At Dietz & Co. Architects, Sustainability Is a Way of Life
Kerry Dietz, says the design work her firm does must meet clients’ needs and budgets and also create a sustainable and comfortable environment for the people who will occupy or work in the buildings.
Kerry Dietz was talking about sustainable building design.
And although many people associate the concept with ‘green’ construction, to Dietz, the word ‘sustainable’ encompasses a wide range of considerations.
“Design is critical and happens at many levels, and the word ‘sustainable”’means a lot of different things to our clients,” said the principal of Springfield-based Dietz and Co. Architects Inc.
At Dietz, it includes the comfort and health of those who will live and work in a structure, the aesthetics inside and out, and the costs to maintain a structure during its life cycle, which is especially important to nonprofits that may not have the resources to do maintenance work in the future. “It also includes the materials, the context a building sits in, and the image the client wants to project, because a building can become a brand (more about that later). “It is all critical to us,” she said.
Her company’s tagline is “design that looks good, does good,” and that value has remained key to the way the firm has approached its projects for the past 25 years.
“People know they can count on us to do quality work and do it right,” Dietz told BusinessWest, adding that the entire staff believes their designs should make a difference in the community. “We have never faltered from that initial desire to create architecture that also serves. We are a company that pledges to be a responsible citizen in everything we do.”
Their projects range from affordable housing, which has always been a mainstay of the firm, to education, health care, commercial, institutional, and historic-preservation work. Part of the company’s success is attributed not only to having employees who are experts in their fields, but also to the fact that everyone working on a project is well-versed in its finances.
“We are an open-book company, and my employees know the budgets on our projects, which includes how much money we are making and how many new jobs there will be,” said Dietz, adding that, when there is a profit, everyone shares in it. “People who come here from other firms are surprised at this, but I believe my employees need to know the rules of the game and what the parameters are in terms of hours and months allocated to it.”
Blueprint for Success
Dietz said architectural firms in Western Mass. have to be generalists. “There is not enough work here to be a niche operator unless you are global in scale,” she explained.
However, one of the firm’s challenges is competing with Boston-based companies. “Every time the economy goes south, they come here. And sometimes they bring a level of expertise we don’t have,” she explained. “For example, we haven’t designed 50 schools, and we have never designed a library, so we will never get one. People want to hire someone who has done the job before.”
Michael Erickson, an architectural associate at Dietz & Co. Architects Inc., works on a design for one of their many projects that range from affordable housing to education, health care, commercial, institutional, and historic preservation.
“Architectural firms are altruistic to begin with, but for this firm, serving the community is at the core of our values,” she continued. “We tend to attract employees whose desire is to serve, and we do a lot of work for nonprofits. We understand the pressures they are under in terms of funding.”
Another niche for the company is education, especially colleges and universities, said Dietz, adding that the firm is also well-versed in the challenges, fiscal and otherwise, facing both public and private institutions. “Their decision-making and funding sources and flow are totally different from affordable housing.”
When schools receive grants, the work has to be done right away, and most institutions are dependent on state funding and bonding, so any time a financial crisis hits, it affects their budgets immediately, she went on. “But we like doing the work. It ranges from designing new environmental centers to cafés in science buildings, to work in their libraries.”
Banks are also a specialty. The firm designed Easthampton Savings Bank’s new main office and is renovating some of its branches. “We have also done work for United Bank and have been involved in master plans and studies,” Dietz said.
Staying Afloat
In recent years, the firm’s focus has shifted. It is designing less affordable housing and has broadened its base, in part because the economy has made it difficult for nonprofit developers to get funding.
“The heart of the recession was horrid; it was an equal-opportunity destroyer, and we were lucky to survive it. In 2008 and 2009, we had the worst two years we have ever had. Then in 2010 we had the best year we have ever had in our history,” Dietz said.
She attributes the firm’s success to carefully crafted strategic planning, and said its forecasting tools yielded indications that the recession was imminent. “By October of 2008, it was clear we were headed toward a major disaster. And we knew 2009 would be horrible and we were unlikely to get any new work.”
Although many architectural firms laid off employees or closed their doors, Dietz chose to keep all 19 employees on staff. She cut her own salary and reduced employees’ hours, taking advantage of a graduated program within the state’s unemployment system.
“It allowed us to reduce hours without substantially penalizing our employees, which was important, because we still had projects we were working on,” Dietz said. And although it would have cost less to lay employees off, she knew that, by keeping them, the company was positioned well, as there would be clients who would want to take advantage of declining construction prices.
The company has won a number of awards, and individuals within it have also earned accolades. Dietz said one of the firm’s architects received an e-mail from the Department of Public Health stating that her submission for the Caring Health Center, a recent project in Springfield delayed by the June 1 tornado, “was the best she had ever seen in her history.”
“The ability to make these people happy is a huge selling point for us,” Dietz said, adding that it takes a lot of expertise and work to meet complex and detailed requirements.
She added that much of the housing design they do is dependent on low-income tax credits, and they are also knowledgeable about those requirements due to their 25-year history in that arena.
Attention to Detail
An architectural design contains many elements and can become a “brand,” said Dietz, as she talked about the building the firm created for the YWCA of Western Mass. about 10 years ago.
“The organization almost died about 25 years ago,” said Dietz. “They came to us when they were on their last legs and had sites scattered in a variety of office buildings. They told us they wanted a new facility that looked corporate and would let people know their importance as one of the largest human-service agencies in the area.”
So the firm designed a building for the YWCA that “became a reflection of who they are and their vision for the future. Sustainable meant a lot of things to them, including choosing a high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning system as well as exterior materials that wouldn’t require maintenance,” she said.
Dietz said it’s critical to her company’s mission to think about who will use the buildings they design. Office workers need to have enough light and should not be distracted by noise or each other, for example.
“We really try to integrate our philosophy about sustainable design into everything we do; it’s not new to us, and some of the folks who work with me have been thinking this way for 20 years — sustainability is like religion,” she told BusinessWest, explaining that, although the U.S. Green Building Council developed a system of measurements for green building and Dietz and some of her employees are LEED-certified, there are a variety of measures that can be used to promote sustainability.
“We look at the human cost in terms of materials, rather than just the dollar cost,” she said. For example, although many buildings contain vinyl floor tiles, maintaining them requires expensive chemicals, which are not good for the environment; the people who work with them or the employees who will inhale the fumes of the cleaning solutions.
Unchanging Goals
“Since we opened our doors in 1985, we’ve worked to provide an environment that’s both challenging and nurturing,” Dietz said, adding that this begins within the company and extends to the nuances of every project.
“We never lose sight of our ultimate goal: to interpret our clients’ personal vision and create spaces that look great, feel great, and serve the needs of the people who will use these spaces,” she added.
And they do so in a way that creates comfort — and sustainability — now and for generations to come.
New Development Officer Is Focused on the Big Picture
Kevin Kennedy, long-time aide to Richard Neal while he was both mayor of Springfield and the congressman representing the state’s second district, was recently named the city’s chief development officer. In that capacity, Kennedy said he plans to take full advantage of his knowledge of the city, as well as lessons taken from involvement in projects ranging from the building of Monarch Place to the recent State Street Corridor initiative.
Kevin Kennedy is still settling into his new office on Tapley Street.
He told BusinessWest that he has several blank walls to cover, and is still making up his mind on just how to carry out that assignment. However, there are some items up, and together they tell a lot about the city’s new chief development officer, and also help explain why he’s supremely confident he’ll hit the ground running in his new position.
First, there’s the picture of the U.S. team at the first Nike Hoop Summit in 1995. Kennedy, then the head coach at Cathedral High School, is visible on the far left, just a few spots down from an 18-year-old Kevin Garnett. (The event was staged at the Basketball Hall of Fame, and it wanted a local coach to take part). There’s also a framed poster announcing then-President Bill Clinton’s visit to Springfield on Nov. 3, 1996, the so-called Celebrate Democracy event at which he campaigned for himself, but also for John Kerry in his pitched Senate battle against Bill Weld. Kennedy said he was asked to be “protocol chief” for the president and his entourage on that visit.
Also framed and hanging beside his desk is a rendering of the new federal courthouse on State Street, a project that Kennedy helped see from conception to reality as chief administrative aide to Congressman Richard Neal, who secured the funding to build the facility. And then there’s one that will soon be going up — a frame holding two architect’s renderings of what the Great Hall inside Union Station will look like when it’s renovated. (Kennedy always uses ‘when,’ not ‘if,’ as he discusses Union Station, even though the building has been mostly vacant for more than 30 years.)
Together, the wall art tells of Kennedy’s long involvement in Springfield politics, sports, economic development, and even architecture. Individually, they speak to passions — basketball (he won championships as both a player and coach at Cathedral), public service, and, yes, Union Station. The courthouse rendering? That symbolizes strategic planning, he explained, adding that the facility isn’t simply a building, but rather one part of a much larger initiative involving the State Street corridor (more on that later).
“It’s good to have an institutional memory,” said Kennedy, noting that he’s worked for or with every mayor of Springfield, in one capacity or another, since the mid-’70s. “You don’t want to live in the past, but it’s good to know what’s happened previously, what’s worked, and what hasn’t worked.”
Kennedy said his knowledge of Springfield and all the players there — something lacked by some recent occupants of his office — coupled with his experience taking plans from start to finish and his work on broad strategic endeavors, persuaded him that he was the right person for this job, and especially at this critical juncture in the city’s history.
Indeed, 2012 will be a year when tornado-recovery plans are put on the table, many downtown initiatives could take big steps forward, the Union Station project may actually go to bid, and the casino debate — with a Springfield site among many in contention — will intensify.
“While the hits we took in 2011 were substantial, I foresee a very good year in 2012 — we have enormous possibilities,” said Kennedy. “If we can all work together and coalesce around the plans and come up with the correct strategies to implement what’s there, we’ve got great opportunity. We still have good bones and great institutions, and I think downtown will take on a completely different vitality in 2012.”
For this issue, BusinessWest talked at length with Kennedy about his new position, his thoughts on what’s next for Springfield, and how to transform plans into reality.
Background — Check
When asked why he wanted to take on the high-profile chief development director’s job at this stage in his career, the 58-year-old Kennedy smiled and said, “I thought I was still young enough to take on some more challenges.”
Elaborating, he said he wanted to take some of the lessons — and measures of success — garnered from the courthouse and State Street corridor initiatives and apply them to the broad canvas of citywide development.
Kevin Kennedy says the state data center now under construction at the site of the former Tech High School is an integral part of a much broader State Street corridor improvement project.
“When a project comes up, be it large or small, and obviously the larger ones are a little more complicated, you have to be able to develop the plan and execute the plan,” he continued. “And to go along with all that planning and execution is strategy, which is the piece that keeps the planning and execution together; it’s the glue.”
And as he goes about applying this glue, Kennedy said he’ll take every bit of experience from his nearly 40 years of service to the city and Neal with him to his new office in the Tapley Street municipal complex.
That location is only a stone’s throw from where Kennedy grew up, on Melbourne Street, which no longer exists because the property was taken to build I-291 in the late ’50s. From Hungry Hill, Kennedy’s family moved to the East Forest Park neighborhood, and he attended nearby Cathedral.
He graduated from St. Anselm’s during the recession of the mid-’70s and, after a lengthy search for work, found a position with the city through the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) in 1974. He started as a personnel assistant and worked his way up to become personnel director in 1978. Soon thereafter, he became the city’s collective bargaining agent and negotiated labor contracts.
He left municipal service to work for a technology-related startup, Data Management Corp., before branching out into individual data-processing consulting. When Neal was elected mayor in 1985, Kennedy joined him as executive assistant (a job now titled chief of staff), and in that position essentially ran the day-to-day operations of the city.
When Neal was elected to Congress in 1988 following the retirement of Ed Boland, Kennedy eventually joined him after first staying behind to facilitate the transition to first interim mayor Vincent D’Monico, and then elected mayor Mary Hurley.
He coached at Cathedral from ’85 to ’97, during what he called “one of the golden eras” for local high-school sports.
“I had Derrick Kellogg, and Howie Burns had Travis Best and Edgar Padilla at Central,” he said, noting that Kellogg and Padilla played at UMass and Kellogg now coaches there, and Best enjoyed a solid career in the NBA. “We used to fill up the Civic Center; we didn’t play our homes in our own gyms because too many people wanted to watch them.”
In recent years, Kennedy’s responsibilities with Neal have involved more work that would be considered economic-development related, including the State Street corridor, the new courthouse, and Union Station, which he described, alternately, as a “personal challenge” and “the next thing we have to do to complete the plan, with that plan being preservation of the central business district.”
Tracking Results
Kennedy said he clearly remembers what he considers the last big event in the Great Hall. It was early in 1977, he explained, when Neal used the facility to announce his candidacy for Springfield City Council.
“It still looked good then,” he recalled. “It had declined somewhat, but it was still in good shape, and it was still a special place, one with a lot of history.
The hall has been seen by only a few people — maintenance crews, journalists (BusinessWest has been inside a few times), economic-development leaders, and representatives of prospective tenants — over the past 25 years, said Kennedy, noting that efforts to revitalize the station do not constitute a project, although many hold that opinion.
Rather, he explained, the initiative is an important part of a much broader plan for bringing more vibrancy to the central business district. That plan involves the full length of Main Street — from the South End, where the equation, not to mention the landscape, has certainly been changed by the June 1 tornado, to the Chicopee border. It also involves State Street and many other arteries, said Kennedy, noting that all but a handful of Springfield’s neighborhoods are included in this plan.
Elaborating, he said Union Station’s transformation into an intermodal transportation center is one of the links in the chain in downtown revitalization. Some have been completed — 1550 Main Street, the new federal courthouse, and the convention center, for example — but most are still in progress. That list includes Court Square redevelopment initiatives (specifically 31 Elm St.); the Paramount and other endeavors involving the New England Farm Workers’ Council and its energetic leader, Herbie Flores; the vacant and partially demolished Asylum building; and others.
Union Station’s redevelopment would be a catalyst for further progress in the so-called North Blocks area, and the North End as well, said Kennedy, who drew an analogy between the current efforts downtown and the ongoing work along the State Street corridor, while returning to the subject of strategy.
The new federal courthouse was a piece of the State Street initiative, albeit a big one, he continued, adding that there were and are many other components to that strategic plan.
Finding a new use for the abandoned Technical High School was another big piece of the puzzle, he went on, noting that this is why Neal fought tooth and nail to put the state data center (now under construction) there, as opposed to the Technology Park at STCC or anywhere else.
“We knew that we wanted to build a new courthouse,” he explained, “and we knew we had to deal with the disposal of the old courthouse. We also knew that, by itself, the courthouse is not a real economic generator, so the congressman came up with the State Street corridor improvement project, which is what really leveraged the investment in the courthouse.
“We also knew that Tech, which had been sitting there since 1986, was a serious issue in terms of both State Street and the new courthouse,” he continued. “So you had to get a plan that was executable to not only build a new courthouse, but dispose of the old courthouse, do something with Tech, and make all the other real-estate transactions that were necessary for this to happen. There were so many moving pieces that had to be put together, you needed a strategic plan to get them done.”
Returning to Main Street and the central business district, he said individual initiatives are part of a broader plan there as well. And he believes that enough pieces of the puzzle are falling into place to generate more private-sector investment downtown.
“Between reuse of the [old] federal building, Cambridge College coming to Tower Square, 31 Elm St., Union Station, and some other announcements to be made soon, we’re starting to aggregate enough people down there to generate economic-development activity,” he explained. “And, frankly, it’s up to the private sector to take advantage of it.”
Pieces of the Puzzle
When asked about his approach to economic development, Kennedy said he’s adopted the philosophy and operating style of his mentor in this realm.
That would be Gerald Hayes, who was the city’s chief development officer in the mid-’80s, and thus worked with Neal and Kennedy to make the Monarch Place project a reality.
“I learned a lot from him about how to manage a large-scale project and a small-scale project, and the biggest thing I took from him is the importance of accountability,” said Kennedy. “You convene regular meetings, with assignments of future tasks, and then report on what you accomplished on those future tasks, so you’re accountable.
“We did that when we did State Street — we sat regularly, twice a month for two years, planning the corridor project,” he continued. “The results were minimal change orders, and the project came in $600,000 under obligation; the same was true with the federal courthouse. If you spend enough time planning what you want to do, and you do it correctly, that’s critical to the project.”
Accountability will be a much-needed character trait moving forward, said Kennedy, noting that there are many large, complex projects — either in progress or in the offing — that will require high levels of coordination between local, state, and federal officials, and could be described as public-private initiatives.
Tornado recovery certainly falls into that category, he said, noting that, while the June 1 twister impacted several Springfield neighborhoods, most of the rebuilding efforts moving forward will involve the South End, Six Corners, and East Forest Park areas.
A recovery plan is expected from the consulting firm Concordia later this month, said Kennedy, adding that it is likely to spell out specific initiatives for each impacted area. For the South End, where much of the speculation is focused, he expects retail and residential components that will enhance but not change the character of that neighborhood.
“I think it needs much of what it had before,” he told BusinessWest, “which means lots of walk-in retail — it used to be the greatest place to go for restaurants — and you still need a housing component to go with it.
“I don’t think the ideas today will be much different than they were,” he continued, “but they’ll be modern, and there are already people out there speculating, which I take as a good sign.”
Union Station is perhaps the most complex of the endeavors, Kennedy explained, because it is involves a number of players, government agencies, and potential funding sources, including a new round of TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation and another transportation reauthorization program (one is about three years overdue).
The plan is to seek bids late in 2012 for construction of a project that will blend transportation elements — rail, inner-city bus, and possibly intra-city bus — with transportation-related businesses and agencies that will fill roughly 75,000 square feet of space, said Kennedy. In that latter category would be the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority offices, the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, transit-related retail, and what he called “opportunity space.”
If all goes as planned, the project would be completed by 2015 or early 2016, in conjunction with improved and expanded north-south rail service from Southern Vermont to New Haven, with a projected 25 runs a day between Springfield and Hartford going through Union Station.
When asked about the proverbial elephant in the room — casinos — Kennedy, sounding much like Mayor Domenic Sarno in recent interviews, said that, while he won’t necessarily advocate for a casino in Springfield, he considers it his job to make sure that Springfield gets the best “deal” possible, whether the casino is built in the old Westinghouse House site, Palmer, Holyoke, or anywhere else.
And by ‘deal,’ he meant a wide range of considerations, from preferences on employment to traffic-mitigation efforts; from tax benefits to measures that will help minimize the impact on a host of other hospitality-related businesses.
“If you’re in the hospitality business and you’re around a casino, you’ve got a problem,” he said. “Springfield could get hurt, Northampton would get seriously hurt, and Amherst could take a real hit, depending on where this casino is located.
“If we’re going to get one in Springfield, we need to think a little bigger than that citadel, or that fortress that a casino could be,” he continued. “If we put a casino in the North Blocks, for example, and coupled it with a baseball stadium and a revitalized Union Station, and insisted that the MassMutual Center and Springfield Symphony Hall were their performing-arts venue, we’d then have a casino effect that would really be widespread and benefit a lot of people.”
Court of Opinion
While packing up his photo from the Nike Hoop Classic, the Bill Clinton event poster, and the rest of his belongings from his congressional office, Kennedy said he came across his disposition testimony in the legal action involving David Buntzman, former owner of Union Station, and the city of Springfield.
“That goes back to 1989,” said Kennedy, noting that, when the city took the station by eminent domain a year earlier, Buntzman sued for greater remuneration.
Knowing all of what happened back then, and even decades earlier, may not necessarily help in the current efforts to redevelop the station, he acknowledged, but historical perspective, meaning institutional memory, is usually a benefit.
Kennedy has plenty of that, as well as what he called a desire to “get some things done.”
If he can, then he’ll have plenty of new items with which to cover all that wall space.
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
Springfield’s Rebuilding Effort Comes at Intriguing Time for Urban Centers
Dave Dixon says there is a surge in interest in urban living, which presents huge opportunities for cities like Springfield.
Dave Dixon was understandably wary about incorporating the phrase ‘silver lining’ into any statements he made concerning the June 1 tornado and its aftermath.
But he nonetheless put it to use as he talked about the efforts to rebuild Springfield and, more specifically, the work to revitalize the downtown and South End sections of the city. And that silver lining is all about timing and emerging trends in urban centers, he explained.
“If this tornado had struck 10 years earlier, let’s say, I think this would be a much grimmer task, because we’d be rebuilding in the face of continuing disinvestment in the city,” said Dixon.
