shelves, many albums were separated by artist, with names written on tape along the bottom: Linda Ronstadt, J. Geils Band, Cat Stevens, Loggins & Messina, and the Beach Boys, among many others. For Boomers, these albums represent a trip in the ‘way back machine,’ while for the younger generations, it’s a new fascination and something more visual — and personal — than streaming music services.

One of the ’70s-era stereo systems for sale at Raspberries.

One of the ’70s-era stereo systems for sale at Raspberries.

When asked where the 71,000 albums he has between the two stores came from, he said simply, “everywhere,” meaning everything from collections from other stores to area residents cleaning out attics and basements.

“A typical call would be, ‘we’ve got a bunch of records. We don’t use them anymore. They belong to my kids; I called the kids, and they said to just get rid of them. Before we take them up to the Goodwill or Salvation Army, we thought we’d give you a call.’”

And while people are still getting rid of their vinyl, others are buying it. When asked who, Roccanti said this runs the gamut as well.

“Collectors come in, other record stores come in and buy from us, people looking for something specific,” he said, adding that prices range from a few dollars to more than $2,000 for a rare funk album from the early ’90s.

“We’ve sold some old jazz albums for more than $1,000,” he said. “And then, you have some different albums that are unique in their own ways because they’re promo copies, or they printed very limited amounts of them, things like that.”

“We’ve sold some old jazz albums for more than $1,000. And then, you have some different albums that are unique in their own ways because they’re promo copies, or they printed very limited amounts of them, things like that.”

Roccanti anticipated all this when he conceptualized Raspberries. He said he started by visiting other record stores — and there are many of them, including maybe a dozen in the 413 by his count — and asking those behind the counter about the business and his prospects for success.

“Some of them would be very encouraging, and others were less so — many of them were retired, and they said they’d seen the industry change,” he recalled. “I saw opportunity, with Taylor Swift coming on board creating a huge amount of interest from young people — everything she came out with was on vinyl.

“All these people were buying record players that had never owned record players,” he went on, adding that demand remains high, and it’s from several different generations of music lovers.

Bob Roccanti, seen here with a copy of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, has amassed more than 71,000 records in his stores.

Bob Roccanti, seen here with a copy of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, has amassed more than 71,000 records in his stores.

“We’ve got customers that are 12 years old and customers in their 80s,” he explained. “Some of them are just getting into vinyl, and some of them have been into vinyl their whole life. It’s unique in that sense because, when you’re planning your marketing and your strategy, you have to look at the big picture — who’s my target? Our target is anyone and everyone.”

 

Spin City

Roccanti said he started in Ludlow with a decent amount of inventory, and it didn’t take long to “fill the bins,” as he put it.

“As soon as we opened, from the first month, we were getting calls — the phone was ringing off the hook; ‘do you buy records? Do you buy records? Do you buy records?’” he recalled. “We were very fortunate because people were just getting rid of them.

“Sometimes, people just want to give them to us; other times, they want to sell them,” he went on. “One thing we generally do if someone just wants to give them away … if there’s value in them, I don’t let them leave without taking some money because I’m going to make money, and I want to be fair. If you found out one of those records you tried to give away was worth 100 bucks, you’d be pretty upset.”

Elaborating, Roccanti said there was obviously a learning curve involved with knowing just what an album is worth, and there have always been knowledgeable sources to rely on, as well as the internet.

“Everyone has a story about music.”

“I was fortunate that I had several record store owners that I became friends with,” he said. “I always had someone I could call and say, ‘hey, I’ve got a chance to buy this Beach Boys album.’ They’d say, ‘let me call you back, Bob,’ and when they did, they’d say, ‘grab it, Bob, it’s worth some money.’

“I’ve learned a lot, and the internet is fantastic — you can Google anything,” he went on. “And there are apps that are dedicated specifically to record stores and collectors.”

As for the business side of things, Roccanti said it has been steady, with solid numbers of customers visiting the stores or perusing items online.

A good start in Ludlow prompted thoughts of expansion, and the site in the strip mall in East Longmeadow, a former juice bar, fit the bill.

The nearby rotary — or infamous rotary, to be more precise — detracts a few, but it’s also a good reference point because everyone knows it, even if they don’t want to drive around it, he said.

Meanwhile, that aforementioned learning curve continues — with regard to what items are worth and what they can be sold for, and also what customers are seeking.

