architecture Archives - Page 4 of 6

ESE Bid to Black Out Casino Events Rejected
BOSTON — The state Gaming Commission has rejected the Eastern States Exposition’s (ESE) bid for recognition as a venue that would suffer financial damage from the $800 million casino that MGM Resorts International plans to build in Springfield. The commission voted 3-2 to deny the request on the condition that MGM impose a blackout on potentially competing events during the 17 days of the Big E, the fair that generates about 85% of the Eastern States Exposition’s revenue. If the 17-day blackout fails to protect the Big E, the exposition can reapply for status as an ‘impacted live entertainment venue, the commissioners said. Eugene Cassidy, president and CEO of the West Springfield-based ESE, said the nonprofit will consider filing a lawsuit against the commission to overturn the ruling. The had called for a longer blackout period, including 45 days before the fair and 30 days after, to offset MGM’s competitive advantage. West Springfield is still negotiating a surrounding-community agreement with MGM to mitigate the casino’s impact, as is Longmeadow. MGM has successfully negotiated surrounding-community mitigation agreements with Ludlow, Agawam, Wilbraham, East Longmeadow, Chicopee, and Holyoke. The agreements with Agawam and Chicopee call for each community to receive $125,000 up front with annual payments of $150,000. Ludlow, East Longmeadow, and Wilbraham are set to receive $50,000 up front with annual payments of $100,000. The Holyoke agreement calls for $50,000 up front and $1.28 million over 15 years.

State Issues Innovation Challenge Grants
BOSTON — Glen Shor, state Secretary of Administration and Finance, recently announced 37 projects slated to receive funding from the $4 million Community Innovation Challenge (CIC) grant program. Now in its third year, the program incentivizes and supports regionalization and other cost-saving initiatives that will change the way local governments do business to maintain service delivery and stretch every taxpayer dollar as far as possible. “The CIC program is a major component of the Patrick administration’s commitment to provide cities and towns with the tools to effectively manage resources and provide services to their residents,” said Secretary Shor. “This program provides an opportunity for neighboring communities to build partnerships, share services, and use their resources wisely.” Added state Sen. Steven Brewer, “investing in the relationships between local governments, school districts, and regional organizations is fundamental for growth and innovation in our state. The Community Innovation Challenge grant program has provided millions of dollars to unique projects around the Commonwealth, and I look forward to seeing the positive effects that it will have on the towns and organizations in my district.” As the most rural county in Massachusetts, the member towns of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments have long recognized the value of sharing services and expenses. “CIC grants have been a great and invaluable resource for the expansion of regionalization efforts in Franklin County,” said Linda Dunlavy, executive director of the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. “CIC funds have enabled us to open a regional dog shelter that serves 14 towns and has housed more than 200 dogs and adopted out 40% since its opening in late 2012. CIC funds have also created a regional health district that brings efficiency, accessibility, and professionalism to 10 small, rural towns. Including the 37 projects receiving funding this year, the Patrick administration has invested $10.25 million in 95 projects over a three-year period.

Diocese Announces Plan to Rebuild Cathedral High
SPRINGFIELD — The Diocese of Springfield confirmed last week that it will rebuild the tornado-damaged Cathedral High School, aided by approximately $29 million in federal disaster aid. Bishop Timothy McDonnell said in a press conference that the diocese will obtain demolition permits and move forward with design of the new school at that site in East Forest Park. A $38.5 million agreement was announced between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the diocese for damage to the school caused by a tornado on June 1, 2011. FEMA will cover about $29 million for tornado damages and related costs, and the diocese will cover the balance. The FEMA funds are earmarked for Cathedral and St. Michael’s Academy middle school and preschool, also damaged and relocated after the tornado. The diocese also recently reached a settlement of nearly $50 million with its insurance company, Catholic Mutual, for the Cathedral damage. Nearly $10 million more in insurance funds were issued for other diocesan buildings and costs. Cathedral has been located at a leased school in Wilbraham since the tornado, and St. Michael’s is currently housed in what used to be Holy Cross Elementary School in West Springfield.

State Awards $11 Million to Housing Authorities
BOSTON — Continuing the effort to preserve the state’s public housing authority portfolio and increase the number of affordable public housing units available, the Patrick administration announced nearly $11 million in funding to improve, preserve, and reoccupy the Commonwealth’s state-funded public housing units. The capital funding will be used for a number of initiatives, including supporting repairs required to get current vacant units back online, creating more accessible units for people with disabilities, and preserving the current housing stock by making the units more sustainable. “Affordable public housing is in high demand across the state,” said Undersecretary of Housing and Community Development Aaron Gornstein. “These additional dedicated funds will provide local housing authorities with new tools and funding to extend the life of our current housing stock and also more quickly house seniors and families looking for affordable housing.” The four types of funding being awarded to 170 housing authorities are: $3,598,970 in sustainability funds to upgrade building components in order to save energy and water; $4,125,365 in health and safety funds to reduce site and common-area hazards that could pose a danger to residents; $721,053 in vacant unit funds to renovate and reoccupy units needing costly rehabilitation that have been vacant for more than 60 days; and $2,517,778 in accessible unit funds to help housing authorities make progress toward having 5% of their units fully accessible.

Penn National Snags Slot Parlor License
PLAINVILLE — The state Gaming Commission awarded the state’s lone slots parlor license to Penn National Gaming for its proposed development at the Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville. The decision came down to Penn National or the proposed Massachusetts Live! slots parlor in Leominster. A third proposal in Raynham, known as Parx Casino at Raynham Park, was out of the running early. The planned slots parlor in Plainville will include 1,250 slot machines as well as a sports bar, a high-end restaurant, and a food court. Harness racing will continue at the track. Penn National had originally pursued a resort casino in Springfield’s North End, but Mayor Domenic Sarno close to back a larger, competing proposal by MGM Resorts International. The new Plainville parlor could open as soon as spring 2015, according to Penn National, but a temporary slots parlor may be constructed within the next six months at the track if the commission approves. The price of the license is $25 million and must be paid within 30 days.
  
Palmer Site Owner Seeks to Block Mohegan Sun Bid
PALMER — The owner of the Palmer property where Mohegan Sun had proposed a casino are seeking a court judgment to prevent the company from pursuing another gambling project at Suffolk Downs in Revere. Northeast Realty Associates, which controls 152 acres in Palmer, argues that the casino company violated contracts with the landholder by allegedly engaging in secret talks with racetrack representatives, then intentionally ran a lukewarm referendum campaign for the Palmer project, contributing to its defeat at the polls in November. The lawsuit came less than a week before Revere residents went to the polls to approve a citywide referendum on Mohegan Sun’s plans to build a $1.3 billion gambling resort on land belonging to Suffolk Downs. In a statement, Mohegan Sun said the Connecticut-based company “devoted over five years and more than $25 million to create a world-class resort casino proposal in Palmer. But on Nov. 5, 2013, the community made a decision, which we have respected.”

Employment on Rise for Manufacturing in U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Manufacturing jobs accounted for 18.6% of all employment growth in January, a sign of strength for the U.S. manufacturing sector, said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM). “It’s still far from a resurgence, but the jobs picture in manufacturing is certainly better than it was last decade. And the latest jobs report offers fresh evidence that it is possible to create manufacturing jobs in America again.” However, he added, “we believe better public policies would bring about a real resurgence. That would mean balancing our trade in goods, investing in infrastructure and training, combating currency manipulation overseas, and boosting innovation. And even though manufacturing may be one of the brighter spots in this jobs report, we’re still well below the pace needed to achieve the president’s goal of adding 1 million such jobs in his second term.”

Hiring Outlook Brightens in Landscape Architecture
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Business conditions remained stalled for the landscape-architecture profession in the fourth quarter of 2013, but may be entering a turnaround, according a survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). Although billable hours and inquiries for new work dipped during the fourth quarter, about half of all firms indicated plans to hire in early 2014 — a sign they are expecting more work. Some 75.7% of respondents reported stable to improved billable hours, a decline from the third quarter of 2013 (80.6%). Another 74.9% reported stable to higher inquiries from potential clients for new work, similar to what had been reported in the previous quarter (78%). Year to year, 81.5% of respondents indicated that fourth-quarter billable hours remained about the same or were higher. Additionally, 81.5% claimed steady or increased inquiries for new work compared to the fourth quarter of 2012. Of all firms with two or more employees, nearly half (48.5%) indicated they plan to hire in the first quarter of 2014. Half of all firms with 50 to 99 employees plan to hire an experienced landscape architect in the first quarter of 2014.

Piece of the Pie

Sections The Casino Era

Region’s Tradespeople Anticipate Casino Construction Opportunities

Jason Garand says MGM has a track record of using local labor for its projects, and he expects Springfield to be no exception.

With a membership of 950 carpenters who work in Western Mass., the New England Regional Council of Carpenters Local 108, has, in many ways, its finger on the pulse of the region, said Jason Garand, business manager.

“We do almost all the big work — I would say 99% of the biggest work,” he told BusinessWest. “And this one is going to be the biggest of all.”

He refers, of course, to a plan by MGM Resorts International to develop an $800 million casino in Springfield’s South End, which is awaiting final approval by the Mass. Gaming Commission — and which, if it moves forward, promises to put thousands of the area’s construction tradespeople to work.

“MGM has been, from the beginning, very forthright and open about how they plan to build this,” Garand said. “They have a track record of construction in other states, and in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, where they are committed to all the right things. And not only are they committed, but they’ve done so in writing, with the host-community agreement.”

That agreement, hammered out with Springfield municipal leaders last year, calls for the construction phase of the casino project to incorporate mostly local labor, potentially to the tune of 2,000 construction jobs, followed by 3,000 permanent jobs in the casino once it opens.

“Springfield — and Holyoke, too — have higher unemployment than other cities in the state,” Garand said, “so we want to create those jobs right here.”

Jeffrey Ciuffreda, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, praised the way MGM has reached out to the area’s unions, and suggested the project might incorporate a handful of large contractors from the eastern part of the state, but will source most of the subcontracted work locally.

The end result will be an uncommon style of casino, one that will face outward onto the streets of the South End, allowing tourists to enjoy its shops and restaurants without having to navigate through the gaming area or hotel. This design will encourage local business growth (see story, page 19), and link visitors to other Springfield attractions, including the MassMutual Center, Springfield Museums, and Symphony Hall.

“Their model is really unique,” Garand said. “And, if this model works, Springfield will be the first of many projects in the country with this new casino style. For example, they’re not building a convention center of their own; they’re tying it into the MassMutual Center.”

From the start, he said, local labor leaders, contractors, and tradespeople hope that community outreach begins with the construction phase. So far, they like what they’re hearing.

From the Ground Up

The level of expectation varies, however, between individual businesses and niches. For instance, landscape-architecture opportunities might be limited in an urban casino, said Stephen Roberts, president of Stephen A. Roberts Landscape Architecture & Construction in Springfield.

“There might be some exterior construction in regard to pavers and maybe water features, but I don’t see there being a lot of green space available to create pocket parks,” he said. “From the plans I’ve seen, there’s not a whole lot of landscaping — it’s mostly a kind of urban cityscape.”

He said landscape architects, perhaps more than any construction trade, are hurt by the Springfield project’s status as the last proposal standing for the Western Mass. license.

“If there were a casino like the one proposed in Palmer, on a large, open area of land, you’d see better opportunities for landscape architects, for planning, different plantings, and landscape features,” he added. “In Springfield, space is tight; the buildings will take up 90% of the site. I don’t see there being some huge, open landscaping there. I don’t see this as a huge opportunity, but I might be wrong.”

Still, opportunities abound across the construction trades when one considers the sheer scope of the MGM development.

“From the perspective of local contractors, it’s a little problematic,” Garand said. “Even large companies like O’Connell and Fontaine could never do a single project at $400 million, never mind $800 million. This is a monster.”

He said what Baystate Medical Center did recently, with its $250 million ‘Hospital of the Future’ expansion, is a good example for MGM to follow. Even though the main contractor for the 640,000-square-foot project was from the Boston area, Baystate crafted a project labor agreement with local unions to ensure that much of the work would be performed by local talent.

As a result, of some 300 workers on site daily at the project, which wrapped up two years ago, about 70% of them were based in Springfield or the Pioneer Valley. “We’ve been able to keep these jobs,” Stanley Hunter, Baystate’s project executive at the time, told BusinessWest back then. “Especially in these times, we know there’s an interest in keeping work local in such an important project for the area.”

That certainly hasn’t changed with the MGM development.

“There is a fear out there, because contractors here are smaller, that they would come in with basically big contractors from Boston or Eastern Mass., set up, then leave, without much in value locally,” Garand said. “MGM has said, ‘absolutely not; we are going to make sure we get as many contractors from the 413 area code as possible. We are maybe going to chop up some of the contracts, break them up so it’s feasible.’”

That means that, while no company is going to take on an entire $800 million project, a $5 million hotel wing or $50 million in electrical or plumbing work are big prizes in themselves, and there should be plenty of such opportunity to go around.

Holding Pattern

Not only is MGM committing to some 2,000 construction jobs, it will strive to ensure that 35% of those go to Springfield residents, and that no more than 10% of the workforce is made up of people who live outside the Greater Springfield area. In addition, it has set goals of hiring 15.3% minorities, 6.9% women, and 8% veterans on the construction phase.

These goals have produced anticipation in the local construction industry, but the project has also hindered companies in a significant way — by putting many Springfield landlords in a holding pattern.

“So far it’s hurt us,” said Peter Allum, president of McCormick-Allum Co., a Springfield-based HVAC firm. “There are projects that haven’t happened because of what might happen.”

That’s because many downtown Springfield property owners are in a kind of holding pattern, waiting for the casino to become official before making any moves involving their buildings.

“In several cases, landlords have not renovated their buildings because they’re taking a wait-and-see attitude,” said Allum, who recently saw two potential projects downtown pushed to the back burner. “One is a four-story building that needs a new heating system. Depending on the casino outcome, [the owner] might move out. Whether he renovates the space or moves out depends on what happens.”

Still, Garand believes the project is an overall benefit to the region, and his union has already begun to partner with MGM on job fairs and is promoting its apprenticeship program for teens at area vocational schools, so they can find work opportunities right after graduation.

“When Baystate did its $250 million expansion, they had a firm commitment to use a certain percentage of local labor, and they exceeded that number by almost 50%,” Ciuffreda said. “It’s clear from the finished project that the quality of local workmanship is high. I think MGM knows that was the last big building project done in the area, and my sense is, they’re committed to local labor.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Change Agent

Education Sections

A Dynamic Principal Has Given New Meaning to the Phrase ‘Putnam Pride’

Gilbert Traverso, principal of Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy

There’s an axiom printed in bold black marker, and in capital letters, on a whiteboard in the principal’s office of the new Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy. It reads, “DO NOT ACCEPT, NOR BE PART OF, INSTITUTIONAL MEDIOCRITY.”

That last phrase is among many, most all of them with negative connotations, that have been summoned over the past decade or so in reference to the State Street institution. But those words and others like them are now used almost exclusively in the past tense.

Ray Lapite helped explained why. A Putnam Collision Department repair technician for 12 years, he points to Gilbert Traverso, principal at the school since July 2010, as the impetus behind a foundation-shaking and unwavering plan to trigger a positive cultural shift that has given new meaning to the phrase ‘Putnam Pride,’ a chant that is quoted often in the halls and on the playing fields.

The change in attitude is so profound that it actually dwarfs, in scope, the transition from the old Putnam high school to the sparkling, $114 million facility that opened its doors in the fall of 2012.

“Chaos reigned; it was a free-for-all, and the morale was so bad, there just wasn’t any at all,” said Lapite as he reflected, somewhat regrettably, on conditions before Traverso arrived. “But Gil came in, and he held us all accountable, because we’re here to do a job, and some people were acting back then like it was their retirement.”

The story of Putnam’s radical and swift turnaround has very little to do with the new school, said Lapite and others we spoke with. Its construction simply served as a rapidly looming deadline for Traverso in his new role making sweeping changes in every facet of a school that had low morale, low student scores, and little attention paid to the few policies and procedures that were in place.

“The majority of the change had to take place in the old school, because I didn’t want to bring old or negative habits into a new setting,” Traverso explained. “I don’t care what the façade is; it’s what the internal mechanisms are, and they have to be sound and effective.”

When Traverso arrived just before the 2010-11 school year was to begin, he was told that employees at neighboring MassMutual across the street were used to the regular sounds of sirens arriving at Putnam due to fights in the hallways and the 52 false fire-alarm calls in the previous year alone.

“I was not really welcomed by too many people when I came on board, and I had no connections here,” Traverso said, recalling that first school year. “I uncovered some issues, and then I was the bad guy.”

The issues that Traverso unearthed went far beyond weekly police calls. Indeed, he’d inherited a school with an internal systemic breakdown that prompted him — with seven unions to deal with — to restructure the grading policy and daily class schedules, and request an audit of his school’s books and procedures, which led to numerous lawsuits and hearings. He fully expected, and indeed received, tremendous pressure from administrators, teachers, parents, and students to essentially back off.

But he never did.

Peter Salerno supported Gil Traverso’s aggressive plan for Putnam’s culture change, with investment in students, not the new building, as the number-one goal.

What became an emotionally draining two-year reconstruction process required unwavering encouragement outside his supportive family, which he found with Superintendent Daniel Warwick and his office, and Peter Salerno, executive director of the Roger L. Putnam Technical Fund Inc.

“I told him that, five to seven years from now, nobody’s going to be talking about the new building; that’s not the story,” said Salerno. “The story is you and the kids, and the children are going to be new each and every year; we’ve got to reinvest in ourselves in making it work for them.”

For this issue and its focus on education, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at what Traverso has accomplished and, more importantly, how. In doing so, we’ll shed light on how the phrase ‘new Putnam’ isn’t used exclusively in reference to the building.

Culture Clash

Traverso, an Hispanic, said he “came out of the ‘hood’” and had to work hard for everything he earned, a reality that has shaped his career, management style, and outlook on education.

Echoing Salerno, he said his mission is to provide a safe, fair, and equitable vocational and educational experience for those who are the intended beneficiaries — the students.

A former assistant principal of the Connecticut Department of Education’s Technical High School system, he was appointed to the Putnam position just two years before the opening of the new school. A visit early in the hiring process prompted some trepidation; he saw kids “hanging around,” and found little evidence to support the fact that there was a dress code in place.

The façade of the original Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy now serves as a grand entrance to the new, $114 million school.

“All I saw was that these urban kids weren’t being treated in an equitable manner, and I’m all about equality,” Traverso said as he pointed to a poster in his office printed with the Golden Rule. “I teach diversity training throughout Connecticut for the Anti-Defamation League, and if I want to live by that premise, why would I turn my back on an opportunity to address a situation that needed to be addressed?”

Elaborating, Traverso explained that many who are teaching these urban youths don’t live among them. “So there’s that misperception that maybe those kids can’t do it. But it’s not about lowering standards; it’s about providing multiple opportunities.”

It all starts with a belief gap, he went on, adding that there is a widely held belief that the students who don’t want to learn academically should be put in a vocational setting. “That doesn’t work,” Traverso stated. “What that ultimately does is ruin their self-esteem.”

And it’s untrue to begin with, he said, because Putnam has 90 days of trade education and 90 days of academic classes, but with the latter, students have to cover the same amount of required content that other comprehensive high schools stretch over 180 days.

That initial visit just before he was hired convinced Traverso that very few within the school walls seemed to recognize the value in a quality vocational-educational setting; a balance between academics and trades had to be found.

But creating this balance, and inspiring change, would prove to be a challenging assignment, he said, adding that, from the start, there was animosity stemming from the perception that he was “the new guy that was coming in to fix us,” with the ‘us’ referring to both students and faculty alike.

In that environment, he decided there was no way he was going to get up, assembly-style, in front of 400 or more students at a time, as well as their equally skeptical teachers.

His method to change the perception of him was to “divide and conquer.” His class-by-class conversations and gatherings in very small groups of students, he can jokingly say now, had less chance of turning into a “synergistic meltdown.”

In his first year, Traverso found that several students had earned enough academic credits to qualify as 10th graders, but were recorded as seniors, or were making the grade in their academics but not in their vocational classes, and were still being passed upward. Making more friends by the day, Traverso and the teachers met with 60 quite upset parents, one on one, and explained that the credits would have to be made up, with the help of the school, or the student in question would have to transfer. But the recommendation was to stay at Putnam, and most students did.

With students randomly hanging out in the hallways, Traverso also had to make sure all could be easily accounted for at any given time of day. Two significant scheduling changes he made were to divide the lunch times by grade level, due to the many fights, and to split grade levels for academic and vocational classes. Previously, half the school’s students across all four grades (9-12) were in academic classes one week, known as A Week, while the other half was in vocations during B Week, a system that made it difficult to track where students were at any given time. Traverso split the schedule to have ninth- and 11th-grade students traveling together to academics and 10th- and 12th-graders traveling together to their trades for the full five days of A Week, with both groups switching the next week.

Traverso and his team also created competencies for each grade level in each vocation, which provided more structure for the instructors and more accountability for the students, he said. During that analysis, he uncovered another alarming issue: each of Putnam’s 18 vocational programs, funded through Chapter 74 (Massachusetts Vocational Technical Education Regulations), are required to have advisory committees of two to 12 industry leaders from across the region. But most programs had no committee or, at best, one that was barely functioning.

The goal of each trade-advisory committee should be to identify new trends, skills, and technology required by the industry, and for those advisors to work with faculty and administrators to ensure that graduates are positioned for success in the workplace. When Traverso requested a meeting of all the advisory committees and vocational chairs, hardly anybody showed up to the first meeting.

“And I said, ‘that will not happen again,’” he told BusinessWest, adding that funding would stop for any trade without a fully functioning advisory committee. “From that day forward, we’ve had nothing but perfect attendance with active advisory committees.”

Looking back at the changes, Salerno added, “there’s a trait in Gil — he faces the brutal facts. Even if it’s a bad thing, you’ve got to face it courageously. You may not be applauded for every win, but you’ll know that you’ve won.”

Accountability Measures

But winning meant everyone had to feel that win.

Traverso recalled a teacher with many years of experience at Putnam who came to him at the beginning of this past school year, beaming and saying, “these kids are the best kids that I’ve ever taught,” an opinion he found intriguing.

“They’re the same kids — the same kids they’ve always been,” Traverso said with a laugh, adding that this episode is just one example of how much the attitudes, from the top down, have positively affected the feeling of being at Putnam, enabling people to say ‘Putnam Pride’ with conviction.

Four years ago, the pride was dead, Traverso explained, and “integrity-filled” instructors were in the shadows, lost in the shuffle during the audit phase. But as the smoke cleared, he created what became known as the Instructional Leadership Team for the purpose of giving more volume to those quiet voices throughout the old building to talk about the positive reality of Putnam’s transformation, as well as to learn what colleagues were doing in their core areas. Instructional rounds were formed, and teachers now run them every five weeks to observe, present feedback, and improve learning in the classroom.

Traverso also created an internal program called Implementation of Sustainable Change. It’s a simplistic flowchart of growth, showing where the school as a whole was in 2010, where it is at present, and where it is going as a team. His office whiteboard shows a graph in different-colored markers that breaks down the change process into four phases, all with traits that administrators, including Traverso, had to cultivate.

The phases include inception, incubation, inclusiveness, and interdependence. Each phase closely follows each of the past four years of Traverso’s demanding schedule to right the sinking ship, including the few months of running room he needed that first fall. He told BusinessWest that Putnam is about 25% through the final phase, which is the chapter that speaks most to cohesive and consistent accountability, vision, and trust.

As they went through the phases, staff members were making data-driven decisions and analyzing, as a team, what was working, what was not, and how to make it all crystalize. By the inclusiveness phase around the start of 2013, the teachers were largely on board; there was far less pushback and far more teamwork, Traverso said.

“But it wasn’t me expanding; it was more people coming on board, and they were seeing change and facilitating these conversations themselves,” he recalled.

Turning his sights to Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores, Traverso launched an internal assessment to find out what areas the students were struggling with, which in turn would help teachers across the board in their teaching process. The assessment is done four times a year and has been a “game changer,” he said.

“It’s provided a professional recognition to the teachers about their input for the students and the assessment of their abilities in their own teaching method.”

Other grade-level exercises included tracking disciplinary data by teacher, attendance of students as well as teachers, out-of-school suspensions, and a tougher Dropout Early Warning System (DEWS) program, which is comprised of grade-level teams, allowing teachers to benchmark students through all four grades and intercept at the first signs of dropout behavior.

When all was said and done, in just over a two-year period of time, Traverso and the re-energized teachers at Putnam instituted more than 80 different policies and procedures.

Shared Victory

After the audit, a few “troublesome” teachers were either fired or left of their own accord, but those remaining, and any new instructors, have a found a place that they truly enjoy coming to each day.

A 22-year veteran at Putnam, John Kennedy, Collision Department head, saw the cultural change happen before his eyes, and both he and Lapite are still shocked at how fast the transformation happened.

“It’s a whole new atmosphere now, and the kids absolutely love the new building,” Kennedy said. “The culture here now … it’s a new vibe.”

Feeling that new vibe, Traverso recently spoke to 10 new students accepted from a waiting list of 1,000, to tell them that Putnam is very structured; there are expectations, there’s no drama, and nobody bends the rules. “There was a big sigh, and some of the kids even clapped,” he recalled.

Salerno looks back at the disturbing number of false alarms that were pulled before Traverso’s leadership; now there are none, not because the halls are policed, but because the students don’t want to do it anymore.

“The peer-to-peer relationship is a major, positive change under Gil Traverso and all the team,” Salerno said, adding that “victory has many fathers; failure has none. Gil has created the architecture of a successful organization and created a systemic change — it’s not just dependent on Gil — that will be in place for many years.”

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Their Time in the Sun

Environment and Engineering Sections

WNEU Team Chosen to Compete in Prestigious Solar Decathlon

E-Board members, from left, Garrett Bieksza, Samuel McLaren, Adison Vanina, Tiffany Behuniak, and Justin Parlapiano, will have leadership roles in the biathlon project.

Samuel McLaren was talking about anxiety, a few sleepless nights, 16-hour days, and the pressure of meeting tight deadlines.

And that was just the application process.

There is certain to be much more of all of the above as he and more than 100 other students at Western New England University, which will lead one of 20 teams that prevailed in that application phase, take part in something called the Solar Decathlon.

Over the next 22 months or so, students across a number of disciplines, from environmental engineering to mathematics to mass communications, will design, fund, and build a completely solar-powered, net-zero home, then test it, disassemble it, transport it to Irvine, Calif., where it will compete with those 19 other entries, disassemble it again, and ship it back to Springfield.

“This is an enormous task, obviously,” said Kenneth Lee, professor and chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at WNEU, who was on hand for the 2013 Solar Decathlon, and pronounced it a working display of energy innovation in action. “It’s going to require teamwork, lots of hard work, and a strong focus on innovation.”

McLaren, a junior who transferred to WNEU from Housatonic Community College, and one of several students on the project’s leadership team, or Engineering Board, or E-Board, agreed.

“It’s already been a lot of work — we worked on this tirelessly last semester, getting our application ready,” he said, adding that those long days and sleepless nights, which extended into the intersession, were obviously worth it.

Indeed, on Feb. 13, the U.S. Dept. of Energy, which stages the decathlon, announced that WNEU and two collaborating partners, Universidad Tecnologica de Panama and Universidad Tecnologica Centroamerica in Honduras, would be competing against the likes of Stanford, Yale, California Polytechnic State University, Vanderbilt, and many other top schools, in this country and abroad.

The winning team will receive a cash prize, said Lee, adding quickly that the more important rewards — which will go to all of the more than 2,000 contestants — include the experience of working with others to plan and execute the project, and also working on the cutting edge of innovation in energy efficiency.