He’s the principal in charge of planning and urban design at Goody Clancy, the Boston-based architecture, planning, and preservation firm now co-leading the efforts to blueprint a rebuilding plan for Springfield with New Orleans-based Concordia (see related story, page 62).
Elaborating, Dixon said that, over the past several years, there has been a discernable upswing in the popularity of urban living. Spawned by a number of factors, including a desire among aging Baby Boomers to live in places where they can walk rather than drive to most required destinations, the trend has helped transform a number of urban centers, many with the same social and economic challenges as Springfield’s central business district and South End.
“Ten years ago, the world didn’t look like this,” said Dixon, who has seen or helped orchestrate revivals in cities ranging from Baltimore to New Orleans to Wichita, Kan. “This disaster in Springfield, like the one in New Orleans, happened at a time when cities are changing and have opportunities that they haven’t had for 40 or 50 years.
“What has gone on, particularly over the past decade, has been a profound transition in demographics, in the way real-estate markets work, in the values that the folks who bring investment with them because they attract employers, have all undergone,” he continued, adding that there are more single individuals or couples (as opposed to families) than was the case a decade ago, and income levels for such people are higher. “There are simply more people that could decide they want to live in an urban environment. They may have wanted to in the past, but it didn’t work for them. And now they’re looking to make it work.”
Indeed, the real silver lining for Springfield, said Dixon, is an apparent, and growing, pent-up demand for downtown mailing addresses. To illustrate, he took out a piece of paper and sketched a simple chart showing the rising popularity of urban living.
The line moves upward at a steady clip, he explained while drawing, but the recession of the past several years has restricted the angle of ascent because, among other factors, homeowners looking to relocate to urban centers are still having trouble selling their homes, and market-rate housing builders are still being challenged in their efforts to finance such endeavors.
Like a dam holding back water, these factors are effectively bottling up demand, he continued, adding that, when conditions improve and that figurative dam breaks, cities properly positioned to capitalize on the trend could benefit significantly.
And in many ways, the tornado has helped put Springfield in such a position, he went on, acknowledging that the city still faces a number of challenges in this regard — including crime, the perception of same, and a concentration of subsidized-housing projects in both the downtown and South End — and that progress certainly won’t occur overnight.
But the city has many of the key ingredients to join the list of other success stories, he said, listing a decent “walkability index” — more on that later — a solid existing inventory of buildings that can be converted into market-rate housing, and, thanks to the tornado, some vacant acreage on which to build such housing, as well as businesses to sustain an urban population.
Dixon acknowledged that many are skeptical that such urban living could help transform Springfield’s downtown area, but he’s seen enough evidence of the trend in other parts of the country to believe it could certainly happen here.
Walking the Walk
As he talked with BusinessWest, Ron Mallis, a senior planner with Goody Clancy, was using his iPhone to see how well several downtown Springfield addresses fared on a Web site called walkscore.com. The site essentially assesses a location based on one’s ability to walk to amenities ranging from coffee shops to entertainment venues to banks, and gives it a score from 1 to 100, with the latter being the best.
The DevelopSpringfield office at 1182 Main St. earned an 89, while the Red Rose restaurant just a few blocks south notched an 82. Those statistics are not to be discounted, said Mallis, because many constituencies, from young artists to aging Boomers to business owners, are looking at such numbers with greater interest.
“People are more health-conscious than they were years ago,” he explained. “People have woken up to the fact that walking and health have a direct correlation, and that certainly plays a part in the decisions people are making about where they want to live.
Dixon agreed. “If you look at surveys about how much people want to drive, it used to be that, the younger you were, the more you liked getting in the car and driving; now it’s the reverse, and some of it is health-driven; it’s viewed as unhealthy to be in a car a lot.”
But there’s more to this trend than exercise, he continued, adding that many individuals within different age groups, when queried about what they want from a residential address, put that intangible ‘community’ high on their list. “And people think of urban areas as offering much more opportunity for community — to run into each other and meet each other.
“When you look at the top-10 criteria that people listed for where they wanted to live, from the ’60s up until probably 2003, or at least through the ’90s, it was golf courses, near golf courses, on a golf course, and as far away from work as possible,” he went on. “None of those are on the list in 2011. Surveys now show it’s proximity to Main Street, diversity, the ability to walk to work … and even telecommuters are much more interested in living in denser, walkable areas, perhaps because they spend the day by themselves.”
Dixon and Mallis have seen such trends emerge as they’ve helped Goody Clancy compile an extensive portfolio of work in older urban areas. The firm has taken part in a number of downtown projects, from guiding 12 million square feet of mixed-use development around the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to revitalization plans for communities as such as Baltimore, Akron, Ohio, Jamestown, N.Y., and, locally, Greenfield.
To illustrate his point on urban living and add a measure of credibility to the argument, Dixon pointed to Wichita, a city of about 900,000 and a downtown still fighting its way back from decades of disinvestment and an out-migration of people and businesses.
“Even the lawyers moved out of the downtown, which is unusual,” he said. “Compared to many parts of downtown Wichita, Springfield’s South End would look cool — it would look like an arts district. But downtown is beginning to take off; there are several hundred units of new, cool lofts — they’re rentals right now because the condo market isn’t there yet; one was rented out before it was finished, and another, more expensive building is almost rented out.
“Meanwhile, there’s another, more conventional project with larger, more expensive units that’s just sitting there because that’s not what the market’s going to come back to,” he went on. “The market’s about cool, urban, walkable living spaces. It’s more about living near a cool bakery than it is about giving a view.”
In Springfield, the firm has been assigned the task of coordinating efforts to develop strategic initiatives focused on the downtown and South End, one of three areas, or districts, of concentration involving neighborhoods impacted by the tornado. Since being hired in September, the firm’s representatives have undertaken a general inventory of this sector’s assets and liabilities, said Dixon, adding that there are more of the former than many people might think, and some could help the city take advantage of the pendulum moving back toward urban living.
And in many ways, the city is already making some strides, said Mallis, noting efforts to attract artists to the Morgan Square apartment complex (see BusinessWest, Aug. 29), and other initiatives to create more market-rate housing at several downtown-area properties.
As for the South End, Dixon said it has the potential to be “a hip place,” given its diversity, solid walk scores, proximity to many restaurants and cultural attractions, and decent inventory of properties that could, with some imagination, entrepreneurial flair, and requisite demand, be retrofitted into housing units.
As he walked with BusinessWest down Main Street, Dixon pointed out several such buildings near an already-thriving market-rate complex, the Willows, created from the former Milton Bradley manufacturing complex off Union Street. He gestured to everything from office and retail properties with large vacancy rates to abandoned or underutilized manufacturing and warehouse structures.
“You can just look at those properties and see that, if the market is there a half-block away,” he said, “it can be at those sites as well.”
There are also several currently vacant parcels, including the former Gemini site and some others created by the tornado, which provide opportunities for developers with vision.
Beyond vacant lots, though, the tornado has provided a spark for the city, said Dixon, when pressed about why market-rate housing and related developments haven’t happened sooner.
“As horrible and painful as the tornado has been for many people,” he said, “it has sort of galvanized the moment; it has the community focused, the city focused, everybody focused on how to rebuild better.”
Building Momentum
This combination of focus and determination has arrived at the intersection of rising interest in urban living and pent-up demand. It’s an intriguing situation that could make Springfield’s downtown the right place at the right time.
“Put all these things together, and Springfield, like many cities, has opportunities that it hasn’t had for a very long time,” said Dixon. “They don’t happen automatically, though. Cities have all these problems — fragmented land ownership, zoning, tax structures — which are not necessarily geared to the kind of development you want, and crime and the perception of crime.
“But there are lot of cities that have been very patient over the past 10 years, looking at what’s happening, removing the obstacles, investing in downtowns, and getting tremendous payoffs. Springfield has that opportunity; something like the tornado is a kind of wakeup call that it’s not just time to change, but to take stock. And when you take stock, you can take advantage of these opportunities.”
In other words, this could a silver lining that makes Springfield a shining example of how urban centers can be revitalized.
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
Involvement, Strong Leadership Called Keys to Rebuilding Effort
Bobbie Hill says plans and process are important, but involvement and leadership are the keys to revitalizing a city.
And she said there will be all three when it comes to the task of rebuilding Springfield in the wake of the June 1 tornado. However, none will be the real key to a successful effort.
Instead, the most vital component — and she says she’s learned this from considerable experience — is getting the residents of the community in question to take a real ownership stake in the recovery initiatives.
“It’s the relationship-building, the community-capacity-building, the taking-ownership piece,” said Hill, a consultant with the New Orleans-based planning and architecture firm Concordia, which is heading the team of companies coordinating Springfield’s rebuilding-plan process. “Those are the keys; it’s ownership, and holding yourself, your neighbors, elected officials, and developers accountable to doing it and doing it right.
“That engagement component, that people component, is as important if not more important than individual concepts,” she continued. “This can’t just be about development projects; that’s not what transforms a community.”
What does, she stressed again, is a willingness on the part of residents to get involved and stay involved, and not give in to the theory, or temptation, that government will take care of things. And it comes through leadership, she went on, noting that, in most every community where the 11-person firm has lent its disaster-response, planning, and design expertise, leaders from the community have emerged.
The process of getting the community involved in the rebuilding effort began earlier this month with neighborhood meetings in the three identified sectors involving areas of the city damaged by the tornado. Sector 1 is the metro center (downtown) and the South End, while Sector 2 is composed of Six Corners, Upper Hill, Old Hill, and Forest Park, and Sector 3 includes Sixteen Acres and East Forest Park.
Those neighborhood meetings were followed up with a city-wide gathering a few days later, and two more sessions of neighborhood meetings and another city-wide session are scheduled for November and December, said Hill, adding that the four firms collaborating on the endeavor will present an implementation and financing plan to a community congress on Jan. 5.
That’s the process, in simple terms, she said, adding that it’s too early to discuss specific potential redevelopment projects, although plenty of suggestions — from a supermarket to market-rate housing projects to reforestation proposals — have come forth at the neighborhood sessions.
In subsequent neighborhood meetings, the suggestions will be discussed at greater length, and eventually priorities will be established, and consultants will “put numbers” to potential recommendations in an effort to determine which ones make sense and which ones don’t.
More importantly, though, the initial sessions have yielded evidence of the requisite level of involvement, leadership, and community spirit that will be necessary for a successful recovery effort.
“I was really encouraged by what I saw and heard the other night,” she referring to the neighborhood meeting in Sector 2. “There was definitely a strong sense of community, people really caring for other and celebrating diversity — that really came across.”
There are four firms involved in the process of coordinating the neighborhood meetings and compiling the report to be completed Jan. 5. They are:
• Corcordia, which, among other projects in its portfolio, led coordination for the Unified New Orleans Plan after Hurricane Katrina that included selection and management of 12 national, regional, and local planning firms that created plans for 14 planning districts and an overall city-wide recovery plan;
• Goody Clancy, a Boston-based urban planning and design firm that has coordinated revitalization efforts in a number of major cities (see related story, page 60);
• Berkebile Nelson Immenschuh McDowell Inc. (BNIM), considered the most experienced firm in the country when it comes to helping tornado-impacted communities engage in a transformative recovery planning process; and
• The Project for Public Spaces (PPS), a nonprofit planning, design, and educational organization dedicated to helping people create and sustain public places that build stronger communities.
For more information on the process or to submit ideas online, visit www.rebuildspringfield.com. The schedule for future neighborhood and citywide meetings is as follows:
• Six Corners, Upper Hill, Old Hill, and Forest Park: Nov. 15, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the J.C. Williams Center, Florence Street;
• Sixteen Acres, East Forest Park: Nov. 16, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Holy Cross gymnasium, Plumtree Road;
• Metro Center, South End: Nov. 17, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Gentile Apartments Community Room, Williams Street;
• Metro Center, South End: Dec. 6, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Gentile Apartments Community Room, Williams Street;
• Sixteen Acres, East Forest Park: Dec. 7, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Holy Cross gymnasium, Plumtree Road;
• Six Corners, Upper Hill, Old Hill, and Forest Park: Dec. 8, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the J.C. Williams Center, Florence Street;
• City-wide: Dec. 10, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the MassMutual Center; and
• Community Congress: Jan. 5, 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the MassMutual Center.
— George O’Brien
United Bank announced the following:
Barbara-Jean DeLoria
•
Milly Parzychowski
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Attorney Susan Fentin, a partner with Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C., will be a key speaker at the 2011 Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Nashville, Tenn. on Oct. 6 and 7. Fentin will be part of the keynote panel that will begin the symposium and will be speaking on independent contractor misclassification, a topic of significance for employers in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the U.S.
•••••
Tamara Fricke
•••••
Dietz & Co. Architects announced the following:
• Jamie Kelliher has joined the firm. He graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor of Architecture degree and the University of Arizona with a master of Architecture degree in Urban Design. Prior to joining Dietz & Co. Architects, he worked at Drachman Institute for Regional Development in Tucson, Ariz. and Paolo Soleri/Arcosanti Planning Office in Mayer, Ariz., where he acquired experience working on complex, high-end, award-winning, multi-family, mixed-use building projects. He collaborated on the Soleri Bridge and Plaza in Scottsdale, Ariz., where the design incorporated hallmarks of Paolo Soleri’s signature style and was also designed to bring awareness of our human connection to the sun and the natural world;
Josh Payne
Kris Kennedy
• Mark Hellen has joined the firm. He graduated from New York University and Boston Architectural College with a master of Architecture degree. Prior to joining the firm, he spent over 10 years at CBT in Boston, working on various educational, residential, and commercial projects. His extensive list of experience, regionally, includes the design of Turner Hill Cottage Development, a residential project on an exclusive golf course in Ipswich, Mass., and Northfield Mount Hermon Rhodes Art Center, an educational project encompassing multiple classroom, art, and performance spaces. His most complex past project is Champlain College, which included adding four dormitory buildings to an existing neighborhood.
•••••
Kristen Adams
•••••
Attorney Ryan Alekman, a Partner of Alekman DiTusa in Springfield, has been elected to a two-year term on the Board of Governors of the Massachusetts Academy of Trial Attorneys. A graduate of the Western New England College School of Law, he handles personal-injury and criminal-defense cases.
•••••
Nuvo Bank & Trust Co. has promoted Susan Fearn to Assistant Vice President in addition to her duties as Client Sales and Service Manager.
•••••
Brian O’Shea, Manager of the Holyoke McDonald’s, 285 Maple St., and Jeremy Zimowsky, manager of the 2194 Northampton St., Holyoke McDonald’s, are recipients of Outstanding Restaurant Manager awards by the Connecticut and Western Mass. McDonald’s Owner-Operator Assoc. The award recognizes managers whose McDonald’s restaurants operate at an outstanding level and exemplify leadership following McDonald’s key initiatives. The top 10% of restaurant managers are bestowed with the honor.
•••••
The Mass. Society of Certified Public Accountants Inc. recently elected its board of directors for the 2011-12 fiscal year. The MSCPA board of directors sets policies, manages programs, and oversees activities that benefit the 10,500-plus-member organization and accounting profession. The following will serve as board officers:
• Stuart Benton, CPA, Bradford Soapworks Inc., as chairman;
• Kenneth Kirkland, CPA, KAF Financial Group, as chairman-elect;
• Merrill Puopolo, CPA, CBIZ, Tofias & Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C. – Tofias New England Division, as vice-chairwoman of finance;
• Tracy Noga, CPA, Bentley University, as vice chairwoman;
• William Mahoney, CPA, Edelstein & Co. LLP, as vice chairman;
• Jeffrey Solomon, CPA, Levine Katz Nannis + Solomon P.C., as past chairman; and
• Theodore Flynn, CAE, MSCPA, as president and CEO.
The following will sit on the board as members: Cheryl Burke, DiCicco Gulman & Co. LLP; Frank Constance, CPA, Coles & Bodoin LLP; Kristin Costa, CPA, Braver P.C.; Paul Gerry Jr., CPA, Gray Gray & Gray LLP; Gerald Gerson, CPA, Litman Gerson LLP; Scott Levy, CPA, Grant Thornton LLP; Kevin Martin Jr., CPA, MST, Kevin Martin & Associates P.C.; Carla McCall, CPA, Alexander Aronson Finning & Co. P.C.; Robb Morton, CPA, CITP, Boiselle Morton & Associates LLP; George Neble, CPA, Ernst & Young LLP; Charles O’Donnell, CPA, Hans Kissle Co. Inc.; and Carolyn Stall, CPA, Stall Advisors LLC.
•••••
The Springfield Technical Community College Foundation recently welcomed three new members to its board:
Raymond Berry
Sheila King Goodwin
Michael Weekes
trade association, and also of the Human Services Providers Charitable Foundation.
At Studio One, Knocked Down Doesn’t Mean Knocked Out
Greg Zorzi (right, with Chris Novelli) says it was important to get back to work after the tornado, for the sake of not just ongoing projects, but also Studio One employees.
Like many in Springfield and beyond, the historic tornado changed Zorzi’s world in a single day. The stately Civil War-era brick block known as South Commons that his parents, the original Studio One architects, had renovated and owned was badly damaged one day, then demolished the next. Among several other businesses were the offices of Studio One architects and planners, as well as the Zorzi home.
Sitting in the offices that became the latest headquarters for this architectural firm that has been in existence in Springfield since 1974, he said that, while the business was dealt a great blow both physically and spiritually, the show must go on.
“I strongly believe in the expression that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he said, smiling. “We had a city water main break about 10 years ago down there, and we were flooded. We thought that was bad!
“But not only was it important for us to get back to work, to get to the projects that we had been working on right after the tornado hit,” he continued, “I’m responsible to all these people who work here. That is what kicked in. We can’t focus on the negative; we have to move forward.”
Talking about what has driven Studio One since the earliest days of the firm, back when his parents, Peter and Melinda Zorzi, were principals, he said that one of the greatest factors in their strength is wrapped in one word, endurance. “You need a tremendous amount of drive to succeed in this business.”
It’s not just all sweat that makes a good architect, he went on. “What we do, and what my father taught me from an early age, was to build goodwill with clients. That means going the extra mile, never mind whether something is an additional service or not. That’s the best advice I ever got. And because of that, folks call us back.”
Very soon after their offices were destroyed, Studio One relocated to 115 State St., and it was here that Zorzi spoke to BusinessWest. In a suite of rooms that doesn’t have the appearance of a makeshift space created on the quick, Zorzi told the story of how he came to be where he is today.
Glossy images of the buildings his firm has designed over the years line the walls, and with that backdrop, he said that the South Commons location may have been part of the firm’s identity — having been its home for over 25 years — but there’s a silver lining somewhere in that story, somehow. It’s clear that the endurance he talks about will give Studio One a firm footing to set forth on its next endeavor (more on that later), to be started this fall.
Historic Preservation
A solid book of work in Studio One’s portfolio comes from multi-family housing and SRO (single-room occupancy) projects, and this goes back to the days when Greg’s father Peter was at the helm. Projects have ranged from luxury condo units to the redevelopment of historic properties for housing in Westfield, with a range that covers most of Southern New England.
The firm was one of the businesses instrumental in the revitalization of the historic Matoon Street area in Springfield. Years later, historically sensitive new construction took place in that district, and that, Zorzi said, is one area where his firm excels.
Reiterating the notion of goodwill that he mentioned earlier, he said this has been a great asset not just for his clients, but for his business as well. With many projects over the years funded by HUD money, sometimes going the extra mile meant a repeat customer — many times over.
South Commons, pre-tornado, was Studio One’s home for more than 25 years.
Repeat customers, from HAP Inc. to Domus in Westfield to the Sisters of Saint Joseph, have been a significant component to how Zorzi’s firm has kept busy and how, unlike other firms its size, it has never had to downsize in staff. “Again, from working with my father, this is how I learned how to build a business,” he said.
With his father in a strong leadership role from the start, Zorzi laughed when talking about succession issues when he became president. While Peter is still active in the firm — “he knows so many people in the industry; he’s an incredible asset, and we still get work from his numerous contacts” — it was natural for the child who started running errands at the age of 10 to eventually take over someday.
After graduating from Boston Architectural College in the 1980s, Zorzi went to work for a large firm in the Hub. It was good experience, he said, but he knew he wanted to return to a smaller-sized shop.
“I was still working there,” he remembered, “when I asked my dad one day at a wedding, ‘are you going to ask me to join the firm or not?’ His response was, ‘I thought you were happy in Boston!’ and then, ‘of course!’”
Student Loans
There are many events that can shape the history of a business. While the events that took place after the tornado are a significant obstacle, Zorzi firmly said that this is a hurdle, but not a dead end.