“They’re coming in with lists,” Roccanti explained, adding that the bulk of what is sold falls into the category of classic rock, but there is interest in many other genres as well.

“I’ve got a lot of customers my age who realize that this stuff is available again,” he said. “Now, they’re thinking, ‘I had these albums,’ and, little by little, they’re rebuilding their collections, whether it’s Springsteen, Bob Dylan…”

With that, he went back into the bin and pulled out a Traffic album from the early ’70s.

“People will come in, see this, and say, ‘I had this album,’ and then they’ll tell me a story — ‘I was dating this girl, and I loaned her this album, and I never got it back,’” he told BusinessWest. “Everyone has a story about music.”

And that’s why this entrepreneurial venture has taken off, and why Roccanti believes it has a solid future.

 

Michael Treash Takes Helm at Health New England

By
Michael Treash
Cover Story

A Time to Re-energize

Michael Treash

 

“This is complicated, but it’s not that complex.”

That’s how Michael Treash chose to describe the challenges he faces as he takes the helm at Health New England, and there are many of them, including those common to all health plans — everything from the rising cost of healthcare to the poor image of this industry to integrating technology (and paying for it).

But his most immediate challenge involves re-energizing a company that was due to be sold by its parent, Baystate Health, before that sale was terminated, and creating a growth plan for the short and long terms. And here’s where it’s not that complex, he told BusinessWest.

“We’re going to have to focus on growth and on opportunities,” he said, noting that the vast majority of these lie within Medicare and with small-business groups. “We can focus on a handful of things, most of them quality-driven, where we can change the narrative and change the game.”

Elaborating, he said doing this comes down to listening, responding, and providing value to members, and Treash firmly believes that provider-based health plans, like Health New England, are uniquely positioned to create needed trust and generate value for members.

“The beauty of provider-based health plans, the integrated system, is that we can work with our clinical partners to craft messages,” he went on. “Let’s be honest — when you list what industries you trust the most, rarely do you see health insurers on this list; we’re just above tobacco companies, usually. People trust their physician and their pharmacist more than they trust us. We can craft a really meaningful message, and that is our opportunity; that’s how we transfer power to the consumer.”

Treash most recently served as chief operating officer and senior vice president at Health Alliance Plan in Detroit, and his previous leadership roles include vice president of Enterprise Operations at Priority Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., interim CEO of Missouri Health Care Cooperative, COO of the Outsource Group, and executive vice president and COO at Mercy Health Plans in Chesterfield, Mo.

“You can actually work with physicians and nurses and people who are on the front lines, and not many people who work with insurers can say that. That’s what attracts me. It’s a unique space — I can stay close to the customer; I can stay close to the clinician. That’s how you innovate; that’s how you influence the customer experience. I wouldn’t give up this space for anything.”

Treash’s appointment comes just a few months after that planned sale of Health New England to Point32Health was effectively terminated. When asked if the company lost momentum, in all its various forms — from workforce morale to making needed investments in technology — during the lengthy sale process, and how much, Treash didn’t answer that question directly, opting instead to focus on what will happen next, and also what happened at Health Alliance Plan.

“I got there right after an acquisition didn’t go through. The organization needed an energy boost, and it needed to get re-engaged with its parent, similar to where we’re at,” he explained. “Eight years later, we were an organization where people wanted to come to work for us, we were making money while the rest of the insurers in the state were losing money, and we were growing.

“We can do it here,” he went on, adding that he intends to draw on his vast experience with provider-based plans to generate growth, as he did at Priority Health, which is in many ways similar to Health New England and served a region comparable to this one.

“It was owned by a large provider system, it’s a mid-sized city, the competitive landscape is pretty darned similar,” he explained. “When I was there, we had incredible growth; we went from 700,000 members to 1.1 million, and we did that by focusing on Medicare, we focused on quality, we focused on the customer experience.”

The plan will be to do the same at Health New England, where there will be a hard focus on Medicare and certain segments within it amid the ongoing open enrollment period.

“Age 65 — that is our sweet spot because they’re new to Medicare and they’re making decisions,” he said, while explaining one example of broad and emerging strategies to grow membership, currently at about 164,000. “We have to get in front of them and illustrate that we can offer a different experience.”