The biannual event is called a decathlon because, as the name suggests, there are 10 contests within the larger competition. Teams will be judged on architecture, market appeal, engineering, communication, and affordability — components that will be juried — as well as ‘comfort zone,’ hot water, appliances, home entertainment, and energy balance, which will be measured (home entertainment will also be juried).

For this issue and its focus on environment and engineering, BusinessWest talked with Lee and several of the students who will be leading WNEU’s participation. They all described it as a unique opportunity to take what is being taught in the classroom and put it to work in a real world that is searching for ways to become more energy-efficient.

Bright Ideas

The scope of the Solar Decathlon became clear at a meeting involving many of the students who will participate.

The auditorium on the ground floor was packed with more than 100 students across a number of disciplines. More than a dozen would move to the front of the room to discuss specific aspects of the project that they would lead, and essentially recruit members for those teams.

These specific assignments ranged from planning and design to public relations; from interior design (led by a young woman who admitted she knew nothing about engineering, but didn’t need to) to fund-raising and soliciting sponsors.

And Lee summed up the principle that will drive each of these tasks, but especially the design phase, when he told those assembled, “we need innovation, innovation, innovation. We’re going to have to separate our house from everyone else’s, and the only way to do that is to apply innovation to everything we do.

“This is going to be the experience of a lifetime,” he went on,” he went on, during what could be described as an informational session presented in the form of a pep talk. “This is probably the best experience you’re going to get in your undergraduate career. You’re going to work hard — I’m going to make sure of that — and you’re going to have to earn your way on this team.”

Innovation has been the watchword since the Solar Decathlon was first staged in 2002. Since then, a total of 192 teams and nearly 17,000 students, representing 33 countries, have taken part.

Those numbers will increase with the 2015 competition, which will include eight returning teams and 12 new squads; four of the teams will have partners from international schools. The field looks this this:

• California Polytechnic State University;

• California State University in Sacramento;

• Clemson University;

• Crowder College and Drury University;

• Lansing Community College, Kendell College of Art and Design, and Ferris State University;

• Missouri University of Science and Technology;

• New York City College of Technology;

• Oregon Institute of Technology and Portland State University;

• Stanford University;

• State University of New York, Alfred College of Technology, and Alfred University;

• Stevens Institute of Technology;

• University of Florida, National University of Singapore, and Santa Fe College;

• University of Texas at Austin and Technische Universitaet Muenchen;

• University of California Davis;

• University of California Irvine, Saddleback College, Chapman University, and Irvine Valley College;

• Vanderbilt University and Middle Tennessee State University;

• West Virginia University and University of Roma Tor Vergata;

• Western New England University, Universidad Tecnologica de Panama, and Universidad Tecnologica Centroamericana; and

• Yale University.

Those teams will looking to duplicate the success of Norwich University in Vermont, which took home the Byron Stafford Award of Distinction (named after one of the event’s original organizers, who passed away last year) for something called the Delta T-90 House, which, according to last year’s program guide, “is guided by the beliefs that high-performance, solar-powered dwellings should be available to all and that good design is not a function of cost.”

Seeing the Light

At present, the WNEU team’s entry doesn’t have a name, a design, or even a budget, said Tiffany Behuniak, a sophomore studying civil and environmental engineering and project engineer for the decathlon bid, noting that these pieces to the puzzle will fall into place over the next several months.

She conjectured that the WNEU team’s application struck a chord with those reviewing the entries because of the international partners, the fact that the school had committed $24,000 to the project and raised another $26,000, and other tangibles and intangibles.

And since word came from the Department of Energy that WNEU’s team had been chosen to compete, the process of filling out that team and assigning work has commenced with the necessary degree of urgency.

“We’re getting all of members together and splitting people into groups based on what they want to work on,” Behuniak explained. “And then we’re going to start all of our training and design work, getting more sponsorships and doing more fund-raising. There is a lot going on all at once.”

Students at the partnering international schools will be working with those at WNEU on individual projects, mostly via skype, said Lee, adding that, when the endeavor reaches its final stages, some of these students will come to the Springfield campus for actual hands-on involvement.

Adison Vanina, a sophomore electrical engineering major and project manager for the decathlon bid, said that, for all those involved, this will be experiential learning of the highest order, and an invaluable experience that could help open doors to careers in the green-energy field.

“When Dr. Lee first introduced this to us, it seemed like a great opportunity to build our experience in engineering,” he said, “and also take what we’ve learned in the classroom and put it to practical use, while also working in a team environment.”

While many of the aspects of the project involve science, architecture, and engineering, there are other components that make it a truly campus-wide initiative, said Lee.

He cited, for example, the communications segment within the decathlon. In that competition, a jury of communications professionals evaluates Web content, an audio-visual presentation and information, the quality of on-site graphics, the delivery of messages to target audiences, and the use of innovative (there’s that word again) methods to engage audiences.

And then, there’s the fund-raising aspect to the project, which, while it is not scored as part of the actual competition, is obviously vital to its success. The Department of Energy provides some funding, as does the university, said Lee, but the team must pound the pavement and be creative to cover the full cost of building the home (projected to be $250,000 or more) and also additional expenses, especially those involving getting the house — and the students who built it — to California and back.

All those we spoke with said this project is at its very earliest stages and there are many unknowns ahead, which is one of the more intriguing aspects of this effort.

What is known is that there will be many more of those long days and possibly sleepless nights in the months to come.

Whether the WNEU team can take the top prize in the 2015 competition remains to seen, but one thing is clear: this will be a well-earned day in the sun for all those involved.

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

Word Up

By BusinessWest Staff February 25, 2014

Sections Technology

As Speech-recognition Technology Improves, More Applications Emerge

Speech-recognition technology, which instantly translates human speech into a digital document or command, has been around in some form for about two decades. But constant improvements in performance — as well as a broading of its applications — have users excited about the future.

That performance is typically measured in accuracy and speed, but various factors have complicated the former, from the vocabulary size of the software to the rate of speech; from accented or disjointed speech to background noise.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking, produced by software developer Nuance, has long been considered the gold standard in minimizing such issues.

“At first, speech-recognition packages were more like frustrating toys with maddening limitations, but they have steadily improved over time,” writes Lamont Wood in Computer World, in a discussion about NaturallySpeaking 12, the newest Dragon product. He said the utility of speech recognition didn’t outweigh its limitations until about a decade ago, but even then, speech recognition was more reliable with long words than with short ones, misinterpreted words were often rendered as commands, and the software occasionally got confused to the point that it stopped listening.

With version 12, he notes, “these factors have faded into the background (although they they haven’t entirely disappeared). For example, you can dictate effectively at about half the speed of an auctioneer — should you prove able to do so. Assuming that you stay focused while dictating, the error rate is now trivial.”

That’s important for people who use speech recognition in a variety of fields, including:

• Healthcare. The technology speeds up the transcription process by allowing a medical professional to dictate into a speech-recognition engine and cleaned up by an editor on the back end.
• Military. Speech recognition has been tested successfully in fighter aircraft, with applications including setting radio frequencies, commanding an autopilot system, setting steer-point coordinates and weapons-release parameters, and controlling flight display.
• Air-traffic control. Many air-traffic-control training systems require a person to act as a pilot and dialogue with the trainee. Speech recognition could potentially eliminate the need for that pseudo-pilot, thus reducing training and support personnel.
• Aerospace. NASA’s Mars Polar Lander used speech recognition in some applications.

Other uses are common as well, including court reporting; assistive devices for automobiles, such as OnStar and Ford Sync; hands-free computing; robotics; video captioning for television; and interactive video games — just to name a few.

Taming the Dragon?

Dragon isn’t the only player in the field, however. “Simpler or less expensive (if not quite as powerful) options are carving out little fiefdoms,” writes Mark O’Neill in PC World. “The more choices, the better, too, given that using voice commands can stave off or reduce repetitive strain injuries. The spoken word also suits some projects better than typing.”

Among the lesser-known options are:

• Windows Speech Recognition, which arrives preinstalled with newer versions of Windows. “Performance could stand some improvement,” O’Neill notes. “I found the accuracy level dipped when I dictated long texts into a MS Office doc. Nor did it respond well to my German accent, so other accents may stymie it as well.”
• Google Voice Search, which works on a Google Chrome browser, which is “fairly good at recognizing what you said.”
• TalkTyper, an online app with far fewer features than Dragon. “Even when I spoke clearly, it tripped up on some of the words, and I wasn’t exactly dictating rocket science. TalkTyper should be used only for simpler stuff, shorter spoken content — maybe an email or a tweet here and there.”
• Tazti, an app that goes beyond simple transcription. “Rather than taking dictation, Tazti takes orders. It helps you control games, open apps, and even use the command line,” O’Neill notes. “However, Tazti’s one big drawback is it won’t let you dictate text to a document. It’s not that kind of voice recognition.”

Using voice recognition for commands is increasingly common in automobiles. Although these systems are largely user-friendly, drivers still have to rely on set commands when summoning a phone number or searching through music. But Nuance says systems that recognize true natural language with 95% accuracy are probably no more than three years away.

“I believe the biggest gains to be made are going to be in conversational speech and understanding the intent of what the user is trying to accomplish,” Brian Radloff, the company’s director of Automotive Solution Architecture, told Satellite Radio Playground. “We’re starting to see that in telephony in the mobile space.”

He said strides will come when car makers treat their infotainment systems more holistically, with screen graphics properly tying into speech control. “The bulk of the focus over the next five years in the automotive space, and in voice in general, is going to be, how do we take this experience that is very good for a certain group, and make it very good for a large swath of the car-buying public?”

Meanwhile, Wells Fargo recently began testing voice-recognition technology that banking customers can use to check their spending habits and account level. In addition, U.S. Bank has been testing the technology among its employees, and some insurance companies, including Geico and USAA, have incorporated voice recognition in their applications, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Shirley Inscoe, a senior analyst with Aite Group, a national research and advisory firm, said such advances are closely tied to the rise in mobile devices and consumers demanding to do more with them. “There’s a big desire to improve customer service. They know we as consumers don’t go anywhere without our mobile phones. It really is a way to tie a customer more closely to the financial institution.”

Other advances in voice recognition go well beyond finance and leisure activities. For instance, two MIT students recently spent their winter break in New Jersey developing a device that could give paralyzed people the ability to call for help with the sound of their voice or change the settings on their wheelchair when no one is around. They were inspired by retired physics professor Michael Ogg, who has multiple sclerosis.

“My real limitation now is because of MS. I’m completely quadriplegic. I’m just not able to move my arms and legs at all,” Ogg told the Asbury Park Press.

He relies on home health aides for daily assistance, but when he is alone, he cannot reach an alarm by his bed to summon aid. “In the case of … being able to call for help,” he said, “this is potentially life-saving technology.”

Speak Clearly

Whichever voice-recognition software one uses, Wood offers a few tips to make the technology easier and more effective, including enunciating carefully and speaking slowly enough so that each word gets its due; watching the results on the screen as you go along, which can enhance accuracy; and taking heed of background sounds.

“Background silence is best, but droning ventilators hurt recognition more than office chatter,” he writes. “Meanwhile, if you don’t mind being overheard on the phone, then you won’t mind being overheard while dictating. You can use about the same volume for the phone and for speech recognition.”

Put that way, the ever-improving realm of speech recognition can be thought of as just another office function, as it’s increasingly assimilated into many corners of the world, from gaming to aviation to healthcare — a life enhancer for some, but for others, potentially a life-saving development.

— Joseph Bednar

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff December 31, 2013

Briefcase Departments

Baystate Health to Acquire Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers
PALMER — The boards of trustees of UMass Memorial Health Care (UMMHC), Baystate Health, and Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers have authorized the organizations to sign a letter of intent to transfer of ownership of Palmer-based Wing Memorial to Baystate Health. The potential transaction now enters a period of review and due diligence within the organizations and in partnership with the relevant regulatory and oversight bodies. This work is expected to occur over the next several months. In the meantime, it will be operations as usual at the two organizations and at Wing Memorial. This letter of intent builds on a long-existing relationship between the two not-for-profit health systems and is also a result of the closer collaboration that UMMHC and Baystate Health announced in September, when the two systems agreed to explore a number of possible opportunities with the intent of improving quality, access, and affordability of care. Thus far, those discussions have advanced in the areas of sharing best practices in quality and population health management and jointly applying for grant funding for public-health research. The two organizations continue discussing other opportunities, including shared training methodologies and better coordination of specialty services. “Wing Memorial Hospital has a strong, historical place in the community it serves. Our dedicated staff and employees live and work in this community, and the high-quality care they provide has earned the trust and support of our neighbors and patients,” said Dr. Charles Cavagnaro III, president and CEO of Wing Memorial Hospital and Medical Centers. “For us to potentially be part of a vibrant, local and regional health system closer to home that allows for improved access to and recruitment of specialists, access to capital investment, an accountable-care organization, and further supports for our patients and their families is a win-win. This continuum of care for our patients, which starts at our front door, is most importantly at the center of these discussions.” Added Mark Tolosky, president and CEO of Baystate Health, “while we recognize that we are only at the beginning of a long and complex process, we are very excited at the prospect of welcoming Wing Memorial, its patients, and employees to the Baystate Health family. We at Baystate Health have a great deal in common with Wing Memorial: excellence in clinical care, common missions to improve health, well-established histories of caring for patients and our communities, and a strong shared geography.” Dr. Eric Dickson, president and CEO of UMMHC, called Wing a valued member of the UMass Memorial system since 1999. “This is a difficult decision, but it makes the most sense for the patients — who are at the heart of our decision — to become part of a regional academic healthcare system that will keep patients home, healthy, and free from needing to travel outside the area for advanced care. A potential transfer of ownership allows both of our healthcare systems to provide high-quality, safe, and affordable care, close to home.” Neither UMass Memorial Health Care nor Baystate Health expect to change their academic affiliations as a result of the potential transfer of ownership, nor will the letter of intent limit the ability of either party to pursue other strategic opportunities.

Holyoke to Fund Facade Improvement
HOLYOKE — The City of Holyoke has awarded the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation $50,000 through the city’s Community Development Block Grant Program to reinstate the Facade Improvement Program (FIP), which was run by the chamber in past years. “As downtown Holyoke moves towards its revitalization, it is important to appropriately allocate funding for projects that send the message to business owners that our city is as invested in the success of their business as they are,” Mayor Alex Morse said. “This is an important program that I am excited to see return, and I am confident that these improvements will not only benefit business owners, but also the downtown community as a whole.” The funds are in the form of a grant that must be matched in equal amounts of the request up to $25,000. The Facade Improvement Program was designed to strengthen and enhance Holyoke’s business districts by restoring and improving existing facades. The FIP is administered by the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation with funding from the City of Holyoke Office for Community Development. It offers rebates to eligible property owners for up to 50% of the façade-improvement project cost. The minimum rebate is $2,500 for at least a $5,000 project, and the maximum rebate is $25,000 for at least a $50,000 project. “We are very excited to be able to offer this program to our downtown businesses in an effort to help them improve their facades and hopefully their business as well, said Kathleen Anderson, president of the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation. “We appreciate the award from the city in an effort to support downtown business. We have such beautiful architecture downtown, and this program will help to restore these buildings so that they can last for another 100 years.” Applicants should apply through the Greater Holyoke Chamber Centennial Foundation. Potential applicants may contact Kathleen Anderson at (413) 534-3376 to determine FIP eligibility and to request an application package. The funds are used strictly to renovate the front facade of a building.

State Awards $79 Million to Infrastructure Projects
BOSTON — In continuation of the Patrick administration’s efforts to stimulate job creation and support long-term economic growth, state Housing and Economic Development Secretary Greg Bialecki announced more than $79 million for 33 MassWorks Infrastructure Program grants to support development throughout the Commonwealth. “The MassWorks program is a key tool in our growth strategy of investing in education, innovation, and infrastructure to create jobs and economic development,” said Gov. Deval Patrick. “By partnering with municipalities, these MassWorks projects will strengthen communities for generations to come.” Added Bialecki, “we remain committed to working with local communities to help identify opportunities to support growth and spur regional development. I look forward to our ongoing partnerships with municipalities across the state and private industry leaders to explore additional ways to promote continued growth in every region of the Commonwealth.” Through these grants, the state will partner with cities and towns to target investments in infrastructure such as roadways, streetscapes, water, and sewer to facilitate and support new and sustained housing and economic growth throughout Massachusetts. The 2013 application round generated 108 applications for more than $263 million in infrastructure requests. Of the 33 approved projects, 11 are in the four counties of Western Mass., including: Conway, downtown parking and safety improvements ($997,521); Deerfield, River Road roadway reconstruction ($952,463); Easthampton, Pleasant Street infrastructure improvements, phase 2 ($1.5 million); Hadley, Shattuck Road improvements ($61,815); Mount Washington, BashBish Falls Road project ($1 million); Pittsfield, streetscape improvements, phase 3 ($2 million); Savoy, Black Brook Road drainage improvements and road reconstruction ($997,112); Tolland, Route 57 improvements ($990,000); Wales, Union Road roadway and drainage improvements ($881,923); Warwick, Winchester Road paving ($495,000); and West Stockbridge, downtown improvements ($1 million). Administered by the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (HED), the MassWorks Infrastructure Program provides a one-stop shop for municipalities seeking funding to support housing, economic development, and job creation with a particular emphasis on assisting communities to advance multi-family housing development. Each year, the program allocates 10% of its funds to assist municipalities with populations of 7,000 or fewer complete roadway safety-improvement projects. For more information, visit www.mass.gov/eohed/massworks.

State’s Unemployment Surpasses National Rate
The Massachusetts unemployment rate in November surpassed the national rate for the first time in more than five years, suggesting weaker conditions in the Bay State even as the national economic recovery accelerates. The state unemployment rate was 6.4% in April, compared to 7.5% nationally. In November, the state rate was 7.1%, compared to 7% nationally, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. It was the first time since May 2007 that state unemployment exceeded the national rate. Economists said automatic federal budget cuts, known as sequestration, have taken a disproportionate toll on the state economy because of the high concentration of research institutions and defense contractors here that rely on federal grants and other funding. A recent report by the UMass Donahue Institute estimated that sequestration has cost the state about 14,000 real or expected jobs in roughly the past year. It also estimated that the cutbacks reduced the state’s economic output by $1.4 billion, resulting in a $63 million decrease in state tax revenues.

Room to Grow

By BusinessWest Staff November 4, 2013

Health Care Sections

Surging Need Prompts Expansion of Sr. Caritas Cancer Center

This planned 20,000-square-foot expansion to the Sr. Caritas Cancer Center will allow Mercy Medical Center to offer more comprehensive cancer treatment.

When the Sr. Caritas Cancer Center opened its doors in 2003, the 16,000-square-foot facility effectively doubled the cancer-treatment capacity of Mercy Medical Center, the heart of the Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS), and specialized in the growing field of radiation oncology.
There was probably little thought then that a major expansion, one that would more than double the current footprint, would be needed less than a decade later. But in the ever-changing realm of cancer treatment, much can happen in just a few years.
In this case, advancements in the field of medical onology have precipitated an explosion in need for those type of services. At the same time, Mercy has joined forces with medical oncologist Dr. Philip Glynn, in a venture that has brought both great opportunity and a stern challenge: a pressing need for more space.
The latter is being addressed with a $15 million, 20,000-square-foot expansion that will increase the number of chemotherapy treatment bays from the current 10 to 32, while also providing the room, and flexibility, to handle projected needs for years to come, said Dr. Scott Wolf, who serves as Mercy Medical Center’s senior vice president of Medical Affairs, chief medical officer, and chief operating officer.
As for the former, Wolf said Glynn’s decision to merge his growing practice with Mercy Medical Center’s medical oncology services provides the institution with an opportunity to achieve much greater balance in its efforts to provide the two major cancer-treatment modalities — radiation oncology and chemotherapy — and also take cancer-treatment services to a much higher level.
“Our goal is to establish ourselves as a center of excellence in comprehensive oncology care,” Wolf told BusinessWest. “Building on the already-existing expertise in our radiation oncology, and then adding modalities and surgical oncology and subspecialty medical oncology, we will elevate ourselves as a center of excellence.

Dr. Philip Glynn serves as the cancer center’s new director of Medical Oncology, and has helped expand Mercy’s chemotherapy services.

“This has been Dr. Glynn’s vision, beyond just his practice, for several years,” Wolf continued. “He first came to me about two years ago about creating a foundation of a more comprehensive oncology service line.”
Soon after that conversation, Glynn merged his private practice, Murray Glynn P.C., with Mercy Medical Center in June 2012.
“Our group of medical oncologists came together because we felt that collectively we could provide a more effective service to our patients and to this community,” said Glynn, who is now the director of Medical Oncology through Mercy Oncology Services.
This development created an immediate need for more facilities at Mercy, which was met by establishing 10 temporary infusion bays at the nearby Weldon Center for Rehabilitation.
While this was taking place, MorrisSwitzer – Environments for Health, a Boston-based architecture firm that focuses exclusively on the healthcare sector, began designing an expansion of the Caritas Center.
Groundbreaking is slated for next spring, and the facility is expected to open in late 2015, said Wolf. Funding for the expansion will be derived through a variety of means, including a working capital loan from Trinity Health (the second-largest Catholic health system in the country), a forthcoming capital campaign, and future operating revenue from the new center.
While the architectural plans and the new expansion layout are complete, the bid requests for construction management will go out soon.
For this issue, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the plans to expand the Sr. Caritas Center, and also at what this development means for Mercy and SPHS as the system works to expand its presence in cancer treatment.

Supply and Demand
As he talked about the changes and developments that put the Caritas Center expansion plans on the drawing board, Mark Fulco, senior vice president of Strategy and Marketing for SPHS, started with some rather sobering statistics regarding cancer in this country.
He said that analysis of data provided by the state Department of Health, national statistics, and interviews with consumers and community leaders reveals that the demand for medical oncology services is expected to increase by 11% over the next 10 years.
The aging of the nation’s population is a big factor in these estimates, but there are other factors that point to heightened demand both nationally and especially in this region, he went on, citing a smoking rate of 23.8% in Greater Springfield, nearly double the national average of 14.7%.
While these numbers indicate that Mercy was likely to eventually need more space and facilities at the Caritas Center, the recent merger with Glynn’s practice certainly accelerated that process, Fulco noted.
Wolf concurred, noting that this consolidation more than doubled the number of medical oncology treatments at Mercy, from roughly 3,000 per year to more than 7,000. And the expansion is designed to accommodate 30,000 annually.
“Phil is an incredibly gifted physician, and due to his presence in this community, he has an extremely loyal following,” said Wolf. “Oncologists as a whole are a special group of physicians, just because of the nature of their business, but Phil takes it to another level.”
The planed expansion will feature two floors of medical oncology services adjacent to the current single-story facility on the eastern side of the Mercy Medical Center campus that houses radiation oncology.
But there is much more to the expansion than additional square footage and infusion bays, said Fulco.
“What we’re putting together to meet greater demand for services is a truly comprehensive cancer center with cancer diagnosis, treatment, and other modalities, like support and our spiritual-care team, all in one place,” said Fulco. “The physicians will be in close proximity to each other so that it will further enhance collaboration efforts, with cancer being treated through a team approach.”
Elaborating, he said the new, enlarged Caritas Center will bring together what he called a talented team of clinicians.
Glynn is now responsible for all aspects of the medical oncology program and its activities, such as cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, state-of-the-art treatment, counseling, and rehabilitation.
Glynn and his seven-member oncology team will be joined by Dr. Neal Chuang, the new chief of thoracic surgery, who is trained on the da Vinci S Surgical System, the latest in minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery; Dr. Mark Sherman, also a thoracic surgeon and a new surgical oncologist; and Dr. Julia Donovan, a specialist in female reproductive cancers. Within the existing radiation department are Dr. Catherine Carton, the full-time director of radiation oncology; and radiation oncologist Dr. Mary Ann Lowen.
“Dr. Glynn has a very clear and progressive vision for where cancer care and interventions are going,” said Fulco, adding that Glynn’s keen interest in pursuing new interventions that aren’t currently available at Mercy, or anywhere else, for that matter, will see those new modalities being developed and eventually in use at the center.
For example, 10 years ago, when the current center opened, two linear accelerators (used for external beam radiation treatments) and intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) were hyped in the press as advanced technology; today, the team is proud of the two Elekta Infinity intensity-guided radiation-therapy machines, which are advanced linear accelerators (see sidebar, page 17), and are the only two of their kind in Western Mass.
Casting the net even wider, the business plan written 18 months ago by Daniel Moen, president and CEO of SPHS, with Wolf, Glynn and others, demands that the team be consistently aggressive in seeking new technology, new treatment modalities, and new relationships.
To that end, Wolf said the team is in the early stages of identifying a tertiary partner, one that would offer access to clinical trials, second-opinion expertise, genetic profiling, and many other services that will be demanded of a truly comprehensive cancer-care facility.
Fulco said this represents the type of forward thinking that is a very important motivation for Glynn, who also assists with the development and implementation of new program initiatives, such as cancer survivorship, navigation, community outreach, and clinical research/clinical trial participation.

Progressive Vision
Fulco told BusinessWest that, when plans were first put on the drawing board for what would become the Sr. Caritas Cancer Center, the overarching philosophy was to create a facility that would drive home the point that area residents did not have to drive to Hartford, Boston, New York, or anywhere else to receive quality cancer treatment.
Over the past decade, the facility has gone a long way toward proving that point, and the planned expansion of the center will only make it easier to make that argument.
“Except for the esoteric type of cancer that requires specialists who are just as rare and requires experimental therapies, the modalities that we have available to treat patients here are equivalent to the very best in the world,” said Fulco. “You don’t need to go to Boston or New York to get a leading-edge treatment.”

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Sprouting Event

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Holiday Party Planner Sections

Explosive Growth Fuels a Building Boom at Lattitude

Jeff Daigneau says creativity and hard work have helped Lattitude grow, to the point where the restaurant thrives even during the challenging Big E weeks.

Jeff Daigneau doesn’t know how many times he’s told the story. But he does know that it never gets old.
He was referring to what has become local culinary legend of sorts, the saga of how the most unlikely, but now the most popular, item on the menu at his restaurant, Lattitude, came to be.
“I messed up during the Big E in 2008 and dropped a bunch of brussels sprouts in the frialator,” said Daigneau, owner and chef at the establishment on Memorial Avenue in West Springfield, directly across from the fairgrounds. He put what came out of the frialator on the bar for consumption — and they didn’t last long.
“Now, they’re the hottest thing going — everybody’s serving them,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the vegetable that so many people love to hate has become his eatery’s signature appetizer — and an unofficial logo of sorts.
Indeed, the vegetable now adorns the back of his business card and the company’s letterhead, and it will soon be on T-shirts to be worn by the staff.
No one calls Lattitude the ‘house that Brussels sprouts built,’ but they might as well — it’s not much of an exaggeration. But the house was actually built by creativity, patience, and perseverance, and because all three have been exhibited in abundance, the house is getting bigger.
Much bigger.
The restaurant, which sits in the middle of what was a large, multi-tenant building that Daigneau now owns, is expanding in several directions within that complex. An outdoor patio bar featuring live music was added this summer on the west side of the property. Meanwhile, an 80-seat banquet facility will open in formerly vacant space on the east side of building in mid-November, and a new, much larger bar area, to be created in space formerly occupied by Memo’s restaurant on the west side of the building, is in the design phase. In the original restaurant, space is being reconfigured, and private meeting rooms are being expanded.
The ambitious series of undertakings, highlighted by the recent installation of a new ‘Lattitude’ sign made of brushed copper, could be called a testimony to the power of fried brussels sprouts. But it’s more of an indication of how the restaurant has become a fixture only a few years after barely surviving its first fall in the shadow of the Big E (more on that later).
“It’s really flattering that people think that much of us,” he said, noting that his experiences to date have been a giant learning curve. “I’ve been doing this since I was 13 years old; I’m 36 now, and every single day I learn something new.”
For this issue and its focus on holiday party planning, BusinessWest looks at what Daigneau’s learned, and how he’s applied those lessons effectively enough to make Lattitude one of the region’s more intriguing business success stories.