His comments were carefully thought out, and it’s clear there’s a lot of hurt still there. But he repeated again that one word as an overarching answer to all of what transpired: “endurance.”
“When the city demolished South Commons, we were all greatly saddened,” he said. “I thought the city’s approach was heavy handed and capricious, and not thought out. Those buildings were secured. When we found that block in 1980, it was in worse shape than what happened by the tornado — the section of wall that was damaged and knocked down was a non-load-bearing wall.
“But the worst part,” he continued, “is that we’re licensed architects, and we weren’t even consulted on the fate of those buildings. We were told by City Hall that FEMA was calling the shots, but we later found out that was wrong, that the building commission was. No question in my mind, those buildings on the National Register of Historic Places could have been saved. It’s hurtful. I think the city has made some grave errors in judgment, and we’re calling them out on that.”
Then he stood up from the desk and called in his project manager, Chris Novelli. “There might be a good ending to this story after all,” Zorzi said.
It will start this fall, as Novelli teaches a graduate-level seminar in the Architecture + Design Department at UMass Amherst, to be held in Court Square. “It’s going to be a South End reconstruction studio,” Novelli said. “It’s still in the planning stages at this point for scope and focus. And this is not going to be a purely tornado-based program, but rather taking a broader-based look at the South End — the history of it, what problems exist, and how to create development opportunities.
“I think the biggest goal is that the students learn something,” he continued. “But I personally hope that some of these ideas that the students will eventually come up with will help the city leaders and planners see potential for what they can do, rather than trying to get in any developer who is just willing to do anything there.”
Zorzi added that he would like to see business and civic leaders engaged in the session as well, to act as ‘clients’ of a sort for the students’ projects.
“This is about healing. Even if it’s just a vision for what can be, it’s a healing process,” Zorzi said. He was referring specifically to the UMass program, but it was clear that this architectural firm’s president was also thinking about Studio One, and the city he has called home most of his life.
Working in Paradise City Certainly Has Advantages
Crist Myers, president and CEO of Myers Information Systems, says the company’s Northampton location helps to enhance the creativity of its employees.
Six years ago, the owners of Myers Information Systems Inc. relocated the broadcast-software company from Holyoke to Northampton.
“We don’t do business locally or regionally,” said President and CEO Crist Myers as he explained that decision. “We moved here because we wanted to offer our employees the very best atmosphere we could find to enhance their creativity.”
The business is adjacent to the Norwottuck Rail Trail so employees can take a stroll or ride their bicycles on it. They can also walk downtown, which Myers said is a wonderful option when they need a break from work. “They don’t have to jump in their cars to go somewhere to have lunch. They can interact with people downtown where there is a blend of academics and professionals,” he said, adding that employees also take advantage of the many events and offerings available after hours and on weekends, which range from concerts to performances, restaurants, and pubs.
The fact that Northampton is the hub of the five-college area also made the city an attractive choice of mailing address, Myers said. “When you’re in the software business, it is important to have young, professional talent, and this area is conducive to attracting that kind of employee. We seem to get a higher quality of résumés here and can take advantage of the local college graduating classes.”
His rent is higher than it would be in surrounding communities. “But without a doubt, it’s worth it,” he told BusinessWest. “It is a nicer environment for employees, and in the long run, that is a positive for them and for an employer. They enjoy being here because it’s safe and quiet and there is alternative transportation — buses and walking and biking trails, which cuts down their expenses. Some of our employees ride their bicycles to work, which they couldn’t do before.”
There are many business owners in Northampton who use similar words to describe why they’re located in Paradise City, said Suzanne Beck, executive director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce. She agrees that Northampton is very appealing to young people and professionals because of the lifestyle it offers.
“It combines rural and urban characteristics and has everything from farmland to a vibrant downtown commercial district,” she said. “It’s also very easy to get to, and there are no traffic jams at any time of the day.”
Although rents downtown can be pricey, Beck says there are many different price points throughout the city, particularly for office space. And entrepreneurs thrive in all areas. “Entrepreneurs are attracted to Northampton because there is a very strong entrepreneurial character which is visible due to the mix of retail stores and commercial and professional businesses downtown. The entrepreneurial spirit is tangible here,” Beck said.
In addition, Northampton’s residents are well-rounded. Teri Anderson, the city’s economic development coordinator, says 91% have a minimum of a high-school diploma, and 50% have a bachelor’s degree or higher, making for a highly skilled and educated workforce.
“We also have a very good public-school system and offer business-development assistance through our office to help with site selection, resource and referrals, financial assistance, and business counseling sessions,” she told BusinessWest.
The single tax rate, set at $12.96 per thousand of assessed valuation, is another attractive draw. “It’s pretty low compared to a split tax where commercial and industrial property is taxed at $35 to $40 per thousand,” Anderson said, citing figures from surrounding communities. “And the proximity of the five colleges offers strong research capabilities and access to students for internships.”
Center of Attention
Northampton has a number of business hubs, including its downtown district, King Street and Pleasant Street, the I-91 Industrial Park, Village Hill, Florence Center, and the smaller Leeds Center.
“We have manufacturing and technology here, as well as a strong independent retail and restaurant sector,” Anderson noted. “Plus, Northampton’s commercial property values seem to hold their value even during recessions.”
Space is available for small and medium-sized businesses throughout the city, and opportunities exist at Village Hill, which occupies the grounds of the former Northampton State Hospital, which has been the subject of an ongoing reuse project for more than 20 years.
“Kollmorgen relocated to the village, and there is another 100,000 square feet available on smaller sites; it’s a good spot for small retailers and restaurants,” Anderson said, noting that there is a ready-made market of employees and residents who live in the 90 units on the property.
The downtown area is thriving and sees a steady stream of both foot and vehicular traffic. “We have one of the strongest downtowns in Western New England,” said Anderson. “We’re known as a cultural destination and have a large number of art organizations, businesses, and cultural events which range from art shows to music and concerts. In fact, Northampton has been listed among the top 25 art destinations in the country since 2000 by American Style magazine.”
The Three County Fairground, which serves as a showcase for cultural and agricultural exhibitions, also attracts tourists. “The Paradise City Arts Festival brings thousands of people to Northampton each year from all over New England and New York. It is important to downtown, as it is very beneficial to the retailers and restaurants,” Anderson said.
Pat Goggins has owned Goggins Real Estate for 30 years, and does most of the commercial rentals and sales business in Northampton. He said his job is made much easier because of the town’s well-deserved reputation as a cultural, retail, and culinary center.
“All people have to do is drive through the downtown area to see that it is thriving,” he said. “And the Business Improvement District, led by Dan Yacuzzo, helps make that happen.”
King Street and Pleasant Street benefit due to a ripple effect, he continued. “While they don’t have the same walkability as downtown, they lead directly there and are able to satisfy what the downtown area can’t in terms of demand.”
Meanwhile, Florence offers a village setting and is quieter than the downtown area, which some people appreciate. “It has its own business center and an industrial section in the old mill buildings, where space is available,” Anderson said.
Goggins concurred, and said Florence “has more of a service-based downtown but people love the quaintness and pace there.”
The industrial park is another attractive option. It is home to a wide range of ventures, including VOmax, which makes performance apparel for a number of sports, and relocated there from Plainfield in February of 2007.
“The top three reasons we moved here are access to a trained labor force, access to a major highway and metropolitan areas such as Boston and New York, and available space — we didn’t have the space to expand in Plainfield,” explained owner Michael Restuccia. “And the local access to art and design culture has certainly helped influence some of our newer products and designs.”
He said VOmax has taken advantage of the intelligent, well-skilled college population in the area. “We’ve hired a number of interns to help with initiatives, and have also engaged a local marketing and consulting firm to help build our brand,” he said. “They’ve helped us sign license agreements with the National Basketball Assoc., the National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball teams.”
The city is also becoming known as a prime location for green businesses and companies such as Environmental Compliance Systems Inc., which recently opened a new division in Florence in the Nonotuck Mill.
Thrive Time
Beck said one of the factors that attracts such companies is that the majority of Northampton business owners share similar values. “There are a lot of businesses here that are dedicated to supporting the community as well as their employees,” she said. “They are family-friendly.”
And while business owners and their employees support Northampton, it supports them as well, providing an attractive blend of commerce, activity, the arts, architecture, and, in a word, energy.
For visitors and business owners alike, it is truly paradise found.
Applicants Sought for Leadership Institute
EASTHAMPTON — The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts has created the Leadership Institute for Political Impact to develop future leaders in civic affairs. The institute is now accepting applications for the 2011-12 training cycle. The organization encourages women to think seriously about becoming more involved as civic leaders in their communities and running for office, according to Carla Oleska, CEO of the Women’s Fund. Focusing on areas such as community organizing, the legislative process and policy-making, fund-raising and campaigning, and running for office, the institute gives women the tools and confidence they need to become political leaders. At each training session, a woman working at the elected level presents her experiences. The initiative “perfectly links” the foundation’s emphasis on social change with leadership development, added Oleska in a statement. “We believe that a critical way to address the problems facing our communities is to engage the talents and the input of women at all levels and in all sectors of decision making.” The year-long commitment will begin for new members in September; however, applications are being accepted through June. Applications are available on the foundation’s Web site, www.womensfund.net.
Architect Chosen for Union Station Project
SPRINGFIELD — Boston-based HDR Architecture has been chosen to oversee designs for long-dormant Union Station, which is slated to be renovated into a multi-modal transportation center. The announcement was made at a press conference in Springfield City Hall on April 4. Donald Warner, senior vice president of the company, said construction work on the $70 million project is slated to begin in the summer of 2012 and be completed in 2015. Plans call for renovations to the 200,000-square-foot main terminal building and a refurbished passenger train platform. The existing freight building will be razed and replaced with a 23-bay bus terminal and parking garage.
Bankruptcy Filings Fall 6%
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The number of Americans filing for bankruptcy dropped 6% in the first quarter of 2011 compared to the previous year, two industry groups announced recently. Monday. The number of filings in the first three months of 2011 dropped to 340,012, down from 363,215 filings recorded in the first quarter of 2010, according to data from the American Bankruptcy Institute and the National Bankruptcy Research Center. “Though bankruptcy filings are still elevated, consumers continue to take steps to reduce debt levels and shore up their finances,”said ABI Executive Director Samuel Gerdano said in a statement. The bottom line is that the sharp increase in bankruptcy levels in recent years might be starting to level off, and perhaps even decrease. Personal bankruptcy filings had been climbing steadily since 2007, when the U.S. fell into a deep recession that left millions of Americans unemployed. In 2005 Congress amended the Bankruptcy Code, making it more difficult for Americans to file and sparking a rush to file by October 2005, when the amendments kicked in. In 2005, bankruptcy filings totaled more than 2 million.
Landscape Architects Say More People Are Investing in Their Yards
It’s a concept that gained traction almost a decade ago, in the wake of 9/11: the ‘staycation,’ the desire of homeowners to cut down on travel and instead invest in their homes. Well, area landscape architects are hearing that word again, but for different reasons, namely a lingering recession and high gas prices. In such times, they say, people are more likely to use their vacation savings on something more permanent. That’s good news for a landscaping industry starting to bloom after a couple of years in the rough.
Gas prices have been on the rise for months, with airline fares following suit. That has plenty of people on edge, from would-be vacationers who might stay home this year to the many tourism-reliant businesses in Western Mass.
But there’s a silver lining for one group — landscape architects, who are increasingly hearing that magic word ‘staycation,’ along with rumblings that homeowners might use their vacation funds this year to create a bit of an oasis at home.
“It’s not just the middle- to lower-income people; I think that applies to everyone,” said Bill St. Clair, president of St. Clair Landscaping and Nursery in Hampden. “Let’s face it, people are watching the dollars they spend, and they’re looking to get the most bang for their buck. And I see more people staying home this year, especially since they’re saying gas could hit $5 by midsummer.”
Stephen Roberts, president of Stephen A. Roberts Landscape Architecture & Construction in Springfield, is hearing the same chatter.
“Staycation is the catchphrase — stay at home and enjoy your house; have people over and entertain without the hassles of traveling. It’s huge,” he said. “We’re really focusing on that — creating a nice environment for people at home.”
The stay-at-home trend rivals what the industry saw in the years immediately following 9/11, St. Clair said, but it’s re-emerging for a different reason, namely lingering anxiety over the economy mingled with pain at the pump. These factors, he and others told BusinessWest, are persuading families to reprioritize their extra dollars, putting them toward something more permanent than a week at a resort or on a cruise.
“In the past two years, our industry has been hit as hard as some other industries,” Roberts said, specifically citing the struggles of general contractors and those involved in moving real estate.
“People aren’t purchasing new homes; they’re staying where they are and investing whatever money they have into their homes, for their personal enjoyment,” he continued. “I see that continuing to happen as long as the housing market isn’t doing much. And I see our industry benefiting from people renovating their homes and fixing them up.”
Green Days
When it comes to outdoor spaces, some types of improvements have become especially desirable.
“Outdoor firepits and outdoor, built-in cooking areas are really big,” Roberts said. “Water features are still pretty popular, but people are going more toward urns and sculptural fountains as opposed to fish ponds, just as a way to add quality and the ambience of water without the higher maintenance of a fish pond. Outdoor lights and accent lighting are also gaining momentum with people.”
St. Clair has seen some of the same trends. “We did a good amount of firepits last year,” he said. “In talking to our clients and prospective clients, their outlook was, ‘we’re going to spend more time at home.’ That was helpful to us. People were staying home, and they wanted to fix up their palaces, so to speak. We were doing lots of firepits and water features. We rode that for a good part of the year.”
Brian Campedelli, president of Pioneer Landscapes in Easthampton (see story, page 30), also reports an uptick in homeowners asking for both water and fire features, mingled with hardscapes and different plant materials; he’s also found interest in audio installation outdoors to create additional atmosphere for staycationers.
One growing request, Roberts said, has a back-end economic — and ecological — benefit.
“Rainwater harvesting is another trend that’s hitting our industry. Instead of sending water down the street, you keep it on your property and use it for your irrigation system and general outdoor watering,” he said, noting that other ‘green’ trends are on the rise in landscaping as well.
For instance, some clients, mainly those with larger properties, are converting some portions of their yard to meadows instead of covering every inch with sod or seed. “By making them naturalized areas,” Roberts said, “you reduce the maintenance of the turf; you cut it a couple times a year and add groupings of native shrubs. That reduces rain runoff, and you’re not using as much ferilizer or chemicals.”
The Landscape Management Network blog (lmnblog.com) places such efforts in a general category called ‘ecoscaping,’ which involves making use of green solutions to improve the look of the landscape without sacrificing the health of the environment.
“Some examples of green solutions,” the blog explains, “include rainwater harvesting; a self-contained water feature that recycles the same water; decorative hardscapes, such as more patios, paths, and decks that reduce the need for water and pesticides; retaining walls, which work to reduce runoff; as well as erosion from household chemicals leaking into the yard.”
Roberts said he embraces these trends. “Landscaping makes a huge difference, and it’s up to us to promote these ways of being kinder to our environment.”
Work and Play
While the business of residential landscaping seems to be moving in the right direction, progress on the commercial side has been more sluggish, said Steve Corrigan, president of Mountain View Landscapes and Lawncare in Chicopee, which performs about 90% of its work in the commercial sector.
“We were down last year; we had projects on the books for one to three years prior to that, and once they wrapped up, we didn’t have a lot of projects to fill the bucket,” he told BusinessWest. “If you talk to any of us in the commercial trades, we’re all in the same boat. It’s the same story; competition is so fierce and margins have gotten very low, and it takes more to fill that bucket the way you need to.
“Entering this year, though, I’m cautiously optimistic. We have a bigger backlog than we had in 2010, and I actually have a larger backlog for 2012 projects than 2011 projects,” he added, explaining that landscapers are among the last tradespeople in on a new-construction project, so it might be two years or more between the bid process and actually performing the work.
In the meantime, Corrigan said, “we do some minimal residential design-build work, and we’re seeing a little uptick in that from last year. I’m not worried; I’m optimistic that this year will be better than 2010. But I still think it’ll be even better in a year or two.”
Roberts is anticipating a growth year, too, and St. Clair said 2011 is off to a busy start just based on calls from customers whose landscapes were damaged by the harsh winter, or who have discovered drainage issues. “I think the spring forecast this year is a little bit different than last year due to the winter we had.”
Overall, he said, last year was slightly better than the year before, when the recession was at full force, and he’s encouraged by what he’s hearing this spring from residential customers, even though he knows the industry is not moving at full speed yet.
“People are being cautious with their money because of the economy,” he said. “But you can’t get bored when you’re constantly being challenged. We have work on the books, but it’s been too wet to start. Spring is here, but Mother Nature isn’t letting us out yet. If we can get the weather in our favor, we can get rolling.”
Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]
BDG Continues to Grow in a Competitive Landscape
From left, Richard Klein, Peter Wells, and Mark Darnold say doing a feasibility study of a tract of land before a project begins is cost-effective, as it gives developers valuable information about potential problems.
Many developers have a vision of what they want to build on a piece of property. But bringing that dream to reality, be it residential housing, a school, a park, retail space, or a bank, is a complex undertaking.
It all begins with the land and what it can accommodate. And that’s one of the reasons Berkshire Design Group, or BDG, as it’s known, stands out in a field of competitors. The group, which has an impressive and diverse portfolio of award-winning projects, was founded by landscape architects Peter Wells and Richard Klein. They have done many feasibility studies to insure that tracts are suitable for proposed projects.
It’s a step that some developers skip, which can prove costly in the end.
“We analyze sites to make sure they can accommodate what the developer wants to do on them, and isn’t always possible,” Wells said.
He explained that, if a bank is proposed for a site, the property should be evaluated for zoning and traffic requirements. If the client wants a drive-through, it triggers additional concerns, including where it will exit to the street. There are also requirements that must be met to accommodate the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, wetlands and rare species as well as topographical constraints play a role in determining the cost and feasibility of a project.
“Our training is in landscape architecture, and we strive to protect the land while still allowing development to continue,” said Wells. “We work with the topography, not against it. For example, if a site has varied topography, the road that runs along it will be built to blend in with the landscape.”
The firm’s portfolio is filled with a number of diverse projects. “One of the things that makes us different is that we don’t specialize in any one type of development. We have done everything you can imagine, from master planning for schools and campuses to state parks, shopping centers, malls, and all types of housing developments,” said Klein. “It is unusual for a firm to have experience with so many different types of projects.”
Another benefit, which has helped make BDG the largest and most well-known firm of its type in Western Mass., is that it offers one-stop shopping. Its services include landscape architecture, civil engineering, surveying, zoning and permitting, bidding, and overseeing construction. One of the partners handles every project from start to finish.
The firm opened 27 years ago with Wells and Klein, but since then Mark Darnold and Mark Lindhult have joined them, adding to their ability to oversee large projects. And although the principals could have grown the venture by taking on more project managers, thus relinquishing direct control of some projects, Wells and Klein decided to maintain a hands-on approach and have kept that promise.
“It means that our clients get someone with more than 30 years of experience who is a professional and can see things that a younger staff person may not see,” Klein said.
Ground Level
BDG has been feted with a continual stream of awards over the years, including several for the Rocky Hill Cohousing project in Northampton.
“This was a very sustainable and green project with regards to the site development and stormwater management,” said Wells. “Plus, we created a tremendous amount of open space.”
The company’s most recent award came from AIA New York for two dormitories at Amherst College. “The buildings were done using sustainable practices with an eye toward the traditional classic architecture that is the hallmark of Amherst College,” said Klein. “The design was aesthetically pleasing and functionally exceptional in every facet of the building; we have always strived to be as green as possible even when green wasn’t in fashion.”
The firm cares deeply about its clients’ success, he continued, because the principals believe it reflects back on them. And that has a lot to do with how each building, as well as the overall property, looks when it is finished.
“We want to build projects that people like, will use, and that meet the goals for sustainability,” Klein said, adding that the company has completed many LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) projects. At present, BDG is engaged in a Living Building Challenge as it plans for the construction of an environment classroom at Smith College.
The concept of Living Building Challenges is based on making decisions by addressing environmental, social, and economic problems that can arise, such as habitat loss and the lack of community distinctiveness.
Wells said the principals’ concern for the land goes back to their identity.
“We use sustainable principles in all of our projects,” he explained. “We have evolved over the years, as we started out as landscape architects and added other disciplines. We look at land differently than other professionals, which allows us to guide our clients more holistically and efficiently; if a building looks good and is in character with its surroundings instead of looking like it was forced on the land, it is usually more profitable.”