“There’s an adage in this industry … if you just do the basics well, you can really get ahead,” he went on. “I believe that, but things are changing; I don’t think doing the basics well is good enough anymore — we really have to use our data assets and use our collective insights into the patient experience, and we need to morph that into something which is tangible.”

“When I say, ‘this is where we’re going to head,’ so far, what I’ve heard is, ‘that’s great; how fast can we go?’”

For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Treash about his plans for re-energizing the company and achieving the kind of growth he’s generated elsewhere.

 

Making Connections

Treash said he has spent almost his entire career with provider-based health plans and described this as a “unique space,” one he enjoys working within.

“You can actually work with physicians and nurses and people who are on the front lines, and not many people who work with insurers can say that,” he explained. “That’s what attracts me. It’s a unique space — I can stay close to the customer; I can stay close to the clinician. That’s how you innovate; that’s how you influence the customer experience. I wouldn’t give up this space for anything.

“The provider space itself … we’re constantly in marriage counseling between the two of us; when we’re aligned, it is remarkable what we can accomplish,” he went on. “I’ve been with provider-based health plans in competitive markets such as Detroit and St. Louis, and I’ve also been in smaller cities and rural areas in Texas and West Michigan. It’s different challenges; in competitive markets, like Boston, it’s a challenge — you have competitive health systems; you have competitive health plans. It’s very different in a market like this, where you have a unique opportunity to connect with the community, and part of our challenge here is that we are — and we can be more of — a driver of the local economy.”

Treash arrived in Springfield in mid-October and immediately commenced what he called a comprehensive listening tour, one that will continue for some time and involve a number of constituencies, including local officials, business leaders, those in the healthcare community, and, especially, his own employees, who have been through a challenging time for the company and the industry.

“They’ve been through the ringer, and right now, they want direction,” he explained. “I’m getting good responses, though. When I say, ‘this is where we’re going to head,’ so far, what I’ve heard is, ‘that’s great; how fast can we go?’”

As noted earlier, he didn’t want to talk about the sale that was terminated and what was lost during that process. “If I had a time machine, I’d go back and try to change that narrative, but I can’t do that right now — the only thing I can speak to is where we go from here.

“Right now, we’ve got to get energized, and where we can get energized is by focusing on Medicare, because we have opportunities there to change the experience of Medicare. We have opportunity to grow; we have opportunity to recapture revenue which is leaving Western Mass. — these are things I can change.”

“And right now, we’ve got to get energized, and where we can get energized is by focusing on Medicare, because we have opportunities there to change the experience of Medicare. We have opportunity to grow; we have opportunity to recapture revenue which is leaving Western Mass. — these are things I can change.”

Assessing the current landscape for providers, Treash acknowledged the obvious — “in this business, scale is our enemy.”

“We have to do the same things that United does, Aetna does, Cigna does, Blue Cross of Massachusetts does, but we don’t have 5 million members to spread those fixed costs across,” he explained, adding that, despite this size disadvantage, the company can compete by making full and effective use of technology and data.

“We’re at an inflection point in this industry right now,” he said. “The game is about data and insights, using your combined data assets to drive insights, and that’s not very capital-intensive; that’s about training your leaders and asking your leaders, mid-career, to shift and enter the gray area.

“Most of my folks, if you ask them — and if you go to any insurer and ask the people who have fancy titles — ‘on your résumé, do you have anything about how you use data to grow the business, improve the business, and improve the customer experience?’ you will not see a single hand go up.

“Then, if you ask them, ‘do you think you need to add that to your résumé to advance your career in the next decade?’ every hand would go up; they get it,” he continued. “That is the equalizer for us. We’ll use our data assets to create a new way to compete through customer experience.”

 

Healthy Discussions

As he talked about where he wants to take the company, Treash related a recent experience at Austin Airport and Southwest Airlines.

“There was this big digital board, and they’ve got, ‘Gate A13 — Better Hurry Up.’ ‘Gate A14 — You Have Time for a Cup of Coffee.’ ‘Gate A15 — You Can Grab Breakfast.’ I thought, ‘that’s great because that’s what I really wanted to know.’ They thought ahead to what the consumer was thinking.

“That’s our opportunity,” he went on. “Our opportunity is to see craziness and the things that go off the rails before you do and get in front of it. And if something does go off the rails, acknowledge it; I don’t want to make you have to call me.”