Keep the Party Going

Lattitude added an outdoor patio bar this year, where patrons can enjoy live music.

Retelling another story he’s related often, Daigneau said that, during his first fall on Memorial Avenue, he decided to stay open during the 17-day Big E when most all other restaurants in that area shut things down.
They close because the exposition has a tendency to drain traffic from such establishments rather than create it. Many long-time patrons of those eateries also decide they’re not going to fight Big E traffic and dine elsewhere instead.
Daigneau’s decision nearly put him out of business, by his calculation, but the experience provided an important lesson. Today, instead of trying to compete with, or simply survive, the Big E, he is effectively partnering with it. At least that’s the term he uses.
Elaborating, he said he’s learned how to cater his menu and his entertainment to the two primary constituencies at the Big E — visitors to the show and the vendors who often arrive days before it opens and are still packing up long after it ends.
The key to mastering the Big E, said Daigneau, has been a combination of offering a more relaxed atmosphere during fair weeks, especially for vendors, and offering a variety of live bands, food and drink specials, and promo nights, as an extension of what’s already going on over at the Big E.
“I’m not going to get everybody, so I put posters in the windows for events we’re going to have,” he explained. “I try to do things that would bring people in the door.
“I’m not stepping on anybody’s toes,” he went on. “The vendors just want a place to get out and get something to eat, because otherwise, they’re cooking in their campers.”
This imaginative approach to navigating through late September is just one element in Daigneau’s success quotient. And it’s part of a larger operating philosophy of listening to customers and potential customers and giving them want they want — even if, in the case of those Brussels sprouts, they didn’t know they wanted it.
And in recent years, what he consistently heard from patrons is that they want more — as in more space, more options, and more venues for different types of events.
The elaborate renovations and new building initiatives are designed to meet all those needs.
As a lessee, Daigneau had to look at the unattractive yellow stucco plaster on the outside of the building, but now the contemporary-style improvements have made the choppy architecture look like a cohesive city block, he said, which matches the elegance and creative quality of what’s happening inside.
The entire east side of the building is being renovated for banquets; the bathrooms are moving to the west side, the dining room will be expanded to accommodate 120 people, and two new rooms, for up to 12 and 30 patrons, respectively, are ready, or will be, for the holidays. The small, cramped kitchen was expanded recently, and a new catering kitchen is under construction.
“Our off-site catering is going to explode with that new kitchen,” said Daigneau, noting that what started as a few scattered requests for Lattitude menu items has morphed into a solid business opportunity with enormous potential.
The same could be said for banquet, or large-party, business, said Jamie Cardoza, Daigneau’s event specialist. “People were asking for larger venues, and we had to essentially turn business away,” she said.
Daigneau said there were enough of these requests to inspire the new banquet facility. “We had guest requests for parties of 50, 80, or 100,” he noted. “And it just grew into, ‘well, I own the building now; what do we want to do?’”
Plans for the rest of the building, specifically the old Memo’s area, are in the process of being designed. Daigneau said the second floor of the building will remain his office area and won’t be leased out.
While Daigneau’s original plan was to do all the work at once, he ultimately opted to phase it in, a decision that, in retrospect, has worked out well because disruption has been controlled and the impact on the overall business has been minimized.
And in a way, the new look and feel of Lattitude is consistent with Daigneau’s philosophy of continuously changing and reinventing to keep things fresh.
Indeed, while other restaurant owners and managers are loath to remove an item from the menu, Daigneau is fearful of letting his menu get stale.
He said the typical response from his staff when he changes up the menu is, ‘are you out of your mind?’
“But if you’re not moving and shaking and you’re not changing things up, people are going to get bored, and things are going to get stale,” he explained. “The menu has to change, and the staff has to stay fresh, or there are a million opportunities for our customers to go somewhere else.”
One dish that has to make a seasonal appearance every year is his pumpkin ravioli with seared scallops and walnut sage cream sauce.
“It’s the most popular dish we’ve ever done, and it’s one of those things I just can’t take off, and if I do, I get threatened,” he said with a sardonic smile.
It’s the same look he gives his staff when he tells them what he has in mind for his popular dinner series on the third Monday of every month, an event that offers a five-course dinner, with a different cocktail paired with each course.

Room For Dessert
Late last month, Daigneau served as the ‘celebrity professional judge’ for a Big E bread and dessert contest featuring creations fashioned from Fleischmann’s yeast.
That assignment speaks not only to his new outlook on the Big E as partner, not competitor, but also to just how far he has come in five years — from a chef with a dream to an entrepreneur with a dining destination in the midst of exploding growth.
The brussels sprouts on his business card have become a symbol of that success, and so has the new sign over his door.
“It’s finally gotten to the point where I can look up to that sign and say, ‘you know what? I did OK.’”
Actually, much better than OK.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected].

Healthy Decision

By BusinessWest Staff October 8, 2013

Holiday Party Planner Sections

Sláinte Draws Restaurant Patrons — and Parties — to Holyoke

Debra Flynn, right, and Jake Perkins say Sláinte’s party business has taken off beyond their initial expectations.

Debra Flynn owns two successful restaurants and knows her way around a wide variety of food. So what does she like to order when she eats out?
“My favorite food on the entire planet, when I go out, is Caesar salad and nachos. That defines a fun restaurant, and if they don’t have it, we’re not going back,” said Flynn, the owner of Eastside Grill in Northampton and part-owner, with Jake Perkins, of Sláinte in Holyoke.
“When we started,” she said of opening Sláinte earlier this year, “I told Jake we have to have the best nachos in the world — and they are.”
If those nachos — loaded with toppings and also available ‘cowboy style’ with barbecued brisket — don’t sound like something Eastside would serve, that’s intentional.
“We’re not trying to be something we’re not,” Flynn said. “We’re not a high-end restaurant, and even though we’re attached to Eastside, we didn’t want Eastside food here. To have two restaurants within 10 minutes of each other serving the same food serves no purpose. I wanted this place to have its own identity, but people realize we believe in concepts like quality and service at both places.”
Sláinte (pronounced ‘slahn-cha,’ an Irish greeting meaning ‘your good health’) opened on the site of the former Eighty Jarvis restaurant, which used to be O’Meara’s, which used to be Broadview — which is where our story begins.
Flynn was in her early 20s when she first discovered Broadview on her first date with her future husband, Kevin. Perhaps because of that emotional connection, she had long had her eyes on the property, and when Eighty Jarvis closed, she felt the time was right to make a move.
“I was approached because someone knew how much I really wanted this property,” she said, but she wasn’t prepared to go it alone, so she turned to Perkins, her executive chef at Eastside Grill. “I knew how much Jake wanted to go on to the next level. And I felt comfortable with him; he has the same values I do when it comes to work.”
“We do work well together,” Perkins added. “We have slightly different styles, but they mesh well.
“We wanted a fun, comfortable place,” he continued, “and I really liked the idea of having a banquet room upstairs for parties. We don’t have the space for it at Eastside, but here we have a huge room up there.”
Downstairs, he added, “we keep it comfortable for everybody. It’s a lot of fun, and we want the food to be approachable and the atmosphere to be comfortable. It’s a good spot.”
Despite the name, Sláinte is not an Irish restaurant, he noted. Rather, “it’s an homage to the Irish heritage of Holyoke.”
Flynn laughed when the pronunciation issue arises. “Some of my friends call it Slanty — ‘hey, we’re going to Slanty tonight,’” she said. “But I don’t care, as long as people come.”

American Style
So, what is the menu like? Favorites range from appetizers like fried pickles and cod fritters to entrees like fried chicken, lamb shank, filet mignon, with a selection of burgers, sandwiches, and salads thrown in for good measure.
“Everything is made from scratch here,” Perkins said, from appetizers to desserts, salad dressings to pastrami.
“We use pork belly for bacon — everything is cured from scratch. There are no processed foods here,” Flynn added. “You’re not going to get processed pastrami or turkey here.”
Besides the fresh food, Flynn and Perkins are aiming for a certain casual vibe, not unlike that of the old Broadview. “It was fun — great wings, great sandwiches … it was a great place to go, a place where everyone went in Holyoke, where everyone knew everyone,” Flynn said.
With that in mind, “we were going for a warm, inviting feeling. We added more TVs so people can watch sports, any type of sports. And we have a 60-inch TV outside so they can be outside and watch TV, too.”
Flynn said the outdoor patio and bar is “to die for,” and bands play there on Wednesday and Sunday evenings during the warmer months.
But she and Perkins are equally proud of the upstairs banquet facility, which holds up to 100 people for cocktail parties and sit-down dinners. Sláinte has hosted baby showers, rehearsal dinners, and a host of other parties, including one wedding reception. The space is also ideal for breakfast meetings, and is equipped with audio-visual equipment for business functions.
“We’ve had surprisingly brisk business upstairs,” Perkins said. Flynn added that her connections in Northampton and Springfield — where she was general manager of Café Manhattan and the Colony Club earlier in her career — certainly haven’t hurt.
“It has been overwhelmingly successful. I was not expecting it to be as successful as it is this soon — it’s only been six months,” she said. “People remember me from the Colony Club and Café Manhattan.”
A location that effectively straddles Hampden and Hampshire Counties, just two minutes from I-91, doesn’t hurt, she added. “And the Northampton business community has been extremely positive in this new venture. A lot of people were like, ‘are you sure you want to do this? Why take on so much more work?’ But they come out and support me by coming here — I’ve had a few events from Northampton here.”

City on the Rise
Perkins said the goal has been to create an inclusive environment that draws customers back again and again. Flynn said she’s happy with business so far.
“I want to say it’s because of our quality and the service we provide and the friendly atmosphere,” she told BusinessWest. “That’s my philosophy. That’s the way you keep them coming back.
“This business is not about us; it’s about the customer,” she added. “You can never think it’s about yourself; you have to listen. It might pain you, but you have to listen and do whatever you can to make people happy, because if they’re not, they won’t be back.”
She and Perkins both live within a half-mile of Sláinte, and they believe they’ve opened a restaurant and banquet hall in a city that’s clearly on the rise.
“I’m proud to be in Holyoke. I believe Holyoke can come back,” she said. “It has a lot of the same qualities as Northampton, and the architecture is gorgeous.”
Added Perkins, “as businesses move into town, that’ll bring even more businesses in, and it kind of builds on itself.”
“We want to help set the tone,” Flynn continued, “so people say, ‘if they can do it, we can,’ and people will start to say, ‘wow, Holyoke has a lot to offer.’ Look at Northampton in the late ’70s and early ’80s, and look at it today. It can happen. You’ve got to believe it — and work hard.”
She said Eastside benefits from the walkability of its downtown Northampton location, where the streets teem with pedestrians. But Sláinte has its own advantages. “We’re right off the highway, and the people of Holyoke have been very supportive of us,” Perkins said. “It’s been fantastic.”
Flynn agreed. “We’re part of two really great towns. How lucky are we?”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Building on a Legacy

By BusinessWest Staff September 24, 2013

Juster Pope Frazier Has Designs on Continued Growth

Kevin Chrobak says the name Juster Pope Frazier is a brand that resonates within many sectors of the economy.

Kevin Chrobak joined the then-Shelburne Falls-based architecture firm Juster Pope Frazier in 1983, after a short stint with rival Architects Inc. and just a few years after graduating from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
He would stay with the company, eventually buying out the men whose names appeared on the letterhead — Norton Juster, Earl Pope, and Jack Frazier — as each one eased into retirement, and in 2006, he assumed the title of principal architect.
While this is now truly Chrobak’s company, he says he’s never thought of changing its name or even adding his name to it. And he gets rather philosophical when explaining why.
“This is a brand — in some sense it’s like Xerox,” the Palmer native said with a laugh, while explaining how and especially why he believes the name Juster Pope Frazier, or JPF, as it’s also called, resonates within the industry and certain sectors of the economy, such as education. “I never felt the need to have my name on the door.”
But Chrobak is doing more than keeping the firm’s signage consistent. He’s also working hard to “extend the culture,” as he put it, of the first-generation partners, and incorporate their values into the company.
“Jack, Earl, and Norton established this business under the notion of doing very good work for very good clients — and also keeping their own lives in mind, their employees’ lives in mind, and keeping things reasonable,” he said. “They were kind, caring people, and very creative. I’ve tried to maintain that same point of view.”
That culture he described is now embedded in the company’s mission statement. Written on the backs of the company’s T-shirts — and on the home page of the firm’s website as well — it has three simple tenets: ‘live inspired, do good, and create beauty.’
“Norton’s the ‘live inspired’ aspect — he wrote The Phantom Tollbooth,” said Chroback, referring to Juster’s children’s adventure novel, published in 1961. “Jack was ‘do good’ — he was always very cognizant of giving back — and Earl was ‘create beauty.’ So that mission statement really guides the practice and how we behave with each other and with our clients, but it also reminds us of culture; maintaining that continuity is important.”
Still, while paying homage to the past, Chrobak and his staff of eight are obviously focused on the present and future. They’re consistently adding new projects to a diverse portfolio that includes everything from the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst to the headquarters for the Channing L. Beete Corp. in Deerfield; from the fire station in Longmeadow to the new science building nearing completion on the campus of Elms College in Chicopee.
That brand Chrobak mentioned earlier has certainly helped the firm win a succession of projects at Nichols College in Dudley, St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury, and the Holyoke Health Center, among many other clients, most of which are repeat customers.
But a bigger factor, and one that helped the firm ride atop the destructive wave otherwise known as the Great Recession, has been its ability to work with clients to create a vision and then take it off the drawing board, he said.
This is a process, he said repeatedly, and one that can be challenging at times, but is generally rewarding for those on both sides of the table.
“It’s fascinating work, and clients really enjoy the process — they feel excited by it,” he explained, adding that he expresses that emotion himself. “It can be a very creative collaboration, and I think it’s something that’s very unique to their lives in many instances.”
For this issue and its focus on architecture, BusinessWest talked at length with Chrobak about his firm’s history, relationship-building efforts, and designs on continued growth.

Lines of Work
As he discussed the many nuances of his chosen field of architecture, Chrobak contrived a few analogies to describe the all-important relationship between the firm and the client — and the process for making a vision become reality.
“I like to think of architects as the director of a movie,” he explained, while relaying one of his often-repeated views on how a successful collaboration works. “The client is the producer, they create the story, but we’re the director that helps them realize their vision.
“Another analogy I use is that we’re translating French, or any other foreign language, into English,” he went on. “We’ll interpret something in their language and put it into our language. We’ll take their words and create a building with three-dimensional form.”
He even compared what goes on between a client and an architect to a long-term relationship, noting that, from the start of design talks to the end of construction, a firm can be on a specific job for three or four years or more.
Summing all this up, he said architecture is as much about design as it is about discussions between the firm and the client about what’s important to the latter and how they identify what Chrobak called the “icons of their site.”
“We view clients as being two things — a physical entity and a site,” he told BusinessWest. “In our thinking, the site is as much a client as the actual [business]client. You try to draw influence from what people are telling you, but you’re also drawing influence from where you’re building as well.”
As examples, he cited two local projects: the Eric Carle Museum, which was designed after a good deal of dialogue and collaboration between the firm and the picture-book artist whose name is on the building, and the nearby Wesley United Methodist Church in Hadley, which has a look borrowed from the tobacco barns that helped give that community its identity.
“It’s based on classical Christian basilica form,” Chrobak said of the church, “but it’s detailed in a manner that’s evocative of the classic Connecticut Valley tobacco barns. You might be tempted to say that a church and a tobacco barn don’t go together, but within that context, it makes all the sense in the world.”
By mastering the art of translating clients’ words and carrying out the role of director, Juster, Pope, Frazier, and, yes, Chrobak were able to build and refine that brand the principal architect described earlier.
Its standing in the market not only helped enable the firm to ride out a recession that nearly crippled many firms, but has positioned it to thrive at a time of stern competition for both public- and private-sector work.
Juster Pope Frazier once did quite a bit of both, said Chrobak, noting that, in the former category, the firm has designed a number of schools, fire stations, and other municipal facilities. But in recent years, as competition has intensified and margins have become razor-thin, the firm has focused its energies almost exclusively on the private sector.
And this strategic move was a big factor in JPF’s ability to essentially avoid the whitewater of the recession and stand today as a larger company, revenue-wise, than when the slide began.
“We didn’t really experience the downturn that everyone else did,” he explained. “We always had a client base that wanted to build because costs were down during those times; contractors were aggressively seeking work, and so their numbers came down dramatically.”
One of the clients looking to take advantage of those circumstances was Nichols College, he said, adding that the institution has become JPF’s biggest customer. The firm has undertaken a number of projects for the school over the past decade, and is essentially redesigning the core of the campus.
Initiatives have included two new suite-style dormitories, a new, 30,000-square-foot student center, an academic building, a dorm renovation, landscape improvements, and other work, with more likely in the future as the school continues an aggressive building program.
Nichols is a prime example of how the firm has been able to gain repeat business from clients, said Chrobak, adding that several institutions fall into this category, including St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury — JPF did work there 15 years ago and is currently designing an arts and academic building for that campus — and Elms College.
The new science building at the Elms will be dedicated this fall, he noted, adding that its design reflects and respects the architecture that defines the campus and especially its signature building, Berkmans Hall.
“That’s a classic, beautiful building built in the middle of the Great Depression,” he said. “We built adjacent to it, and because it’s such a distinctive and beautiful piece of architecture, we felt we needed to be somewhat reverent of that work and not impose our own look.”
This brings him back to the notion of relationships, collaboration, and those analogies he created to describe how a firm and its clients should work together to create something meaningful and that works at the site in question.
“I’m particularly in tune with this because I grew up locally,” he said, referring to the importance of designing a building that works for the client and the location. “It’s a privilege to create buildings that are going to be there for years in a place where you grew up; it’s not something I take lightly.”

Blueprint for Success
That sentiment also applies to the culture — and the brand — established by the first generation of ownership at JPF, said Chrobak.
The name over the company’s door — figuratively, because it’s not there literally — represents more than the three original partners, he told BusinessWest. It reflects a way to do business and live a life.
And so does the mission statement.
More than words on a T-shirt or copy on a website, that statement shows how determined this firm is to recognizing its legacy and, more importantly, building on it.

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

Plans for Success

By BusinessWest Staff September 24, 2013

A chart of area architecture firms

Click here to download the PDF

Community Profile: Northampton

By BusinessWest Staff June 18, 2013

Community Profile Features

Northampton Forges Ahead on Innovative Projects

Mayor David Narkewicz says Northampton is a city on the move, leading the way in arenas that range from its energy-efficiency programs to its effort to increase the number of daily Amtrak shuttles when high-speed passenger rail service begins next year, to $67 million of new projects expected to add $3.1 million to the tax base.
“We’re moving in a positive direction, and my administration is committed to continuing to build on success,” he said. “We have a strong local economy with lots of businesses, and we want to support them, reach out to new companies, and maximize the use of our developable land.”
Terrence Masterson, the city’s economic development director, agrees. He said the city’s appeal results from its mix of industry, retail shops, and cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities.
“Northampton has a lot of assets which include the benefits of a living in a rural town as well as a large, livable city,” he told BusinessWest. “It has a culturally rich downtown, is well-positioned off Interstate 91, and hopefully will soon have passenger rail service. We also have a solid educational system, and our parks and open-network system is without peer. You can live in Florence and ride your bike downtown.”

Mayor David Narkewicz shows off a rendering of the new, upgraded passenger platform planned for the former Union Station on Pleasant Street.

The city has been feted with a wide array of awards, which range from being named among the “Top 25 Art Destinations” by American Style magazine to one of the “Top 100 Best Places to Live” by CNN Money magazine and the “Top 10 Family Friendly Towns” by Parenting magazine. Other honors include the Retailers Assoc. of Mass. Award of Excellence for the best downtown shopping district.
“We have a vibrant and diverse economy with lots of locally owned retail shops and restaurants; it’s one of the things that sets us apart, because it has been hard for cities to hang onto that in other parts of the country,” said the mayor. “People often say that Northampton has big-city charm, but maintains its small-town character.”
The city is also a center for healthcare, as Cooley Dickinson Hospital and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds, which is planning to expand its specialty care, serve people across the region.
For this issue, BusinessWest continues its Community Profile series with an in-depth look at Paradise City, which certainly isn’t content to rest on its laurels.

Diverse Initiatives
Narkewicz said Northampton’s leadership is evident in its approach to eco-tourism. “We have one of the most well-developed rail trails in Massachusetts and are on the cutting edge of developing new segments,” he said, referring to the 12.5-mile route that runs through the city. “We have also done a lot of work to promote local agriculture.”
In addition to three farmer’s markets, the city has one of the largest community farms in the state. The endeavor known as Grow Food Northampton came to fruition in February 2011 when the organization purchased 121 acres of permanently protected farmland in Florence. The nonprofit is a collaborative effort, and its community garden was so successful in its first year of operation that it is doubling in size this year. The city provides funding to the Farm Education Collaborative, which presents workshops and programs at Crimson and Clover Farm in Florence to benefit schoolchildren and adults.
The mayor also notes the Connecticut River Greenway in Northampton, one of the Commonwealth’s newest state parks, which connects open spaces, scenic vistas, and archaeological and historic sites along the length of the Connecticut River.
“We’re a green community, and were among the first cities awarded green-community status by the state,” Narkewicz said. “We’re way ahead of everyone else, and our green initiatives add to what makes Northampton unique.”
He and other city officials recognize the importance of energy conservation, and to that end, the energy and sustainability initiative called Northampton Leading the Way was launched about two years ago.
“We worked with Columbia Gas and National Grid to create a business concierge program that allowed commercial property owners to make significant energy improvements to their facilities,” said Narkewicz. “It resulted in savings for them and helped add to the city’s overall sustainability.”
The city reduced its own energy costs by 27%, and the nonprofit Center for Eco-Technology conducted the outreach to businesses. The utility companies have continued to fund the program because it has proven to be a real success. “Utility costs are a major part of the bottom line for businesses, and this is also good for the environment,” Narkewicz said.
The city kicked off a second energy-efficiency initiative last month to help residents reduce utility bills and conserve energy through measures such as high-efficiency hot water and heating systems, added insulation, new thermostats, and other weatherization efforts. They can schedule free home energy assessments, and Narkewicz said the program “is another example of how the city of Northampton is helping people and the environment.”

New Projects

Terrence Masterson says the city’s appeal stems from its mix of industry, retail, and cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities.

Economic development is also on the upswing, and the King Street commercial area is undergoing an unprecedented level of new building and renovation.
Northampton Crossing (the former Hill and Dale Mall), which sat vacant for about 20 years, was purchased two years ago and is being redeveloped into medical offices and retail shops. The mayor said the space will become home to offices connected to Baystate Medical Center, and added that several new banks and other projects, which include a new hotel being constructed on Conz Street, are in progress.
In addition, two new buildings will offer much-needed office space in Northampton. They are located at the gateway to the city, which officials designate as the area off exit 18 from I-91 near the Clarion Hotel. An office building with 30,000 square feet of space completed about a year ago was fully leased within three months, and a second building is under construction. Masterson says the additional 80,000 square feet of office space will be a significant development for the city. “It is hugely exciting,” he told BusinessWest.
Other growth is expected as the Clarion Hotel hopes to replace its existing structure with a new building and restaurant. “Eventually the whole site will undergo a major facelift and expansion,” Narkewicz noted.
Tourism will also get a boost, thanks to a new Fairfield Inn under construction. It will add 108 hotel rooms, bringing the city’s total to 457. “It will provide more revenue and also allow more people to stay in Northampton,” Masterson said.
And work continues on Village Hill, built on the grounds of the former Northampton State Hospital, where space has been in high demand. Kollmorgen Electro-Optical (now L-3 KEO) relocated there from King Street, a boutique hotel is being created in a building that once housed male attendants at the state hospital, and 9,000 square feet in a new, 12,000-square-foot office building under construction have already been rented.
The projects promise to enhance the city as well improve its economy. “We are pleased not only because of the growth in economic activity, but because it will allow us to expand our tax base,” Narkewicz said, explaining that taxpayers will vote on June 25 on whether to allow a $2.5 million Proposition 2 1/2 override because Northampton is facing significant cuts in service due to a $1.4 million budget gap.
Still, progress continues. “All of the projects we have going on fuel each other,” Masterson said. “But it’s critically important for us to keep adding to them, and we think Amtrak will be another way to bring large numbers of people here.”
Narkewicz agrees, and believes the anticipated commuter rail service will have a positive impact on the city. The return of Amtrak service, which will transport passengers along the west side of the Connecticut River, is part of a larger, $73 million federal project, and calls for a shift next year in the Amtrak-Vermonter’s route, which will include new stations in Greenfield, Northampton, and Holyoke.
The mayor is part of a passenger-rail advisory committee made up of stakeholders in the community who want to maximize the railway’s potential. The Knowledge Corridor Feasibility Study, which the current construction project is based on, indicates that expanded rail can generate economic benefits to a number of communities, and Narkewicz believes it could increase the number of trips between the state of Vermont and Springfield. He would also like to see service extend into New York City.
“The rail service will benefit people in terms of transportation, but will also increase the potential for business, whether the passengers are students, tourists, or people who come here for our art and culture,” Narkewicz said.
He has been proactive in promoting an increase in the number of shuttles, and sent a letter to the secretary of the state Department of Transportation last month, citing numbers from Amtrak showing that regional rail ridership has boomed nationally and locally over the past 15 years.
“We believe this new rail service will deliver many positive economic benefits for downtown/urban revitalization, tourism, residential quality of life, and business/job development,” Narkewicz wrote, adding that the letter was also signed by Greenfield Mayor William Martin and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse. “It’s an issue everyone agrees with, and it will be a real thrill for a lot of people to have Amtrak trains here.”
There are also plans to rebuild the old passenger platform at the former Union Station on Pleasant Street. The new, 40-foot platform will include an awning and cover designed to complement the building’s architecture.

Continuing Progress
Narkewicz said collaborations with residents, government agencies, other cities and towns, and a number of organizations, coupled with efforts to attract new business and spur economic growth, have had a positive result.
“We are moving forward,” he concluded. “There is a lot of activity here, and together, we are making a difference.”

The ‘Inside-out’ Casino

By BusinessWest Staff June 4, 2013

Cover Story

MGM’s Unique Concept May Be a Trump Card

Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of stories concerning the ongoing competition for the Western Mass. casino license.

Mike Mathis says the phrase ‘inside-out casino’ wouldn’t technically be considered an industry term within the gaming sector, although he believes it’s close to becoming an important part of the lexicon, especially in the context of the competition for the Western Mass. casino license.
‘Inside-out’ is an adjective being used liberally by officials at MGM Resorts International, including Mathis, who serves as vice president of Global Gaming Development, to describe the company’s $800 million proposal for Springfield’s South End.
It is being used interchangeably with ‘outward-facing’ to describe what this proposed resort complex is — as well as how it differentiates itself from most urban gaming facilities, as well as the other players in the contest for the 413 area code’s casino license.
“This is really about changing and evolving the model of the casino box,” Mathis explained, adding that this concept is quite unique for an urban gaming complex. “In the traditional model, there are a couple of points of entry, with the operation heavily driven by gaming, with the few amenities being offered sort of buried within the facility, forcing the traffic through the casinos to get to those amenities.
“What we’ve done with our design is put all the great amenities around the gaming floor, with multiple points of entry,” he went on. “So the customer could spend their entire day at our resort — whether it’s in our entertainment plaza, where we’re going to have free public entertainment, or at any of the restaurants we’re going to have along Main Street — without necessarily having to go through the casino.”
In this respect, the Springfield proposal is much like some of the so-called ‘neighborhood casinos’ in Las Vegas that are especially popular with families, he noted, and also like MGM’s ambitious City Center, its flagship property in Vegas.
Opened in late 2009, at the height of the recession, the center boasts a combination of retail, entertainment, convention facilities, and residential units, and is thus a truly mixed-use facility, he explained, adding that, while the scale will be exponentially smaller with MGM Springfield, the concept is essentially the same.
And it will represent a meaningful change from the approach taken with most all urban casinos.
Elaborating, Mathis said most inner-city gaming complexes end up becoming islands unto themselves, with little connectivity to the neighborhoods around them. The inside-out model is different, he went on, adding that, with this design, restaurants and other amenities such as a bowling alley, theaters, a skating rink, and others, face out to the community surrounding the gaming complex. This makes such facilities more attractive to families and adults who don’t gamble.