Decades of experience gives BDG a decided advantage over its competitors. “We can look at and envision opportunities and constraints on a piece of property as well as the permitting hurdles,” Klein explained. “There may be traffic issues, poor soil, or a site may be too steep for various types of development.”
BDG recently conducted a study on a tract of land for a proposed school. “We found it had topographical constraints. It sloped too much to develop any playing fields. If they had used it for that purpose, their budget would have had to increase, and it could have become quite costly,” Klein said, as he sat in the company’s Northampton office in a room covered with mockup boards in all stages of completion. “Because of our depth of knowledge, we are able to inform clients quickly about additional costs during construction.”
Klein said the company’s A-to-Z approach is one of the keys to its success.
“We are able to take a blank piece of land and do a feasibility study on it to see what it can carry in terms of capacity,” he explained. “After that is determined, we do a preliminary design and get all of the permitting approved, then do the construction documents. We bid the project for developers, and we oversee the construction.” BDG can also illustrate a design proposal before ground is broken by employing computer-generated models and animation.
Step by Step
The permitting process is typically complex and takes many months to complete. “We know the regulations. We also have good working relationships with many board members in the surrounding cities and towns in the Commonwealth,” Wells said.
Right now, the company is in the process of developing several of the largest projects in Western Mass., including the $42 million master plan for Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton and the Colvest Group’s $25 million Chicopee Crossing, which is under construction and will include a hotel, retail shops, and restaurants.
Other projects include the new Easthampton High School and two housing developments in that community — an apartment complex with 50 units in an old mill building on Cottage Street, and Parsons Village, a 38-unit affordable-housing development on four and a half acres. Construction on the village is expected to begin in 2012.
BDG also conducted all of the site work and design for the housing at the former Northampton State Hospital, which includes townhouses, single-family, and multi-family rental units. In addition, BDG is on the team working to redevelop the Indian Motorcyle Apartments at Mason Square in Springfield.
“And we are in the permitting process for Northampton’s newest park, which will be built on 30 acres in Florence,” said Wells. Recent work also includes completion of the new $40 million pharmacy building at Western New England College.
Their company’s client list contains a substantial number of repeat customers who like the fact that they don’t have to hire a number of consultants to get the job done.
“Our process is cost-effective and streamlined so there is less chance of scheduling conflicts or mistakes,” Wells explained. “For instance, a developer could go to four firms who would have to coordinate to complete a project. But we can do it all under one roof. And because we are in Western Mass., our focus is here in the Pioneer Valley.
“We know the area, know the local contractors, and know the local bidding processes, as we do a lot of it and have strong relationships with general contractors,” he continued, adding that he and Klein visit their sites often, which insures that things move along smoothly.
Their expertise and reputation has allowed them to develop a broad customer base which reaches to distant shores, including Taiwan, Puerto Rico, New York, Los Angeles, and Atlantic City.
But their real focus is the Pioneer Valley, where they approach projects in a way that shows respect for the environment. And that respect for the land bodes well for the future — both for BDG and for its clients.
The Occupancy Rate Is Rising at One Financial Plaza
Joe Gaffney, vice president of Sales for BKM Total Office, says he wanted to be in downtown Springfield, and One Financial Plaza was the best option.
There were several factors that led to that decision, said Roy, office manager for the local office and a principal with this corporation that has sites up and down the East Coast and as far west as Milwaukee. Chief among them was the desire to be much more visible, he told BusinessWest, but the company also needed some room to grow, and wanted an easier, quicker commute for its 20 employees.
And, like most businesses looking at their space options, GZA wanted an attractive lease deal, one that would enable it to upgrade to better quarters.
In the end, the company was able to draw lines through all those stated wants and needs with a decision to move to One Financial Plaza, a.k.a. 1350 Main St., a.k.a. the Sovereign Bank Building. It should be in its new space on the 14th floor sometime next month. “It’s a move that just makes good sense for us,” said Roy.
Thus, GZA joins a number of companies who have said essentially the same thing, and are therefore helping to turn lights on across some floors that have been dark at One Financial Plaza for several years now.
Evan Plotkin, a principal with NAI Plotkin and co-owner of floors 6-17, said a number of new tenants have been added over the past few years, and there could be more in the pipeline for early next year.
With the recent addition of GZA (taking 7,106 square feet) and BMC HealthNet Plan (12,445 square feet), the occupancy rate in the tower will reach 62%, compared to 39% when the upper 12 floors were purchased in 2007. Overall, 138,089 square feet will be occupied, compared to 86,046 square feet two years ago.
A tenant’s market and the resulting attractive lease rates and amenities, coupled with high occupancy rates in most all other Class A buildings, in both downtown Springfield and area suburbs, have certainly contributed to the increasing popularity of One Financial Plaza, but Plotkin would like to believe there are other reasons.
He told BusinessWest that he’s worked hard to create an environment that businesses want to be in. Efforts have included everything from revitalizing the ornamental fountain along the Court Square side of the property to the rotating art exhibits in the front lobby and other common spaces in the building, to the rack of umbrellas available to tenants who find themselves on the wrong end of unpredictable New England weather.
“We’re creating positive experiences for people,” he said, “and I think this is putting our building into a class all its own.”
News Desk
Joe Gaffney told BusinessWest that he’s had a lot of visitors to BKM Total Office’s space on the 11th floor of One Financial Plaza since the company moved in last April. Some had scheduled appointments, but many just dropped in, he said, to look around what isn’t exactly a product showroom, per se, but rather an office equipped with the very latest office furniture and accessories.
“I call it the ‘work area of the 21st century,’” said Gaffney, vice president of Sales for BKM, as he pointed out things such as the latest in work stations — minus the high cubicle walls — and something called the media:scape, a product designed to enable people to more easily share ideas through state-of-the-art technology. Many people working in One Financial Plaza, but also others from neighboring buildings in downtown Springfield, have come to see and hear about these products, he said, adding that this wasn’t exactly predicted, nor was it among the stated reasons for moving to the tower from a site on Interstate Drive in West Springfield.
Among the motivations that were on that list was a desire to upgrade to something more contemporary — “the place we were in was stale” — as well a need for more efficient space (the company actually went from 3,000 square feet to 2,000 and has plenty of room) and a real desire to be downtown, a departure from the trend of recent years.
“I’m in the habit of supporting hubs — I want to be where the hub of business is,” said Gaffney, adding that he finds himself in downtown Springfield often for business and networking meetings, and decided it made good business sense to slash his commute times.
BKM is one of several companies and agencies that have made 1350 Main their new mailing address over the past year or so. Others include MassDevelopment; the law firm Minnoff, Parish, and Greenhut; the U.S. Government; Cannex Financial Exchanges Ltd.; attorney Daniel Szostkiewicz; Milone & MacBroom; a consulting firm providing civil-engineering, planning, landscape-architecture, and land-survey services; and O&G Industries, a construction-services company.
In total, a dozen or so new tenants, including GZA and BMC HealthNet, will absorb 52,043 square feet. That leaves another 82,491 still dark, but Plotkin says he has a strong prospect sheet and sees many reasons for optimism. For starters, there’s the building’s high retention rate among tenants approaching the end of their leases, including Disability Management Services, which occupies 43,000 square feet.
Meanwhile, Plotkin says he’s witnessing companies moving from the suburbs — and even Northern Conn. — into downtown Springfield, something that wasn’t happening a few years ago. And he’s also hearing a number of positive comments from tenants, even about the parking, or perceived lack thereof.
“We’re seeing companies like GZA coming downtown from places like East Longmeadow,” he said. “I think it’s very encouraging when you see things like that happening. And while I think location is certainly part of the reason, what we’ve been able to do with this building is also a big factor.
“I think this building is now in a class of its own by virtue of the service level we offer,” he continued. “One of the things that I said right from the beginning when I invested in this property is that we had to assemble the best management team that we could. And we have, and that’s because I knew that the biggest risk that I had here wasn’t so much whether I could lease up the building — I knew I could do that — but keeping the ones that we had.”
But Plotkin knows there is still considerable work to do to fill vacant space across several floors of the tower. He said he intends to be aggressive in marketing the space, adding new amenities such as valet parking to address that nagging concern among some prospective tenants, and continue to look for ways to add value to the equation.
The umbrellas are a simple example of such value adding, he said, adding that other, more elaborate efforts include plans for what he called a ‘high-tech conference room’ to be made available to tenants as well as businesses across the region, more art exhibits, and additional events, or “happenings,” as Plotkin called them, aimed at bringing tenants together.
Over the past few years such events have ranged from music programs to an appearance from the Zoo at Forest Park’s Zoo on the Go, to a program featuring exotic birds.
“The plaza here is a place where people come together,” he said. “It’s a whole different feel, and people want that. They like seeing other people around; it feels safe, it feels comfortable, it’s enjoyable on a beautiful day.”
Success Stories
There are still a number of dark floors at One Financial Plaza — nearly 40% of the building remains unoccupied.
But little by little, a few thousand square feet at a time, the tower is gaining new tenants and additional vibrancy.
In short, more people are coming to the same conclusion as Steve Roy — that this mailing address simply makes good sense.
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of October 2010.
AGAWAM
Dream Catchers Café
360 North Westfield St.
Kristin Wampler
Jondani
61 Oak Hill Ave.
Michael Murray
Lunatek LLC
34 Henry St.
Peter Nunnallee
Malone’s Farm & Garden Center
338 Silver St.
Ernest Malone
AMHERST
Clearwater Seafood & Grille
178 North Pleasant St.
Jason Brown
D.P. Dough
96 North Pleasant St.
William T. Rock
The Option Bookstore
Garman Dormitory
John W. Whitney
CHICOPEE
Mutt Cuts
63 1/2 Main St.
Lori Jerusik
The Living Wood
63 Woodbridge Road
Samantha Lavine
Walk-in-Technology
620 Grattan St.
John W. Cote
EASTHAMPTON
Fran’s Fine Editing
6 Cedarwood Ave.
Frances Fahey
Hair It Is
94 Union St.
Jeannie Thibodeau
Integrity Care Association Agency
2 Holyoke St.
Charles Ackerfi
Lynne’s Hair @ Salon O
163 Northampton St.
Lynn M. Dunn
Pepin Farm
491 East St.
Kenneth Pepin
Pierre J. Bechumeur Energy Consulting
11 Holyoke St.
Pierre J. Bechumeur
EAST LONGMEADOW
Alpha Waves DJ’s
84 Oak Brook Dr.
Dan Chrisis
Architecture Environment Life Inc.
264 North Main St.
Kevin Rothschild-Shea
Douglas White Electrical Services
245 Shaker Road
Mario Cardinal
Gebo’s Glass Creations
23 Hazelhurst Ave.
Brian Gebo
Happy Acres Farm
43 South Bend Lane
Ronald I Goldelein
Sleep Management Solutions, LLC
382 North Main St.
Thomas P. Gaffney Jr.
Splash Belle’s Creations
165 Mountainview Road
Mary Kossick
What’s Cooking, Kids?
41 Maple St.
Dorothy Fleishman
GREENFIELD
Celtic Heels
267 Main St.
Cara Leach
HADLEY
Hadley Dry Cleaners
206 Russell St.
Hyeryong Whang
River Valley Dental
63 East St.
Babak Gojgini
HOLYOKE
Ameerah
50 Holyoke St.
Tarek Farousi
Glamour
119 High St.
Efrain Martinez
Icky Sticky Goo Grueser Enterprises
50 Holyoke St.
William Grueser
International Laser Systems
362 Race St.
Edward Sordillo
Reyes Auto Sales
100 Main St.
Oscar Reyes
LONGMEADOW
Change in Action Inc.
PO Box 60222
Susan Choquette
Interior Inspirations
43 Benedict Terrace
Susan Green
Lisa’s Cottage Cleaning
84 Riverview Ave.
Lissa Stone
Longmeadow Stone & Restoration
115 Dover Road
James Nurse
Maid Tough Cleaning Services
1 Henry Road
Kalee Plasse
Technical-Support-for-Senior-Citizens.com
83 Hopkins Place
Thomas Johnson
NORTHAMPTON
Coffee & Heady
23 Hooker Ave.
Donald P. Coffee
The Green Cab Company
1 Roundhouse Plaza
Peter Pan Bus Lines, Inc.
PALMER
Alladin’s Services
9 Charles St.
Raymond Brodeur
C&C Services
8 Crest St.
Marie Skorupski
Maxim Archery
17 Salem St.
Shawn Doran
Voight Energy Saving Technologies LLC
365 River St.
John D. Voight
SOUTHWICK
Cupcake Consignments
272 South Longyard Road
Jodi Nylund
Moments in Time
43 Berkshire Road
Christine Caruso
SPRINGFIELD
Gus Coelho Auto Repair
390 Main St.
Augusto Coelho Jr.
Heavenly Grooming
1648 Carew St.
Norberto Crespo
Howell’s Reupholstering
75 Mulberry St.
Richard Anthony
ICC Inc.
313 1/2 Eastern Ave.
Daniel Tulloch
J Automotive
149 Rocus St.
Timothy A. Cooper
K.A.M. Technology
203 Ellsworth Ave.
Keith A. Millet
Larochelle Construction
79 Lancashire Road
Danny S. Larochelle
Lennox National Account
90 Carando Dr.
Joseph J. Gennari
Mason Square Insurance Co.
886 State St.
Chester-Chester Inc.
Max’s Catering
1000 West Columbus Ave.
Max’s Catering, LLC
Mindscape Technologies
63 California Ave.
Scott A. Dudas
NJ’s Commercial Appliance
1655 Main St.
Jose G. Barbosa
Page Convenience
500 Page Blvd.
Zahdor U. Haq
Pioneer Valley Legal Association
34 Sumner Ave.
Karen J. Murphy
Ruth Family Day Care
44 Lester St.
Ruthnie Alce
Seven Heaven Pest Control
64 Champlain St.
Wilfredo Gonzalez
T-Mobile
774 Boston Road
T-Mobile Northeast
Tax X-Press
921 Worthington St.
Jamal R. Pressley
The Tessier Law Firm
78 Maple St.
Denise R. Tessier
Tom James of Springfield
191 Chestnut St.
Walter Salyer
World Wide Communication
522 Main St.
Othoniel Rosario
WESTFIELD
Got Junk
51 Washington St.
Mark Gilmore
Mundale Farm
1714 Granville Road
William S. Florek
Paul Jandaczek
549 Russell Road
Paul Jandaczek
Pet Rescueville.com
22 Oakcrest Dr.
Barbara Lynch
Pignatare Farms
380 East Mountain Road
Maria J. Pignatare
Preferred Wood Flooring
15 Cranston St.
Chris J. Roit
Tangles
43 Union St.
Cinda Parnagian
The Grape Crusher
20 School St.
Rosanne Bonavita
WEST SPRINGFIELD
Beauty Gate Salon and Spa
1646 Riverdale St.
Konrad Chmiel
Caring Solutions LLC
680 Westfield St.
Patricia L. Baskin
Carter’s
935 Riverdale St.
Carter’s Retail Inc.
Cleanslate Centers LLC
82 Main St.
Total Wellness Centers LLC
Cutting Edge Pro Consulting
42 Chester St.
Stephen M. Sjostrom
D Berry Services
118 Pease Ave.
Donald Berry
Geraldine’s Lounge
1501 Elm St.
Ares Inc.
Jimmy Larochelle’s Finish Carpentry
164 Lower Beverly Hill
Jimmy Larochelle
Just Blaze Barber Shop
409 Main St.
Jose A. Gonzalez
Physician Care West
274 Westfield St.
Reda Ishak
Tatyana’s Hair Salon
1098 Memorial Ave.
Tatyana Yermakov
Tech High Project Is a Complex — and ‘Green’ — Undertaking
An architect’s rendering of the new data center, which will incorporate the façade of the old Springfield landmark.
The recently initiated work to build a data center at the site of the former Technical High School in Springfield is unique in that the façade of the 105-year-old building will be incorporated into the design of the $110 million facility. But beyond this challenging assignment, the project will incorporate a number of energy-efficient systems that will make it truly state of the art. Thus, this is a project that brings the past, present, and future together in one bold initiative.
Transforming the old Springfield Technical High School into a new and secure data center to house the state’s electronic records and serve as the backup for its primary data center is a complex construction and engineering feat.
A tremendous amount of planning has gone into the design of the new facility. It involves erecting a state-of-the-art 149,000-square-foot, energy-efficient building that will be connected to the front and side sections of the school’s historic façade. But the result will be something that not only serves a critical need; it will also put Springfield on the map.
“When it is complete, it will be one of the most energy-efficient buildings of its kind in the world,” said Kevin Flanigan, deputy director for the Mass. Office of Finance and Administration Division of Capital Asset Management. “It is a challenging project that involves a great deal of coordination and quality control due to its complexity.”
Although other data centers are being built across the nation, preserving the front of an old building and three window bays on its sides that measure about 30 feet in length, then incorporating them into a new building design is highly unusual, said Henry Cence, the on-site project manager for Skanska USA Building Inc., which was awarded the contract and has made data centers a specialty.
“It is something you don’t see very often,” he explained as he stood near the school, where water was being sprayed out from an upper-story window to keep the dust down.
Flanigan says the $110 million project is a major investment the Commonwealth has made to revitalize the State Street corridor. “It represents a critical component of our overall effort to bring new life to this part of Springfield,” he said. “This is a highly anticipated project for the city that will also fill an important need.”
The construction will take two years to complete and is expected to create about 200 full-time jobs in addition to 35 information technology positions that will be filled after the project is finished.
“In addition to the economic benefit and revitalization, this will address the state’s need for a highly secure facility that will provide a critical backup for systems used by state workers who need immediate access to information to carry out their jobs,” said Flanigan.
The offices in the building will be housed against the existing brick façade, while the computer rooms and computer systems will be contained within the modern, new two-story structure.
For this issue, BusinessWest gives readers an inside look at what it will take to preserve the exterior of the old brick school and attach it to a building that will become a model for green construction.
School of Thought
Ethel Macleod is the senior associate of architecture for TRO Jung Brannen, and project manager for the data center. She said the exterior of the old high school sits in the historic Quadrangle/Mattoon Street district, but the land behind it, where the new building will be constructed, does not. After several meetings with both state officials and Springfield Historic District members, they agreed that the new construction could take place as long as the front of the old school and sections of both sides were preserved, she explained.
“It was a real challenge to incorporate the old façade with the new addition, which needed to be distinct and not replicate what is already there,” Macleod noted, adding that the design had to include a fence to meet security specifications. “Our original plan had to be modified to preserve the historic character of the exterior.”
The final plan calls for a steel fence that will resemble wrought iron to reflect the neighborhood’s character.
The windows also had to considered. “We removed them, but have taken care to save them so the manufacturer will be able to match the sizes and create identical windows that are energy-efficient replicas of the old ones,” said TRO Jung Brannen Principal Sandy Smith.
Part of the building was demolished several years ago to make room for the new federal courthouse. But removing the remainder of the building is no easy task, and cannot be done without a great deal of preparation.
Steve Eustis, senior vice president of Skanska USA Building, explained that a temporary steel skeleton must be built to provide support for the existing façade. “Structural steel will be anchored to the footings at the front of the building near the sidewalk on Elliot Street during the first phase of the project. Once the skeleton is installed, it will support the new masonry work that needs to be done on the inside of the façade,” Eustis said.
The next step will be the demolition of most of the building, followed by excavation of a new foundation that will be larger and deeper than the old one. The remainder of the old foundation will be filled in, and the temporary skeleton will remain in place until a permanent steel skeleton is put up and the roof is finished. In order to maintain authenticity, however, the old bricks will be salvaged and reused to infill the basement windows that line the front of the façade.
Smith said the new building will have aluminum-framed glass curtains of walls in the building’s two glass stair towers, as well as at the front entrance to the lobby. The remainder of the building will be made up of terra cotta panels clipped to a substrate.
The preliminary underground infrastructure work will begin this fall, and the project is expected to reach completion in the summer of 2012. The facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will contain many sophisticated systems that will provide backups to the primary systems, so operations can continue even if electricity or water power is lost.
Down to a Science
Since data centers consume a tremendous amount of energy, Smith said the goal of the design process for the Springfield Project was to create a structure that would serve as a showcase for green technology.
“Many strategies were incorporated that are sustainable and energy efficient,” she said, adding that when the building is complete, the state plans to seek a USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) gold certification.