Such thinking will help drive the growth strategy for Health New England, the blueprint for which will emerge in the months to come, he said, emphasizing that the opportunities are in Medicare and small-employer groups.

With the latter, he acknowledged that small businesses are certainly the mainstay of the regional economy, and thus there is obvious potential for growth.

But there is also considerable competition for that segment of the market, he said, adding that he faces a learning curve when it comes to this specific market and its needs, as well as the broker community that plays a vital role in this process.

With Medicare, the basic strategy calls for segmenting the market and responding to the needs of the various segments, he explained.

“That creates real opportunities when we engage with providers because now we look at Medicare differently,” Treash noted. “As an insurer, we need to have a mix — we need to have folks out there who are going to supplement the folks who are sick, and you need to have those people who have a lot going on in their lives healthcare-wise, because we’re a nonprofit organization, and we have a fiduciary responsibility to serve everyone; you have to balance it out.”

As an example of these segments, he mentioned younger seniors new to Medicare.

“It takes us a couple of years to get them engaged and get them to the point where we have a meaningful, engaged relationship,” he noted. “If we lose them in that first two years, we’ve lost a lot of effort. We have to get people to year two, which means engaging them on a personal level, reminding them why they enrolled in Health New England and getting their physician partners involved and doing outreach.

“If we get them to year two, they become more comfortable with us because it’s a very price-sensitive market, and price elasticity is sky-high,” he continued. “Once we get them to year two, we’ve done our job engaging them in a meaningful manner, the price elasticity goes down, and we’ve created that stickiness.”

Meanwhile, within all segments, the company must work hard to understand how to meet and communicate with them, Treash told BusinessWest.

“How you connect with someone who’s going through cancer is very different from how you connect with someone dealing with pulmonary disease and learning how to live with that on an ongoing basis,” he said. “We have to figure out how we message those individuals and where we message them. We don’t want to see providers texting people with a cancer diagnosis, but there are certain things you want to hear from your provider on your time.

“The folks aging into Medicare right now are digital junkies,” he went on. “If you are not present with them both on an individual basis — taking their phone calls and being willing to have one-on-ones with them — and if you’re not willing to meet them on their iPad, you’re falling down.”

Rather than fall down, Treash wants Health New England to move up, grow membership, become an employer of choice, and broaden its overall impact in the community.

And as he said, the path to get there is complicated, but not that complex.

These Are Just a Couple Descriptors for an Evolving Job Market

By
Special Coverage Workforce Development

‘Weird’ and ‘Confusing’

 

“Confusing.”

That’s the one word that Kevin Lynn, executive director of MassHire Springfield Career Center, chose when asked to describe the current jobs market and put into perspective what he’s seeing and hearing.

Elaborating, he referenced the center’s job fair at the Basketball Hall of Fame on Oct. 6, the latest of dozens of such events in recent years. In the weeks leading up the fair, organizers were worried about having a critical mass of companies seeking applicants — a nod to a slowing in overall hiring across the 413. But then, over the final few days of registration, there was a rush to sign up.

“We had 64 businesses — we literally did not have room for another company — and that was very surprising to us,” Lynn said.

Meanwhile, on the job seekers side of the equation, organizers were expecting what they’d seen in recent fairs — anywhere between 200 and 350 people — or maybe a few more. Instead, 617 turned out.

“That’s both good and concerning — that’s the busiest job expo we’ve had since before COVID,” he noted, adding that, while the numbers generate confusion on some levels, on another level, they make sense, because some sectors are hiring, but also still struggling to find talent with the requisite skills. Meanwhile, a variety of factors, from tariffs to turmoil in Washington, are leaving many people with jobs feeling less certain about the security of those jobs, and this helps explain the fair’s large turnout.

Allison Ebner

Allison Ebner

“They’re feeling like there’s enough uncertainty around … they’re hearing about layoffs with the larger companies and AI taking jobs — and there’s so much buzz about all that, the job market seems unstable.”

“I’ve talked to people who say they’re in businesses that are seeing a slowdown, and people are getting a little concerned,” said Lynn, listing manufacturing in that category, and adding that, overall, the pendulum has swung, and what was a buyers’ (job seekers’) market maybe as late as nine months ago has now shifted to employers, with an abundance of candidates for many positions and, overall, fewer job opportunities.