Top, Mike Mathis, seen near the tornado-damaged South End Community Center, says MGM’s conception of an inside-out casino is unique for an urban gaming facility. Above, an architect’s rendering of that same area as transformed by MGM Springfield.

“A lot of companies can build casinos — we build resorts,” he told BusinessWest. “And that’s what this will be — a true resort.”
Mathis and others at MGM believe this inside-out design will give the company an edge in the ongoing competition for the Western Mass. license, because of its uniqueness, potential to generating revenue beyond the casino floor, and ability to address many of the concerns raised by the Legislature when it passed a sweeping gaming measure in the fall of 2011 — especially those concerning impact on existing businesses and entertainment venues.
“We thought if we did it [the design concept] well, and we think we have, that our proposal would be unique in creating not only a gaming experience, but a tourism and economic-regeneration story in the downtown corridor,” he explained. “It would be something that would be well-received by the public, who may have their own thoughts about a casino coming to town, and we thought it would be well-received by the Gaming Commission as well; this is something unique that also supports the existing community. With this plan, we can check a lot of boxes.”
For this issue, BusinessWest continues its series of stories on the casino competition with a detailed look at this inside-out model, and why MGM believes this concept will give the company the equivalent of a trump card.

Coloring Outside the Lines
Mathis told BusinessWest that he’s been involved in many aspects of the project known now as MGM Springfield, including the drafting of the host-community agreement that was inked just over a month ago.
Early on, though, one of his primary responsibilities was to identify a site for the company’s foray into the Massachusetts market. Like other developers, MGM targeted the Western Mass. sector — it was considered a more open competition than those in the Boston and Southeast regions — and initially set its sights on rural Brimfield.
But that plan was scuttled due to a number of logistical hurdles, not the least of which was the complex matter of building a new interchange on the Mass. Turnpike, without which the project didn’t make sound business sense.
So the company recalibrated and eventually focused on Springfield, as other developers did, because of its proximity to Northern Conn., accessibility (especially from I-91), and the likelihood that a ballot initiative would pass in the city.
And the search within the city eventually took the company to the four-block area in the South End, much of which was heavily damaged by the June 1, 2011 tornado.

MGM officials say the inside-out concept will give the company an edge in the competition for the Western Mass. casino license.

“There were a few key attributes to that site that really drove the decision,” he explained. “Its proximity to the MassMutual Center was important to us; the gaming legislation talks about having an operator supporting existing facilities and not cannibalizing or competing with existing entertainment facilities. Right across from the site is a state-owned, really wonderful entertainment venue that is, by all accounts, underperforming and undersupported. We thought this was a natural tie.
“Also, the proximity to I-91 is important,” he went on. “Oftentimes, traffic can drive the success or failure of a project early on. The ability to take millions of visitors off the highway into the project and then put them back onto the highway without interfering with the surface streets in the local neighborhood was critical for us.”
Elaborating, he said the site provided MGM with an opportunity to do something unique, while also addressing many of the concerns of the Legislature when it drafted its gaming measure.
And while much of the debate going forward will center on the ‘urban versus rural’ argument, with the Palmer and West Springfield proposals fitting the latter description, to one or extent or another, the inside-out casino concept forwarded by MGM takes those discussions to a different, higher level.
That’s because most urban casinos become those islands that Mathis described, adding that the plan for MGM Springfield seeks to address shortcomings with the traditional urban model, as outlined by Las Vegas casino consultant Andrew Klebanow in recent comments to the Boston Globe.
“We just haven’t seen it done right yet,” he told the Globe, in reference to the urban model, noting that, with few exceptions, these casinos are not connected to the neighborhoods around them, and casino patrons generally don’t get beyond the gaming complex.
He cited Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati, which opened just three months ago, as a facility that could be considered different. Designed by Rock Gaming in partnership with Caesars Entertainment, it was built downtown and designed with restaurants on the outside, facing the streets, to encourage foot traffic.
“I think it’s the next great effort to do this thing right,” Klebanow told the Globe. “It’s a porous building — there are multiple entrance and egress points — so it allows pedestrians to walk in and out.”
Mathis told BusinessWest that he has heard the phrase ‘inside-out’ used in reference to the Cincinnati casino, but he believes MGM Springfield will soon set a new standard when it comes to that term.

Outside the Box

Another view of the planned MGM Springfield, looking down Main Street.

Indeed, as he walked the site with BusinessWest, Mathis noted that MGM Springfield will not only change the tornado-ravaged landscape, but create a facility that will be truly worthy of the word ‘resort,’ rather than casino.
As he stopped in front of the battered former South End Community Center, for example, he said it will be one of several buildings that will be incorporated into the casino design, thus making the resort part of what he called the “downtown urban fabric.”
“This will be one of the most modest resorts you’ll ever see,” he noted. “The casino is hidden, in a lot of respects, inside the facility, and on the outside, it will be difficult to know there is even a casino within this complex, because we’ve matched the architecture with the surrounding Main Street facades.”
While walking back downtown from the South End, Mathis pointed to the marquee on the MassMutual Center, announcing the May 24 performance of hip-hop artist Pitbull as another example of how this outward-facing model will manifest itself.
“Providing quality entertainment is a big part of our proposal,” he said, adding that all ticketed events will be staged at outside venues such as the MassMutual Center and Sympony Hall. “Springfield was once known as a must-stop for the great entertainment acts in the country, and because of our relationships born out of the all the great entertainment we push through Las Vegas, we intend to put the city back on the entertainment map.”
Connecting the casino with the community in such ways is a big part of the inside-out model, said Mathis, adding that, overall, this concept is designed to make the casino part of the neighborhood, not an island within it.
And while the inside-out casino addresses concerns outlined in the gaming legislation, it also represents a sound business strategy for MGM, said Mathis, adding that this model creates more opportunities to attract families and individuals who have no interest in visiting the casino floor.
“We’re going to bring in the outdoors,” he said. “Our restaurant spaces are designed to have outdoor plazas so people can enjoy the outdoor experience, we have a skating rink and free outdoor entertainment — and these amenities speak to how we’re trying to get visitation from families who aren’t interested in the casino.
“And that’s part of our business plan,” he went on. “As a company, across all our businesses domestically, we’re unique in the business in that we generate close to 65% of our revenues outside the gaming floor.”
It will be difficult to generate that ratio in Springfield, he continued, because the scale of the project is much smaller than the company’s properties in Las Vegas, for example, which have 3,000 rooms and millions of square feet of convention space.
But MGM Springfield can — and likely will — generate more revenue outside of the casino floor than a traditional urban gaming complex, he noted, because of this inside-out operational philosophy.

Over and Out
MGM’s Springfield proposal has many more hurdles to clear before it becomes reality. The next challenge is a July referendum vote that will include the entire city. If that goes successfully — and most predict that it will — then the company must prevail over whichever Western Mass. proposals also make it before the state Gaming Commission.
But there is a quiet confidence among company officials, including Mathis, that the company is in a strong position to prevail, and the so-called ‘inside-out’ casino plan is one of the many reasons why.
The concept represents a fundamental change from how urban casinos have been built, he explained, and it brings potential benefits for the state, the city, the South End neighborhood, and the company.
“When they chose MGM a few weeks ago, Springfield officials said this proposal could set the standard for inside-out, or outward-facing, casinos, and we’re very proud of that,” said Mathis. “We intend to do just that.”

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

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By BusinessWest Staff May 21, 2013

Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555
• June 5: ACCGS June Business@Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at the Richard B. Flynn Campus Union at Springfield College, 263 Alden St., Springfield. Guest speaker will be Kirk Smith, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Springfield, speaking on “A New Way of Doing the Business of a Nonprofit: The Importance of Being VIVID!” Salute to Richard Flynn for his service as president of Springfield College as he leaves the college after 14 years to enjoy retirement. Also to be saluted will be O&G Industries, celebrating 90 years in business. Chief Greeter: John Doleva, president and CEO of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Season Pass Sponsor: Freedom Credit Union; Season Sign Sponsor: FastSigns; Speaker Sponsor: Jewish Geriatric Services; Coffee Bar Sponsor: Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.; Table Sponsor: La Quinta Inn and Suites. Cost is $20 for members, $30 general admission. Tickets are available at www.myonlinechamber.com or by e-mailing Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 7: “Small Business and the Affordable Care Act — What’s Coming?” noon-1:30 p.m., at Ludlow Country Club, 1 Tony Lema Dr., Ludlow. A panel of experts will discuss the impact of the Affordable Care Act on the regional business community and economy at the East of the River Five Town Chamber of Commerce (ERC5) Annual Meeting. Panelists will include Rick Lord, president of Associated Industries of Massachusetts; Peter Straley, president of Health New England; Steven Bradley, vice president of Government, Community Relations, and Public Affairs for Baystate Health; and David Leslie, controller for Glenmeadow Retirement Community. Cost is $20 for members, $30 general admission. Tickets are available at www.myonlinechamber.com or by e-mailing Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 12: Viva Las Chamber!, the June After-5, 5-7 p.m., at Chez Josef, 176 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam. Cost is $5 for members, $10 general admission. Tickets are available at www.myonlinechamber.com or by e-mailing Cecile Larose at [email protected].
• June 26: ACCGS Annual Meeting, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at the Sheraton Springfield, 1 Monarch Place, Springfield. Featured speaker will be James T. Brett, president and CEO of the New England Council, New England’s voice of business on Capitol Hill. The chamber will also announce this year’s Richard J. Moriarty Citizen of the Year. Cost is $40 for members, $60 general admission. Tickets are available at www.myonlinechamber.com or by e-mailing Cecile Larose at [email protected].

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101
• May 22: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Berkshire Bank, 1339 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee. For more information, contact the chamber at (413) 594-2101 or e-mail [email protected].
• June 5: Annual Golf Tournament, 10 a.m. start, at Chicopee Country Club. Cost is $125 per golfer; $100 for tee sponsorship. Hole-in-one sponsors: Curry Honda-Curry Nissan and Teddy Bear Pools & Spas. Cart sponsor: Pilgrim Interiors Inc.

FRANKLIN COUNTY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.franklincc.org
(413) 773-5463
• June 21: 94th Annual Meeting and Legislative Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m. at Eaglebrook School in Deerfield. State representatives and senators have been invited to speak. Cost is $12 for FCCC members, $15 for non-members.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
• June 13: Networking By Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m. Hosted by Freedom Credit Union and Wireless Zone, 422 Main St., Easthampton. Enjoy hors d’ouevres, host beer and wine, and door prizes. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for future members.
• July 26: 29th Annual Golf Tournament, starting at 9 a.m., at Southampton Country Club. Reserve now before the event sells out. Cost is $400 per team. Tee sponsorships available for $75 and $125. Contact the chamber to sign up a team or arrange a tee sponsor, a raffle prize, or gift donation.

GREATER HOLYOKE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376
• May 21: Chamber Business Connections, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored and hosted by Sovereign Consulting, 4 Open Square Way, Suite 307. If you are in the architecture, engineering, or development industry, please attend as the chamber’s guest. Cost is $10 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Presented by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Committee. Join your friends and colleagues for this informal evening of networking.
• May 29: Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, 5 p.m., at the Delaney House in Holyoke. Program followed by grand reception, including the Fifield Awards. Sponsored by the Greater Holyoke Chamber Corporate Leaders. Cocktails from 5 to 5:30; annual meeting, 5:30; dinner begins at 6. Admission: $30 in advance, $40 at the door. Open to the public. The chamber will also honor chamber member retirees Rosalie Deane, Holyoke Housing Authority; David Dupont, superintendent of Holyoke Public Schools; and John Kelley, People’s United Bank.
• June 19: Chamber Business Connections, 5-7 p.m., Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center, 100 Bigelow St., Holyoke. Sponsored by Northeast IT Systems and Westfield Bank. If you are in the IT/computer equipment, software, or sales industry, please attend as the chamber’s guest. Cost is $10 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Join your friends and colleagues for this informal evening of networking.
• June 20: Ask a Chamber Expert Series: Blueprint Reading, 8:30-10 a.m., Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Conference Room, 177 High St., Holyoke. Cost: $10 for members, $25 for the public, includes a continental breakfast. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up, or register at holyokechamber.com.
• June 26: Summer Recognition Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., Yankee Pedlar, 1866 Northampton St., Holyoke. Cost: $20 for members, $25 for the public. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up, or register at holyokechamber.com.

MASSACHUSETTS
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
(413) 525-2506
• June 26: Manufacturing Matters Lunch Meeting, at Storrowton Tavern, West Springfield. Tickets are $30 for members, $40 for non-members. For more information on ticket sales, call (413) 525-2506 or e-mail [email protected].
• July 22: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, at Tekoa Country Club, Westfield. Shotgun start at 11 a.m. Cost is $100 per golfer. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, call (413) 525-2506 or e-mail [email protected].
• Nov. 12: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon, 9 a.m., at the Double Tree, Westborough. For more information on ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 525-2506 or e-mail [email protected]

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900
• June 6: June Arrive @ 5, 5-7 p.m. Hosted and Sponsored by Florence Savings Bank, 85 Main St., Florence. Help us celebrate Florence Savings Bank’s 140th anniversary. Cost is $10 for members. RSVP at [email protected].

NORTHAMPTON AREA YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY
www.thenayp.com
(413) 584-1900
• June 12: Nonprofit Board Fair, 5 p.m., at the Smith College Conference Center. Part of NAYP’s mission is to promote leadership and volunteerism in the next generation of community leaders. The Nonprofit Board Fair will feature more than 20 organizations that are currently and actively seeking the next generation of leaders, and provide opportunities to showcase board, committee, and volunteering opportunities that exist at their nonprofits. The fair offers attendees a chance to hold discussions with more than 20 local nonprofits in one location. Sponsored by Gage-Wiley & Co. Inc. This event will take the place of NAYP’s June Networking Social, and is open for all community members at no cost.

PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310
• June 6: Women of the Year Celebration Banquet, 5:30-8 p.m., at the Cedars Banquet Hall, 375 Island Pond Road, Springfield. Celebrate the accomplishments of Jean Deliso, president and owner of Deliso Financial and Insurance Services. Cost is $55 per person. For tickets, visit www.myonlinechamber.com or e-mail Cecile Larose at [email protected].

WEST OF THE RIVER
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
413-426-3880
• June 5: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m., at Lattitude. Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to socially network in a laid-back atmosphere. Free for vhamber members, $10 for non-members. This event is open to the public. Guests must pay at the door if they are non-members. For more information, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or e-mail [email protected].
• June 20: West of the River Chamber of Commerce Annual Breakfast Meeting, 7-9 a.m. at Chez Josef in Agawam. Tickets are $25 for members, $30 for non-members. Featured speaker: Mark Darren Gregor, business and career coach. Presenting sponsor: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino of New England. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or [email protected].
• August 19: West of the River Chamber of Commerce 10th Annual Golf Tournament, at Springfield Country Club, West Springfield. Cost is $125 per golfer. Presenting sponsor: Hard Rock Hotel and Casino of New England. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880 or email [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618
• June 10: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 p.m., at the Arbors, 40 Court St., Westfield. Mayor Knapik will speak about all that is happening around Westfield and field questions. The event is free and open to the pubic. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected]
• June 12: June WestNet Connection, 5-7 p.m. Hosted by Westfield Bank of Southwick, 462 College Highway, Southwick. An evening of networking; don’t forget your business cards. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Walk-ins are welcome. Tickets: $10 for members, $15 cash for non-members. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618 or e-mail [email protected].
• June 14: June 2013 Chamber Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Shaker Farms Country Club, 866 Shaker Road, Westfield. Platinum Sponsor: First Niagara. Guest speaker: Steven Grossman, treasurer and receiver general. Anniversary salutes: the Carson Center, 50th; East Mountain Country Club, 50th. Tickets: $25 for members, $30 for non-members. To register, call Pam Bussell at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618 or email [email protected].

All Aboard

Robin Lamothe says the Steaming Tender is a destination.

Restaurants Sections

Steaming Tender Mixes Hearty Food and Railroad Culture

Robin Lamothe says the Steaming Tender is a destination.

Robin and Blake Lamothe like to dig through history — literally. And 26 years ago, they came across a historical project they couldn’t pass up.
“My husband was a general contractor; he restored historic homes and buildings, and he was also an antique restorer of Model A cars,” Robin Lamothe said. One day, while driving through Palmer, he discovered a Romanesque-style train station, built in 1884 based on a design by renowned architect Henry Hobson Richardson.
In 1987, the run-down station was “a hodgepodge of businesses — a diner, a pool hall, a judo studio, a mechanic shop,” she told BusinessWest. “It didn’t look too pretty, but, being a restorer, he could see the inner beauty of the building and its potential. Then he saw the for-sale sign.”
So they purchased the building, intending to convert it to an antique co-op. “We had done our research, and because this was a historical property, we thought we could get some grant monies,” Lamothe said. “But in the late ’80s and early ’90s, those programs were getting cut, so we were left to do it ourselves. That’s why it took so long.”
She referred to the 17 years it took to restore and reopen the station — not as an antique store, but as the Steaming Tender restaurant, a railroad-themed eatery tucked alongside an active rail line.
“Neither one of us has a restaurant background,” she said. “As I said, my husband is a general contractor, and my background is in the marketing and advertising business; I was an event planner and coordinated events.”
Those backgrounds, however, meshed well for their current endeavor. The restaurant, which opened in 2004, is a mix of hearty American food and rail culture; train-related artifacts and antiques line the walls throughout, from the large bell overhanging the bar to a stack of century-old luggage near the entryway — not to mention the vintage train cars sitting outside.
“We’re consistently trying to reinvent ourselves, so that our customers come in and always find something new,” said Lamothe, who runs the day-to-day operations at the Steaming Tender. “We’re always being creative. If we find antiquities that we feel would fit with the restaurant, we bring them in.”
It’s all part of what the Lamothes hope will be not just a meal for patrons, but an experience. “People travel in from Boston, New York … they make it a trip. We’re a destination restaurant.”

Training Their Sights

The restored 1909 parlor car on the property is used for special events, from company meetings to bridal showers.

It was a destination of sorts for the couple as well, who lived in the Worcester area when they discovered the property in 1987.
“We lived in Spencer at the time, commuting back and forth, and that was getting hard, so we found a house and moved here,” Robin said.
The property they bought was filled with antiques — much of which she characterized as “junk” — but it had potential. So they started selling items out of the old station to help fund the restoration. “It was flashlight shopping, and we had no water line. And it rained in here more than it rained outside.”
As the restoration progressed, including major roof and structural work, they intended to continue the antique sales as a business model. “But it slowly evolved into a restaurant,” Lamothe said. They first planned to lease the property to a restaurateur, “but nobody could envision the dream we had, so we ended up doing it ourselves.”
But the journey to that point was a long, 17-year slog. “We didn’t want the work to interfere with the integrity of the building,” she said, noting that Blake preserved much of the original floors and original brickwork. That’s the kind of pace that might turn frustrating, but Lamothe said they didn’t get discouraged.
“We always had a goal. It was taking a lot longer than we thought, but we never gave up,” she said. “Today, sitting in the dining room, I still can’t believe we’ve done this. It’s amazing. People come in and say they appreciate all the hard work we’ve done. This was a blank canvas for us. We did as much research as we could.”
That research left some gaps. But when their design choices — a style of window used in the interior, a paint color — later turned out to be historically accurate, the Lamothes considered it a sign that they were destined to take on this project.
The first iteration of the restaurant, in 2004, was an outdoor-seating, counter-service-only model, which allowed restoration work to continue uninterrupted inside. “It was a little kitchen with fried seafood, pub-style food,” she said. In the fall of 2005, the Steaming Tender converted to an indoor, sit-down establishment.
Lamothe described the cuisine at the Steaming Tender as “American flair” with a few ethnic styles mixed in, adding that “I’m open to anything that tastes good.” Baked lobster macaroni and cheese is a house favorite, a dual nod to the extensive pasta and seafood sections of the menu. Diners will also find a broad selection of salads, sandwiches, steaks, pork, and poultry, as well as plenty of appetizer and dessert options.
The highlight of the latter is the whiskey bread pudding, a staple from the early days that customers keep coming back for, Lamothe said. “We like watching their expressions: ‘oh my God, this is the best.’ It’s a phenomenal dessert. We sell pans of it around the holidays, and it’s becoming a tradition for some of the families.”
The key to the food quality, she said, is freshness. “We’re open five days a week, and we have seafood delivered three of those days. I’m always bringing in new product, keeping it fresh. I get trucks in every day, so I can keep the meats and produce fresh.”
Cleanliness is important too, she said. “We close on Monday and Tuesday, and those days are for maintainance, rethinking, cleaning, inventory, everything else … I probably work longer hours on Monday and Tuesday than when we’re open.”
And the bathrooms are not only clean, but works of art in their own right; each is adorned with hundreds of antique photos, mounted like a timeless, room-size scrapbook.

Off the Rails
Every aspect of the establishment, however, is dominated by trains. “Everything is railroad-themed,” Lamothe said, from the setting amid active rail lines to the antiques inside, to the overalls and red bandannas worn by the waitstaff.
With about 40 trains passing by each day, the Steaming Tender prints a schedule each morning, and Lamothe said the long, windowed wall parallel to the track is considered choice seating. “People want to know the schedule, so we have it on our website and give it as a handout. The peak time is between 1:30 and 3, when Amtrak passes, and the conductor gets off and does the track switching and maneuvering … it’s good for the rail fan.”
The Lamothes are always looking to buy old locomotives and cars to add to the ambiance outside the station, she added. “We bought a 1915 Porter steam locomotive as a marketing piece, and we bought a 1909 parlor car to hold private events and meetings. We do a lot of company meetings, bridal showers, and wedding rehearsal dinners in there.”
The restaurant’s location isn’t the most visible, at the terminus of the dead-end Depot Street off Route 20. “Many people still don’t know where we are, and we’re always tapping into new customers. That’s where my marketing background comes in. We’re always trying to get our name out there.”
Those efforts include a plethora of special events every month, from comedy shows to educational programs involving working trains. “Last week, we had a meet-the-engineer event. People got up close and touched the engine — we had about 60 people for that event. Another event, coming up on May 7, is a presentation my husband and I do on the history of the station. We have about 100 people signed up for that.”
The Lamothes have landed the occasional high-profile coup, like the day Good Morning America stopped by to film there. Other media outlets have done stories as well over the past decade. But mainly, marketing the Steaming Tender means constantly building buzz and positive word of mouth.
“We’re still getting the word out — about the architecture, the trains, the food,” she said. “There are a lot of positive things going on for us, and we play up all the components and build on that.”
For example, “we do holidays right here. Christmas is huge,” Lamothe said of the extensive decorations the staff puts up. “People have compared us to Disney World; we have music pumping out of the engine, and people feel like they’re coming somewhere special.”
Last year, that atmosphere included hundreds of nutcrackers on the tables and throughout the building, most purchased at Christmas Tree Shops, where store employees must have wondered who these shoppers were clearing out the entire stock, she recalled with a laugh.
This summer will feature a new draw to the old station: the restoration of the park and grotto originally designed by noted 19th-century landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
“We’re down in an industrial area. This will never be manicured gardens, but we’re almost there,” Lamothe said. “We did some research and found out it was a Frederick Olmsted park buried in gravel. After about 20 years, we finally bought the piece from the railroad, and three years ago, we began excavating and restoring this park. We’ve uncovered the grotto, and we’ve got some granite curbing to shape the park, and we’re in the midst of laying topsoil now so we can get some nice grass.”
It’s a natural progression, she said, from the fact that locals already come out on the weekends to sit along the roadway and watch the trains pass. “Having a park will enhance that whole concept here.”

Rolling Along
Even as she recognizes the Steaming Tender’s somewhat nondescript location, Lamothe said she’s pleased that new customers are continually coming on board.
“Starting from nothing, being on a dead-end road, it’s amazing how much awareness there is out there,” she told BusinessWest. “And once people find us, the next thing you know, three days later, they’re back with a whole group of friends, wanting to show it off to people. People come in and say, ‘I can’t believe I’m in Palmer.’”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Design and Demand

Architects Are Seeing the Light — and So Are Their Clients

Kevin Chrobak feels that the public is increasingly motivated by the industrial design of products from companies like Apple and manufacturers with a high design aesthetic.

Kevin Chrobak, principal architect for Juster Pope Frazier LLC, doesn’t have a single light on in his conference room, or in his spacious office area that seems to ooze creativity. He doesn’t need any on a bright day.
His Northampton-based studio, located in a former brick mill building dating back to the 19th century, has the large full-story windows reminiscent of a time when the workday was governed by the sun.
“A lot of the concepts of this building, and others like it, was that you wanted a lot of daylight and a lot of volume of space, so the notion of ‘day lighting’ was a concept from before 1900,” said Chrobak. “For example, its 8:30 in the morning and there’s not a single light on, and it’s perfectly adequate.”
Day lighting, a new buzz term in the architectural realm but a concept that actually grew out of the Industrial Revolution, is back in vogue. But not just because of the cool aesthetics; rather, designers are drawn to the reduced costs for lighting, heating, and cooling when advanced, energy-efficient windows replace those that are more than 100 years old — which, in Chrobak’s case, they did.

Greg Zorzi, left, and Christopher Novelli see a return to city living in downtown structures, prompted by the younger generation’s demand for intelligent use of existing resources.

In addition to redesigning old or historic structures, Jonathan Salvon, principal at Kuhn Riddle Architects Inc. in Amherst, has seen a trend toward more-modern design styles. His firm is known for designing the new UMass Amherst marching band building, the Amherst Police Department headquarters, and the new broadcast facility for New England Public Radio (NPR) in the Fuller Block on Main Street in downtown Springfield.
“Organic forms, in general, are currently quite popular at the moment with generally modern architecture,” said Salvon. “And I mean modern with a capital ‘M.’
He was speaking of a rebirth of architectural Modernism, which roughly spanned the time between World War I and the early 1970s, and is generally characterized by simplification of form and an absence of applied decoration.
While Chrobak doesn’t see a specific ‘look’ today, he does see imitation, and more client attention to the carefully designed look of popular commercial products.
“There’s a saying that some of the best ideas out there are stolen, but you do see influences start to creep from one project to another,” said Chrobak. “There certainly is influence that runs from magazine to magazine, and I think the public is becoming more cognizant of design as being important in their lives.”
This, he feels, is motivated by the industrial design of products from companies like Apple, and manufacturers that have a very high design aesthetic. “That has helped to bring higher awareness of design in all different disciplines.”
Other advances have taken the act of designing architecturally to a whole new level. The advanced technology of computer-aided design, more affordable green-building products, urban awareness, and understanding new work/life behaviors have all contributed to expanding the choices that today’s architects have to make, both in form and function.
As the construction industry claws its way back from the most severe recession in decades, BusinessWest talked with area architects about the trends, and attitudes, shaping their industry. Overall, they are invigorated to see the public more demanding of creative design and energy-efficient function, which is giving way to a new generation of sustainable and smart structures that will reshape Western Mass. buildings, and even cities, in the years to come.