“The design included selecting materials that are energy and water efficient and will sustain the environment in the building,” said Smith. “There are a number of ways to achieve this, but among the more unique is daylight harvesting, which will be done using sensors in the lighting system. When there is enough daylight, the lights will go off. Plus, 90% of the occupants will have daylight views.”
Stormwater will also be collected and used in the cooling towers. “Another strategy that is very innovative is the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system, which will allow us to take advantage of free cooling in the spring and fall; we are using very energy-efficient plumbing fixtures and also reducing the heat-island effect, which occurs when surfaces soak up sun and become too hot,” Smith said. This will be accomplished by installing a white, reflective roof and reflective paving in the parking lot, sidewalks, and driveways.
The fact that the computer systems will run continuously creates a challenge, because they generate a lot of heat, she continued. “Computer equipment is very sensitive to heat so there is a tremendous need to generate cooling to keep the center at the appropriate temperature, along with the problem of what to do with the waste heat,” Macleod said. “Some systems expel it, but ours will capture it and reuse it, which is part of our HVAC strategy.”
Energy star equipment and servers will be installed in the computer areas, and the designers are working with Western Mass. Electric Company to maximize utility rebates. “They are helping to identify energy-efficient equipment, which allows us to install more than we would without the program. We are optimistic that the project will benefit greatly from the rebates,” Flanigan said.
Energy-saving measures are also being taken during the construction process. “We are diverting waste from the demolition and construction activity and will recycle 75% of all the waste,” Smith explained. In addition, designers are using carpet, ceramic, acoustical tiles and other products from companies within a 500-mile radius to reduce transportation costs.
Eustis said Skanska has done several billion dollars worth of work on data centers throughout the world, including one that is almost finished in Utah.
“The information age is exploding and creating a tremendous demand for data centers in both the public and private sector,” he said. “Businesses are much more dependent on information sharing. But this design is among the most efficient you will find anywhere with today’s technology.”
It will also stand as an intriguing example of how architects and construction firms can work together to create new history in an old building and change the face of a neighborhood with environmentally friendly measures.
Demographics, Economics, and Going Green Impact How the Office Looks and Feels
Ron Gordenstein says many of today’s offices are designed to facilitate a new culture of collaboration.
It’s no longer as simple a job as picking out the color of paint on the walls and the type of carpet in the hallway, says Debra Freedman.
As senior designer for Corporate Designs NE, she and Maria Czupryna, vice president of operations, said that interior design comes with an ever-increasing and shifting set of demands for the 21st-century office.
Many of these changes are strictly aesthetic, they said, with professional spaces mirroring current residential design. “There’s more of a ‘Pottery Barn’ quality to people’s aesthetics now,” Freedman explained.
But the modern office is reinventing not only the look based on current designs found in shelter magazines, but the very way that business within those walls is conducted.
Mary Wilczynski, design principal of Spec’s Design in Springfield, said that “jobs are changing so rapidly, and there’s a lot of movement within an organization. Current design reflects those needs.”
The days of the Dilbert-style cubicle are a thing of the past, said Ron Gordenstein, referring to that comic-strip portrayal of life in a droning example of corporate America. As president of Broadway Office Interiors of Springfield, Gordenstein said that his firm designs efficient and smaller work areas, “either to fit more people into that square footage,” he explained, “or to allow collaborative areas to happen, so that the business doesn’t have to find larger real estate.”
Such redesign of the nature of the workplace maintains an important concept of flexibility, he said, and furnishings and partitions are requested to maintain that goal. Reversible, L-shaped returns on desks and other modular concepts are a good means to allow furniture to be moved around the office.
“Let’s face it,” he said. “Office furniture is expensive. You want to make sure you’re making the best possible investment.”
Many trends have been introduced into the modern workplace, not the least of which is the concept of making the office greener. While finishes and furnishings can assist in a non-toxic environment, architect Steve Jablonski looks outside of the box — at the ‘box’ itself.
Using the term “adaptive reuse,” Jablonski is a local proponent of renovating existing, older structures to become contemporary workplaces. There are challenges to integrating high-tech and code-compliant infrastructure to these buildings, but he is committed to seeing these projects as the best possible use of resources.
For this issue, BusinessWest spoke to several design professionals to help get a better look at the specifics of the modern office, and how that institution is being reinvented, from the inside out.
Opening the Floor
Wilczynski said that, for the first time in her 25 years in the industry, some major changes are underway in how offices are designed, furnished, and, in some cases, how they operate.
“We used to have private offices in cubicles,” she explained, “but what we’re now seeing are those cubicle heights coming down, a lot more collaboration with project-driven teams, and less distinction between workstation designs. Before you’d have a supervisor, a manager with two side chairs, a technical person with one side chair, a data-entry person with a very small workstation. But now that footprint of the workstation is getting smaller and is being more universally designed.”
At Broadway Office Interiors, Gordenstein agreed that the changing nature of work practices has dictated a significant change in the workplace itself. He said that one of the most common terms he uses in meetings with clients is ‘collaboration.’
“When I first started in this industry,” he said, “I don’t think we ever used that term in a sales presentation. But today, I often ask, ‘tell me how your staff works with each other, and how they interact. How do they collaborate with one another to solve the problems of your business?’”
While this phenomenon would seem to be the style of creative-based offices and smaller boutique firms, Gordenstein said it is becoming common across all industries and among businesses of all sizes. “Companies aren’t staffed the way they once were,” he continued. “You have fewer people doing the same amount of work. In many cases there’s also a crossing over of traditional job descriptions. No longer does Mary do this and John does that. Now Mary and John do the work of three or four people.
“Inherently you have a need for better communication,” he added.
To illustrate this point, Gordenstein referred to one of his larger clients, a firm with more than 200 employees. Everyone in the office, from the president on down, sits within a space framed by panels that are 42 inches high.
“You can’t help but see, hear, and feel everything that’s going on around you,” he said.
Elise Irish of Spec’s Design added that, for companies operating with less staff, employee retention is more important than ever. “If you want to hold onto them, and you want them to do as much as possible, then you’ve got to give them the right environment.”
Across the table, Wilczynski added, “especially with Gen X and Gen Y, who might look to move through companies more rapidly, employers recognize that they have to design to a younger population.”
Addressing that workforce, with younger ages and attitudes, Wilczynski said that more ‘fun’ is being introduced to the office environment. Employers strive to fashion workspaces that closely mirror a more residential formula, with lounge areas and designated areas for staff to congregate and interact.
Explaining the benefits of such an office, Irish said that “you spend more time in your work environment than you really do in your home, and I think employers are aware of that. If you’re in a creative environment, you are more likely to think outside of the box.”
To help create a workplace that is less stressful, employers are looking for more ways to look after the health and well-being of their staff. Freedman says that in-house gyms have become more common, and one of her rural clients landscaped hiking trails around the facility.
“It’s very important for the employer to satisfy the needs of the employees,” she explained, “to show that they are valued, and that the boss is looking after them. They’ll do better work, and in the end, there’s better productivity.”
Trade Talk
The evolving workforce, with increased numbers of telecommuters, has introduced a new lexicon to the design trade.
It’s not just people who work from home, Wilczynski added, but staff that are encouraged to be out in the field, without the requirements of a full office.
These types of workers might share workspace, she said, “and the name for this style of space is the ‘touch down’ spaces — where your storage is separate, but you share a workstation. When you come in those one or two days per week, you bring your wheeled storage station to the work area, and it’s plug and play … no more leaning under the desk to get to outlets.”
But these aren’t restricted to non-traditional employees, Gordenstein said, but rather a non-traditional style of work. “A lot of employees today don’t sit at their desk all day long,” he said. “They have mobile technology, they’re walking around … they are in another employee’s office. So we create generic meeting spaces that are accessible and quick. They can be a simple table in the department, or a quiet meditative space for someone to read a trade journal, also.”
He added ‘hotelling’ to the new vocabulary of his industry.
“If you’re an outside salesperson,” he explained, “I as the employer don’t pay you to sit at your desk all day long. I need you out meeting clients and selling. If I make it too comfortable, you’re going to stay at your desk.”
Green Is Good
Another measure of creating a healthy workplace is the renewed importance of building and maintaining a green office.
When sales reps show her the latest in furniture and accessories, Irish said that the green option is always the first to be presented. “Because those questions do come up more and more now with our clients: what chemicals are used, were the components sustainably produced,” she explained.
Her colleague agreed with her, and added that tax breaks don’t exist for green office design to a great extent, so clients aren’t pursuing LEED certification, “but they are designing to it,” Wilczynski said.
“And we’ve been designing to it for about three years now,” she continued. “All of our specifications are written for finishes with low VOCs — we are very conscious about the products that we put into spaces. Regardless of whether a client wants to pursue the LEED plaque, we’re still finding a strong movement to designing greener spaces.”
Czupryna said that, while her office has also been seeing an increased use of green components in design, that consciousness extends to any material removed during office rehab. “It’s important to take it another step and take the older materials that have been removed and then recycle them,” she said. “The clients appreciate that we too are doing our bit.”
But going green can often come at a price that clients cannot carry. Gordenstein agrees that green is a popular phenomenon, yet, he added, “customers will ask me about ‘green,’ but they don’t really understand what it means, nor are they prepared to pay for what it means, or make the commitments for what it means.”
But greening the office often is a measure of changing technology as well. Wilczynski said that, as large central copy stations have been rendered irrelevant by desktop, all-in-one printers, those large spaces are now turned over to central recycling stations.
“And it’s the first time in my career that we are seeing the realization of the paperless office,” she continued. “It’s been a buzzword since I started 25 years ago, but it’s finally here. Technology has caught up.”
Everything Old Is New Again
Steve Jablonski sees the movement toward greener office spaces from a different perspective. The Springfield architectural firm that bears his name is well-known for its interest in historical redevelopment.
“With the emphasis on the environment and carbon footprints,” he said, “people are finally starting to say, ‘what’s the greenest thing you can possibly do?’— well, how about reusing what is already there?”
He agrees that it is easier to tear down and build from scratch; “that way, when you design a square, you get a square,” he said, simplifying the complexity of redeveloping older structures. But, he added, these resources are not only a link to history, but also to project cost.
“It’s a matter of enlightening the client to get over the hump of thinking it’s cost-prohibitive,” he explained of adaptive reuse of older buildings. “To knock down an existing building isn’t cheap. And all the hazardous waste has to go somewhere. So people are saying, ‘wait, I have to pay that much to throw it all away?’
“If you take the long-term picture,” he continued, “let’s say that in ten to 20 years you might come out ahead with the cheaper, bland office structure. But if you take the 50- to 100-year approach, that cheap and bland structure is going to need to be replaced itself. Whereas these buildings with character that have been modernized at first might be 10% to 20% higher in cost overall, but then after 50 years it’s still going strong.”
Admittedly, such a timeline is not suited to the budget concerns of every client, but for higher education, this is not only good for the schools’ mission to go green, but in many cases an important link to honoring their own history.
Jablonski unfurled the plans for a building project currently underway at Springfield College. Formerly called the Judd Gymnasium, the elegant, 19th-century brick structure is being converted to office and museum space, and has been rechristened the Stitzer YMCA Center.
The building’s older warren of rooms was quirky, he said, but he praised the vision of college President Dr. Richard Flynn, who had the initiative to make this the new showpiece of the campus.
It can often be a hybrid of architecture and archaeology, Jablonski said, during these projects. Pointing to a large room at the Stitzer Center, he said, “we took out the drop ceiling and restored the truss roof. People walk in and say, ‘this is beautiful, what you’ve done.’ But really, all we did was bring back what was already there.”
Springfield College joins the ranks of many other campuses across the country in the successful adaptive reuse of buildings, he said, adding quickly that “it takes leadership on the part of design people to take the initiative to use these spaces.”
He emphasized the importance of good office design as an important role for people like himself, and the people who furnish those rooms. But, ultimately, he credits the client for their acceptance of these reinvented workplaces.
“There’s only so much you can do as a designer to lead people along,” he said. “But if they’re not following, you’re not going to get far.”
Intriguing Business Opportunity Comes Into Focus
Denise Smith says her company can help other companies with the crucial task of projecting a positive image.
“Let’s just they’re computer-enhanced; we have a little magic formula, or something we do in Photoshop to enhance the image to give it more of an artsy look,” she told BusinessWest, opting to be rather vague about what she does to images to give them such a unique quality that they’re now hanging in several area businesses and executives’ offices.
They can be seen in the main lobby of NUVO Bank’s facilities in Tower Square, for example, and also in several Hampden Bank branches, including Longmeadow, Indian Orchard, and West Springfield. Meanwhile, Russell Denver, president of the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield, has several of Smith’s images of downtown Springfield hanging in his office in the TD Bank building.
If it were up to Smith, her works would be appearing in many more area businesses. Such exposure would be clear evidence of success with a new business endeavor she launched roughly a year ago. Called Corporate Images, the venture is an offshoot of a photography studio that has, for more than 20 years, focused mostly on family and bridal portraits.
And it’s one that Smith believes has enormous growth potential, because it has several components — everything from headshots of a company’s employees to photographs that can be used on a Web site, to images of people and places that can be put on an office’s walls.
“Image is everything for a business,” she explained. “And we can help a company project a very positive image, from the look and feel of its Web site to the office décor that says so much about the company.”
Tracing the history of how a hobby turned into a multi-faceted business, Smith said she had only a passive interest in photography until high school, when her uncle, a professional photographer, passed away and her father bought all his equipment and gave it to her.
She took a few classes in photography at area colleges, developed an affinity for the art, and eventually took a job with Loring Studios doing mostly high-school yearbook work. After a few years, she left Loring for another studio, but always yearned to go into business for herself.
In 1989, she did, with the launching of Denise Smith Photography in her home in Longmeadow.
Over the next several years, she built up a solid reputation for children’s photography, and is best known for her portrait work, which includes a suite of services under the brand name Bella Donna (‘beautiful woman’ in Italian), specifically photography of brides, mothers, and mothers-to-be.
Seeking to diversify in a competitive marketplace, Smith launched Corporate Images in the summer of 2009 to focus on a different and potentially lucrative market — the business community. And she said her work with NUVO and, later, Hampden Bank provided much of the inspiration for the new venture.
At NUVO, Smith was commissioned to capture what she called “different angles” of Springfield that would go well beyond conventional shots of landmarks such as the Campanile, Symphony Hall, and the Memorial Bridge.
“Sometimes the biggest challenge is to capture images that everyone is already so familiar with, and generate a product that is so different from what other photographers have already created,” she explained. “We worked to create a result that truly speaks of how beautiful Springfield is and how vibrant our community is, from motorcycles to architecture to rock and classical music.”
That result includes several unique views of downtown, including one looking south from the North End, as well as a set of images of the entertainment district during one of the so-called ‘biker nights.’ There are also several tight shots of architectural elements from historical buildings, and one dramatic image (actually three different images pieced together) from opening night at Symphony Hall.
For several Hampden Bank branches, Smith put together a snapshot (or several of them) of the community in question. In Longmeadow, for example, the branch’s walls hold images of the town library, Community Center, and old cemetery, and even the fire department, gathered on and around one of its pumpers.
Many of the images now hanging in these various venues, as well as dozens more on Smith’s Web site (www.denisesmithphotography.com) are printed on canvas and computer-enhanced to provide that quality that makes them look like paintings.
This technique, coupled with the use of different angles or views of a specific subject, has prompted Smith to adopt the marketing line, “we take the ordinary and make it something extraordinary.”
In addition to works that can be displayed on office walls, Smith is also handling a number of assignments for companies’ Web sites, especially portraits of key personnel. This is just one component of the multifaceted business that she expects will develop into a highly successful branch of her larger photography business.
Moving forward, Smith hopes her current displays and other forms of marketing will build awareness of her work, and her venture, and thus help expand the portfolio. And she’s being aggressive and imaginative in the pursuit of ways to create visibility.
For example, she’s currently working with the Springfield Business Improvement District and its director, Don Courtemanche, on a special project — photographing the inside of Springfield’s old Court Square Hotel for an exhibit, slated for this fall, designed to spur interest in the restoration of that landmark.
“These are really never-before-seen images,” she said, adding that she has now been in the hotel several times for some shooting. “It’s very run down in there, but there is a lot of beauty still left. There is some beautiful woodwork on the staircases, for example. And on each floor, there are original wall murals that depict different eras in Springfield’s history, and they are just fabulous.
“I have a lot of very interesting shots of rooms, hallways, and the walls, and the exhibit should be very interesting,” she continued. “These are things that not everyone can just get in and see.”
Creating works that people don’t see often, if ever, is the broad mission behind Smith’s work and her various business ventures. You might say she’s focused on the big picture — in more ways than one.
— George O’Brien
Area Architects Have Designs on Business Improvement in 2010
Christopher Riddle, left, and John Kuhn say the recession has altered the landscape for architects in a number of ways.
The economic downturn hit the construction sector across the board, from builders all the way back to the architects themselves. While the historic effects are reportedly on the wane for this industry, local architects draw up their own tales of the Great Recession, and offer some thoughts on how they will recognize the signs of recovery.
Growing numbers of competitors from outside of the region, private-sector financing not readily available for new construction, and cutbacks in staff numbers and workdays … wait, wasnt this just reported about the construction sector?
Recently BusinessWest spoke to the people holding the hammers about the nature of the building trades and how the economy was affecting them in unprecedented ways. While area tradesmen knew the news wasnt very good, most reported on how they are successfully navigating these turbulent times.
However, another key component of the construction sector, the architecture industry, has also been finding its business hit, and hit hard, by many of those same forces, and they too have undertaken measures for successfully riding out the economic downturn.
John MacMillan is president of Rheinhardt Associates in Agawam. Like construction workers out in the field, he said that competitors from outside the area have been bidding on design jobs in numbers hes never seen in his 25 years in the industry. Its very fierce, he told BusinessWest.
But while industry analysts foresee the potential for grim times ahead in the construction sector, architects and those who monitor the industry have designs on a much better 2010.
Kermit Baker is the chief economist for the American Institute of Architects, and in that organizations Billings Index, a monthly measurement of the number of projects on the boards for architectural firms, he reported that, while billings were at historically depressed levels in March, that months confidence index of 46.1 reflected an increase from Februarys 44.8.
This figure is the highest recorded since August 2008, and while an index rating over 50 is a mark of growth in the industry, Marchs numbers indicate a four-point increase over the previous two months.
We could be moving closer to a recovery phase, Baker reported, expressing that old faithful known as cautious optimism. But he added that firms are still reporting an unusual amount of variation in the level of demand for design services, from improving to poor to virtually nonexistent.
Its a familiar story for architects in Western Mass., who say their firms have faced challenges like nothing theyve seen before. For this issue, BusinessWest looks at the blueprints for the business of architecture, and what designs some area firms have for a hopeful 2010.
Big Fish in a Small Pond
Leon Pernice has been designing buildings from his home office in West Springfield for close to 50 years office buildings at the Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, several area churches, the municipal center of Brimfield, and numerous senior residential facilities.
Like everyone else, he said that competition has reached numbers that hes never seen.
For such competition, he added, the number of jobs that his firm usually bids has dropped in reverse proportion. Theres work out there, he said, but much less private work and more public. And when I say more public work, that doesnt mean theres a lot of it, though.
For smaller projects, he said, firms are coming from far afield, which was once only the case for the largest regional jobs.
While large, high-profile projects typically had drawn architectural firms from all over the nation, something that Pernice said was perfectly understandable, the top-tier projects are often financed by boards of directors or trustees who have different criteria for their selection process, he said diplomatically, adding that he is unsettled by the fact that the smallest jobs also now see bidders from outside the area.
When you have municipalities assigning their smallest work to architects out of the area I dont know how that works, he said while shaking his head.
MacMillan agreed, noting that his firm has faced competition from outfits that never went after this market, meaning mid-scale to larger scale projects such as the Berkshire Medical Center, Belchertown Fire Department, Agawam police station, and currently the Holyoke Multi-Modal facility, among others.
A lot of those offices are Boston-based or, in some cases, from New York. We never used to see them before, he said. Were getting firms that used to work at a different tier high-design firms from Boston or Cambridge, 100-plus offices with business-development staff and marketers.
For ourselves, having this competition, with the bigger guys bottom feeding, he continued, weve had to shift some focus onto projects that used to be too small for us. Thats where we are now.
Rheinhardt Associates has been designing for the public sector for more than 50 years, he said, and with stimulus projects and municipal upgrades that cant be put off, that sector is where design work is holding steady.
In order to compete for the larger projects that come to bid, MacMillan said that his firm has taken a cue from the competition to remain a key player.