Allison Ebner, president of the Employers Assoc. of the NorthEast, agreed, but noted that the higher levels of uncertainty and anxiety — in Washington, the job market, and everywhere else — are key contributors to the latest trend (and buzz term) in employment circles: ‘job hugging.’

“Folks are staying put; they’re giving their job a hug,” she explained. “They’re feeling like there’s enough uncertainty around … they’re hearing about layoffs with the larger companies and AI taking jobs — and there’s so much buzz about all that, the job market seems unstable.

“People are feeling a sense of volatility and continuous change, and when you feel like that, you look for some personal anchors, and for a lot of people, their job is their personal anchor,” she went on, adding that this is a fairly recent phenomenon dating back to last spring or early summer. “Everything in the world is changing, and they want to keep something consistent, and maybe it’s their job.”

But just because people are staying put in many cases that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily happy or that they aren’t looking, Ebner went on, adding that wages are stagnant after a period of upward movement in the years after COVID, and, in some cases, companies — especially smaller ones — are making do with fewer or the same number of employees, which often adds up to more work.

Overall, she had her own word for the current job market — ‘weird’ — meaning that there are many forces pushing and pulling at people and businesses (from tariffs to general uncertainty to AI) that are creating a confusing landscape.

nicole Polite

Nicole Polite

“Companies are running a little bit leaner, so they may not have the capacity to train like they used to, so they need someone who already has the skill base to come in and hit the ground running a little faster than before.”

As for AI, it is impacting everything from job availability in some sectors — everything from hospitality to computer technology — to candidates being overlooked because they don’t have those skills.

“It’s definitely a skill set that they want to stay ahead of,” said Nicole Polite, CEO and founder of the East Longmeadow-based MH Group, adding that this is part of a larger trend she’s seeing toward skill-based hiring rather than focusing on whether someone has a requisite degree.

“The degree requirement isn’t as strong as it once was, and employers are really focusing on the skill base,” she told BusinessWest. “And the reasoning for that, in many cases, is the ability to train. Companies are running a little bit leaner, so they may not have the capacity to train like they used to, so they need someone who already has the skill base to come in and hit the ground running a little faster than before.”

 

Hire Powers

Lynn told BusinessWest that the job fair, as it played out, presented an accurate snapshot of what’s happening in the employment market — at least when it comes to the companies turning out to recruit and the makeup of that crowd of 617 people.

With the former, there were businesses across the spectrum, he said, but certain sectors were better-represented, including healthcare (although much of it is on the lower end, with CNAs and home health aides), area schools, and the broad realm of government, where there are jobs — with water and sewer operations and public works departments, among other realms — but fewer takers, especially among the younger generations.

“They don’t see any future in it,” he said, adding that many area cities and towns are struggling to fill such jobs.

As for the job seekers, or those simply exploring options, there was a good cross-section, said Lynn, noting that there were professionals, “people in suits — which we haven’t seen a lot of lately,” as well as a mix of young people, some mid-career types, and “significant amounts of gray hair.”

Kevin Lynn

Kevin Lynn

“Part of the problem is that the people doing the hiring are much younger than the people looking for work, and they don’t have a clear understanding of the skill sets that the older worker brings.”

This diversity points to the across-the-board nature of a softening job market and the restlessness of those with jobs, but also the plight of older workers.

“There’s a lot of ageism that people have to deal with,” he explained. “And part of the problem is that the people doing the hiring are much younger than the people looking for work, and they don’t have a clear understanding of the skill sets that the older worker brings.

“One of the best things about older workers is they show up every day, and they’re very task-oriented — you can plug them in, and they’ll just go,” he went on, adding that this attribute is often overlooked amid perceptions that older workers struggle with technology. “There are all these assumptions being made that often don’t let the older worker get past the first cut, the résumé screening.”

As for those at the other end of the spectrum — recent college graduates and those wrapping up degrees — the overall job market remains solid, but some areas have slowed, said Cheryl Brooks, associate provost, Career and Professional Development at UMass Amherst, who put jobs in technology, life sciences, and, understandably, the federal government at the top of that list.

Tiffany Appleton, associate director of Employer Relations for the university’s Office of Career Development & Professional Connections, agreed, noting that jobs with the federal government are fewer in number than many other sectors, but they cross many degree programs at the school.