Trickle-down Effect
Any talk these days of architecture or construction will immediately become a conversation about green building. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a voluntary, market-driven program that provides third-party verification of green buildings. It provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green-building design, construction, operations, and maintenance solutions.
Even locally, as with every new program, costs eventually do come down, due to competition and becoming an industry standard.
“There was a time when doing a LEED building was a premium cost, but the industry has ramped up to meet the demand,” said Salvon. “So it’s not the premium that it used to be.”
Greg Zorzi, president of Studio One Inc. in Springfield, agreed.
“We’ve done a couple of LEED projects recently, and I don’t think there was a substantive percentage more that the owner paid to get a LEED building,” he said. “And if they did pay a bit more, they’re going to achieve that back in the energy savings.”
Globally, on the leading edge of the green-building movement is a strategy called biomimicry: using patterns in nature, particularly in biological systems, to inspire innovative and more-efficient designs within architecture and engineering. While global interests are not immediately adopted by those in the Western Mass. area, or even the New England region, the efforts are important.
Christopher Novelli, an architect at Studio One, sees biomimicry at this juncture as more limited to what he called ‘paper architecture’ — student work or architects’ projects that are mostly experimentation with the design of buildings that will never get built.
But design movements have to start somewhere, and there’s a trend, Salvon said, toward more attention to organic design or, rather, more care toward natural materials in either the form of the building or in the materials within. His examples: bamboo flooring, grass or bark-like wall coverings, and unique ceiling products that mimic outdoor scenery.
But to get some of those designs takes experimentation and advancements in technology, specifically computer-aided design and computer-driven routering that didn’t exist a decade ago.
Zorzi told BusinessWest that the future emergence of unique types of biomimicry, or new organic-design products, requires students and architects to write computer code and bypass the traditional design process. Thus, the design is then carved out from large-scale computer-aided machines.
“The computer code has its parameters and sort of creates itself, but that opens the door to experimenting with new forms, which find their way into more traditional building here,” Novelli added.
“Where the more experimental buildings tend to be constructed,” Zorzi added, “is based on where the money is — Dubai, Tokyo, Singapore, for example.”
Salvon agreed. “Some of the newer elements are due to high-end computer-modeling software with deep-pocketed backers, and allow for fabrication that is different than conventional construction.”
While this extremely advanced technology has not yet entered into mainstream architecture and construction, it is an emerging technology that will change the way architects and contractors work in the future, Zorzi added.
“But, yes, computers are influencing everything,” said Chrobak, whose firm is known for its designs of the unique Eric Carle Museum in Amherst and the Elms College Center for Natural and Health Sciences, which is currently under construction in Chicopee.

Staying Power
“A common theme in our market is that a lot of work is renovation work — so how do you take a new design aesthetic and work it into an existing building that may be more than 100 years old?” Salvon asked rhetorically, as many of his clients have as well.
“Not just design, but sustainability has become extremely important, maybe moreso due to the downturn of the economy; folks want their building to be more efficient,” he said.
One of the more obvious energy-efficiency products has been glass.
Its usage has typically been a symbol of energy inefficiency, as heat exchange in large, translucent surfaces is higher than in insulated walling. But new glass systems are changing that.
As an example, Zorzi noted ‘curtain-wall’ systems that are the essence of the high-performance envelope. While not a new concept, what the systems are made of, and what they do now, certainly is.
“Years ago, you wouldn’t be able to achieve having full walls of glass,” he said. “There would be so much heat loss or gain, and as stylish as it is, it wouldn’t be functional.”
A glass wall today would have a ‘double-skin’ system — two layers, filled with a gas that allows the building to passively cool itself. But the quality of the glass, the curvature, and the ability to withstand wind and hold snow loads, said Zorzi, is what makes him marvel at buildings such as Springfield’s new federal courthouse on State Street, which makes heavy use of glass.
In his work, Chrobak also sees a lot of adaptive reuse, and he feels it is motivated by clients’ project costs.
“If you’re building with a shell, it’s often cheaper than building from scratch, so the concept of ‘reuse and recycle’ applies to buildings as well.”
Cities, in general, are seeing an enormous amount of reuse of former manufacturing buildings as well as old apartment buildings.
Both Zorzi and Novelli see a return to city living in those structures, prompted by the younger generation and their awareness of, and demand for, intelligent use of existing resources and the environment.
“Some people think that suburbs are the next ghettos,” said Zorzi. “When you see that return back to the city and how it relates to architecture in a single building, you have to shift your design focus to create more multi-purpose spaces, mixed-use, and live/work spaces.”
An example is more office and retail on bottom floors and living spaces above. Technology allows people to work from anywhere, and many companies are allowing employees to work from home, which has increased overall demand for office areas in new designs, regardless of the client’s age. “So the designs that we’re doing have to relate to that,” said Novelli.
But city living involves not just the redesign of one building these days, said Zorzi, but entails the entire urban environment around that building, which is a demand of the public.
“I think a good local example of that is the proposed casino,” Zorzi told BusinessWest. “We have MGM Springfield with an outward-facing real urban focus with livened streetscapes and retail shops, and bringing in the local businesses is part of that flavor. Then you had Penn National with an inward-facing focus. You look at the traffic patterns — the traffic comes in, gambles, and leaves.”
“The MGM proposal is very indicative of the trends that we’re seeing, more of a focus on the urban element, rather than the one isolated building,” Novelli pointed out.

Creative Economy
What the future holds for architects is a series of new challenges and opportunities.
The American Institute of Architects has put forth the 2030 Challenge, which Novelli described as a step-by-step pledge for architects to design ‘net-zero’ buildings, or those that literally produce their own energy through mini-turbines, solar power, high-performance building products, and, of course, smart design.
“There are always new materials and new approaches,” said Salvon. “And a lot of manufacturers are putting a lot of money into R&D to develop new materials to either meet existing demand or create new demand.”
And as the competition heats up for more sustainable products for both new construction and adaptive reuse, the prices will flatten out and the heyday of those net-zero buildings is nearer than ever.
In the meantime, architects continue to have designs on continued growth in an industry where the future is as clear as a glass wall.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Art and Science

Architecture EL Seeks a Balance Between Beauty and Function

Kevin Shea says his firm has stayed busy in its first five years with a very diverse roster of jobs.

Kevin Shea says many kids grow up watching their dad build a garage or repair a shed. In his case, helping out around the house inspired him to pursue an equally hands-on career.
“I remember seeing old blueprints, and that was of interest to me,” said Shea, owner of Architecture EL Inc. in East Longmeadow. “Architecture actually ended up fitting my personality, that blend of hands-on and creative, mechanical and artistic. It worked out to be a good balance.”
After graduating from Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, he took a job with a small architecture firm for 18 years before deciding in 2008 to strike out on his own.
“I grew up in the Hampden-Wilbraham area, so this is pretty much my region,” he said. “Basically, we’re a small office built on the idea of direct design. The final product is never far from my hands.”
Architecture EL — the acronym stands for Environment Life — is essentially a two-person operation, though the firm will contract to bring on a handful of others for big jobs. “We’re trying to grow to the point where we can bring in some additional staff,” Shea said. “It’s just a matter of waiting for the economy to stabilize.”
In fact, the company has never operated in a thriving economy, launching in 2008, just before the financial crash kicked off the Great Recession, from which the region and nation are still trying to recover. But Shea — who repeatedly used the word ‘fortunate’ to describe the past few years while speaking to BusinessWest — said he has kept consistently busy, with dozens of projects on the docket now, albeit most of them small.
“Our work is commercial, municipal, residential … in Western Mass., most architects are jacks of all trades. And with the economy the past few years, you do whatever comes along.”

Built for Success
Shea has weathered an uncertain economic climate, he said, by focusing on personal service — working closely with clients from design conception through construction and occupancy — but also on that flexibility and diversity he mentioned.
“Historically, my base was strongly commercial. It started with medical and multi-family residential projects,” he said, adding that Architecture EL will take on most any type of proposal. “We’re small, so we’re pretty fortunate to have a nice volume of work and some good diversity.”
He detailed some of the firm’s recent and ongoing work to demonstrate that variety, from a demonstration center alongside the jet-engine fabrication facility at Pratt & Whitney in Middletown, Conn. to the Wilbraham Grange building on Main Street, which is being retrofit into a single-family residence.
In addition, “we’re currently bidding for improvements to the Hatfield Town Hall; we’re expanding their primary town offices and meeting rooms, and we also did a study for an elevator and accessible entry throughout the building. We also did a study for the Historical Society in hopes of fitting out the upper level for a museum.”
He also cited work for the Westfield Museum, which is moving into a historically registered building that once housed a whip manufacturing company. “We’re in the first phase — building envelope improvements, masonry restoration, windows, slate roof — and heading toward the next phase, which will really define the museum space. There’s a mix of historical elements, and it has its own host of issues, but it’s a neat little project.”
Almost all the firm’s assignments come from direct referrals, “people who are actually interested in doing the work, not just guys fishing.” The project log is mostly private work, but there are some public projects as well.
“It’s something different all the time,” he said, “but, at the end of the day, it’s all about solving a problem. Sometimes it’s the budget, sometimes it’s technical, sometimes it’s historical or accessibility … the reality is, it’s all about solving problems with a design solution.
“I think we do a pretty good job pulling everything together — the artistic and the technical sides,” Shea added, noting that some firms specialize in the technical side of the industry, while others were trained at universities that stress esoteric design concepts over functionality.
“My background is strongly rooted in creative design, but also supported by buildability and what will serve the client,” he explained. “And, of course, we look to be as forward-thinking as possible in energy-efficient design solutions.”
‘Green’ design is, of course, a hot trend in architecture and construction these days, but not only on large projects. For instance, homeowners and small businesses affected by the freak weather events of 2011 were also looking to rebuild in greener ways.
“There was a definite uptick with the hurricanes, tornadoes, and snowstorm; people were looking at better insulation, generators, better fuels; solar is certainly making inroads.”
The firm designed a few rebuilding jobs in Monson after the twister devastated that community, Shea recalled. “I felt fortunate to help people rebuilding their house or their business. Those were great jobs because people were really struggling, fighting with their insurance companies, and I felt good coming in and helping them, being part of the solution rather than part of the problem.”

Early Inspiration
As he works to meet client needs and eventually grow Architecture EL into a larger company, Shea recalled that his early life inspired not just his career choice, but his work ethic in general.
“Growing up, we were a small family that lived modestly. We used to fix everything that broke; we didn’t call people,” he said. “If we needed something built, we built it. Now, everyone hires someone to mow their lawn.”
He said a “Berkshires can-do mentality” was instilled in him early on. “It helped me all the way through my career. In college, I worked construction in the summer. They told me I was the first college kid who knew how to work. I’ve been working all my life, building and fixing things, very hands-on, and that just translated to how I tackle my business.”
And that work ethic is paying dividends today. “We get hired based on who we are, our experience, and our contacts,” he said. “We provide a great level of service and quality control. That’s what people are looking for.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Blueprint for Success

A chart of area architecture firms

Click here to download the PDF

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

Commercial Real Estate Sections

Chamber Corners Departments

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101.
• May 15: Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Elms College, 291 Springfield St. in Chicopee. To reserve tickets, contact the chamber at (413) 594-2101 or [email protected].
• May 22: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Berkshire Bank, 1339 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee. For more information, contact the chamber at (413) 594-2101 or [email protected].

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414
• May 9: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m., at Amy’s Place Bar & Grill, 80-82 Cottage St., Easthampton. Sponsored by Easthampton Savings Bank; hors d’ouevres; door prizes; cash bar. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for future members.
• May 17: Wine & Microbrew Tasting, 6- 9 p.m., at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Enjoy more than 50 wines and microbrews, fine food, and an extraordinary raffle. Major Sponsor: Easthampton Savings Bank; Event Sponsor: Five Star Building Corp.; Wine Sponsor: Westfield Spirit Shop; Microbrew Sponsor: Big E’s Supermarket; Food Sponsor: Log Rolling @ The Log Cabin/Delaney House. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at door. Call (413) 527-9414, or visit or www.easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER HOLYOKE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376.
• May 10: Ask a Chamber Expert Series: Hiring the Right Talent, 8:30- 10 a.m., at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Conference Room, 177 High St. Join us for our second ACE (Ask a Chamber Expert) event with guest speaker Peter Brunault, senior professional in Human Resources (SPHR) of Employers Association of the NorthEast. Admission: $10 for members, $25 for non-members. Price includes a continental breakfast. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up or register at holyokechamber.com.
• May 15: Legislative Luncheon featuring State Treasurer Steven Grossman, starting at 11:30, at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, 500 Easthampton Road. Sponsored by Dowd Insurance and Goss & McLain Insurance. Admission: payment in advance, $30; payment at door, $40. Open to the public. For reservations call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376, or register online at holyokechamber.com.
• May 20: 45th Annual Chamber Cup 2013 Golf Tournament, at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Registration and lunch at 10:30 a.m. Tee off at noon (scramble format); dinner following the golf with elaborate food stations catered by the Log Cabin. Cost is $125 per player, and includes lunch, 18 holes of golf, cart, and dinner. Dinner only, $25. Winner awards, raffles, and cash prizes follow dinner. Tournament Sponsors: Log Cabin and PeoplesBank. Corporate Sponsors: Dowd Insurance, Goss & McLain Insurance Agency, Holyoke Gas & Electric, Mountain View Landscapes, Holyoke Medical Center, People’s United Bank, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite & Driscoll. For reservations call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376 or register online at holyokechamber.com.
• May 21: Chamber Business Connections, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored and hosted by Sovereign Consulting, 4 Open Square Way, Suite 307. If you are in the architecture, engineering, or development industries, attend as the chamber’s guest, Cost is $10 for chamber members, $15 for non-members. Presented by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Committee. Join your friends and colleagues for this informal evening of networking.
• May 29: Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, starting at 5 p.m. at the Delaney House in Holyoke. Program followed by a grand reception, including Fifield Awards. Sponsored by the Greater Holyoke Chamber Corporate Leaders. Cocktails from 5 to 5:30 p.m.; annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. Dinner begins at 6. Admission: payment in advance, $30; payment at door, $40. Open to the public. The chamber will also honor chamber member retirees, Rosalie Deane, Holyoke Housing Authority; David Dupont, superintendent of Holyoke Public Schools; and John Kelley, Peoples United Bank.

MASSACHUSETTS
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
(413) 525-2506.
• July 22: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament at Tekoa Country Club, Westfield. Shotgun start at 11 a.m. Cost: $100 per golfer.
For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 525-2506, or e-mail to [email protected].

PROFESSSIONAL WOMEN’S CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310.
• June 6: Women of the Year Banquet, 5:30-8 p.m., at the Cedars Banquet Hall, 375 Island Pond Road, Springfield. Join us as we honor our Woman of the Year, Jean Deliso, Deliso Financial & Insurance Services To reserve tickets, contact Cecile Larose at [email protected].

WEST OF THE RIVER
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880
• August 19: West of the River Chamber of Commerce 10th Annual Golf Tournament at Springfield Country Club, West Springfield. Cost: $125 per-golfer. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail to [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618.
• May 6: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8- 9 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Join the chamber and Mayor Dan Knapik for a meet-and-greet about the city. Free and open to the public. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail to [email protected].
• May 8: May WestNet Connection, 5- 7 p.m., at Amelia Park Children’s Museum, 29 South Broad St. Sponsor: Westfield YMCA. Cost: Members, $10, non-members, $15cash at the door. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail to [email protected].
• May 13: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce’s 52nd Annual Golf Tournament, at the The Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick.
Schedule: 10 a.m., registration/lunch; 11 a.m., shotgun start; 11 a.m.-5 p.m., on-course refreshments; 4 p.m., cocktail hour; 5 p.m., dinner Great Sponsorship opportunities still available. Cost: foursome with dinner, $600; tee sign, $150; dinner only, $35. For sponsorship opportunities, to register or to donate a raffle, contact Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail to [email protected].

YOUNG PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY OF GREATER SPRINGFIELD
www.springfieldyps.com
• May 16: May ‘Third Thursday,’ 5-7 p.m. at Lattitude Restaurant, 1338 Memorial Ave., West Springfield.

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By BusinessWest Staff April 23, 2013

Chamber Corners Departments

ACCGS
www.myonlinechamber.com
(413) 787-1555

• April 24: Join us for the chamber’s annual Beacon Hill Summit, hosted by state Sen. Gale Candaras, starting at 7 a.m. Join with other members of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield Inc. and the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce for a unique opportunity to hear directly from top legislators and members of the Patrick-Murray administration and an opportunity to voice your opinions, ideas, and concerns during the day’s formal sessions and social events. Speakers will include: Secretary of Administration and Finance Glen Shor, Senate President Therese Murray, Stephen Brewer, chair of the Senate and Joint Committees on Ways and Means, Mass. Taxpayers Foundation President Mike Widmer, and many others. The all-inclusive payment includes continental breakfast, transportation, and lunch at the Omni Parker House with members of the local delegation, a wrap-up reception at the 21st Amendment, and all materials. Buses depart at 7 a.m. from the Plantation Inn at Exit 6-off the MA Turnpike, and return at 7 p.m.
• May 1: Business@Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at the Delaney House, One Country Club Road, Holyoke. Mayor’s Forum. The monthly Busness@Breakfast series pays tribute to individuals, businesses, and organizations for major contributions to civic and economic growth and for actions that reflect honor on the region. To reserve tickets, contact Cecile Larose at [email protected].

AMHERST AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.amherstarea.com
(413) 253-0700

• April 24: Chamber After 5, 5-7 p.m., at the UMass Fine Arts Center. Sponsored by: Yankee Candle. Tickets are $10 for members, $15 for non-members. RSVP to [email protected]
• April 30: ‘Making Green Sexy’ — Chamber Brown Bag luncheon, noon-1:30 p.m., in the Woodbury Room of the Jones Library at Amherst College. The program, focused on green marketing/green business profitability, will be presented by Shel Horowitz, president of Accurate Writing and More. Using examples as diverse as toilet paper, the Empire State Building, ice cream, and a community organizing campaign, Horowitz’s presentation will look at the different message styles you need to move both green and non-green audiences to action. For more information, visit http://greenandprofitable.com/.

CHICOPEE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.chicopeechamber.org
(413) 594-2101

• May 15: Salute Breakfast, 7:15-9 a.m., at Elms College, 291 Springfield St. in Chicopee. To reserve tickets, contact the chamber at (413) 594-2101 or [email protected].
• May 22: Business After Hours, 5-7 p.m., at Berkshire Bank, 1339 Memorial Dr. in Chicopee. For more information, contact the chamber at (413) 594-2101 or [email protected].

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.easthamptonchamber.org
(413) 527-9414

• April 25: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m., at the new Easthampton High School, 70 Williston Ave. Tour and experience this new 21st century educational facility. Sponsored by Canon Real Estate Inc., Hors d’ouevres by the E.H.S. Culinary Department; door prizes. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for future members
• May 9: Networking by Night Business Card Exchange, 5-7 p.m., at Amy’s Place Bar & Grill, 80-82 Cottage St., Easthampton. Sponsored by Easthampton Savings Bank; hors d’ouevres; door prizes; cash bar. Tickets are $5 for members, $15 for future members.
• May 17: Wine & Microbrew Tasting, 6- 9 p.m., at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Enjoy more than 50 wines and microbrews, fine food, and an extraordinary raffle. Major Sponsor: Easthampton Savings Bank; Event Sponsor: Five Star Building Corp.; Wine Sponsor: Westfield Spirit Shop; Microbrew Sponsor: Big E’s Supermarket; Food Sponsor: Log Rolling @ The Log Cabin/Delaney House. Tickets are $35 in advance, $40 at door. Call (413) 527-9414, or visit or www.easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER HOLYOKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.holycham.com
(413) 534-3376

• May 10: Ask a Chamber Expert Series: Hiring the Right Talent, 8:30- 10 a.m., at the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Conference Room, 177 High St. Join us for our second ACE (Ask a Chamber Expert) event with guest speaker Peter Brunault, senior professional in Human Resources (SPHR) of Employers Association of the NorthEast. Admission: $10 for members, $25 for non-members. Price includes a continental breakfast. Call the chamber at (413) 534-3376 to sign up or register at holyokechamber.com.
• May 15: Legislative Luncheon featuring State Treasurer Steven Grossman, starting at 11:30, at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House, 500 Easthampton Road. Sponsored by Dowd Insurance and Goss & McLain Insurance. Admission: payment in advance, $30; payment at door, $40. Open to the public. For reservations call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376, or register online at holyokechamber.com.
• May 20: 45th Annual Chamber Cup 2013 Golf Tournament, at Wyckoff Country Club, 233 Easthampton Road, Holyoke. Registration and lunch at 10:30 a.m. Tee off at noon (scramble format); dinner following the golf with elaborate food stations catered by the Log Cabin. Cost is $125 per player, and includes lunch, 18 holes of golf, cart, and dinner. Dinner only, $25. Winner awards, raffles, and cash prizes follow dinner. Tournament Sponsors: Log Cabin and PeoplesBank. Corporate Sponsors: Dowd Insurance, Goss & McLain Insurance Agency, Holyoke Gas & Electric, Mountain View Landscapes, Holyoke Medical Center, People’s United Bank, and Resnic, Beauregard, Waite & Driscoll. For reservations call the chamber office at (413) 534-3376 or register online at holyokechamber.com.
• May 21: Chamber Business Connections, 5-7 p.m. Sponsored and hosted by Sovereign Consulting, 4 Open Square Way, Suite 307. If you are in the architecture, engineering, or development industries, attend as the chamber’s guest, Cost is $10 for chamber members, $15 for non-members.
Presented by the Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Committee. Join your friends and colleagues for this informal evening of networking.
• May 29: Greater Holyoke Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting, starting at 5 p.m. at the Delaney House in Holyoke. Program followed by a grand reception, including Fifield Awards. Sponsored by the Greater Holyoke Chamber Corporate Leaders. Cocktails from 5 to 5:30 p.m.; annual meeting at 5:30 p.m. Dinner begins at 6. Admission: payment in advance, $30; payment at door, $40. Open to the public. The chamber will also honor chamber member retirees, Rosalie Deane, Holyoke Housing Authority; David Dupont, superintendent of Holyoke Public Schools; and John Kelley, Peoples United Bank.

MASSACHUSETTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
(413) 525-2506

• July 22: Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament at Tekoa Country Club, Westfield. Shotgun start at 11 a.m. Cost: $100 per golfer.
For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 525-2506, or e-mail to [email protected].

GREATER NORTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.explorenorthampton.com
(413) 584-1900

• May 1: Northampton Chamber Monthly Arrive @5, 5-7 p.m., at the Eric Carle Museum, 125 West Bay Road, Amherst. Arrive when you can, stay as long as you can. A casual mix and mingle with your colleagues and friends. Sponsored by: Wells Fargo Advisors, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services, and United Bank. Admission: $10 for members; $15 for non-members

PROFESSSIONAL WOMENS CHAMBER
www.professionalwomenschamber.com
(413) 755-1310

• June 6: Women of the Year Banquet, 5:30-8 p.m., at the Cedars Banquet Hall, 375 Island Pond Road, Springfield. Join us as we honor our Woman of the Year, Jean Deliso, Deliso Financial & Insurance Services To reserve tickets, contact Cecile Larose at [email protected].

WEST OF THE RIVER CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.ourwrc.com
(413) 426-3880

• April 25: Powerful Speed Networking Business After Hours with 3 Chambers, 5-7 p.m., at Chez Josef in Agawam. Featuring the West of the River Chamber of Commerce, Westfield Chamber of Commerce , and North Central Connecticut Chamber of Commerce. Free for chamber members, $10 for non-members. (Event is open to the public; must pay at the door if you’re a non-member). For more information contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail to [email protected].
• May 1: West of the River Chamber of Commerce Membership Drive, at the
Holiday Inn, Enfield, Conn. Two shifts — 9-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-4 p.m. This is a great opportunity for you to network with other members while helping to grow your chamber. More members means more opportunity to grow your business. For more information contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail to [email protected].
• May 1: Wicked Wednesday, 5-7 p.m. Hosted by Holiday Inn.
Free for chamber members, $10 for Non-members (event is open to the public-must pay at the door if you’re a non-member). Wicked Wednesdays are monthly social events hosted by various businesses and restaurants. These events bring members and non-members together to social network in a laid-back atmosphere. For more information contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail to [email protected].
• August 19: West of the River Chamber of Commerce 10th Annual Golf Tournament at Springfield Country Club, West Springfield. Cost: $125 per-golfer. For more information on registration and sponsorship opportunities, contact the chamber office at (413) 426-3880, or e-mail to [email protected].

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
www.westfieldbiz.org
(413) 568-1618

• May 6: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8- 9 a.m., at the Holiday Inn Express, 39 Southampton Road, Westfield, MA 01085. Join the chamber and Mayor Dan Knapik for a meet-and-greet about the city. Free and open to the public. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail to [email protected].
n May 8: May WestNet Connection, 5- 7 p.m., at Amelia Park Children’s Museum, 29 South Broad St. Sponsor: Westfield YMCA. Cost: Members, $10, non-members, $15cash at the door. To register, call Pam at the chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail to [email protected].
n May 13: Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce’s 52nd Annual Golf Tournament, at the The Ranch Golf Club, 65 Sunnyside Road, Southwick.
Schedule: 10 a.m., registration/lunch; 11 a.m., shotgun start; 11 a.m.-5 p.m., on-course refreshments; 4 p.m., cocktail hour; 5 p.m., dinner Great Sponsorship opportunities still available. Cost: foursome with dinner, $600; tee sign, $150; dinner only, $35. For sponsorship opportunities, to register or to donate a raffle, contact Pam at the Chamber office at (413) 568-1618, or e-mail to [email protected].

YPS-Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield
www.springfieldyps.com

• May 16: May ‘Third Thursday,’ 5-7 p.m. at Lattitude Restaurant, 1338 Memorial Ave., West Springfield.

Agenda

By BusinessWest Staff April 9, 2013

Agenda Departments

James Kitchen Art Exhibit

April 8-25: Like the unusual and disparate metal objects from which they are forged, James Kitchen’s thought-provoking sculptures stand at the intersection of art, science, technology, business, literature, pharmacy, mathematics, physics, history, sustainability, and the human desire to create. His goal is to integrate art into public life with works that evoke emotion or inspire innovation. Kitchen’s sculpture “Einstein’s Onion” will be exhibited outdoors on the campus of Western New England University as the featured piece of his WNEU Art Gallery exhibit; it is the first large Kitchen sculpture to be displayed at a college or university in the region. The unveiling of “Einstein’s Onion” is slated for April 8 at 12 noon on the Campus Mall area, near the gazebo. The Art Gallery exhibit of Kitchen’s work will follow on April 14-18. A related Art Gallery talk is slated for April 25 at 7 p.m. at Sleith Hall, Room 100. For more information about Kitchen and his work, visit www.jameskitchen.com.