Weve teamed with larger firms, he explained. We realize that is what we have to do, because the day is not here where we can land the largest projects on our own, especially not with the competition.
When the projects are local, he continued, that regional expertise is what we can bring to the table. Sure, its a smaller piece of the pie, but at the end of the day, we are supporting this firm competing against other large firms. This is unusual for us. In a better climate, the locals might carry the day entirely, but these are not the times for that.
Back to School
As the current principal of Juster Pope Frazier Architects in Northampton, Kevin Chrobak said that some words of wisdom from one of the founders sketches out a winning plan for his firm.
Jack Frazier used to have this saying, you have to learn to enjoy the slow times as well as the fast times, he said.
As a means to that end, Chrobak said that JPF has a policy of flex time for employees, one of its techniques for riding out the economy. Its a win-win situation here, he explained, which gives people the ability to deal with their own schedules as they see fit. People have used flex time to spend more time with their families without really impacting our ability to do projects. It also makes them a bit more appreciative of working here.
And during straightened times, he added, the firm doesnt sweat the bottom line on a 40-hour workweek.
But JPF is fortunate as a smaller firm, with only six employees, not to be facing tough decisions at their drafting tables or their accounting ledgers.
We have a strong portfolio of repeat clients, with decent projects, he said. But our size allows us to stay largely outside the harsh effects of the downturn. The bigger firms might feel the need to constantly bring in new projects, but we dont really feel that burden.
For a small office, Chrobaks firm is responsible for numerous big-ticket projects, such as the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, the Longmeadow Fire Station, and the Springfield Visitor Information Center, to name just a few. He says that repeat clientele has been a major player in JPFs strength and vitality through the recession.
Having diverse clients and a diverse portfolio has helped us very well, he said. But while his office stays busy with numerous projects, Chrobak said that he is aware that the number of projects in the area is small. Theres just not a lot of new construction out there.
UMass Amherst is consistently a source for much of the areas vitality in design and construction, Chrobak said, adding that they are a real boon to our firm as a source of design work for us, and the construction industry in general. Theyre one of the few organizations that are doing any construction work on that scale. I dont think they get enough credit for that.
Christopher Riddle, a principal with Kuhn Riddle Architects in Amherst, made a wave-like motion with his hand to describe the variation he sees for this areas architectural business, specifically addressing the market for educational work that has neither real highs nor lows. UMass and the overall strength of higher education has been a great lifeline for the regions architects, he said.
They have fluctuations, to be sure, he said, but they dont go away altogether. They dont go up and down with a great amplitude, but stay fairly regular with a consistent volume. A lot of our business is either directly or indirectly associated with the health of the education industry in Western Mass.
Other sectors that are engaging projects are also known for their overall stability. Health care continues to draw new business, as does the transportation industry, which MacMillan said is responsible for a large part of his firms current planning.
In addition to the Maple Street project for the Holyoke transportation center, MacMillan said the PVTA is responsible for a good volume of work in rehabilitating many of its older structures. That repair and renovation market, he said, is a source of a lot of design work for many architects in the area.
Crediting UMass Amherst again, Chrobak applauded its House Doctor renovation program as a good source of work for many area firms, including his own for the past 20 years. Essentially it is a program whereby a small group of architects are hired on retainer to work on an equal number of projects for renovation.
A lot of local firms really rely on that, he said.
Sketching It Out
Riddles partner, John Kuhn, expects this recession to have a lasting impact on architecture.
There is a shift toward sustainability and green systems, he said. And I think the days of subdivisions with McMansions on cul-de-sacs with funny names is over. Thats a completely dead market.
In agreement, Riddle said that clients have had a renewed focus on buildings systems, with an eye towards energy efficiency and alternative means of making a building economically viable, not just at the ribbon cutting, but for a longer span of time.
Since the recession officially started in the fall of 2008, he said that KR has tackled four LEED-certified projects totaling $17 million. Its design for New England Environmental, an Amherst-based consulting firm, aims to be a LEED platinum structure, the highest level of certification.
Riddle said that energy systems are a particular interest of his, and he hopes this renewed enthusiasm drives more design projects in the future. We spend a lot of time trying to optimize new construction, he said, trying to keep the energy consumption of new buildings down. It doesnt matter how sophisticated new buildings are now. Thats easy. What you have to do is try to figure out how to deal with the enormous, vast numbers of existing buildings.
Opting to look at the current market in a positive light, Kuhn said that this recession brought a lot of creative change to the industry.
Its a very exciting time, in many ways, for architecture, he continued. The types of buildings that were working on, and the way we deliver projects, are all changing. The key is to stay nimble.
Architectural Rendering
Responding to the positive forecast from the AIA, Kuhn said that he reads the industry reports, but he doesnt take them too seriously.
I dont track the stock market, he explained, nor do I take to heart what I read on the front page of the paper. What I think of as indicators are the people you run into every day on a job site, what you hear from them at the coffee shops. What is the housepainter or carpenter or building owner seeing and saying?
Those field notes are one way to find hope for an industry-wide turnaround, he said, but when all is said and done, hell know that business is picking up when the phones start ringing again.
Drawing upon the experience of increased firms at public bids, Pernice said that, for him, recovery will be manifest in smaller numbers of those competitors from out of the area.
Ill know it when you go to an open review session for a project to find eight people there instead of 28, he said.
MacMillan said that his projections are for a flat quarter ahead, with his firm staying busy, but with smaller-scale and shorter-term projects than he is used to.
We usually carry a backlog thats anywhere from five to eight months, he said, and thats very healthy. Today, its down to two months, max. When I start seeing a bigger backlog, Ill feel comfortable.
But echoing the hopeful uncertainty from most in this industry, he said that all it takes is one significant project to turn the tide altogether.
That would be a huge bump for us, he said. So, it could be next week, or next month.
The following building permits were issued during the month of April 2010.
| CHICOPEE City of Chicopee MLJD Realty Trust EAST LONGMEADOW Shaker Bowl GREENFIELD John Chikalos Spike Segundo, LLC HADLEY Richard Hollrock Shardool Parmar HOLYOKE Loomis House Inc. LUDLOW Ludlow Lodge of Elks NORTHAMPTON Brian Smith Clarke School for the Deaf Hampshire Management Group Northampton Brewery Peter Whalen | Yankee Wood Industries Inc. SOUTHWICK SRZ, LLC Westfield Bank SPRINGFIELD Baystate Medical Center Big Y Trust C&W Shopping Center, LLC City of Springfield Glorious Gospel Church Splitfinger, LLC Springfield College WESTFIELD Granville Road, LLC Westfield Bank WEST SPRINGFIELD Affordable Shoes C’Jack Realty Associates, LLP John Naqvi |
Advanced Manufacturing Conference, Continuum Coming to the Region
SPRINGFIELD — The first highly concentrated, cluster-centric, regional manufacturing conference of its kind will be held Sept. 23 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. The event, called the Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Competition & Conference (AMICCON), is being staged in response to growing recognition among area manufacturers and supply-chain members that there is an urgent need to find and meet one another. “AMICCON was formed to identify who’s here in manufacturing, expose them to OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] and procurement, and to make these introductions,” said co-founder Ellen Bemben. “The ultimate goal is to be the advanced manufacturing region in the U.S., where exotic manufacturing, such as micro, nano, and precision meet higher specifications and tighter tolerances, and short runs are the norm.” Industry sectors to be represented at the event will include plastics and advanced materials, precision machining, paper and packaging, electronics, ‘green’/clean technology, and medical devices. Business opportunities in defense and aerospace will also be highlighted at the event. OEMs and their supply chains are being invited personally to participate. “AMICCON is also a new consortium on innovation that also delivers manufacturers to innovators and new markets in order to cause new business,” said Gary Gasperack, vice president and general manager (retired) of the Spalding Division of Russell Corp. “We are very excited about introducing it to our region.” The Mass. Export Center has already produced two programs for AMICCON: an Export Experts Panel, and a seminar, “International Traffic in Arms Regulations for Defense and Aerospace Export.” Planning of the event has been ongoing since last fall among founding members that include Stan Kowolski, president of FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp.; Eric Hagopian, president of Hoppe Tool; Anne Paradis, president of MicroTek; Joe Peters, president of Universal Plastics; Ann Pieroway, president of the Mass. Export Center; and Jeff Sattler, president of NUVO Bank. More details on AMICCON and registration information will be announced in the coming weeks, said Bemben.
SPHS Announces Departure of President, CEO McCorkle
SPRINGFIELD — The Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS) announced recently that Vincent McCorkle, president and CEO, will be leaving the organization to become president and CEO of Akron General Health System in Akron, Ohio, and will begin his new position on July 1. McCorkle has served as president and CEO for the SPHS since October 1997. Prior to being named to those positions, he served from 1996 to 1997 as executive vice resident of SPHS. He joined SPHS in September 1993 as president and CEO of the Acute and Ambulatory Care Network, the position he held until 1996. McCorkle has been an active community leader since moving to Springfield in 1993. He has served on the boards of numerous community agencies, such as the Economic Development Council, Business Friends of the Arts, the Springfield YMCA, United Way of the Pioneer Valley, the Springfield Urban League, and many others. In 2006, he was recognized with the Pynchon Award, the region’s most distinguished service award. “The decision to leave the Sisters of Providence Health System was incredibly difficult,” said McCorkle in a prepared statement. “It has been a privilege and an honor to have served the community through the healing ministry of the Sisters of Providence Health System. It has also been my privilege to serve with a team of the most talented and dedicated physicians, nurses, other professionals, and support staff that you will find anywhere in health care. Although my professional journey leads me to new challenges at Akron General, I am grateful for the time with SPHS and the Greater Springfield community. I will truly miss my SPHS colleagues and the many Western Mass. community and business leaders I have had the pleasure of working with.” Dr. David Chadbourne, chairman of the SPHS board of trustees, praised McCorkle for his work with the system and in the community. “Vince has provided the Sisters of Providence Health System with 17 years of dedicated and committed service and visionary leadership,” he said “He guided SPHS through some challenging financial times and led several innovative initiatives that have resulted in the expansion of SPHS’ programs and services. He has left an indelible mark on an organization that, thanks in large part to his hard work, is well-poised to continue the healing legacy of the Sisters of Providence well into the future.” The Board of Trustees has named Dr. William Bithoney, chief medical officer of the SPHS and chief operating officer of Mercy Medical Center, as the interim CEO. Bithoney will serve in this role until the conclusion of a national search for McCorkle’s permanent successor.
Poll Shows Casino Support, with Limitations
BOSTON — A recent survey conducted by Western New England College shows that most adults support casinos in the Bay State, but many don’t want one in their own community. The telephone poll of more than 500 adults conducted in mid-April, and partly during a floor debate on casinos on Beacon Hill, found that 58% support the approval of casinos for the state, while 35% are opposed. The poll also found that 53% in the state are opposed to a casino in their community, while 41% would support it.
UMass Entrepreneurship Initiative Stages Contest
AMHERST — The UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative (UMass EI) recently awarded seed capital to aspiring student entrepreneurs through its seventh Executive Summary Competition, which is sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. The competition consisted of businesses ranging from ladies’ shoes to investment consulting in Haiti. A notable feature of this year’s competition was the very strong performance by students from Mount Holyoke College. This year’s top place was a tie between two teams. Filmix was awarded $750. The company enables independent filmmakers to post their work online, where customers may sample and download the films. The team consisted of Vladislav Yazhbin, a triple major at UMass (Mathematics, Computer Science, and individualized major in Human Computer Interaction) and Vennie Encheva, a triple major at Mount Holyoke College (Mathematics, Economics, and Politics). Also awarded $750 was Rocky Mountain Field Hockey, the company of UMass student Sarah Williams, a major in Landscape Architecture, a company dedicated to promoting advanced field-hockey training for high-school players in Colorado aspiring to play in college. Participating in the competition were three other teams. Foodcycle coordinates the collection and removal of food waste from commercial kitchens. The team consisted of two UMass students, Rose Weiss and Mauricio Abascal. The team received $500 from the judges and an additional $250 as the audience’s favorite. DisaporConex offered an investment platform through which Haitian immigrants can connect effectively to businesses and schools in Haiti. The company is led by UMass students Jean Arnaud and Adrien Tofighi. Three Mount Holyoke students — Alex Ivanova, Gergana Kostadinova, and Divisha Chumun — with a company called Vedette pitched their concept of an innovative ladies’ shoe with detachable high heels. Noting the prominence of Mount Holyoke students in the competition, EI co-organizer Dan Gordon, a professor of History, said, “these young ladies are each fluent in many academic disciplines and brought tremendous entrepreneurial spirit to the class. There were 75 applicants for the competition, and all the Mount Holyoke students made it to the finals.” The competition’s judges included nine distinguished bankers, investors, grant issuers, and entrepreneurs. The mission of the UMass EI is to help students turn ideas into businesses. The organization inspires students to explore the entrepreneurial career path, trains them in how to evaluate their ideas, and then connects them to the resources needed to take the first steps in starting their own business. Students participating in EI’s program have opportunities to earn academic credit, win prize money, and connect with experienced mentors.
Architecture Exhibition
Through May 9: For the first time in the region, a landmark exhibition on sustainable, contemporary architecture and environmentally sensitive building practices will take place at the University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, UMass Amherst. The exhibition is designed to deepen the public’s understanding and use of ‘green’ design, while demonstrating that the key elements of sustainability can be accessible to all. Through models, photographs, and virtual tours, the exhibition unites diverse works from large-scale science buildings to private residences, low-income housing, and intimate gardens of natural inspiration. For more information, visit www.umass.edu/fac/universitygallery .
Deliver Perfect Pitch
May 12: Learn concrete and easy-to-master tools to help you in every sales situation no matter what the environment or what you sell during “Deliver the Perfect Pitch,” 9 to 11 a.m., at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Sheldon Snodgrass of www.steadysales.com in Williamsburg will be the presenter. The program is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network. Cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass .
AIM Annual Meeting
May 14: Actor John Ratzenberger, best known for his role as Cliff in the television comedy Cheers, will deliver the luncheon address at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ 95th annual meeting at the Westin Hotel in Waltham. Ratzenberger is a passionate advocate for the future of American manufacturing and the need to teach young people to work with their hands. He will discuss the foundation he started to help young people learn the rewards of fixing things themselves, building something useful, and inventing products that create economic opportunity. AIM’s annual meeting is planned from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit www.aimnet.org .
Business Plan Basics
May 20: The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network will host “Business Plan Basics” from 9:30 to 12:30 p.m. at the Amherst Town Hall, 1st floor meeting room, 4 Boltwood Walk, Amherst. The workshop will focus on management fundamentals from start-up considerations through business plan development. Topics will include financing, marketing and business planning. The cost is $35. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass .
Joomla! Workshop
May 26: Tamar Schanfeld of TnR Global Joomla! Services of Greenfield will present a daylong boot camp on creating an interactive Web site for small businesses. The workshop is planned from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Topics: learn to plan your site, enter and edit content and menus, and install extensions. Comfort with Microsoft Word and Internet browser required. The workshop does not include e-commerce or shopping cart features. Cost is $75. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass .
The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.
| Acevedo, Manuel Anthony, John Mitchell Anthony, Tony Architecture/Design Baczek, Francis J. Baez, Luz E. Baillargeon, Paul A. Bates, Alfred Beaudry, Alan L. Bedore, Raymond E. Bein, Jennifer A. Belge, Mary E. Beresford, Vincent Berrios, Aracelis Bisson, Kelly A. Black, Rose M. Bourbeau, Neal A. Bracey, Kathryn F. Buda, Cale M. Burgos, Zenaida Y. Burinskas, Edward Allen Cacciolfi, Anthony W. Campbell, Hugh William Chalue, Robert F. Chmiel, Kamila Julia Clark, Daniel J. Colletta, Juanita L. Colon, Lorraine Comforte, Anthony Conlin Interiors Cosme, Melvin E. Crosby, Theresa A. Crotti, Daniel J. Cukur, Erdogan Curtis, Gary W. Davila, Jenny B. Davila, William A. Debbie Kates Design Dell, Jason L. Dell, Nicole M. DePratti, Michael J. Dion, John V. Dudukal, Mikhail I. Duval, Henry Paul Fisher, Daniel J. Foggs, Lorraine D. Gagne, Andre L. Garcia, Rafariel Garrant, Jacqueline Gebo, Troy J. Gianquinto, Salvatore G. Gilbert, Donna Goodreau, Allen Francis Gouin, Kelly J. Granger, Douglas F. Gray, Roberto R. Greene, James R. Greeno, Raymond S. Griggs, William J. Grincewicz, Wayne R. Gross, Stella L. Guevin, Andrea G. Guyer, Dennis P. Harnois, Edward F. Harris, Cynthia D. Haskins, Merilyn L. Healey, Lauren Hudson, Gerald Ivanchenko, Eugene Jackson, Donald Jaeger, Amy Jaeger, Nick JD’s Transmission and Auto Jenkins, Alan G. Jeskey, Alan R. Kenyon, Kristina M. Kieffer, Daniel R. Lamorie, Wanda Marie Lapik, Sergey V. Libbey, Wendy J. Liebowitz, Robert Lility, Tamas | Looney, Jennifer M. Lopez, Bethzaida Louvitakis, George Mack, James E. Maloni, Mark A. Manley, Edward L. Manson, Corey J. May, Darnell McCarthy, John McCarty, Karen J. McDonald, David A. McLean, Douglas J. McNamee, Pauline McPartlan, Deborah Merrill, Edward L. Moise, Michael S. Moise, Tina Morgan Builders Moriarty, Pauline A. Murphy, Tammy L. North, Kevin A. O’Connor, Christopher J. O’Grady, Lynn A. Olinski, Marc A. Olmeda, David O’Malley, Michael Thomas O’Meara, Linda J. O’Neil, Timothy Palermo, Paul Joseph Patrissi, Jason S. Pearson, Russell W. Pelletier, Richard Gilbert Pereira, Sergio Peters, Walter H. Petrin, Frances Jean Piescik, Jennifer Finch Pinkett, Pearlie M. Pinto, Joseph M. Plaud, Jose L. Poitras, Brenda S. Powell, Aubrie Ellice Powell, Nicholaus John-Paul Rannikko, Nicole Suzanne Ravid, Yoram A. Realini, Michael J. Redzko, Joseph M. Ribeiro, Joao Cesar Rodriguez, David Rodriguez, Herminio D. Root, Benjamin N. Rosa, Monica Ross, Shane Matthew Rougeau, Sharon L. Rud, Elaine A. RW Andrews Contractor Sanders, Allan J. Santos, Brian V. Scorsome, Joseph A. Sears, Regina M. Sellars, Lisa Selvitella, Dennis A. Shea, Jane B. Shea, Jeffrey S. Sheridan, Philip James Sirois, Laura G. Smith, Laurie L. Solek, Michelle Deborah Spillman, Marjorie Rose St. Francis, Nancy L. St.Marie, Scott S. Sylvestro, Vivenzio Terzi, Holly K. Valley, Marc L. Vigneault, Raymond J. Vintila, Louise P. Wagner, Gertrude Anne Wessinger, Marc Andrew White, Marvin Williams, Kathleen Anne Williams, Tina L. Wilson, Daniel C. Zoller, Carolyn J. |
Recession-weary Landscapers Try to Get Back in the Green
After a decade of strong growth, landscape designers were hit hard by the economic downturn of the past two years, as homeowners and businesses alike have trimmed their outdoor budgets. But while large-scale projects have fallen off sharply and profit margins have withered across the board, people still value their immediate environment, and the industry may have reason for optimism as another spring blossoms to life.
Steve Corrigan refers to a circle its actually more of a triangle that represents his market.
In a typical year, his company, Mountain View Landscapes and Lawncare in Chicopee, operates within the Springfield-Worcester-Hartford triangle. But these days, those points extend out to Boston and New Haven, due to a steadily shrinking number of available projects.
The circle is getting bigger, he said. Were finding its very, very competitive out there, and margins are getting smaller and smaller as more of us are looking for projects.
There is some cause for optimism, he conceded. Between 85% and 90% of his work is commercial, and he noted that many companies have put landscaping projects on hold during the recession and are expected to renew them as the economy improves. But right now, its pretty tough out there.
On the commercial side, theres not a lot going on, echoed Stephen Roberts, president of Stephen A. Roberts Landscape Architecture & Construction in Springfield.
A lot of projects are on hold, pending funding, he told BusinessWest. I know a lot of projects are on the board, but they need money to get going. Were just waiting for a stronger economy for these jobs. Once it starts picking up, itll be crazy busy.