“It’s a bigger number that many people would think,” she told BusinessWest. “I know there were a number of people from the class of 2025 who had offers they had accepted for government jobs early in the spring of 2025, and by the time they graduated, those offers had been rescinded. They had to restart their job search, and many of them have been successful with finding jobs elsewhere.”

Brooks said it will be early next year before she has hard data on how the class of 2025 has fared, but anecdotally, she believes it has fared well, with those notable exceptions, and also with lingering questions about whether some international students will be able to obtain OPT (optional practical training, a temporary work authorization for F-1 student visa holders in the U.S. directly related to their field of study) or work visas.

As for this fall and the class of 2026 and beyond, she said turnout among employers at job fairs staged at the school, such as those for engineering, life sciences, and building and construction technology, is down slightly (8% to 10%, by her estimate) from previous years, but companies are turning out in good numbers, looking for both employees and interns.

Appleton concurred. “The vast majority of employers I’m talking to are still moving forward with their recruitment plans,” she noted. “They’re actively coming to campus, posting jobs, interviewing and extending offers to start after graduation.

“There’s only been a little bit of a decline, and if there’s a decline, it’s more like, instead of hiring 20 students into this entry-level job, they’ll hire 15 — and I haven’t seen much of that.”

 

The AI Factor

Overall, job seekers across the board are seeing fewer opportunities, at least in some sectors, as companies cope with uncertainty, tariffs and threats of tariffs, and other forces by being “more careful” in their hiring, Ebner said.

This phrase applies to both the numbers of people being hired and the skills they bring to the table, noted Polite, adding that, overall, companies are taking their time — because they have it, whereas they were far more under the gun a few years ago — and sharply focused on getting it right.

“They’re fine-tuning what they’re looking for,” she went on. “And since demand has changed in terms of the job seeker pool, they’re able to have more leverage and recruit in a different manner than they did post-pandemic.

“We saw post-pandemic that employers had positions they needed to fill immediately,” Polite continued. “This didn’t allow them the capacity to do some of the more intensive skill-set requirements that they’re doing now. So it’s definitely a different market in terms of what they’re looking for — and holding the line for.”

This is one of many forces contributing to job hugging, said Ebner, adding that this trend is both good and bad for employers.

“Even though people may not be jumping ship as quickly as they had been over the past few years, people are still unhappy where they are,” she noted. “They are looking, they’re out there, they’re seeing what’s out there, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that people are staying put and they’re more productive.

“It means they’re staying put, their job search is probably quieter, but they might be looking,” she went on. “Depending on their industry and whether they feel they might have more exposure to a layoff or job reduction — depending on whether they’re being impacted by tariffs or AI — they might be a little more motivated to search.”

As for AI, it is one of the more powerful forces impacting the job market and the plight of job seekers. In the broad realm of computer technology, for example, some jobs are being lost to AI, but others are being, created, Brooks said.

“It’s like a net-zero in terms of overall jobs, because it’s changing a bit,” she explained. “Some of the jobs are going away, but others are being created. It’s hard to parse out exactly what the numbers are, but we’re definitely seeing a decline this year, and who knows if that will level off this year.”

Ebner agreed. “Software development … that was the hottest gig in town 10 years ago, 15 years ago,” she said. “And now, AI is doing a lot of that work.”

Meanwhile, AI is having a growing impact on other sectors, including hospitality.

“Go visit the McDonald’s at Bradley Airport — there are no people,” Ebner said. “There are people making your food, but there are no people at the counter; it’s all kiosks. These are the pockets where we’re seeing technology replace people.

“But most industries are looking at how they can bring AI in, not to replace the people, but to use it to enhance the work that humans are doing,” she went on, adding that AI skills are increasingly becoming a determining factor is whether a candidate can land a specific job.

“The phrase you hear now is, ‘AI won’t replace all the people, but it will replace people who don’t have AI skills,’” Ebner explained, adding that this new reality crosses the broad employment spectrum.

Both Lynn and Ebner said their agencies offer training in AI and that, overall, there are an abundance of opportunities to gain these skills, and job seekers need to take full advantage of them.

Polite agreed. “I often talk to people during the interview process and ask them what training they’ve had in terms of AI and make sure they stay in front of it,” she noted, “because AI is here for the long haul, so we have to adjust to it.”