HRU Fund-raiser

April 11: Human Resources Unlimited (HRU) will stage its annual recognition and fund-raiser event at Springfield Country Club in West Springfield from 7:30 to 9 a.m. This breakfast event is by invitation only and is limited to the first 200 registrants. HRU will recognize local employers that have distinguished themselves this past year through their commitment to hire individuals with a disability. In addition, the organization annually honors a special volunteer who has given of their time and talent to help advance HRU in achieving its mission. Two employers will be honored: the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Westfield is receiving the agency’s Employer of the Year Award, and the Sturbridge Host Hotel is being recognized with the Rookie Employer Award. Jeff Lander of Appilistic will receive the Armand Tourangeau Volunteer of the Year Award for his efforts on behalf of HRU’s Westfield Service Forum House. Gold Sponsors for the event include FieldEddy Insurance and Meredith Management. The media sponsor is BusinessWest. Sponsorships for this event are still available and welcome. Annually, Human Resources Unlimited assists more than 1,200 individuals living with developmental disabilities, mental illness, or other disadvantages to increase their skills, return to work or school, and become productive, contributing members of the community. Sponsorships and donations assist the organization in advancing its mission. For further information or to make a reservation, contact Lynda at (413) 781-5359 or [email protected]. The suggested minimum donation is $100.

STCC Diversity Series

April 11: Steven Pemberton, business leader and child advocate, will speak at Springfield Technical Community College at 11 a.m. in Scibelli Hall (seventh floor). Pemberton is the chief diversity officer and divisional vice president for Walgreens and was named one of Fortune’s top 20 chief diversity officers in corporate America, as well as one of Savoy’s top 100 influential African-Americans in corporate America. He is the author of a memoir, A Chance in the World: An Orphan Boy, a Mysterious Past, and How He Found a Place Called Home, which chronicles his difficult path through foster care and determined search for his family. According to author and educator Stedman Graham, “Pemberton’s beautifully told story is a rags to riches journey — beginning in a place and with a jarring set of experiences that could have destroyed his life. But Steve’s refusal to give in to those forces, and his resolve to create a better life, shows a courage and resilience that is an example for many of us to follow.” The event is free and open to the public, and copies of Pemberton’s book will be on sale. For more information, contact Myra Smith at (413) 755-4414 or visit www.stcc.edu/diversity.

DevelopSpringfield Gala

April 12: DevelopSpringfield will be hosting its 2nd annual gala in celebration of Springfield, the many accomplishments the community has achieved over the past year, and the exciting new initiatives underway. The gala will take place at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Festivities will include a cocktail reception, silent auction, dinner, dancing, and more. All proceeds will support DevelopSpringfield’s redevelopment initiatives, projects, and programs. An anticipated 400 attendees — including federal, state, and city officials; leaders from the business and nonprofit communities; and local residents — will come together in support of ongoing efforts to advance development and redevelopment projects, stimulate and support economic growth, and expedite the revitalization process in the city. Sponsorship packages as well as individual ticket opportunities are available. For more information, visit www.developspringfield.com, or contact Diane Swanson at (413) 209-8808 or [email protected].

Bankruptcy Seminar

April 16: As part of its series of free information sessions on business-law basics, the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Western New England University will present a session on bankruptcy, featuring attorneys George Roumeliotis of Roumeliotis Law Group, Justin Dion of Bacon Wilson, and Kara Rescia of Eaton & Rescia. The event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the WNEU School of Law, in the Blake Law Center. It is free and open to the public, and light refreshments will be provided. To learn more about upcoming events hosted by the Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, visit www.wne.edu/cie.

STCC Open House

April 18: The public is invited to Springfield Technical Community College’s open house slated for 1-4 p.m. in the Scibelli Hall gymnasium.
The open house is the perfect opportunity to learn about the variety of career and transfer programs available at STCC. This event is free and open to the public, and registration is not required. Guests will have an opportunity to meet with representatives from academic programs, admissions, athletics, financial aid, and student-support services.
The open house will feature a variety of career-exploration demonstrations from programs including architecture, automotive technology, biotechnology, computer information technology, energy-systems technology, engineering, fine arts, law enforcement, massage therapy, nursing, occupational therapy, and many more.

“Our hope is to give prospective students an opportunity to not just see the campus but explore career pathways and options,” said Dean of Admissions Louisa Davis-Freeman.
Founded in 1967 and located on 35 acres of the Springfield Armory National Historic Site, STCC is the only technical community college in Massachusetts, with an annual enrollment of more than 9,000 day, evening, weekend, and online students. For more information about open house, call (413) 755-3333 or visit www.stcc.edu.

Human Service Forum Breakfast

April 18: Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, will provide an overview of state finances in the wake of the global recession and efforts to close the federal deficit when he delivers the keynote address of the Human Service Forum Breakfast, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. Widmer will comment specifically on Gov. Deval Patrick’s tax proposal and the House Ways and Means budget that will be released the week prior to the breakfast. The foundation’s analysis of Patrick’s tax proposal shows that the elimination of the personal income-tax exemptions and the additional corporate taxes account for most of the $1.9 billion in new revenues. The analysis also summarizes the 44 personal income-tax exemptions and deductions that he has proposed to eliminate. Widmer has been president of the foundation since 1992. The event cost is $25 for Human Service Forum members and $35 for non-members. Those interesting in attending may register online at www.humanserviceforum.org.

Creating Better Organizations

April 19: Disorganized, unproductive meetings … unclear roles and accountabilities … politics and poor decision-making. Does this describe your workplace? Is there an alternative? Experience and explore a real-world-tested social technology for agile and purposeful organizations at a ‘taster event’ sponsored by Leadership Pioneer Valley, UMass Family Business Center, and Bredenberg Associates, from 1 to 5 p.m. at the UMass Continuing and Professional Education classroom at 100 Venture Way, Hadley. This thorough and experiential introduction to ‘Holacracy,’ by the pioneer of the method, Brian Robertson, is a fast-paced, concise ‘taste’ in a single session. Holacracy is an organizational operating system that concretely embodies the new capabilities called for by many organizational thought leaders today. It radically changes how an organization is structured, how decisions are made, and how power is distributed. In this half-day training — designed for business leaders, consultants, boards of directors, and community organizers — participants will experience a transformative governance process that creates clear roles and accountabilities, even when dynamically evolving. Learn more by visiting holacracy.org.

EANE Management Conference

April 25: The Employers Association of the NorthEast will hold its ninth annual management conference, “Leadership and Mentorship in Action,” at the Holiday Inn in Enfield, Conn. The conference will address the direct impact of mentoring and leadership development on the growth and success of organizations. Keynote speaker Doug Dvorak, a contributing author to the bestselling book The Masters of Success, will present his popular program “The Magic of Mentoring.” Additional presenters include Ravi Kulkarni and Lynn Turner of ClearVision Alliance. A panel of representatives from area companies will discuss next-generation mentoring. Conference breakout sessions include “Leadership Behavior and Employee Engagement,” “Building Effective Teams,” and “DiSC Work of Leaders.” For more information about the conference, contact Karen Cronenberger at (877) 662-6444 or [email protected]. To register, call (877) 662-6444 or visit www.eane.org.

EASTEC 2013

May 14-16: EASTEC, the premier manufacturing exposition in the Northeast will be held at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield on May 14 and 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on May 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will offer a variety of exhibitors, educational offerings, tours of nearby facilities, and much more. For more information and to register to attend, visit www.easteconline.com.

40 Under Forty

June 20: BusinessWest will present its seventh class of regional rising stars at the annual 40 Under Forty gala at the Log Cabin Banquet & Meeting House in Holyoke. The event will feature music, lavish food stations, and introductions of the winners. Look for event details in upcoming issues of BusinessWest — including the must-read April 22 issue in which the class of 2013 will be profiled — or call (413) 781-8600, ext. 100 for more information.

Lessons Learned

By BusinessWest Staff April 9, 2013

Construction Sections

Schools Say Green Construction Benefits Students, Teachers

The new West Springfield High School is expected to be certified as a LEED Silver building when it’s completed.

‘Green’ is definitely the hot trend when it comes to school construction — and a new, comprehensive report suggests that the benefits are wide-ranging.

While businesses of all kinds are increasingly calling for more environmentally friendly, energy-efficient building designs — with many seeking certification from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a rigorous program of the U.S. Green Building Council — in many ways the education sector has been leading the way.

And, according to a report recently issued by McGraw-Hill Construction titled “New and Retrofit Green Schools: The Cost Benefits and Influence of a Green School on Its Occupants,” schools of all levels — elementary, middle, and high — as well as universities, report significant benefits from studying and working in green buildings — advantages that extend well beyond economics.

It’s an area ripe for study; McGraw-Hill characterizes the education-construction market to be at the “vanguard” of green building, estimating that 45% of total construction starts in the education sector in 2012 had green components — a sharp increase from 15%
in 2008. “And that estimate,” the authors note, “does not even include the full scope of work being done to green existing buildings through retrofits and green operations and maintenance.”

In Western Mass., the trend is pervasive. Many recent and ongoing high-school projects in the region — including new buildings for Easthampton High School, West Springfield High School, Longmeadow High School, and Minnechaug Regional High School, to name a few — feature significant green aspects, from photovoltaic energy production to extensive natural light to a building materials relatively free of toxins and respiratory irritants.

“What is driving this market?” the report asks. “Like
all other sectors, schools are driven by
the goal of saving money and energy. However, this sector is unique among all those studied by McGraw-Hill construction … because the impact of green buildings on the health and well-being of their students is as important as energy in encouraging new green investments. In fact, the level of green work is so high in this sector because many report seeing the financial, health and well-being, and productivity benefits that they seek.”

The new Longmeadow High School offers copious amounts of natural light among its features.

Indeed, two-thirds of the surveyed schools report that they have an enhanced reputation and ability to attract students due to their green investments. Meanwhile, 91% of K-12 schools and 87% of higher-education institutions state that green buildings increase health and well-being, while 74% of K-12 schools and 63% of colleges and universities report improved student productivity.

Additionally, 70% of K-12 schools and 63% of universities report that student tests scores increased in the wake of green construction. Employees are happier, too, as 83% of K-12 schools and 85% of university leaders report increased faculty satisfaction as a result of teaching in a green building.

Whatever the metric, there appears to be growing evidence that green building design is more than a fad in the educational world, but a trend with real long-term benefits.

Cost and Effect

When deciding to go green at their facilities, many businesses look first at the cost, and that’s no different for municipalities or colleges looking to erect school buildings. And a 2006 study conducted by Capital E, a national clean-energy and green-building firm, argues strongly for the fiscal benefits of such construction.

Its cross-country review of 30 green schools demonstrates that green schools cost less than 2% more to build than conventional schools — or about $3 per square
foot — but provide financial benefits that are 20 times as large. In fact, the report argues, that extra $3 pays off in $71 worth of ancillary financial benefits, from energy and water savings to asthma and flu reduction, to decreased absenteeism and greater teacher retention.

“Greening school design,” notes Gregory Kats, managing principal of Capital E, “provides an extraordinarily cost-effective way to enhance student learning, reduce health and operational costs, and, ultimately, increase school quality and competitiveness.”

He concedes that his report — co-sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers, the American Institute of Architects, the American Lung Assoc., the Federation of American Scientists, and the U.S. Green Building Council — doesn’t quantify every possible benefit of green buildings, including reduced teacher sick days, reduced maintenance costs, reduced insured and uninsured risks, increased state competitiveness, and others.

The recent McGraw-Hill study isn’t all-encompassing, either, but it does delve deeply into the question of how significantly a school designed to reduce its environmental impact on the world
can affect the health and learning abilities of its students, in ways ranging from reducing respiratory illnesses
and absenteeism to improving test scores.

“Given the complexity of interactions between people and their environments, establishing cause-and-effect relationships between an attribute of a green school and its occupants has been a challenge,” the report notes. But it does detail several possible benefits of a greener environment, including:

• Indoor air. Plenty of research exists to demonstrate that the health of children and adults can be affected by indoor air quality, and that increased particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), toxins, irritants, and allergens from mold can lead to respiratory illnesses and asthma.

On the other hand, good indoor air quality is typically marked by effective ventilation, filter efficiency, temperature and humidity control, and stricter operations, maintenance, and cleaning practices. For instance, in a 2002 study in Finland, researchers identified an average 15% reduction in the incidence of the common cold in schools that had no moisture or
mold problems. And according to researchers at Lawrence Berkely National Laboratories, when ventilation rates drop below minimum standards, student performance test results drop by 5% to 10%.

“Good ventilation is the most impactful way to protect lung health in a green school, but reducing and preventing the source of indoor air pollutants is another key area,” notes Janice Nolen, assistant vice president of National Policy and Advocacy for the American Lung Assoc., in the McGraw-Hill report.

“Indoor air pollution such as particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and irritants can originate from various sources indoors, such as building equipment, furnishings, flooring, and cleaning equipment,” she continues. “For example, it is important not to use cleaning supplies within schools that are going to cause irritations and breathing problems such asthma or chronic lung diseases.”

• Lighting. As recently as the 1970s and even the 1980s, the report notes, conventional wisdom held that lack of daylight, while irksome to some students, had no discernible impact on test scores. But since then, studies have shown that daylight can affect student health and learning.

Indeed, 48% of K-12 survey respondents and 56% of university leaders said increased access to natural light and outside views from their classrooms increased student engagement. Among other studies, one conducted by the Heschong Mahone Group in 1999 showed that students in classrooms well-lit by natural sunlight had 7% to 26% higher test scores over the course
of a year, compared with students in windowless classrooms.

• Thermal comfort. Recent research, McGraw-Hill notes, has begun questioning the prevailing thinking that keeping indoor temperature within a narrow band — typically the low to mid-70s — year-round is ideal. One recent study showed that student speed on a standardized test increased as a result of lowering the temperature from 77 to 68 degrees. Meanwhile, research conducted from the 1990s and onward suggest that teachers have a strong preference for personal control over temperature and see it as having an impact on student performance.

• Acoustics. Significant research has been undertaken to study how classroom design impacts the ability of students to hear, pay attention, and absorb information. Outdoor noise can be a negative factor as well; a recent study shows that students in a school under the regular flight path of an airport performed up to 20% lower on a reading test than children in a nearby school.

McGraw-Hill also cites research suggesting that a room’s acoustic and sound-insulation properties have a direct effect on speech intelligibility and, consequently, student learning. Of its survey respondents, 44% of K-12 schools and 51% of university leaders who included improved acoustics in their green projects reported better student attentiveness as a result.

Crunching the Numbers

According to the study, 74% of green K-12 schools are attempting to measure the impact of the building design on student health, but only 47% in higher education are doing the same. That might be because K-12 schools can more easily track metrics such as absenteeism, asthma complaints, and visits to the school nurse. Meanwhile, colleges and universities are more likely to glean data from student and staff surveys.

Of the K-12 respondents, 32% of schools said their green-building efforts have reduced absenteeism, while just 2% found an increase; 67% reported no change. However, of the participating schools that achieved the stricter LEED certification, 45% reported decreased absenteeism, and 44% of the buildings that received an Energy Star label reported the same.

The study noted that the connections between green building design and student health and performance are still being developed and aren’t nearly as clear as those that compare physical activity and health. “Studies show that 15% of school-age children are overweight, and this number is three times higher than it was in the late 1970s,” the report notes. “Unfortunately, there is insufficient data to attribute success to any particular solution that relates to school buildings.”

At the same time, McGraw-Hill notes that much more data is necessary to fill in the gaps and presumptions that have arisen around environmentally friendly construction. For example:

• More research is needed into the lack of adequate ventilation in America’s classrooms, even though the codes and practices of the HVAC industry have been around for a long time. More information is needed on how HVAC system designs and maintenance procedures impact air quality. Also, more research is necessary on how materials selection, such as those that include VOCs, affect student health and learning.

• There is a need for more performance-based design guidelines that can reliably produce excellent visual environments in terms of natural light. And, as an emerging technology now making its way into school buildings, light-emitting diodes, otherwise known as LED lights, warrant more intensive research.

• As new technology is developed and low-energy heating and cooling methods become prevalent in high-performance buildings, their potential impacts on student health and well-being need to be researched. At the same time, more information is needed concerning the ideal temperature in a classroom and what level of teacher control is warranted.

• Finally, more information is needed on the factors that go into the acoustic performance of a classroom, and how best to provide for the needs of hearing-impaired children in classrooms.

Still, the education world — and the architecture and construction industries — are taking notice. “Building healthy, high-performance school buildings is now far more fiscally prudent and lower-risk than building conventional, inefficient, and unhealthy school buildings,” Kats argues.

There are educational benefits as well, says Darryl Alexander, health and safety director of the American Federation of Teachers, in the McGraw-Hill report.

“We’ve heard from teachers that green schools have been useful as learning tools and allowed them to incorporate sustainability into the curriculum — teaching them, for example, how to measure and track energy use,” he notes. “Green roofs have allowed them to explain benefits such as reduced energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced stormwater runoff.”

But perhaps the most significant benefit is healthier — and more focused — children and young adults.

“Teachers, whether they know much about green schools or not, once they enter one of these buildings, they are excited because these schools are quite different from conventional school buildings,” Alexander says. “The natural lighting, the acoustics, the air quality and comfort really allow them to focus on their jobs more easily. It is amazing to watch.”

— Joseph Bednar

Changing Perceptions

By BusinessWest Staff March 26, 2013

BID Strives to Improve, Promote Downtown Attractions

By KATHLEEN MITCHELL

Don Courtemanche lives in downtown Springfield. He walks to work and takes advantage of the cultural events, eateries, and other offerings readily available to him in the area.

“I think of downtown as a neighborhood. It’s a place where I want to live, stay, and raise my family,” said the executive director of the Springfield Business Improvement District, or BID, adding that he can walk to 40 restaurants from his home on Maple Street, which is not technically within the boundaries of the BID, but certainly impacted by the organization’s efforts.

BID board member Evan Plotkin says the ultimate goal of the organization is to make the downtown vibrant and culturally important to the region so it will attract new residents and businesses. “We want to see a return of the middle class and others who have left or abandoned the city,” said the president of NAI Plotkin on Taylor Street in Springfield, in the heart of the BID. “If you create a vibe that improves the perception of what downtown is, you will start to attract new retail businesses, restaurants, and a segment of the population that could move into apartments there.”

The boundaries of the 26-block BID stretch from the Connecticut River to Chestnut Street, and from Bliss Street to the railroad tracks. Union Station, which is undergoing renovation, is the northern bookend of the district. And although some people shy away from downtown because they think it’s unsafe, Cortemanche says that’s a false perception.

“People who are not familiar with the area tend to be skeptical in terms of its public safety,” he told BusinessWest. “But if you look at the statistics, the BID is the safest neighborhood in the entire city in terms of crime.”

The problem, he went on, is that, “since downtown is the face of the city, whenever anything bad happens, people associate it with Main Street.” For example, when the tornado hit, people watched it cross the southern part of the downtown area on their TV screens because that is where the weather cameras are situated. “As a result, business in the BID plummeted, not because the buildings there were destroyed, but because people assumed the streets were impassable since the media reported the news from the downtown area. The general consumer doesn’t know where the BID begins and ends.”

Plotkin agrees. “A lot happens downtown that is blown out of proportion,” he said.

Still, in spite of economic woes that have hurt urban centers across the country, the BID has held its own in recent years. Its focus now is to continue to collaborate with groups that stage cultural events, bring more people downtown, and, most importantly, take measures to make people feel safe when they visit the district.

This is going to become easier thanks to a recent change in the state’s BID statute, which was passed in July by the Legislature as part of a jobs bill. It no longer allows commercial properties to opt out of membership or paying a fee to an established BID, which they were able to do in the past, even though they benefited from services.

Those services range from keeping the area clean to upgrading streetscapes; from undertaking capital improvements to assigning representatives to act as ambassadors during conventions to help direct tourists and serve as extra security on the street, along with helping to beautify the area and promoting attractions and events.

Ongoing Maintenance

Courtemanche said Springfield’s BID, like others across the state, suffered when property owners opted out of the organization. “It became incumbent on us to do more and more with less and less,” he explained.

But, thanks to the new law, there will be more revenue with which to work. “The statute allowed property owners to reaffirm their faith in the BID,” Courtemanche said, adding that it has a 98% approval rating from its members. “We have had meetings with our members who had opted out to see what they want, and their number-one priority is clean and safe streets.”

To that end, the BID has purchased new cleaning equipment, which includes an additional street sweeper, and has also established two new lighting initiatives. One is the installation of LED lights in existing fixtures owned by Western Mass Electric Co., which will double the amount of illumination and reduce energy use by 25%.

The second is a pilot program that began in January on Worthington Street that allows property owners to install new light fixtures on their buildings, with the BID picking up 75% of the cost. “It contributes to the perception of public safety and will have a huge effect because it will light up the beautiful architecture we have downtown after dark,” Courtemanche said.

Keith Weppler, who co-owns Theodore’s Booze Blues & BBQ on Worthington Street with Keith Makarowski, said they chose to have the energy-efficient lights installed. “They really light up the whole building,” said Weppler, who is another BID board member.

He cited other benefits the organization provides. “I see how dirty the streets are early in the morning after a weekend and what a difference it makes after the BID’s cleaning crew comes by. I really appreciate it, and although belonging to the BID doesn’t directly affect my business, it helps the city. Their communication with the police department as well as their work with other businesses is part of the synergy that creates a positive downtown.”

He has also taken advantage of the BID’s affiliation with city officials. “They know who to call if you have a problem,” he said, citing an instance when he had an issue with outdated parking signage outside his establishment and the BID helped get the matter resolved.

The BID has 30 security cameras linked with the Police Department and Department of Public Works, which can spot someone illegally dumping trash or relay the news that a traffic light is out and creating a backup at an intersection, Courtemanche said. It also stages events, including the Stearns Square Concert Series, which brings 5,000 to 8,000 people downtown every week in the summer.

“It started with 10 concerts and has grown to 12, and the spinoff is huge for the parking facilities, businesses, and restaurants in the district,” Courtemanche added. In addition, the organization supports a multitude of events, ranging from those held at the Springfield Museums on the Quadrangle to the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast, the annual Spirit of Springfield’s Big Balloon Parade, productions at CityStage, and basketball games at the MassMutual Center.

New Promotions

Recently, the BID launched a number of new promotions designed to bring people downtown.

These include giving away tickets to Falcons and Armor games via a weekly drawing for people who register on the BID Facebook page.

“While that might not seem like a huge move, these people park, go out to eat, may visit a bar after the game, have a great time, and become comfortable downtown,” said Courtemanche.

The BID also employs social media to keep people abreast of ongoing news, such as whether restaurants were open after a gas explosion in November that destroyed a downtown bar and sent glass and bricks flying down Worthington Street.

It also recently finished a promotion that began in December in which people who took photos of themselves in front of restaurants such as Nadim’s and Subway on Main Street, where sidewalk construction is underway, were entered into a drawing for restaurant gift certificates.

“It was hugely popular,” Courtemanche said. “And right now, we are gearing up for spring, which is arguably our busiest or second-busiest season.”

In addition to power-washing the sidewalks, BID employees also fill about 300 planters and 300 hanging baskets scattered throughout the zone with flowers. “We also want to generate a buzz about real -state property here,” he said.

The agency’s plan is to hold open houses in approximately a dozen empty storefronts over the next few months. The first will be in a 3,000-square-foot space beneath the Chestnut Park apartment complex that has sat empty for years. “We will have food and entertainment, and hopefully it will result in a new tenant,” Courtemanche told BusinessWest.

Although real-estate brokers are welcome, the hope is that people who live and/or work downtown will attend the events and convey information about these sites to people they know who may want to open or expand a business. “The downtown consumers have a built-in bias as to what type of retailer they would like to see,” he said.

However, BID officials admit that a lot needs to be done before the area becomes a thriving neighborhood. But they are steadily working toward that goal.

“We still have a lot of vacant space, but we are on the road to the day when we become an urban theme park, which is what successful cities do to attract entrepreneurs,” Plotkin said.

Courtemanche agrees, and says small things add up. “A rising tide floats all ships, and casino or not, the fact that the BID continues to make huge leaps during one of the worst economic climates in decades is telling,” he said. “Businesses are continuing to open, and the area continues to grow.”

Future Outlook

Courtemanche said the BID is doing well. “There is certainly room for improvement, but we are holding our own and seeing growth in terms of more employees and more foot traffic. The biggest elephant in the room is where the casino will go, but once it lands, there is a lot of pent-up development that will take place,” he said. “The BID really is a special place.”

Plotkin agrees. “Every downtown has problems from time to time,” he said, “but if we can populate our area with an eclectic mix of diverse people and promote the restaurants and businesses, we will be able to bring about a renaissance here.”

Finding Answers

By BusinessWest Staff March 12, 2013

Features

At the Donahue Institute, They Also Help Formulate the Questions

Executive Director J. Lynn Griesemer

While J. Lynn Griesemer still hears the phrase ‘think tank’ used in reference to the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute (UMDI), she acknowledges that she’s heard that largely inaccurate description less often in recent years.

And she believes that’s because more groups and individuals are coming to understand that this agency, attached to the UMass President’s Office, is so much more than that.

Indeed, while the institute certainly has its share of experts among its 100 employees — on subjects ranging from the U.S. Census and the numbers it generates to passenger rail service in the Northeast Corridor — and has been called upon to conduct research on matters as disparate as college-graduate retention rates and the workforce needs of the state’s life-sciences industry, it also boasts a number of programs that one might not expect from a pure think tank.

For starters, said Griesemer, the agency’s executive director, there’s a so-called special initiative called the Academy for Newly Elected Legislators. This is a biannual program (senators and representatives are elected to two-year terms) that the institute funds from its own budget. It’s designed to help newcomers to Beacon Hill with everything from understanding the nuances of the state’s budget to dealing with the media.

There’s also another recent endeavor called the Massachusetts STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Summit. The ninth edition of the program, staged last October inside Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, was hosted by the Donahue Institute and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable and sponsored by more than two dozen colleges, universities, businesses, and education-related agencies. It brought more than 1,200 people together for sessions with titles like “Preschool Science Standards: Connecting Theory to Early Childhood Education” and “Aligning STEM and the Commonwealth’s Economic Development Strategy.”

Couple these initiatives with long-standing Donahue Institute programs involving everything from the training of state employees to workforce-development initiatives to early-childhood-education services, and it’s easy to see why the term ‘think tank,’ while in some ways appropriate, doesn’t quite cover things.

And this lack of a simple descriptive phrase makes the institute quite unique, said Eric Heller, its deputy director, who spends a good amount of his time educating people about what the UMDI does and how it does it.

“When you think of a traditional think tank and the white papers it would produce … that’s not the typical bread-and-butter work that goes on here,” he told BusinessWest. “The work here is client-oriented; we support ourselves by doing work for clients to help them solve problems.”

But there remains a large and vibrant research component at the institute, as evidenced by the white board that dominates one wall in the office occupued by Dan Hodge, the recently named director of the agency’s Economic and Public Policy Research department.

It lists more than a dozen potential projects, or “opportunities,” as he called them, and several initiatives already underway, including a study on the growth potential of the manufacturing sector in the Berkshires, commissioned by the Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp., and another research project, undertaken for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, on retention of college graduates.

Dan Hodge is currently overseeing projects on matters ranging from the industrial sector in the Berkshires to growth issues involving businesses across the region.

“Even Boston thinks about the notion of brain drain,” Hodge said with a laugh, noting that the issue is now national in scope, although many of those who study it are uncertain just how much of a concern it should be. “Part of the argument that we’re trying to make, or one conclusion we’re reaching, is that it matters less if someone went to Boston University or Dartmouth; what matters more is that the individual is a skilled, educated worker in the area.”

For this issue, BusinessWest takes an in-depth look at the Donahue Institute and the many kinds of work it undertakes within the Commonwealth and beyond.

Getting the Idea

Griesemer was somewhat apologetic when she brought up another of those special initiatives involving the UMDI — research into the feasibility and practicality of a UMass satellite facility in downtown Springfield, a development that many believe would bring foot traffic and therefore more vitality to the city’s central business district.

That report is nearly ready, she said, but isn’t something she can talk about in any detail until the ink is officially dry and the product has been delivered to the client — in this case, the President’s Office itself.