Companies that tackle a high volume of residential work have been affected as well by the downturn, following years of strong growth, said Bill St. Clair, president of St. Clair Landscaping and Nursery in Hampden.
Starting right after 9/11, he explained, residential landscapers benefited as people began to steer money away from travel and into their homes, attempting to create an oasis-like environment in their own backyard.
People stayed home more, and wanted to put in pools and redoing their landscaping, St. Clair said. They looked around and werent happy with the way it looked, so they wanted to replenish it. Thats when outdoor kitchens, fire pits, and outdoor living spaces really took off. Now, people are still doing those things, but the number of people doing them has really, really dwindled down.
More accurately, he added, those individual features are still in vogue, but are now being considered on an a la carte basis.
We still get calls from people who want to put in firepits, or want to build an outdoor grilling area, or a patio or a pergola. he said. But were not getting calls for those big, total-yard, complete landscaping jobs. That market has really been affected.
In this issue, BusinessWest surveys the landscape of companies that specialize in enhancing the outdoors and finds a sobering dose of reality, but some optimism, too.
Lawn Cares
Whether its parks and playground for municipalities, athletic fields for universities, or landscaping and hardscaping on behalf of private developers, commercial business has definitely slowed during the recession, Corrigan said.
Last year, ironically, was a very successful year, he added, but by the end of the year the slowing trend was becoming evident. His industry faces the same economic pressures general contractors do, but landscapers might be slower to recover, since that work is typically performed toward the end of a building project. Were feeling the lag now, and we may lag a little longer than other industries.
As a member of the Mass. Nursery and Landscape Assoc., Corrigan said hes heard of the same stresses on the home side, and that residential work has slowed by 30% to 50% in some regions. People arent spending the same money on landscaping as they would in a good economy.
That development has caused St. Clair to slightly alter his business model.
Because of the economy, were doing more commercial maintenance this year than weve done in the past 15 years, he said, largely due to a sharp falloff in the firms bread and butter, which is designing and building landscapes for high-end residential customers.
With the recession, new housing has slowed way down, he explained. People are unable to move up; if someone is living in a $400,000 home and wants to move up to an $800,000 home, theyre not doing that; theyre finding they dont have the equity in their homes they thought they did. Its not their fault; its just how home values have changed.
St. Clair said he saw that trend starting to emerge early on and shifted resources to maintenance. In the past, we would do a large residential landscaping job, and wed be asked, who can I get to maintain this? and wed give them names of guys to call. And thats how we left it.
But a couple of things happened, he continued. People werent taking care of it the way the customer and I wanted it done, and we were giving away work that we actually should be doing, and that goes along with what we already do. So we stopped giving those jobs away.
That meant winning bids from large entities such as Bank of America and TD Bank to maintain their grounds, and the niche has grown from there. Were building our maintenance business up to help fill a revenue slot from the decline in big, residential jobs.
Whats helped us is that weve had all these really nice jobs weve done that people have asked us to do maintenance on, St. Clair said, and weve been able to recapture some of those clients, and were not farming out the work. That has helped.
Corrigan also does commercial grounds maintenance, but has found that property owners are cutting back on even that service.
Our goal is to get through this year and hope some projects happen in 2010 and 2011, Corrigan said. Thats going to be our goal.
Planting Hope
Roberts is trying to keep an optimistic outlook, and early-season inquiries have backed up that viewpoint.
In terms of residential work, it seems this spring, the phones are ringing a bit more than last spring, he said. It seems a few more people want their backyard projects and entertainment areas. Were getting demand for a lot of outdoor cooking kitchens and fire pits are big; everyone wants a fire pit or fireplace in their backyard now. People also want small water features, something to enhance their backyard.
Even so, just like St. Clair reported, Roberts customers are being somewhat choosier about what to order.
A lot of my larger residential clients, theyre not doing a lot of big add-ons, but they are doing some enhancement projects replanting a section of the yard or redoing a patio. Theres not a lot of new construction with new landscaping, and with established properties, people tend to be doing smaller enhancement projects.
Still, he said, the home vacation is a continuing trend. Its not the fear of travel anymore, but the expense. We do outdoor playscapes so children have a place to play, and kids love water features, too. When you bring kids to the beach, theyll sit there and play for hours on end, and you dont have to lift a finger. Thats what were trying to do with kids, but at home. Instead of a plastic turtle, you have a bunker.
St. Clair said the recession has forced him to look hard at how his systems operate and look for efficiencies to save money. But it has also reinforced that customers still exist, but theyre pickier about quality.
Youve got to come up with very creative ideas, he told BusinessWest. People might get three prices from three very legitimate landscape contractors, and a lot of times, it comes down to who has that different, unique concept they can present to the client.
Theres a large market, I believe, for people who do things the right way, he continued. People arent spending as much money, but people who are spending money are doing their homework, and theyre not always looking for the best price, but theyre looking for the best quality for their dollar.
Roberts, while hopeful for a solid 2010, said early spring can be deceptive.
Of course, things are exciting right now, he said, but the real test comes once the early excitement simmers down, and we see how many people actually invest in projects. But there seem to be a lot of good opportunities right now.
Ive been in this business 33 years, St. Clair said, and Im as psyched for this year as any year prior to this. My father always told me, when you get hit with adversity, you can handle it two ways. You can lie down and say, oh, my God, or you can pick up the pieces and move forward with a positive attitude. You cant wake up every day saying, whats going to go wrong today? Youll take a sunny day and turn it into a typhoon.
And sunny days are what get homeowners and business owners outside, and wondering how they can improve their environment and, just maybe, get them to pick up the phone.
Joseph Bednar can be reached
This Landscape Architect Has a Business That?s Well-grounded
David Paine says people dont understand the difference between a landscaper, a landscaping contractor, a landscape designer, and a landscape architect.
The owner/principal of Plan It Green Landscaping Architects in Westfield told BusinessWest that landscape architects like himself not only have a college degree, they must work for a landscape designer for three years after graduation, then pass a rigorous exam before they are eligible to receive their license and become registered by the state.
Paine has worked in the landscaping field since he was a teenager, is passionate about conservation, and chose the name of his company carefully.
Plan It Green is a play on words. When you say it quickly, it sounds like planet green, he said. We depend on planet earth to live, so we must take care of it.
His profession allows him to combine his love of design with caring for the environment in a meaningful way. I strongly value the service I provide to plants and animals that dont have a voice, as well for as the people who do, he said.
Paine handles green design, community planning, and landscape architecture. Although his projects vary in size and scope, his focus is not only on creating attractive sites, but on preserving natural resources. Green is the key word. My values are rooted in environmentally sensitive and respectful land planning. It results in environmental, aesthetic, financial, and ethical benefits, he said.
He adds there is a common misconception that going green is expensive.
People think it costs more, but thats not true, he said. Although the initial cost of implementing a green plan may be more, over the long term it can result in tremendous savings.
The type of plants used in a design and the location of a building are important factors. I use indigenous plants because they require less maintenance and are hardier, Paine said. A design can also affect energy conservation. You can plant trees to create shade or site buildings or outdoor spaces to capture sun and retain heat.
Not all of his clients see going green as a priority, but Paine says he tries to incorporate at least one green element in every project.
I provide a balance between quality design and respectful treatment of the earth, he said. My work is tailored to individual needs and aspirations, with an approach that recognizes existing resources.
Paine has been a steward of the earth since he was in college. Im a child of the first environmental movement that took place in the mid- to late 70s. I was thinking green well before green was the buzz, he said.
Every project involves drainage, which impacts the environment, he continued. When it rains, there will be water, whether it is in someones backyard, at a commercial building site, or in a park. As humans, we need to manage that water and keep things balanced.
Although most people dont give much thought to the importance of replenishing groundwater, its vital to survival. We depend on it for our drinking water, and we need to replenish it with clean water, he explained.
To that end, whenever possible, Plan It Greens designs divert stormwater back into the earth, rather than routing it into conventional storm-drain systems with pipes and underground structures that require maintenance.
A catch basin can cost $2,500, plus there are excavation costs, Paine said. The alternative is a rain garden or bioswale that creates a depressed area that collects water and can be filled with beautiful plants. It looks like a garden, and since the plants filter the water and cleanse it, its a green solution.
Designs on Growth
Residential landscape design accounts for roughly half of Paines work. His projects range from small jobs, such as planning a deck, patio, retaining wall, outdoor lighting, or fencing, to designing a plan for the entire exterior of someones property.
He meets with clients several times, which is necessary to determine their needs, budgets, and dreams before completing a design plan. Its an interactive process. We work together because I may be an expert, but its their home, he said. Some people think they know exactly what they want, while others dont have a clue.
The client sees and approves the final plan before any work begins. They know exactly what they will get. I dont want any surprises, Paine said, adding that one of the elements of good design is that it has to function well.
His company doesnt do landscape construction, but after decades of experience, Paine has a roster of reliable business names he willingly shares with clients who request them.
Paine has also handled green design for municipalities across New England. Such work includes town centers, streetscapes, and municipal planning of projects that range from downtown-sidewalk improvements in Westfield to to a revitalization of Huntington Center and a boulevard development plan in New Haven, Conn.
In the commercial and institutional arena, Paine designed a courtyard within the building confines of Baystate Medical Center as well as sprucing up the entrance to the emergency room and making aesthetic changes to its campus. His numerous accounts include Balise Toyota in West Springfield, St. Georges Cathedral in Springfield, the Portugese Club in Hudson, Westfield State College, and the Society for Savings in Simsbury and Hartford, Conn.
Parks are another arena where Paine puts his expertise to work. I did a master plan five years ago for Chauncey Allen Park in Westfield, and we are starting to implement those plans now, he said.
He also created a master plan for Worthington Park in Somers, Conn. that is owned by Dan Roulier. One element of the plan was designing a landscape sized to scale for a model railroad, which included boulders, bridges, mountains, and plants. I get to work on all kinds of projects; no two are the same.
Last year, when the economy was sluggish and both residential and commercial work slowed, Paine designed a landscape and did the construction work himself at a clients home in Tiverton, R.I. I built a 2,000-square-foot circular stone patio with a waterfall, arbor, hot-tub area, and beautiful cedar fencing, he said. I worked in the capacity of a landscape contractor, which I had done in high school and college.
Planting Roots
Paines love for landscaping began when he was a teen and worked for a landscaping company. After graduating from Harvard College, he worked in California for 10 years, then moved back to the East Coast and worked in Connecticut for three years before opening his first business. I started as Paine and Co. Landscape Architects in 1985, he said. Until the mid-90s, I had up to five people working for me and was in three different locations in Westfield.
From 1992 to 1998, he lived in Ottawa, Canada and ran his Westfield business as well as another one in that locale. In 1998, he returned to the Pioneer Valley and renamed Paine and Co. to Plan It Green.
Today, he does not have employees, but works in collaboration with other professionals who include landscape architects and engineers.
I also do bicycle and pedestrian planning and rail-trail improvements, Paine said.
Green ones, that is, which integrate ecological measures with innovative designs.
Its all in a days work at Plan It Green.
Greening the Valley
Through May 9: For the first time in the region, a landmark exhibition on sustainable, contemporary architecture and environmentally sensitive building practices will take place at the University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, UMass Amherst. “Greening the Valley” is designed to deepen the public’s understanding and use of ‘green’ design, while demonstrating that the key elements of sustainability can be accessible to all. Through models, photographs, and virtual tours, the exhibition unites diverse works from large-scale science buildings to private residences, low-income housing, and intimate gardens of natural inspiration. For more information, visit www.umass.edu/fac/universitygallery.
Communication and Leadership Conference
April 7: Local professionals and students will have the chance to network with and learn from leaders in business and media during Western New England College’s Communication and Leadership Conference from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the main campus in Springfield. The conference features a variety of workshops that will help participants improve their leadership skills and better promote their messages. The conference kicks off with the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield’s April Breakfast Club meeting, featuring the results of a WNEC Polling Institute market survey on the image of Springfield. Following the breakfast, participants will choose from a range of workshops designed to sharpen skills, explore new technologies, and network with fellow professionals. Conference fees (including breakfast and lunch) are $140 for business professionals, $120 for members of nonprofits, and $70 for students. To register or for more information, call (413) 782-1249 or visit www.wnec.edu/communications.
Marketing Basics
April 7: The Mass. Small Business Development Center Network will host a workshop titled “Marketing Basics” from 9 to 11 a.m. in the TD Bank community room, 175 Main St., Northampton. The workshop will focus on the basic disciplines of marketing, beginning with research — primary, secondary, qualitative, and quantitative. The core focus will be on developing and keeping a customer. The cost is $35. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.
Shining Stars Awards Banquet
April 9: The Chicopee Chamber of Commerce will honor the recipients of the prestigious Shining Stars Awards at its annual event at the Castle of Knights on Memorial Drive. This is the premier event of the year for the Chicopee business community. For more information on reservations and sponsorships, call (413) 594-2101 or visit www.chicopeechamber.org.
Master of Management Program Day
April 10: Cambridge College-Springfield will host a Master of Management Program Day beginning at 9 a.m. at 570 Cottage St., Springfield. Participants are invited to attend a Master of Management class and learn about the blended-learning format in which classroom attendance one weekend per month is supplemented with online discussions. The event is free and open to the public. To register or for more information, call (800) 829-4723, ext. 6623, or e-mail [email protected].
Social Media Plan
April 15: “The Small Business Experience/Creating a Social Media Plan” is the theme of a morning workshop hosted by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network. The workshop will be presented by Derek Allard of Gravity Switch in Northampton and Shalini Bahl of iAM Business Consulting of Amherst, and is planned from 9 a.m. to noon at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Highlights of the day include developing a social-media plan based on one’s business purpose, social-media purpose, target audience, and resources. The cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.
CloudCamp Western Mass.
April 20: CloudCamp Western Mass. will be conducted at the National Science Foundation-funded ICT Center at Springfield Technical Community College from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. Cloud computing is a new generation of technology that uses a shared pool of remote, configurable computing resources. The event provides a chance to meet, discuss, share ideas, and advance knowledge and understanding of cloud computing. Developers, decision makers, end users, and vendors from New England are invited to participate in the event. Show organizers are CloudCamp co-founder Dave Nielsen, the ICT Center, and TNR Global. For more information, visit www.ictcenter.org or www.stcc.edu.
Twitter & Blogs
April 22: Derek Allard of Gravity Switch in Northampton will present a workshop titled “Twitter & Blogs” from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Allard will discuss the basics — what they are, why to use them, and how to get started. The cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.
LinkedIn & Facebook
April 29: Derek Allard of Gravity Switch in Northampton will present a workshop titled “LinkedIn & Facebook” from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Allard will discuss the basics — what they are, why to use them, and how to get started. The cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.
Women’s Leadership Conference
April 30: “Community Matters” is the theme of Bay Path College’s 15th annual Women’s Leadership Conference at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Guest speakers will include Soledad O’Brien, television broadcast correspondent and host of CNN’s In America series; Leigh Anne and Collins Tuohy, inspirational mother and daughter from the Oscar-nominated film and book The Blind Side; Somaly Mam, human-rights advocate and author of The Road of Lost Innocence; and Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the New York Times and co-author of the bestselling book Half the Sky. For more information, call (413) 565-1000 or visit www.baypath.edu. Early-bird registration is by April 10; the cost is $250 for the general public or $225 for Bay Path alumni.
Evening of Hope Gala
May 8: The American Cancer Society’s 2010 Evening of Hope Gala will be staged at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place Hotel from 6 p.m. to midnight. The black-tie affair will include a formal dinner, dancing, and silent auction. For more information, contact Regina Pattison at (802) 257-8908 or e-mail [email protected].
Deliver Perfect Pitch
May 12: Learn concrete and easy-to-master tools to help you in every sales situation no matter what the environment or what you sell during “Deliver the Perfect Pitch,” 9 to 11 a.m., at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Sheldon Snodgrass of www.steadysales.com, Williamsburg, will be the presenter. The program is sponsored by the Mass. Small Business Development Center Network. Cost is $40. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.
Business Plan Basics
May 20: The Mass. Small Business Development Center Network will host “Business Plan Basics” from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Amherst Town Hall, first-floor meeting room, 4 Boltwood Walk, Amherst. The workshop will focus on management fundamentals, from start-up considerations through business-plan development. Topics will include financing, marketing, and business planning. The cost is $35. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.
Joomla! Workshop
May 26: Tamar Schanfeld of TnR Global Joomla! Services of Greenfield will present a daylong boot camp on creating an interactive Web site for small business. The workshop is planned from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Scibelli Enterprise Center, 1 Federal St., Springfield. Topics include ‘learn to plan your site,’ ‘enter and edit content and menus,’ and ‘install extensions.’ Comfort with Microsoft Word and an Internet browser is required. The workshop does not include e-commerce or shopping-cart features. The cost is $75. For more information, call (413) 737-6712 or visit www.msbdc.org/wmass.
Blueprint for Success
When Kerry Dietz was a high-school student in Sylvania, Ohio in the late 60s, she said, there was nothing even approaching a support network for a young woman looking to become an architect.
They had no idea how to counsel me, and they had no idea what to tell me to study, she said of teachers and administrators at her school. I got no support for wanting to be an architect, because I was a girl at least I assume thats why; it was considered not something that girls did.
When I tried to take a drafting class instead of my German III class, my German teacher was horrified, she continued. She insisted that I take the German class because drafting class was where the shop boys were.
But Dietz persevered. With no clear career-track blueprint to follow, she essentially drafted her own a public-school education (specifically a bachelors in Architecture), followed by a masters in that subject, or whats known as an M-Arch, and then a relocation to where she thought the jobs would be.
If you grow up in Ohio, for the most part, you end up wanting to leave, she explained. I looked at both coasts, and, at the time, Seattle was not the Seattle that it is today. Boeing had just done a huge layoff, there was no Microsoft, so the job prospects werent all that great.
As it turned out, Western Mass. didnt provide anything resembling a smooth, easy ride, but four recessions after entering this challenging, highly competitive field, Dietz is not only still surviving, shes thriving, with one of the larger firms in the region, a solid niche in affordable-housing design, and a positive outlook on the future.
Dietz doesnt get to spend much time actually designing these days not that architects actually devote many hours to the computer and drafting table anyway (more on that later) but she likes the blend of business management, teaching others how to run a business through a course she teaches at UMass Amherst, and giving back to the community, especially the city of Springfield through her work on the Planning Board and elsewhere.
In this, the latest installment of its Profiles in Business series, BusinessWest looks at how Dietz has achieved success on several levels by design.
Dietz told BusinessWest that, before she started confounding guidance counselors at Sylvania High School with questions about architecture and how to prepare for life in that field, her main interests in high school were German and biology.
All that changed when her parents starting building a new house, commissioning a close friend of the family (or what in Ohio we called an uncle, said Dietz) to handle the design work. I got to see the process and became intrigued by it; I would come home from high school and work on the house, she said, adding that architecture combined many elements she was interested in, including math, science, design, and its problem-solving nature. And besides, I had come to the conclusion that biology or German probably wasnt going to get me anywhere.
Upon graduating from high school, Dietz went to Kent State University (just a few months after the infamous Vietnam War protest there that left four dead), and later earned her M-Arch at the University of Michigan. After choosing the East Coast and, specifically, Western Mass. I dont like cities she worked first at Architects Inc. in Northampton and then Studio One in downtown Springfield.
In 1985, she started her own firm, Dietz & Company Architects, now specializing in affordable housing, secondary and higher educational institutions, health care, commercial projects, and historic renovations, with a focus on sustainable, or green, practices.
Over the years, affordable housing has become the core of the practice. Over the past 25 years, the firm has produced or renovated thousands of units of family, elderly, and special-needs housing representing more than $100 million worth of construction. Among the companys signature projects is the award-winning Hope VI affordable housing in Holyokes Churchill neighborhood, completed in the late 90s, and new facilities for the Greater Springfield YWCA, including a state-of-the-art battered-womens shelter that has become a model for communities across the country.
The firm has grown steadily over the past quarter-century, with Dietz moving increasingly from design work to practice management, an evolution that comes with a few minor regrets, she says, but is part of life in this business.
I miss some of the client contact because I dont get to work one-on-one as much as I did in the beginning, she said. But one of the things Ive learned how to do is hire good design talent. I dont consider myself to be a world-class designer my interest in the business is a little more technical, and my skills lie more in the problem solving, big-picture thinking, and strategic thinking. So Im not a traditional architect in the public view of what an architect is.
