Community Spotlight

Forbes Library in downtown Northampton will soon feature a small outdoor stage, as seen in this rendering from HAI Architecture.

Andrea Monson came to her new role as executive director of the Northampton Downtown Assoc. (DNA) in a roundabout way, but found it to be an intriguing fit during an uncertain time for the city and its downtown, which will soon undergo a major — and not universally loved — redevelopment project.

After spending five and a half years at MassDevelopment as its Tranformative Development Initiative fellow for Chicopee, she then moved into the position of creative content officer for a few years; prior to that, she had been in marketing research at companies like Aetna and CVS. She’s also co-owner of Monson Roastery and founded the Urban Food Brood collaborative in Springfield.

“I found out about the Main Street redevelopment project from a friend of mine who lives in Northampton and was connected to a lot of folks there, and said they could really use a fellow to get through the project,” she said, adding that she wound up volunteering with Pardon Our Progress (POP), an entity created to streamline communication and mitigate obstacles around the Main Street redevelopment project, dubbed Picture Main Street by municipal leaders.

Then, when Jillian Duclos, the previous executive director of DNA, stepped down, Monson applied and won the job earlier this year. She explained that a major DNA focus is downtown advocacy, and it has been active in communicating project updates to businesses there.

“The bulk of construction is happening in 2027,” she said. “There will be some preliminary construction in the fall of 2026, but the city is very mindful of the retail experience of Northampton for the holiday season, so no construction then.”

Monson recognizes business owners are a divided camp on the project, and said the city has been trying to level up the way it communicates regarding the issue, while the DNA works directly with business owners, keeping them informed.

“We’re always thinking about how construction will affect traffic, incentives for foot traffic, creative ways to get around the work on Main Street. We don’t want anything to catch us by surprise.”

“We launched a survey to get all the businesses to share their experiences and feelings. A lot of them they’re frustrated because there hasn’t always been clear communication in the past, though we’re actively trying to remedy that,” she explained, adding that businesses emerging from the difficult pandemic years feel stressed on multiple fronts today, worried about tariffs, recession talk, and what they see as a major Main Street upheaval that could keep foot traffic away.

“They’re looking at the project as the end of the world, but that’s not the case,” Monson went on. “A lot of redevelopment projects end up increasing foot traffic; they end up being really profitable when they’re finished. And with POP, and my job at DNA, we’re listening to business owners and acting on their concerns, looking for grant funding and other funding to support them through the project. We’re also launching an RFP for marketing, to market Northampton in general and market the downtown, and keep them in the loop with everything that’s happening, scheduling changes, all of that.”

Judy Herrell, owner of Herrell’s Ice Cream, is one of several business owners who have taken the city to task over its downtown plans for a number of reasons, including an increase in traffic, concerns over bike safety, and a lack of public meetings on the project.

“I’ve talked to a few people that wanted to open businesses Northampton but didn’t for lack of being assured they would be fine during Picture Main Street. They’re worried that, for three years, Main Street will will be torn up, even though the city says it’ll be done in sequences and not tear up the whole street at once,” Herrell told BusinessWest. “That’s still a lot of stress on businesses in the city.”

Meeting of the Minds

Monson said the city is working with Emily Innes from Innes Associates, which specializes in municipal planning, on a grant-funded consultancy.

“She’s seen cities through a lot of these projects, and they’ve told us that we’re ahead of the game just by POP existing. We’re always thinking about how construction will affect traffic, incentives for foot traffic, creative ways to get around the work on Main Street. We don’t want anything to catch us by surprise.”

Monson is also in the process of bringing Jeff Speck to the city for a public talk. A noted city planner who wrote Walkable City: How Downtown Saves America, One Step at a Time, he will tailor his presentation to Picture Main Street and why it’s important, she said, adding that she’s also trying to put together a panel of mayors who have seen these types of projects through in their own cities.

But for locals looking for activities beyond road construction talk, there’s plenty to look forward to in town, including the return of the Taste of Northampton, now as a two-day event on Sept. 13-14.

“I love seeing all the businesses rally around these ideas. They’re all putting in their time and energy to create these collaborations. What I love about Northampton is how businesses help each other thrive.”

“It was a lot of work and a lot of money for just one day,” Monson noted, explaining the expansion to a two-day affair. “Again, this is being led by the restaurants; a lot of food and beverage establishments downtown are co-creating this with us. They know what’s best for them. They’ve been part of the Taste of Northampton for many years, and they’re excited to bring it back.”

The following month, Mischa Roy, owner of Spill the Tea Sis, is spearheading, alongside Isaac Weiner, co-owner of Familiars Coffee & Tea, a month-long October event called the Great Northampton Haunt, which celebrates the city’s haunted history.

“You know, we have as many hauntings here as anywhere else. We had witch trials before Salem. We just don’t brag about it,” Monson said. “So we’re trying to lean into it. They have plans to have something going on every single day in October, which coincides with a dip in retail business. So it’s strategic and intentional.

“I love seeing all the businesses rally around these ideas. They’re all putting in their time and energy to create these collaborations,” she added. “What I love about Northampton is how businesses help each other thrive.”

Meanwhile, a project to construct an outdoor performance stage beside Forbes Library promises to be another activation point for the downtown. HAI Architecture, based in Northampton, designed the accessible, open-air, covered stage to support a wide variety of programs, including concerts, children’s programming, and outdoor movies.

The Northampton Jazz Fest also returns to downtown — at numerous venues, as usual — on Sept. 26-27, headlined by New York Voices, a world-renowned vocal jazz quartet.

And speaking of music, the Iron Horse Music Hall recently celebrated one year since its much-anticipated reopening following a major renovation on Center Street, while other venues in town, from the Academy of Music to the Parlor Room to Bombyx, continue to thrive. But Monson said the still-shuttered Calvin Theater in the heart of downtown remains troublesome.

“When music venues are shut down, that’s big. That’s a big piece of what makes Northampton vibrant. If the Calvin doesn’t come back, that’s going keep Northampton from growing.”

Strength in Numbers

Northampton’s success is personal to Monson, who visited the city plenty during her youth and lived there during her college years. “I always felt it’s home. I want to come back and retire in Northampton. So I need it to stay vibrant, selfishly.”

To accomplish that vibrancy, she said, collaboration is key — between businesses, organizations like the chamber and the DNA, and even agencies across the region and state. So is a continued focus on the needs of businesses in a downtown that, aside from CVS, is comprised exclusively of small, local enterprises.

“How can we elevate Northampton? How can we address issues and creatively bring more traffic, more events, more people, so that people want to come back, stay over, go shopping?” Monson asked. “I get to work with some incredibly talented people, which benefits me in my understanding and learning about local economic development. And I think the DNA has been working really hard to build better relationships in Northampton.”

Cities that are struggling, she said, tend to have people working in silos that don’t collaborate with each other, and that’s the opposite of her vision for Paradise City, including that still-controversial reconstruction of Main Street.

“As Northampton forges on with this project, what I see is the potential of so many people working together and collaborating, and that’s ultimately going to be the great success of Northampton.”