“There’s need, but the real issue is going to be money — funding such a facility,” said Griesemer, while politely declining further comment and acknowledging that there are many officials at the university and Springfield City Hall who are eagerly awaiting the report and its findings. “I spent a lot of time on that project personally, and understand how important this is to the city.”

There have been countless similar initiatives since the UMDI was created by an act of the state Legislature in 1970 and eventually led by former state Senate President Maurice Donahue, a Holyoke Democrat who was looking for a new challenge after leaving his Senate seat for what turned out to be an unsuccessful run for governor.

The institute was originally charged with “bringing the intellectual resources of the university to bear on the needs of the Commonwealth and its citizens,” said Heller, adding that this unofficial mission, while intact, has evolved and manifested in a number of ways over the past 43 years.

In the beginning, for example, much of the emphasis was placed on training and educating individuals involved in state and local government, said Griesemer, adding that the federal government was pumping large sums of money into such initiatives in the early and mid-’70s.

One of the institute’s early programs, for example, was an annual ‘cherry sheet conference,’ created to help officials in cities and towns understand the state appropriations that were detailed on documents that came in that unusual color.

“We still do a lot of work with those in state and local government, but from that beginning, the institute has grown and evolved significantly,” Griesemer explained, adding that it now has a staff of 100 and six business units handling roughly $15 million in contracts and grants each year. The UMDI will handle roughly 140 contracts each fiscal year, with dollar amounts ranging from a few thousand to several million.

Those six business units are Applied Research & Program Evaluation, Economic & Public Policy Research, Organizational Development & Learning Solutions, Early Childhood Services, Workforce Development Services, and Civic Initiative/International Programs. A seventh unit — Financial Management Education & Training — is being phased out.

The institute is described in its own promotional literature as a “client-focused provider of a broad array of consulting services, including applied research, training, organizational development, management support, technical assistance, educational programming, international-exchange programming, and workforce-development services.”

As it goes about that broad assignment, the UMDI serves clients in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors through grants and contracts, Heller went on, noting that the institute works throughout Massachusetts, across New England, nationally, and also through international programs. In doing so, it routinely collaborates with a broad range of individuals and organizations to meet client needs, including UMass faculty, independent consultants, and other consulting organizations. And, in some cases, the university itself is the client.

The institute is headquartered in Hadley, at a facility within the WestMass development known as University Park, and also has a facility in Brockton that houses a career center for employers and displaced workers, another in Shrewsbury that houses the Applied Research & Program Evaluation unit, and other operations scattered across New England and also in Washington, D.C.

And while its role extends well beyond pure research and advocacy, some of its most important work falls within those realms. As an example, Griesemer cited important work it does for the state with regard to the Census.

“We support the Common-wealth by being the home for the U.S. Census in Massachusetts,” she explained. “We help ensure the best count for Massachusetts, which in turns leads to the state getting the most federal money, because the Census count and the subsequent estimates affect 140 federal formulas involving 140 federal programs. And if you don’t have as good a count as you can get, you’re losing money.”

And there are some of those aforementioned white papers, or detailed reports for clients, said Heller, listing, as just one example, a document called “Growing Talent: Meeting the Evolving Needs of the Massachusetts Life Science Industry,” which was prepared by the institute and commissioned by the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council.

Study in Perseverance

Some of the UMDI’s most visible work falls to the Economic & Public Policy Research unit, which Hodge took over just a few months ago.

He had been working as an independent consultant after stints with Regional Economic Models Inc. (REMI) in Amherst, a venture started by a long-time UMass Amherst economics professor; Cambridge Systematics, known for transportation-related policy and planning work; and the Boston-area office of engineering and architecture company HDR, when the position became open.

Hodge said he was intrigued because the job presented him with an opportunity to blend his experience in research with many recent projects that have made him familiar with this region, its economic-development leaders, the issues it faces, and its prospects for growth.

These include a study undertaken while he was at HDR that focused on passenger rail service in the so-called Knowledge Corridor, which stretches from Northampton to New Haven, Conn., which was undertaken for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and another initiative involving the High Performance Computing Center in Holyoke and the development of an innovation-based economic-development strategy for Holyoke and the Pioneer Valley.

“The big thing for me was a chance to continue to focus on the Massachusetts economy,” he told BusinessWest, adding that he and his team do this through analysis of current economic trends and statistics (Hodge presented a broad overview of the state’s economy at the Affiliated Chambers Outlook Luncheon, for example), and also through various projects, such as those currently listed on that white board in his office.

“To a large extent, we function almost as a quasi-consulting group within the university,” he explained, adding that the institute is being called upon to conduct research and then analyze the resulting data on a host of timely matters.

The study on manufacturing in the Berkshires, for example, was commissioned to identify potential growth areas for a region known more for its tourism-related businesses and institutions, at a time when it is trying to diversify its overall economy.

“Growing Talent,” a report undertaken for the Life Sciences Institute and the Mass. Biotechnology Council, is one of hundreds prepared by the Donahue Institute since 1970.

“The Berkshires aren’t necessarily known for manufacturing, but there is some tradition of manufacturing there and a number of small to mid-sized companies that are doing quite well,” Hodge explained. “We’re looking at how that sector can potentially be expanded and how could it possibly be a supplier to the many semiconductor firms in New York, for example.”

Another current initiative undertaken by Hodge’s division is a business-growth study for the Pioneer Valley, a project undertaken for several clients working collaboratively, including Common Capital, the PVPC, the Economic Development Council of Western Mass., and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments. The specific assignment is to create a detailed profile of existing businesses in the region and identify growth trends among individual sectors and companies.

A key component of the work is a detailed business survey designed to identify both the factors likely to stimulate or restrict growth and the types of support needed, said Dodge, adding that the initiative has thus far generated nearly 200 responses from Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin counties.

“There are financial needs that could be met by organizations like Common Capital,” he explained. “But there are other concerns, such as access to skilled workers, that affect a number of businesses across the region.”

Thought Process

While handling those 140 contracts, or assignments, each year, Griesemer said, the Donohue Institute must also do some strategic planning of its own, to remain effectively positioned to meet the needs of its many kinds of clients.

“In this business, you have to be constantly scanning the environment to see what’s emerging,” she explained. “The development of each of our units has a history behind it; they all came about because of opportunities — what was out there as far as recognized needs, and could we meet those needs? That continues today.

“And there are some characteristics of the institute from a business standpoint that have opened up some of those doors,” she continued. “We are like a mid-sized consulting company that has the good fortune of being located inside a public university.”

These thoughts bring her back to the uniqueness of the institute — “there are organizations within universities that will do one of the pieces of the institute’s work, but not all the pieces,” she said — and some of the work it does that falls well outside basic research or consulting.

And the STEM Summit, co-sponsored by businesses and institutions ranging from Raytheon to Westfield State University, is a perfect example.

“This is an event that’s grown steadily over the past 10 years, and taking it to Gillette Stadium has taken it to a new level,” said Heller, adding that the program has drawn attendees from across the country who want to learn about the state’s aggressive approach to tackling the STEM challenge, and how the summit is a key component in those efforts.

The Academy for Newly Elected Legislators is another example. The three-day, non-partisan program, jointly conducted with the president of the Senate and speaker of the House, falls under the category of community service and speaks to the original motivations for creating the institute, said Griesemer.

“We focus on everything from communication, working with the press, to ethics, how the budget works, and the overall process — what happens when you’re on the floor of the House or Senate,” she explained, adding that there was a special program this year on the economy and the budget featuring Michael Widmer, president of the Mass. Taxpayers Assoc., and Michael Goldman, co-editor of MassBenchmarks.

Looking ahead, Griesemer and Heller said that, because much of the institute’s work is generated by federal grants and contracts, the agency is watching the phenomenon known as sequestration very closely.

As an example, Heller cited work handled by the Applied Research & Program Evaluation group, which will often collaborate with the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on projects funded by federal grants.

Beyond that, well, it’s often up to clients to decide what’s next for the UMDI, said Heller and Griesemer, before quickly adding that the institute can in many ways help clients and potential clients figure out what’s coming down the road.

“All of our clients will tell us what’s next,” said Griesemer, “but we also engage heavily with clients about shaping their own thoughts about what’s next. And that’s tricky business, because sometimes clients will be absolutely convinced that it’s this, or the facts are that. But one of our first engagements with a client is always around helping them shape what the questions are and what they’re really trying to accomplish with an engagement with us.

“We’ll do a needs assessment, because the perception about what is needed may not be, in reality, what is needed,” she continued. “Helping a client shape their thinking, and their request, is always critical.”

Heller concurred. “Helping them ask the right questions of themselves is an important part of what we do,” he told BusinessWest. “And I think that’s very common in consulting; it’s not uncommon that the presenting question or need, or perceived need, does not end up being what the real need is. And when you’re good at working with this client to think through and explore all the aspects of what they’re dealing with, then you end up providing them with a service that is much more responsive and that really helps them.”

Schools of Thought

Such involvement is just another example of how the institute is not like most other consulting organizations, and why ‘think tank,’ doesn’t always, or even usually, work when describing the institute and what it does within and for the Commonwealth.

Heller doesn’t have a simple one- or two-word phrase to sum it all up, and that’s one of the challenges he faces when he goes about explaining the UMDI’s mission and how it’s carried out.

It takes probably a full sentence or two to do that, he said, and it comes down to not only coming up with the answers, but helping clients understand — and formulate — the questions.

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

The Sisters of Providence

By BusinessWest Staff February 11, 2013

Class of 2013 Difference Makers

Sr. Mary Caritas, SP, left, and Sr. Kathleen Popko, SP.

Sr. Kathleen Popko, SP likes to say that the 700-odd Sisters of Providence, present and past, “share some DNA” with Sr. Mary Providence Horan, the first mother general of the congregation.
And by that, she meant that those who worked beside her or followed in her footsteps have possessed both her many character traits and her broad operating philosophy.
As for the former, these include vision, compassion, determination, a large dose of innovation, and a very strong sense of mission.
“Mother Mary of Providence has always been an inspiration to me,” said Popko, president of the Sisters of Providence. “She had a lot of foresight and was very innovative; she established 20 works of charity within the first 15 years of her becoming head of the congregation. She crossed boundaries — she worked with the Jewish community and the Protestant community to help establish the board at Mercy Hospital, And she was willing to collaborate and ask for help from others to support the work she was doing, whether it was in Worcester or Pittsfield. And she had a great love of learning; those are qualities we like to think we possess today.”
As for the latter, well, that’s perhaps best summed up in a quote often attributed to her: “never rest on what has been accomplished, but continue reaching on to what needs to be done.”
Suffice it to say, the sisters have never done any such resting. Instead, they have, over the decades, responded to changing societal needs with the same zeal and desire that were firmly in evidence when two members of the Sisters of Charity of the House of Providence from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, came to Holyoke on a so-called begging tour in 1873 and were invited to establish a mission there to help the waves of immigrants struggling to carve out a living.
They eventually did, creating a legacy of providence that is captured in the statue of Mother Mary near the entrance to Providence Place in Holyoke, with a commanding view of the valley below. She is depicted holding hands with two young children — a boy carrying a schoolbook and a girl with a broken arm — artistic touches designed to spotlight the two basic tenets of the sisters’ work over the past 14 decades: education and healthcare.
Those two foundations remain, especially healthcare, through work carried out within the broad Sisters of Providence Health System. But the modern work of the Sisters of Providence is quite diverse, said Sr. Mary Caritas, vice president of the congregation, who listed everything from programs to provide healthcare to the region’s homeless population to groundbreaking initiatives in the broad realm of senior living, such as the ‘small house’ concept created at Mary’s Meadow.
“The one constant is need,” she said. “When the sisters came in 1873, it was in response to a need — they saw a need, and they responded. We’re doing things differently in this day and age, but we continue to have that same spirit.
“But they also recognize the need to change as society does — we’ve never been afraid to let go and move on from something because society has changed,” she went on, citing, as just a few examples, the transition of Providence Hospital from acute care to behavioral health; the repositioning of the former Farren Hospital in Montague into the Farren Care Center, a provider of services to people with severe behavioral disorders; and new uses for the facilities at Brightside for Families and Children.
The past several months have been a time of celebration for the Sisters of Providence — specifically, the marking of two important anniversaries.
Last year marked the 120th anniversary of the Sisters of Providence’s 1892 foundation as an independent congregation in the Springfield diocese. And this year marks the 140th anniversary of the arrival of the Sisters of Providence’s foremothers — today’s Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent De Paul in Kingston, Ontario — in Holyoke.
There have been a host of events to mark both occasions, from the planting and blessing of ‘anniversary trees’ to an anniversary procession and prayer; from an “open weekend of gratitude” to a dinner at Mercy Medical Center.
And because of that long history of caring being celebrated, there will be at least one more event to attend — BusinessWest’s Difference Makers Gala on March 21, when the sisters will be introduced as members of the Class of 2013.
For this special section profiling this year’s winners, we spoke at length with Popko and Caritas about how society may have changed over the past 140 years, but the devotion of the Sisters of Providence to their mission of meeting the needs of the most challenged segments of the population certainly hasn’t.

Past Is Prologue
Before talking about Western Mass. in 2013, Popko and Caritas wanted to talk first about Holyoke in 1873. Doing so, they said, would at least start to put the work of the Sisters of Providence in perspective, and also help explain that shared DNA.
Holyoke was the first planned industrial city in the country, they explained, and in the early 1870s, it was the place where some mill owners found fortune and many immigrants found opportunity for employment. But most found only hardship in the form of difficult, often dangerous work; crowded, inadequate housing (tenements built near the mills); and systems of education and healthcare that were nonexistent or extremely lacking.
It was into this environment that Srs. Mary de Chantal McCauley and Mary Elizabeth Stafford ventured on their begging tour in early 1873. They found the climate difficult for philanthropy — the country was in recession, and many of Holyoke’s mills had closed, while others were struggling — but ripe for charity, and for mostly the same reasons.
Fr. Patrick Harkins, pastor of St. Jerome’s Church in Holyoke, proposed that the congregation establish a mission in his parish for sick people and orphaned children, and one was created later that year, with four pioneer sisters from Kingston moving into a house belonging to St. Jerome’s but located across the Connecticut River in South Hadley Falls. The first orphan was admitted one week after their arrival, and the first patient was admitted for hospital care on Dec. 2, the recorded date of the beginning of the House of Providence, the first Catholic hospital in Western Mass.
Two years later, land was acquired for a new House of Providence on Dwight Street, while that same year, six sisters from Kingston, including Mother Mary of Providence, were assigned to teach at St. Jerome’s Institute, a school for boys in Holyoke.
In 1880, 53 acres of property in Holyoke, known as Ingleside, were purchased, and ground was broken for Mount St. Vincent, a home for orphaned girls. Sixteen years later, property on Carew Street in Springfield was acquired and deeded to the congregation for the House of Mercy, which later became Mercy Hospital and is now known as Mercy Medical Center.
In 1890, Bethlehem House, a home for infants and toddlers, opened at Brightside in Holyoke, Farren Memorial Hospital was dedicated, and schools of nursing were opened at Providence Hospital, Mercy Hospital, and St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, establishing a pattern of caring and growth that continued unfettered for decades.
“When the sisters came here, they were not here a week, and they had an ophan at the door, and then the alms person in the city decided to send some more,” Popko explained. “It wasn’t long before the need was manifested, and they responded, whether it was with orphaned children or with healing the sick, oftentimes in their homes, or it was with making burial plots because there was no one to do that.
“And I think that’s why the Sisters of Providence ministries have been so diverse, from the beginning,” she continued. “It wasn’t simply that we started a healing ministry and were in hospitals, although that evolved most significantly. We were also involved in caring for the elderly or the orphaned or abandoned children, or in burying the dead, or doing home care. We were trying to be the providence of God in the lives of others, and in doing that, we reached out into healing ministries.”
Today, the area facilities operated by the Sisters of Providence include Providence Hospital, Mount Saint Vincent Care Center, Beaven Kelly Home, Providence Place retirement community, and Mary’s Meadow long-term nursing care and rehabilitation center, all in Holyoke; Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke’s Home in Springfield; Saint Luke’s Hospital in Pittsfield; Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester; Farren Care Center; Genesis Spiritual Life Center in Westfield; and the many agencies of Brightside for Families & Children. There are also operations far outside this region, ranging from a home-health agency, hospital, and retirement village in North Carolina to a health clinic and multiple social-service agencies in an impoverished section of Santiago, Chile.
The specific missions and constituencies served vary with each ministry, said Popko, but there is a common denominator — bringing care to those who need it, and to those who may have no other alternative.

Innovative Spirit
The stories of many of these various ministries, as well as the people who inspired and created them, are told in a recently released book titled 140 Years of Providential Caring — The Sisters of Providence of Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Authored by Suzanne Strempek Shea, Tom Shea, and Michele Barker, it chronicles how many programs and facilities were developed, and is told largely through the eyes and thoughts of the individuals who paved those roads. There’s a chapter, for example, on Sr. Julie Crane and her work to create Health for the Care of the Homeless, another on Sr. Caroline Smith and her efforts to create the Sisters of Providence Methadone Maintenance Program, and still another on Sr. Elizabeth Oleksak and her work at Genesis Spiritual Life Center.
These chapters serve as both historical record and source of inspiration, said Popko.
“The individual stories demonstrate how that original spirit has been the driving force for us for 140 years, and how it’s certainly taken different shapes and forms and responded to the different calls of providence in each of our lifetimes,” she explained. “It’s certainly been an amazing journey, and for us to look back on it all in 2012 and 2013 and to read some of our archival material and relive some of the extreme dedication and willingness to reach out in multiple ways, is certainly inspiring.”
And moving forward, the unofficial assignment for the Sisters of Providence is to write more chapters for the next book, said Popko and Caritas. This means finding new ways to carry out the original mission, while also strengthening the infrastructure and operating philosophy that will ensure that this work is carried out in the decades to come, long after the last of the current sisters, already dwindling in number, are gone.
This is part of the legacy of never resting on one’s laurels that continues today, said Caritas, adding that there are several examples of how it manifests itself.
One involves a portion of the former Brightside property, used for residential treatment programs that were discontinued in 2010.
“I’m sure Mother Mary would have been thinking, as we have been for the past three years, about what to do with that property,” Caritas told BusinessWest, adding that plans are emerging to relocate the Sisters of Providence home-care and hospice programs in the main administration building at Brightside, while the ground floor will be used for something called PACE, or the Program for All-inclusive Care for the Elderly.
Elaborating, Popko said the initiative is a capitated-insurance program that provides essentially whatever care is needed to enable an older individual to remain in his or her own home. “They come to the site three or four times a week,” she explained, “and they might get all kinds of care, be it socialization, they might get a bath, there will be a clinic there so we can look at their healthcare needs and medication. They will be assessed, and care will be coordinated. It’s all designed to prevent those higher-cost institutionalizations by treating them effectively in the short run.”
In other words, it’s another imaginative approach to meeting recognized needs in the community, said Caritas, adding that there are other possible reuses of the Brightside facilities coming into focus, including low-income elderly housing, a geriatric-assessment center, and other coordinated facilities.
“It will be a full-service site,” she noted, “one that will provide all-inclusive care for those who participate.”
Securing funding for the project is ongoing, and it will be a challenge, said Popko, adding that there is no firm timetable in place for this strategic initiative. But the manner in which it is coming together speaks to the legacy of the Sisters of Providence and that notion of never resting on laurels.
“It references a vision of the future, a responsiveness to the needs of the times, and a creative reuse of existing resources — a replanting of the seeds, if you will, that were put down 140 years ago,” she said. “That’s what we’ve been doing throughout our history.”

Mission: In Progress
Returning to her thoughts on Mother Mary of Providence one more time, Popko said that she’d been doing some reading about her lately, and learned that her skills extended into architecture and building practices.
“I just read a quote recently … she said, ‘the next hospital we build is not going to be the conversion of some big house so we can fit in beds,’” Popko recalled. “She said, ‘we’re going to build a modern facility designed for the care of people.’
“Meanwhile, she designed Mount St. Vincent herself,” she went on. “She saw the first plans and went to the bishop and said, ‘these plans are totally inadequate.’ So they made her a committee of one; they tore up the plans, let her design her own building, and pretty much built off what she drew up.”
The current sisters are not architects in the same literal sense, but they are designers and builders in a figurative manner — blueprinting new ways to expand the mission launched 140 years ago.
And in that respect, the DNA is the certainly the same. The 700 Sisters of Providence through history have always been Difference Makers.

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff December 4, 2012

Briefcase Departments

Union Station Work Officially Underway

SPRINGFIELD — The long-awaited transformation of Springfield’s historic Union Station into the region’s main transportation hub officially got underway Nov. 20 at a ceremonial demolition held at the Frank B. Murray Street site. Mayor Domenic Sarno, along with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, Gov. Deval Patrick, and other officials wielding sledgehammers, participated in the event. It signaled the start of demolition of the former baggage-handling building and will pave the way for construction of a 24-bay bus terminal with structured parking above it — the first steps toward reactivating the long-vacant downtown station. “Today represents the start of an important project that will benefit virtually everyone in Western Mass. It’s an exciting day for the Pioneer Valley,” said Sarno. Added Neal, “the successful renovation of Union Station has been a priority of mine for more than 30 years. I have always believed the restoration of this iconic Springfield landmark had the ability to transform the north blocks of downtown. And it will bring a world-class transportation center to the region in the process.” Other specific work to be completed as part of a $48.7 million Phase 1 project, designed by HDR Architecture Inc., includes the restoration of the main terminal building as a passenger center. The first floor will include operations, ticketing, and waiting space for the transit-service providers, as well as transit-related retail. Also, the passenger tunnel will be reopened and restored, linking the terminal building to rail-boarding platforms and pedestrian access to the downtown. When completed, this initial phase will provide connections for the continuation and expansion of services, including local, regional, and intercity buses; Amtrak, commuter, and high-speed passenger rail; and other ground-transportation services. The second phase of the project will emphasize the remaining development of additional transit-related restaurant and retail uses on the first floor and transit-related commercial space primarily on the terminal building’s upper floors, and will expand the new transit center’s parking capabilities. Sarno thanked Neal for his steadfast support of this regionally significant transportation project and for helping the city bring it to this point. “Recognizing that the station’s redevelopment is crucial to the continued revitalization of the city of Springfield, our goal is to transform this property into a sustainable transportation facility, positioning us to better meet the travel needs of the Pioneer Valley in the short and long term,” added Sarno. He also thanked Patrick “for making Union Station a top priority of his administration,” and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for working in partnership with the city. “Through this cooperation and with funding support from the state, we have achieved tremendous progress as we’ve worked with the Federal Transit Administration to advance this vital project,” Sarno said. Funding for the Union Station project has been assembled from a number of federal, state, and local sources. In July, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was in Springfield to announce the award of a $17.6 million federal Bus Livability grant for the project. The project is scheduled to be completed and operational by 2015.

Officials Laud Completion of High Performance Computing Center

HOLYOKE — Gov. Deval Patrick headed a list of academic, political, and business leaders who gathered in Holyoke on Nov. 16 to officially mark the completion of the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center built in the center of this historic industrial city. More than 200 people gathered for the event, which capped more than three years of planning and construction of the facility, which was hailed by several of the day’s speakers as a unique and highly effective collaboration involving higher education, private business, and government. The facility, which carried a price tag approaching $90 million, is a data center dedicated to supporting the growing research computing needs of five of the most research-intensive universities in Massachusetts: Boston University, Harvard University, MIT, Northeastern University, and UMass. The project was funded by those five schools, as well as additional partners Cisco and EMC, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the federal New Markets Tax Credit program. In addition to Patrick, other officials to speak at the program and ribbon-cutting included Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse; Susan Hockfield, president emerita at MIT; Jeff Nick, senior vice president and chief technology officer at EMC Corp.; Larry Payne, vice president, Public Sector, Cisco Systems; Lt. Gov. Tim Murray; and Robert Caret, president of UMass.

Nominations Sought for Difference Makers

SPRINGFIELD — BusinessWest magazine will accept nominations for its Difference Makers Class of 2013 until Dec. 30. Difference Makers is a recognition program, started in 2008, that honors individuals and groups that are making an impact in the community and improving overall quality of life in the region. The Difference Makers Class of 2012 consisted of: Charlie and Donald D’Amour, president/COO and chairman/CEO, respectively, of Big Y Foods; William Messner, president of Holyoke Community College; Majors Tom and Linda Jo Perks, officers with the Springfield Corps of the Salvation Army; Bob Schwarz, executive vice president of Peter Pan Bus Lines; and the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts. A nomination form is available online at www.businesswest.com/difference-makers-nomination-form.

Baystate Working to Reduce Pre-term Births

SPRINGFIELD — The report card is in on premature births, and the grades are far from glowing. The March of Dimes released its 2012 Premature Birth Report Card in November, and while the U.S. pre-term birth rate dropped for the fifth consecutive year in 2011 to 11.7% — the lowest in a decade — the country still earned a disappointing ‘C’ grade. The March of Dimes grades states by comparing their rate of premature births to their 2020 goal of 9.6%. Three states and Puerto Rico earned an ‘F,’ and only four states — Maine, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Vermont — were graded an ‘A.’ Twenty-two states, including Massachusetts, received a ‘B’ grade and are one step away from achieving the goal. Still, “we still have a long way to go,” said Dr. Glenn Markenson, chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Baystate Medical Center. More than 500,000 infants are born prematurely in the U.S. each year, and about 10% of all deliveries are scheduled before 39 weeks, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Furthermore, a recent study by the Leapfrog Group, a hospital-quality watchdog, shows that U.S. hospitals vary widely in their rates of elective pre-term deliveries, ranging from less than 5% to more than 40%. “Early deliveries should only be an option for medical reasons, when the life or health of mother or baby is in jeopardy,” said Markenson. Under his leadership, Baystate Medical Center has been working to establish strong guidelines to prevent unnecessary pre-term deliveries by induction or cesarean section, and last year the hospital instituted a ‘hard stop’ for any non-medically required elective delivery prior to 39 weeks, and all elective inductions in first-time mothers. Markenson said the practice of elective pre-term birth finally caught many healthcare-quality officials’ attention when more and more studies began to be published showing its potential harm, including a recent March of Dimes report showing that babies born in the 37th or 38th week have a higher risk of dying in their first year than a baby born after 39 weeks. In addition to working with other Massachusetts hospitals to help the state achieve an ‘A’ grade in the March of Dimes rankings, Baystate is helping lead a statewide initiative called the Massachusetts Perinatal Quality Collaborative.

People On the Move

By BusinessWest Staff November 6, 2012

Departments People on the Move

Dietz & Co. Architects Inc. announced the following:

• Michael Burgess has joined the firm as Job Captain. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies;

• Richard Dobrowski has joined the firm as an Architectural Associate. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Art and Architectural History and a master’s degree in Architecture from UMass Amherst. He studied abroad at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark through an exchange program with UMass; and

• Jason Newman, an Architectural Associate, recently earned a master of Architecture degree at UMass Amherst. He has been with the firm since May 2011.

•••••

Keith Minoff

Keith Minoff, principal with of the Law Offices of Keith A. Minoff, P.C., was recently listed in Massachusetts Super Lawyers 2012 as being among the top 5% of practicing attorneys in the state. Minoff specializes in business and employment litigation, and has an office in downtown Springfield. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process is multi-phased, and includes independent research, peer nominations, and peer evaluations.

•••••

Kathy Petris

Kathy Petris has been named Executive Assistant to Glenn Welch, president and COO of Hampden Bank. Petris will be responsible for senior-level administrative support, report and document preparation, and workflow management. Petris, formerly with Sovereign Bank, brings more than 20 years of banking experience, having served as the commercial loan administration supervisor and senior relationship administrator, in addition to previous positions at BankBoston and BayBank.

•••••

Jeffrey Roberts

Patricia Rapinchuk

Nancy Frankel Pelletier

James Martin

Richard Gaberman

Jeffrey McCormick

David Lawless

Michael Simolo

Jeffrey Trapani

The Springfield-based law firm Robinson Donovan announced that several of the firm’s attorneys were recently named Super Lawyers, and three attorneys were named Rising Stars, by Super Lawyers magazine, a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Rising Stars recognizes top up-and-coming attorneys, those who are under 40, or those who have been practicing for 10 years or fewer. Those recognized as Super Lawyers are Jeffrey Roberts, Patricia Rapinchuk, Nancy Frankel Pelletier, James Martin, Richard Gaberman, and Jeffrey McCormick. The up-and-coming Rising Stars include David Lawless, Michael Simolo, and Jeffrey Trapani.

•••••

Bill Lucardi

The West Springfield-based, full-service advertising agency Marketing Doctor recently announced the addition of Bill Lucardi as Agency Director. Lucardi has more than 30 years of sales experience and more than 10 years in advertising in the Hartford and Springfield markets. He will cultivate new advertising and marketing ideas for clients, as well as introduce new businesses to the vast array of services the firm has to offer.

•••••

TD Bank recently announced the following:

• Molly McLaren, Assistant Vice President, has been named Store Manager of the 693 Memorial Dr. location in Chicopee. McLaren, who has five years of retail banking experience, is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations; and

Steven Gardner

• Steven Gardner has been named Store Manager of the 465 North Main St. location in East Longmeadow. He is responsible for new-business development, consumer and business lending, managing personnel, and overseeing the day-to-day operations at that location. Garner has more than 10 years experience in banking and residential home lending and joined TD Bank in 2011. He previously served as an assistant store manager in Great Barrington and East Longmeadow.

Inn Vogue

By BusinessWest Staff October 9, 2012

Holiday Party Planner Sections

After Extensive Renovations, ‘the Jeff’ Is Again Open for Business

Robin Brown, standing in the wine-tasting room, brings years of culinary and hotel-management experience to the newly renovated Lord Jeffery Inn.

Robin Brown, director of sales and catering for the Lord Jeffery Inn, located just off the Amherst Common and part of Amherst College, is still trying to master the proper way to say the name of this community.

That would be the way residents pronounce it: phonetically, it’s Am-erst — the ‘h’ being silent. She’s working on it and making considerable progress, though she admits that she can’t quite bring herself to call the inn by the name most in Amherst do: ‘the Jeff.” (The inn, like the town and college, owes its name to Lord Jeffery Amherst, best known as one of the victors of the French and Indian War.)

“I still just say it all out: Lord Jeffery Inn,” she said with a laugh. “I’ll get the ‘Am-erst’ soon; I’m practicing.”

Coming from the eastern part of the state, she brings 30 years of sales and catering experience to the Jeff as the second employee hired, just after General Manager Robert Reeves, during an extensive renovation that closed the landmark for an extended period.

The historic inn is owned by the Amherst Inn Co., an affiliate of Amherst College, and managed by the Waterford Hotel Group, and is a member of the Historic Hotels of America. The three-year, $14 million overhaul, the most extensive rehab since the facility opened in 1926, was completed late last year, and the inn reopened on Jan. 5.

Brown arrived in April 2011, enabling her to start her wedding and event sales from a clean slate. “I was temporarily put up in the dorm building, and this area [a new patio with perfectly set pavers that lead into the new, 160-seat ballroom] was a mud pit, and I had to walk across the boards to the door with my hard hat on,” she said. “I was literally booking weddings off of swatch boards, carpet samples, and artists’ renderings. I’d put hard hats on brides and bring them to the parking lot.”

She said she couldn’t bring the brides in, largely for insurance reasons, but, more importantly, because they tend to be very emotional.

“I would never have sold a thing,” Brown said, adding that, despite the handicaps, she did manage to sell the inn to those brides-to-be; this first full year, the Jeff will host more than 26 weddings, and her goal for 2013 is 40. Meanwhile, she has booked many other events as well.

It’s been a solid comeback for the landmark, which was closed but certainly not forgotten in the Amherst community. “I’m sure that there were some who wondered … but we’re open now, and look how elegant it is.”

For those who are fans and followers of the inn, gone is the darkness of millwork, the dated hotel rooms, and the musty smell. This elegant new Lord Jeffery Inn is everything an historic inn should be: a showcase of 1920s architecture, but with a present-day flair. For this focus on the holiday banquet season and local meeting facilities, BusinessWest takes an up-close look at the stately inn to see how the new fits very comfortably within the old.

Up the Ladder

Brown brings an intriguing résumé to the Jeff.

“Right out of college, I was working in the kitchen of the Ritz [now the Taj] in Boston — it was awesome,” she said, adding that there were many interesting career stops even before that. “At 15, I was a private, personal chef for a Virginia brewery company, at their summer home in Maine. The woman [owner] said, ‘no 15-year-old can meet my standards,’ and I said, ‘then let me work for you for a week, and if what you said is true, then don’t pay me,’ and a week went by, and she gave me a 50-cent raise.”

With degrees in Culinary Arts and Food & Beverage Management, she loves, and knows, a catering kitchen inside and out. And she and Dino Giordano, the executive chef, also know they are lucky to be a part of an inn and banquet facility that is literally brand-new, or at least as much as possible to stay within the Historic Hotels of America designation.

“I drive to work each day, and I still can’t believe how lucky I am,” said Giordano, as he looked at the kitchen, one of three at his disposal. “I’m used to hot and small, and this … this is just phenomenal.”

In addition to two full-size kitchens and one smaller one, 49 hotel rooms and suites were completely gutted, said Brown, adding that there is now a wide selection of room choices, with deluxe rooms coming with a sun porch.

And the meticulous attention to detail is apparent. Brown showed BusinessWest a variety of suites that have completely new bathrooms, but look as they would have in 1926. The bridal suite is one of Brown’s favorites. “Our brides can look out over the lawn and tent to see their guests arrive,” she said.

And many brides will continue to watch guests arrive for the entire event. It’s a definite trend Brown has seen, called the ‘on site’ wedding, where the ceremony and reception occur on the same grounds. “Years ago, you were expected to get married in a church,” said Brown. “Now, there is more creativity and freedom.”

And the layout for this new trend, as well as traditional weddings and corporate events, is one reason for the specific additions and their locations in the the Jeff.

Brown explained the extensive restoration to the property, noting that it includes additions to a 2,360-square-foot ballroom on the site of the former tent area. The ballroom roof is now a posh rooftop deck complete with a 30-foot-high outdoor fireplace. The newly positioned tented garden area offers a 40-by-80-foot tent that will seat 180, and is open from the end of April through October.

But one of the key elements to the entire renovation, said Brown, is the focus on environmental sustainability that features amenities such as organic bath products, an extensive recycling program throughout the inn, and the distinction of being one of the Pioneer Valley’s greenest hotels.

“We’re a green inn,” she explained. “The college has a definite commitment to sustainable design, so the owners are seeking LEED certification per their incorporation of several sustainable features such as 50 geothermal wells, which are each 500 feet deep and will provide environmentally friendly heating and cooling to the facility.”

The renovations, she continued, include more than $1 million in energy-efficiency improvements, most of which guests will never see, but all of which retain the historic look of the building. In addition, none of the elegant millwork was altered.

Once guests appreciate their first introduction to the newly painted inn — which is now white, as it was when first opened, according to Brown — the delightful aroma of farm-to-table cuisine is where she and Giordano feel they’ll capture even more fans.

Soups On

Stepping into the new 30 Boltwood restaurant, the former Boltwood Tavern, is like stepping into a contemporary wine-country kitchen. The dark paneling has been replaced by soft natural colors, the wooden tables and chairs replaced by comfortable and stylish booths, and a chic, new curved bar, a large fireplace, and contemporary chandeliers combine today’s designs with traditional New England architecture.

The restaurant offers a private, eight-person dining area, a 16-person greenhouse room with views to the stars at night, and a small wine room. The description of this new restaurant is the latest buzzword in the culinary world: ‘farm table’ or ‘farm-to-table cuisine.’

“Everything we do, we try to get locally first, and we are a part of CISA [Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture],” Brown told BusinessWest. “And certain times of the year, our chef will go to the farmers market on Saturday, with the clients that have the inn’s Farmers Market Package, and he shops with them and cooks for them.”

While the new restaurant is open for all meal periods, Brown said, one feature is the traditional Sunday brunch.

Giordano, hand-picked by the Waterford Hotel Group and classically trained in New York City, has a flair with gluten-free and vegetarian dishes, Brown explained.

“We’re working on our signature dishes,” added Brown. “We don’t want to just jump out of the gate and say we have a signature dish.” To that end, she and Giordano are looking for staff and guests to help identify their favorites.

And as the holidays approach, the institution of the farm-table menu will be coupled with new traditions, Brown said, that the inn hopes the community will accept. She points to Breakfast with Santa on Sundays leading up to Christmas, Holiday Tea in the library on December Saturdays, a giant gingerbread house in the new foyer, and holiday carolers outside the inn on specific nights around the holidays.

Overall, the Lord Jeffery Inn is creating new traditions on many levels.

Welcome Mat

Stepping her toes deeper into the Amherst area, Brown is serving with the Amherst Chamber of Commerce board on the programming and ambassador committees, and also serves on the newly formed Regional Tourism Council for Hampshire County, which helps to brand the county.

And while becoming more involved in the community, she is, as she said, making definite progress with pronouncing the town’s name like a local.

She still won’t call her place of employment the Jeff, but by whatever name it’s known, the inn is back, once again assuming a position of prominence in this proud community.

Elizabeth Taras can be reached at [email protected]

Briefcase

By BusinessWest Staff October 9, 2012

Briefcase Departments

City Issues RFQ/RFP for Casino; Consultant Cleared

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield has issued its Phase I request for qualifications/request for proposals for a proposed destination casino resort development to be located in the city. Through this RFQ/RFP process, the city seeks to pre-qualify enterprises desirous of participating in the city’s Phase II process, the purpose of which will be to select one or more enterprises with whom the city will negotiate a host-community agreement for the development, construction, and operation of a destination casino resort project. Upon the successful conclusion of those negotiations, targeted for the end of April 2013, the final host-community agreement or agreements will be submitted to the City Council for approval and then to the city’s voters. Once approved in this manner, the host-community agreement must be provided to the Mass. Gaming Commission by any applicant for a gaming license. The RFQ/RFP can be downloaded at www.springfield-ma.gov/casino. “We are excited to formally launch the casino selection process,” said Mayor Domenic Sarno. “We look forward to a robust competition which will determine the company or companies with whom we will enter into a host community agreement. This is an important first step that we anticipate will result in the largest economic-development project in the city’s history, bringing thousands of good-paying jobs to our great city, along with significant opportunities for our business community and sustainable economic benefits for our residents for many years to come.” In other developments, the state Ethics Commission cleared Springfield’s casino consultant of a possible conflict of interest. The chairman of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission had questioned whether that Shefsky & Froelich — a registered lobbyist in Illinois for Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts, two of the companies seeking a casino license in the city — could be objective in advising Springfield. “We are pleased with the Ethics Commission’s opinion and thank the commission for its time and consideration of this very important matter,” said Cezar Froelich, chairman of the firm, in a statement. “By filing the disclosure forms required by Massachusetts law, we believe we have fully complied with such law in a manner that allows us to provide unbiased advice to the city.”

UMass Awarded $308,000 for Life Sciences Project

AMHERST — The Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC) announced the approval of a $308,000 capital grant to support a research project at UMass Amherst titled “Life Sciences Research & Innovation: Growth Strategy for UMass Amherst in the Massachusetts Bioeconomy.” The project is a formal study of opportunities to catalyze life sciences and life sciences-related economic development in Western Mass. The $308,000 grant will enable UMass Amherst to increase the breadth and depth of industry collaborations; enhance access of other stakeholders to assets at UMass Amherst and in the Pioneer Valley, such as the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute (PVLSI) in Springfield; serve as a connector to the UMass system, the Commonwealth, and beyond; and catalyze the Western Mass. innovation ecosystem, especially in the life sciences. The MLSC is the agency charged with implementing the state’s 10-year, $1 billion Life Sciences Initiative, proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick in 2007 and approved by the Legislature in 2008. The Life Sciences Initiative targets $95 million in capital funding for UMass Amherst to construct an additional building within its new life-sciences complex, in which the school has already invested $270 million in recent years. The data collected during the project will inform UMass Amherst’s and the center’s future life-science-related investment plans in the region, including the building that is targeted for funding in the Initiative. “Gov. Patrick and I want to see positive development within the life-sciences industry for Western Mass.,” said Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray. “With this planning grant, the information gathered will inform our strategy for life-sciences growth in the region and further strengthen our state’s global leadership in this important field.” Added Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, president and CEO of the MLSC, “as we pursue our mission of accelerating growth in Massachusetts’ thriving life-sciences supercluster, we are very focused on making investments across the entire Commonwealth, including the western part of the state. UMass Amherst is an important partner in that effort, and we are pleased to award this funding to support their forward-looking plans for life sciences growth in the region.”

Leadership Pioneer Valley Announces 2012-13 Class

CHICOPEE — Leadership Pioneer Valley (LPV) officially kicked off the 2012-13 leadership development class of 40 emerging and established leaders. Leadership Pioneer Valley is addressing the need to build a diverse network of leaders who aspire to work together across traditional barriers to strengthen the region. The new class members will take part in a 10-month program of experiential learning that will take place at locations across the Valley. The field-based and challenge-based curriculum is specifically designed to help the class members refine their leadership skills, gain connections, and develop a greater commitment to community stewardship and cultural competency. “The curriculum builds on the strong feedback from our inaugural class with some adjustments to make this an even stronger program,” explains Leadership Pioneer Valley Director Lora Wondolowski. “The program is divided equally between seminar-style days that will focus on advanced leadership skills and field experiences, where participants will get a hands-on view of communities throughout the Valley. The program also features small-team projects, where class members will address a regional need.” The 2012-13 class members are: Jessica Atwood, Franklin Regional Council of Governments; Jeff Bagg, Town of Amherst; Krista Benoit, Dietz & Co. Architects Inc.; Suzanne Bowles, Alliance to Develop Power/ADP; Nancy Buffone, UMass Amherst; Nicolle Cestero, American International College; Kristin Cole, Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce; Ayanna Crawford, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Nicholas Criscitelli, MassMutual Financial Group; Laurie Davison, Westfield Bank; Charity Day, Franklin County Regional Housing & Redevelopment Authority; Roshonda DeGraffenreid, Baystate Health; Kyle Kate Dudley, Drama Studio Inc.; Julie Federman, Town of Amherst; Tony Franco, United Bank; Julie Gentile, Hampden Bank; Jeannette Gordon, New England Farm Workers’ Council; Erica Johnson, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission; Lori Kerwood, Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Dawn Koloszyc, Cooley Dickinson Hospital; Ljuba Marsh, Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School; Dr. Julio Martinez-Silvestrini, Baystate Health; Irma Medina, Holyoke Community College; Donald Mitchell, Western Mass. Development Collaborative Inc.; Georgia Moore, Cooley Dickinson Health Care Corp.; Benjamin Murphy, United Way of Hampshire County; Glenn Posey, Western Massachusetts Electric Co.; Jon Queenin, Specialty Bolt; Jason Randall, Peter Pan Bus Lines; Lidya Rivera, Springfield Housing Authority; Debra Roussel, Town of Amherst; Alfonso Santaniello, the Creative Strategy Agency; Mark Sayre, MassMutual Financial Group; Sarah Schatz, Sarah’s Pet Services LLC; Maureen Trafford, Community Foundation of Western Mass.; Emmanuel Vera, MassMutual Financial Group; Janice Watson, YMCA of Greater Springfield; Tracye Whitfield, City of Springfield; Danielle Williams, GADA; and Anthony Wilson, City of Springfield.

MGM Casino Plan

Includes Union Station

SPRINGFIELD — MGM Resorts International announced that it will include a plan to integrate a revitalized Union Station into its hotel, casino, and entertainment district proposal for downtown Springfield. The newest piece of MGM’s $800 million dining, retail, and entertainment district proposal is in response to the city of Springfield’s initiative to restore the historic Union Station to its full potential. As part of its plan, MGM would locate its regional corporate office and its regional training institute for new employees to Union Station. “Our project isn’t just about one neighborhood or community or interest group,” explained Bill Hornbuckle, MGM’s chief marketing officer and president of MGM Springfield. “It is about helping to create a better future for an entire city, and tying in Union Station is just one example of how we intend to leverage the global strength of MGM to attract new opportunities, growth, and prosperity to every corner of Springfield.” MGM has been meeting with city officials, community leaders, and residents in neighborhoods across the city to discuss MGM Springfield, which was first announced on Aug. 22. Over the course of those conversations, it became clear to the MGM team that restoring Union Station to its former glory was a top priority and major focus for the City of Springfield. “The vision Springfield’s elected leaders and city officials have put forward for Union Station is truly inspiring,” said Hornbuckle. “We’ve heard loud and clear that restoring this landmark is a key priority, and we want to play a leading role in making this a reality.” Hornbuckle said he has personally toured Union Station on multiple occasions, along with Jim Murren, MGM’s chairman and CEO. “The minute we first set foot in that building, we knew this was a place where we had to be,” said Hornbuckle. “We fell in love with the history and architecture, as well as the opportunity to help revitalize passenger rail service in Springfield.”

BCBS Names Leaders in Healthcare Access

BOSTON — Eighteen emerging leaders in healthcare access have been named to the seventh class of the Mass. Institute for Community Health Leadership (MICHL), a leadership-development program designed to help high-potential professionals increase their personal impact and enhance their health organization’s influence in the community and the healthcare system. The 18-day educational program takes place over the course of nine months, offering a highly experiential curriculum that includes classroom work, peer-to-peer exchanges, and collaborative learning. During the program, students develop and implement a project that addresses a healthcare issue impacting low-income and vulnerable people in Massachusetts. MICHL engages participants in exploring the leadership challenges facing healthcare organizations in Massachusetts, identifying and building the capacities and competencies leaders will need to meet the challenges, and fostering collaboration among private nonprofits, public agencies, and academic institutions. The 2012-13 class includes: Rebecca Balder, Health Safety Net director, Division of Health Care Finance & Policy; Melinda Burri, director of Operations, Windsor Street Health Center; Paulette Renault-Caragianes, director, City of Somerville Health Department; Marta Chadwick, director, Violence Intervention & Prevention Program, Brigham & Women’s Hospital; Kevin Coughlin, executive director, Greater Lowell Health Alliance; Holle Garvey, nurse practitioner, Sisters of Providence Health System; Katherine Howitt, senior policy analyst, Community Catalyst; Jacqueline Johnson, chief operations officer, Caring Health Center; Stacey King, director, Community Health & Wellness Program, Cambridge Public Health Department; Joanna Kreil, quality initiatives manager, Mass. League of Community Health Centers; Nancy Mahan, senior vice president, Program Services, Bay Cove Human Services Inc.; Matthew McCall, senior consultant, the Home for Little Wanderers; Anne McHugh, director, Chronic Disease Prevention & Control, Boston Public Health Commission; Lenore Tsikitas, health access and promotion coordinator, Mass. Department of Public Health; Rossana Valencia, clinical policy analyst, UMass Medical School; Jennifer Valenzuela, national director of program, Health Leads; Alyssa Vangeli, policy analyst, Health Care for All; and Cathy Wirth, project manager, Healthy Kids, Healthy Future.

Job Gains Remain Elusive in Region, Commonwealth

BOSTON —The Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported that the August 2012 seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates in Massachusetts were down in 17 labor areas, unchanged in three areas, and up in two areas over the month. Over the year, the rates are down in all 22 labor areas. Statewide, the August seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate was 6.4%, down 0.2% from July. Over the year, the statewide unadjusted rate was down 0.8% from the August 2011 unadjusted rate of 7.2%. In August, the Greater Springfield area, which includes most of Hampden County and parts of Hampshire County, saw unemployment fall to 7.8% from 8% in July, and from 8.4% in August 2011. However, the seasonally adjusted statewide August unemployment rate, released on Sept. 20, was 6.3%, an increase of 0.2% over the July figure, and down 1.1% from the 7.4% rate recorded in August 2011. The statewide seasonally adjusted jobs estimate showed a 4,800 job loss over the month. The national unemployment average, adjusted for seasonality, was 8.1% in August.

LEED by Example

By BusinessWest Staff June 19, 2012

From left, Aelan Tierney, Charles Roberts, and Ann Wills Marshall

Architects Increasingly Focus on Eco-friendly Design

From left, Aelan Tierney, Charles Roberts, and Ann Wills Marshall have all worked on LEED projects at Kuhn Riddle Architects.

New England Environmental (NEE) is an Amherst-based consulting firm that specializes in environmental assessment, restoration, and management. Oh, and setting a good example.

“We saw that project as sort of a laboratory for the kind of work they do, almost an exhibit of sorts,” said Ann Wills Marshall, an architect with Kuhn Riddle Architects in Amherst, which designed NEE’s new headquarters in Amherst with the sort of ‘green’ features that fit the company’s mission.

“They can take clients through and show them what a bioswale is, and a rain garden that uses all native plants and doesn’t require irrigation. It has a tremendous amount of green space,” Marshall noted.

The development will earn Platinum certification — the toughest-to-attain rating — from LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a program developed in 1994 by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to encourage environmentally friendly and energy-efficient design, construction, and operation of buildings.

And New England Environmental, which uses both geothermal heat and photovoltaic solar panels for energy, is only one of Kuhn Riddle’s recent LEED projects. Others include the George N. Parks Minuteman Marching Band Building, a 15,000-square-foot facility at UMass; the Ken Burns Wing of the Jerome Liebling Center for Film, Photography, and Video, a 6,700-square-foot addition to the facility at Hampshire College; and the Northeast Veteran Training and Rehabilitation Center in Gardner — which, like NEE, boasts both geothermal and photovoltaic energy.

In fact, LEED has become a major buzzword in the architecture and construction world; the state has mandated eco-friendly design on many projects, while individual cities and towns are increasingly seeking out the long-term benefits of energy-efficient, environmentally non-invasive design as well.

“It’s an involved process,” said Charles Roberts, a principal with Kuhn Riddle. “First, the client has to decide what they want to do, then we sit down with the user groups and our LEED consultants and basically go through the checklist typical for all projects and see what points are attainable. It’s important to do that as early in the design process as possible.”

Those ‘points’ are awarded according to a development’s adherence to five key areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.

Sustainable site development includes the reuse of existing buildings, when possible, and preservation of the surrounding environment. Water conservation may include the recycling of gray (previously used) water or the installation of catchments for rainwater.

Energy efficiency can be increased by orienting buildings to take advantage of seasonal changes in the sun’s position and by the use of alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, or water.

Meanwhile, developers are encouraged to use as much recycled or renewable materials as possible, or those that require the least energy to manufacture, are locally sourced, or are in themselves recyclable. Finally, indoor environmental quality emphasizes how the building user feels in a space and involves ventilation, temperature control, and the use of nontoxic materials.

New England Environmental incorporated both geothermal and photovoltaic energy on its LEED Platinum project.

“Good architecture has always been environmentally responsible,” Roberts said. “Development and land-use patterns create stresses on the environment, and as buildings become much more complicated, LEED is kind of an effort to try to think about these pressures and minimize them.”

However, they should not get in the way of basic aesthetic appeal, said Aelan Tierney, an associate with Kuhn Riddle.

“While it’s important to focus on sustainability,” she said, “it’s also important to remember that buildings should be beautiful. So the form can still be beautiful if it’s a green building, or a LEED-certified building. I think there are some people out there who are so hyperfocused on sustainability that they forget about the aesthetics. In our firm, they’re equally important to us.”

Breaking Ground

Other architects are saying the same. Among them is Jim Hanifan, a principal with Caolo & Bienek in Chicopee, which recently completed the new UMass police station, the first LEED-certified building on the Amherst campus, but very likely not the last.

That project earned Gold status, just under platinum in the USGBC’s rating system, which is based on the points assigned for green compliance. Further down are Silver and simply ‘certified.’ The police station features a geothermal heating and cooling system drawing heat and cold from the earth.

“We’ve also got the Northampton police station,” Hanifan said. “They’re going to occupy the building in a couple of weeks, and that’s targeted for LEED Gold as well.”

Another of the firm’s jobs, the new Easthampton High School set to open in 2013, has earned certification from Massachusetts CHPS (Collaborative for High Performance Schools), a LEED-like green-building program for the Commonwealth. Among the considerations are bigger windows to maximize daylight, a photovoltaic array being installed on the roof to harvest solar power, and LED lighting. “It’s similar to LEED in its requirements,” he said of the CHPS designation.

Hanifan said building owners, whether governments or businesses, want to know the long-term savings built into an investment in green design — which can be costly up front. “You’re trying to balance improvements to a building’s system with what the projected payoff will be. Maybe you’ll spend $250,000 on improved mechanical or electrical systems, and you try to project out how many years it will take to pay that back.”

Tierney said the owners of the Northeast Veteran Training and Rehabilitation Center took this into account when they had 28 geothermal wells and more than 8,000 square feet of electrical panels installed. “It’s a large initial investment, but in the end, they’ll save money. In a lot of cases, it’s easier to get capital funding than it is to get operational funding.”

Added Marshall, “I think there’s a leap of faith you have to take, knowing you have these upfront costs, but they will pay for themselves in a very short time.”

And the initial costs can be significant, Hanifan said, noting that some LEED points are easier to come by than others, and not every type of point is attainable. “Some points you won’t get, depending on the building design,” he said. For instance, a developer can earn points for tearing down an existing building and reusing the site for a new structure. “But if it’s a clean site, there’s no way to get that point.”

The LEED certification process itself is costly, which is why some cities and towns will put a priority on green design, but not go for the certification, he added. “So you’re getting the payback for sure and achieving the intent of a LEED project; you just don’t have a plaque on the wall that says you achieved it.”

The Old College Try

The Liebling Center project at Hampshire College is a good example of a broad mix of LEED points, Roberts said, from the use of native plants to cutting-edge air-quality-monitoring systems, to white, reflective surfaces to keep the building cool. It also gained points for its location along a bus route and the installation of bike racks and showers, all of which encourage earth-friendly commuting.

“It’s a good example of a project done on a modest budget,” he said, “and just by doing pieces of all these things, were were able to achieve LEED Gold.”

Hampshire College has been pursuing eco-friendly development for some time, and other area schools have done the same. In fact, the U.S. Green Building Council recently opened a local branch on the UMass campus.

“The university has been working to expand its green-building commitment for more than a decade now,” said Ludmila Pavlova, a senior planner at the UMass Campus Planning Physical Plant, who started the branch. “Here, we can provide education, outreach, and information to the general public about the LEED rating system and green building.

“It’s really important that people who use the rating system talk to the general public, network, and learn together,” she continued. “It’s great to have a location where people looking into green building can come to learn how to become proficient in green building, and turn around and help their communities as well.”

UMass recently made a commitment to build all new structures to a minimum of LEED Silver, and the state already requires all publicly funded buildings of at least 20,000 square feet to be 20% over baseline in terms of energy efficiency. All of which makes plenty of sense to Pavlova.

“People live in buildings and spend most of their time in buildings,” she told BusinessWest. “Forty percent of our energy is embodied in buildings. If we want to improve the environment, one of the first basic places to improve it is in the places where you work and live.

“Our buildings constitute such a huge investment, and so much of our ongoing operations and capital costs go into facility maintenance,” she added. “And so much of our health depends on how buildings keep us healthy — or not.”

That’s just one more reason businesses and communities are increasingly choosing to build green — and often taking the LEED while they’re at it.

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Blueprints for Success

By BusinessWest Staff June 19, 2012