Overall, she said architecture is not as glamorous as many in the general public might perceive it to be. In other words, theres far more paperwork, bureaucracy, and meetings with municipal officials than time spent actually designing.
If you followed one of us around, youd find it pretty boring, she explained. Mostly, were doing phone calls and paperwork, following things up, checking codes, coordinating our consultants. The actual time one spends sitting at a computer drawing a building and doing design is minimal, and thats unfortunate.
While building her firm and surviving recessions that always take a heavy toll on all construction-related businesses, Dietz has become heavily involved in the community in particular, Springfield, where she lives and works.
Thats part of what makes me tick, she said, adding that she has been a long-time member of the Planning Board and is currently helping to rewrite the citys zoning codes, a time-consuming initiative. In the past, she was involved with drafting a new master plan for downtown, and was a founding member of the X Main Street Corp., a local effort to preserve and enhance that section of the city.
She also enjoys teaching her course within the Architecture program at UMass, which underscores her belief in the importance of public higher education, especially in this field, and provides her the opportunity to impart lessons in business management that she never received 35 years ago.
Overall, its been a fulfilling career for someone who couldnt get any support for her choice of vocation back in high school.
Then, as now, shes created a blueprint for success.
George OBrien
FloDesign Wins Funding for Wind Turbine Development
WILBRAHAM — The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced major funding for 37 ambitious research projects — including some that could allow intermittent energy sources like wind and solar to provide a steady flow of power, or use bacteria to produce automotive fuel from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. Among the firms nationwide to receive funding is FloDesign Wind Turbine Corp. of Wilbraham, developer of a compact wind turbine that resembles a jet engine. Flo design will receive $8 million. The funding is being awarded through the department’s recently formed Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which was originally established under the America Competes Act of 2007. In April of this year, President Obama announced $400 million in initial funding for ARPA-E through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. ARPA-E’s mission is to develop nimble, creative, and inventive approaches to transforming the global energy landscape while advancing America’s technology leadership. FloDesign will develop a new shrouded, axial-flow wind turbine known as the Mixer Ejector Wind Turbine, which is capable of delivering significantly more energy per unit-swept area with greatly reduced rotor loading, as compared to existing horizontal axis wind turbines. Prototypes will be built and tested, demonstrating the advantages of lightweight materials and a protective shroud that will reduce noise and safety concerns, and accelerate distributed wind applications. In announcing the selections, Energy Secretary Steven Chu noted that, after World War II, America was the “unrivaled leader in basic and applied sciences,” adding that this leadership led to enormous technological advances. Chu sees ARPA-E as a crucial part of the new effort by the U.S. to spur the next Industrial Revolution in clean energy technologies, creating thousands of new jobs and helping to cut carbon pollution. Chu added that grants will go to projects with lead researchers in 17 states. Of the lead recipients, including FloDesign, 43% are small businesses, 35% are educational institutions, and 19% are large corporations.
UMass Design Center to Open in Springfield
SPRINGFIELD — Mayor Domenic Sarno announced that UMass Chancellor Robert Holub has committed to establish an Urban Design Center at 3-7 Elm St. at Court Square. The new center will be open Feb. 1, 2010 and provide a variety of programs in architecture, landscape architecture, conservation, and regional planning. “We are thrilled with the UMass decision to move into downtown.The new Urban Design Center will provide a great resource to the City of Springfield and help us to continue to advance our economic development efforts,” Sarno said.“UMass has been working with the city of Springfield’s Development Services Division to establish this center to further assist in the economic revitalization of the city. This is the first step in a multi-pronged commitment by the university to partner with the city.” John Mullin, dean of the graduate schools at UMass, noted that “Chancellor Holub is extremely pleased to announce the opening of the Urban Design Center. This is one of our commitments to the city on economic development and will build a platform for an ongoing, expanded relationship with the city of Springfield.We are grateful to the mayor and his staff for their help. The Urban Design Center is part of our long-term relationship with the city.” Holub said his staff will continue to work with Springfield to ascertain next steps in a broader commitment that will include fostering UMass-related business spinoffs in Springfield, expanding the number of Springfield students attending UMass, and examining the placement of UMass back-off functions into a larger development next door at 31 Elm St.
Confidence Index Declines in October
NEW YORK — The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in September, deteriorated further in October. The Index now stands at 47.7 (1985=100), down from 53.4 in September. The Present Situation Index decreased to 20.7 from 23.0 last month. The Expectations Index declined to 65.7 from 73.7 in September. The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for the Conference Board by TNS, a custom research company. The cutoff date for October’s preliminary results was Oct. 21. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions worsened in October. Those claiming business conditions are ‘bad’ increased to 47.1% from 46.3%, while those claiming conditions are ‘good’ decreased to 7.7% from 8.6%. Consumers’ appraisal of the labor market was also bleaker. Those claiming jobs are ‘hard to get’ increased to 49.6% from 47.0%, while those claiming jobs are ‘plentiful’ decreased to 3.4% from 3.6%. Consumers’ short-term outlook grew more pessimistic in October. Those anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 20.8% from 21.3%, while those expecting conditions to worsen increased to 18.3% from 14.6%. The labor-market outlook was also more negative. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead declined to 16.3% from 18.0%, while those expecting fewer jobs increased to 26.6% from 22.9%. The proportion of consumers expecting an increase in their incomes decreased to 10.3% from 11.2%.
Gross Domestic Product Grows in Third Quarter
NEW YORK — Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the U.S. — increased at an annual rate of 3.5% in the third quarter of 2009, according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the second quarter, real GDP decreased 0.7%. The Bureau emphasized that the third-quarter advance estimate recently released is based on source data that is incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency. The second estimate for the third quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on Nov. 24. The increase in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflects positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), exports, private inventory investment, federal government spending, and residential fixed investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, increased. The upturn in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected upturns in PCE, private inventory investment, exports, residential fixed investment, and a smaller decrease in non-residential fixed investment, and were partly offset by an upturn in imports, a downturn in state and local government spending, and a deceleration in federal government spending. Motor-vehicle output added 1.66 percentage points to the third-quarter change in real GDP after adding 0.19 percentage point to the second-quarter change. Final sales of computers subtracted 0.11 percentage point from the third-quarter change in real GDP after subtracting 0.04 percentage point from the second-quarter change.
Pieces Starting to Fall in Place for Downtown
UMass Amherst officials announced recently that they will be locating one of the universitys programs an urban design center in one of the buildings in Springfields Court Square early next year.
That was the good news.
The even better news is that UMass officials who discussed the venture said, in different ways and with different terms, that the university was really just getting started in its efforts to help stimulate economic development in the regions largest city, located a good 20 miles from the Amherst campus.
They hinted strongly that there will be more initiatives in the future, including other potential developments in the long-vacant six-story office complex at 13-31 Elm Street, which has been identified as one of the most important, if not the most important, building blocks to a more-vibrant downtown Springfield.
The initial UMass move is not large in scope it involves the small, three-story building at 3-7 Elm St., and will not include large numbers of staff, students, and faculty to start. But it could be the beginning of an initiative that will have huge implications for downtown, which, as weve said for some time, is in need of a spark, or several sparks and this could be one of them.
And while weve said on many occasions that what downtown really needs is private-sector development efforts, sometimes a push from the public sector will get the ball rolling. Lets hope thats the case here.
Taking a step back and looking at the broad picture downtown, it appears that several pieces to what has been a frustrating puzzle are starting to fall into place. Beyond the UMass project, theres movement at the old federal building in the heart of downtown. When federal court employees and other government offices moved into the new federal courthouse on State Street, the city was faced with the prospect of something it really cant afford to have a large, prominent building on Main Street go dark for an extended period of time.
Instead, a mix of public and private investment will keep the lights on at what is now known colloquially as 1550 Main St. Indeed, the city of Springfield will move its School Department offices into the building, while Baystate Health will move several offices there, and the General Services Administration will occupy some square footage. The sum of these moves will put hundreds of additional workers downtown, providing a potential thats potential boost for current and future retail operations, support businesses, restaurants, and other hospitality-related ventures.
Meanwhile, a new restaurant, Hot Table, has located in the former Gus & Pauls location in Tower Square, bringing a much-needed dose of vibrancy to Tower Square and supplying another reason for workers downtown to get out of their offices and venture out to Main Street.
In another development, an NBA Development League, or D League, team, the Springfield Armor (see story, page 6), will start playing games at the MassMutual Center, providing, along with the AHLs Falcons and other shows at the complex, more reasons to visit Springfield at night and on weekends.
And now, UMass will establish a small presence again, to start in the central business district. The Urban Design Center, which will provide a variety of programs in architecture, landscape architecture, conservation, and regional planning, will being more bodies downtown and is expected to become a resource for the city as it continues to reinvent itself.
Put all this together, and it adds up to a few big steps forward in the ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown. There is a long way to go Tower Square remains a shell of the vibrant retail center it once was, and there remains a distinct lack of market-rate housing that everyone knows is needed to lure professionals into the CBD but there are signs of progress.
Full recovery wont come overnight or even in several years, but it will happen if city and economic-development leaders take it one piece at a time, and manage to have some of those pieces fall into place.
The following Business Certificates and Trade Names were issued or renewed during the month of August 2009.
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Westfield Charts Progress Downtown and in Its Industrial Parks
Lisa McMahon, seen at Westfield’s Farmers Market, says there is a great deal of interest in downtown real estate.
Moving like a freight train.
Thats the speedy-sounding metaphor Westfield Mayor Michael Boulanger used to describe the forces transforming both his citys downtown and overall immediate future. As he delved into the details, the description doesnt seem far off.
A city with a long history evident in three centuries of architecture along its city green, Westfield dates to the 1660s as the westernmost outpost of the Massachusetts Colony. In its heyday, it was a manufacturing center for bricks, cigars, and the buggy whips that give the city its nickname. Today, more than 40,000 people inhabit its 47 square miles, with a median income of around $45,500.
Westfield has long been free from many of the social ills plaguing its regional peers. It boasts steady home prices, a low crime rate, and a solid middle-class population have made the Whip City something of an anomaly in the Pioneer Valley.
While other former mill cities strive to shore up their communities from decades of urban blight, Westfield has its eyes on a larger prize, nothing short of transformation into a destination city, not unlike nearby Northampton. In this latest community profile, BusinessWest talks to some of those people with the lofty, yet very real, goals of making that happen.
Home Court Advantage
Nationwide, economic development has been as stagnant as the summers heat. But Westfield boasts new-business planning that most communities can only dream of. Boulanger sat at the head of his conference table recently to outline the details of that freight train he described.
Contrary to what the Massachusetts economy, or that of the nation, has shown in terms of a lack of growth, well, theres a lot of stuff happening here now, he said. Indeed, there is.
The undeveloped areas of land around Barnes Airport on the north side of the city are proving to be fertile grounds for significant growth. Home Depot had already operated a regional facility in that section of town, but plans are underway for a $25 million rapid-deployment center in Campanelli Industrial Park.
That facility will be the regional distribution facility for all the Home Depots in Eastern New York State, as well as New England, said Boulanger. Thats a 675,000-square foot facility, and that to us is huge.
Not only did Westfield successfully keep the facility within city limits after sites in Connecticut were considered as potential hosts, but officials estimate that 150 new jobs will be added to the citys workforce.
Also scheduled for construction in Campanelli Industrial Park is a $400 million power plant owned by the Pioneer Valley Energy Corp. Boulanger noted that all permitting is in place; phase two of the project, involving gas lines from Southwick, is underway; and the site promises a substantial contribution for the citys tax coffers. Were expecting annual revenues for Westfield to be around $3.2 million, Boulanger said.
Why Westfield? Boulanger was happy to expound on the relative strengths of his community. We had the space available, first and foremost, and not many other places did, really, for facilities of that size, he explained. Weve got the airport right there for corporate needs, were at the axis of highways going north-south and east-west, were close to a major city, Springfield, as well as a commercial airport. In the case of Home Depot, Westfield is centralized for all the facilities for the stores they need to service.
Boulanger noted that new growth is not limited to the industrial park. Barnes & Noble plans to open a 10,000-square-foot facility incorporating a Starbucks café in the city common, with a target date for business beginning in summer 2010. That will be a huge anchor point for other establishments to build off that brand and its presence, he said. The retailers college-bookstore division also signed an agreement in principle with Westfield State College, with business to begin in October of this year at the campus.
In a statement, WSC President Evan Dobelle noted that Barnes & Noble was unanimously recommended to be the schools managing bookseller, adding that they have been highly successful in communities of all sizes.
But the bookstore isnt all that the city and college will be sharing.
Head of the Class
When BusinessWest recently turned its focus on Westfield, the big news was Boulanger and Dobelle agreeing to join forces in using downtown student housing to spur revitalization in the citys center. The two understand that a college community is dependent on both town and gown for reciprocal strength and vitality. Boulanger said that the plan is moving along, and that he couldnt be more pleased.
The college had put out requests for proposals for student quarters in the downtown area a few months ago, he said; that process has closed and is being reviewed by the states Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM). That office will come out with some decisions on those housing locations in a few weeks, so we can use that as a springboard for other projects in downtown.
Revitalization of downtown is really college-dependent at this point, Boulanger continued, adding that the close partnership with the college is very strong, and I do know that they want to do this as much as we do. This really will serve as the catalyst for commercial and economic growth.
Dobelle is no stranger to town-and-gown collaborations, nor, for that matter, the corner office itself. For two terms back in the early 1970s, he served as mayor of Pittsfield. Since then, he has been president at four different colleges; he became the 19th president of WSC in December 2007. While at Trinity College in Hartford, he successfully led efforts to utilize the schools strengths to strengthen the poor neighborhoods surrounding the school.
Westfield has an affluence that you dont find in a lot of cities, Dobelle told BusinessWest. But the reality is that the dollars spent in Westfield are drawn out of the city because there arent places for that money to be spent here, be it retail or entertainment.
The plan to house students downtown has a definite target date for move-in day for the fall 2010 semester, but Dobelle said it could realistically happen as early as the beginning of next year.
He sees WSC as an anchor tenant for downtown Westfield, and belives that, once people with disposable income start moving into those locations, business can be viable and successful, with a chain reaction taking place whereby the public sector wants to be a part of that vibrant culture. Locally, the turnaround of Northamp-tons downtown in the 1980s and 90s is often cited as an example.
When the Great River Bridge (Elm Street) construction project is completed, the village green is redone, and the infrastructure of the city is repaired in a couple of years, Dobelle hopes that WSC will have proved to be the catalyst for a bustling city center like that of other college towns across the nation. He sees his role as president of a public college having even more of a place in that collaboration.
When a public college is subsidized by the taxpayers, then there is a responsibility, he said. I could build dormitories on the campus and then not pay any taxes. But doing this is a more-responsible way to be respectful of the local property owners and the taxpayers subsidizing our institution.
Home Improvements
When WSC successfully integrates into the citys downtown, it wont be the first agent of change in the historic center.
In the summer of 2006, the wheels were set in motion for the third Business Improvement District in the Commonwealth, located in Westfield. Lisa McMahon is executive director of the WBID, noted that, like other small to mid-size American cities, strip malls took their toll on downtowns economy. The Chamber of Commerce, the business community, and also City Hall agreed that our downtown was not well-represented.
Like most people in the city, McMahon said that the collaboration with WSC puts some planning into a holding pattern. Once DCAM knows where those student-housing units will be, the private sector will follow. More than just director of the BID, McMahon has become a liaison to interested developers.
Ive become a bit of a connector, she said, adding that Im familiar with the real-estate stock in the city, so Ill get calls from people both here and out of the area, saying, Im looking for x square feet, or I need a storefront or a second floor.
Ive walked around downtown with developers from all over, she continued, from Eastern Mass., from New York, who are all interested in downtown; theyre interested in the potential and the possibilities here.
Students feet on the streets translates into consumers with money to spend, and the business community knows that. McMahon said that some of the calls she has been fielding reflect that demographic. We have someone who is interested in opening a fish market, another a clothing store, a chocolatier, all these different people who are really interested and who want to get in on the ground floor here, she said.
In fact, McMahon said the response has been so overwhelming that the WBID has pulled back on its advertising of commercial properties due to the sheer volume of calls.
But the WBID isnt limited in scope to attracting new blood to the city center. During a well-attended Farmers Market, one of the agencys initiatives, McMahon told of what the BID means for the city. Like others of its kind, the agency strives to make the city, in its words, a clean, attractive, safe, well-programmed, and aggressively promoted location in which to live, conduct business, shop, and visit.
From the Farmers Market to concerts on the Green; from holiday lights and decorating vacant storefronts downtown to programs for youths, seniors, free health care, and adult literacy, the WBID has become a one-stop New Deal for Westfield, she said, adding that assistance from the city has been vital to her own successes.
All of these things Summer Sounds, the Farmers Market, and more, we wouldnt be able to do any of them if we didnt have the cooperation of the Parks and Recreation commission, the licensing commission, the City Council, the restaurateurs, she said. Even here, right now, the church across the street gives us their parking lot.
People want to see downtown succeed, she continued. From the Gas & Electric linesmen who help us with lights on the common to the Police Department, everyone pitches in. It would never be able to happen if we didnt have collaborations from everyone in the city. People are community-minded, and they want to see change.
As a benchmark of the WBIDs success, McMahon said a number of properties originally opted out of the BID, but many have since contacted us to say, how do we get in? We want to be part of the BID, we want to be on the Web site, we want to be on the flyers that come out.
Overall, she said the city is responding positively to all that the WBID has done. People stop you on the street and say, we appreciate what you are doing here.
Summing things up, McMahon said the city is in a holding pattern for further development now, but not for long.
In just a few weeks, the first wave of college students will find out their new potential addresses in the city center for next year. From students to the new development that follows, it seems clear that Westfield is cracking the whip anew, and is charting a new course for success.
Holyoke Rebrands Efforts to Bring Tourism Back to the City and Its Museums
While visiting Washington, D.C., Kate Navarra Thibodeau recalls how confusing it was walking around and simply trying to find a restaurant.
Youve got all this incredible history around you, she said, but really what you want to find is a place to eat. She told of finding street-level signposts with a wealth of information, not only outlining the vibrant historical background of the spot marking where you stand, but also restaurants and other businesses within a four-block radius.
From that trip came the idea behind a collaboration between Holyokes museums, business community, and civic leaders. A self-guided tour of the Paper City is in the works, to be incorporated with an update of the citys history museums.
Called Creating Holyoke, the project was given a boost in the form of a National Endowment for the Humanities grant for $400,000, and a state Department of Conservation and Recreation grant for $132,000, bringing the total budget close to $700,000.
Thibodeau is the citys historian and one of the architects of the project. In a partnership with Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke Heritage State Park, the Childrens Museum, the Holyoke History Room, and Enchanted Circle Theater, the plan is wide-ranging in details, but with very specific goals: to infuse Holyoke with civic pride, update the exhibited history of the city, and include the business community with a plan to return visitors to the streets downtown.
City museums have had to grapple with small budgets in recent years, and the existing exhibits reflect that shortcoming. Thibodeau said that exhibits on Holyokes immigration are about 30 years old, adding they talk about the workers, and the citys waterpower, the basic history. But they dont take into consideration the Puerto Rican immigration.
New exhibits for the project involve updating that chapter of the citys history, but also showing living spaces of past populations from three different time periods, and a display in the newly-renovated carriage house at Wistariahurst documenting the past as seen through Holyokes recreational attractions.
Thibodeau said the signs to be installed downtown are still in the planning stages, but the business community likes the idea. Local businesses, in my experience, want to be involved. But the problem has been that no one is asking them for their help, or no one is providing an opportunity for them to help, she said.
Focusing on the citys downtown, she continued, yes, we need to get more restaurants; yes, we need to encourage business to come back. But in the meantime, lets highlight what we do have here already.
Coupled with a brochure highlighting all the spots on this heritage trail, both will function as a self-guided driving or walking tour. The city has so much to offer, Thibodeau said. We envision this to be a tourist destination much like the city of Lowell.
Local businesses will sponsor the signs, designed in such a way that Thibodeau calls accidentally learning about history when youre trying to get from point A to B.
From the historic canal systems to the buildings and green spaces designed by world-renowned architects, to the existing 19th-century architecture of the industrial revolution, Creating Holyoke wants to ensure that not only is the past not dead, but its not the past at all its still the present.
That, and they want to make sure that you know where to get lunch while youre out walking around.
STCC Expands Its Solar-power Capacity with a Second Photovoltaic Installation
STCC’s second photovoltaic installation will be one of the largest in the state.
Springfield Technical Community Colleges Building 20 is one of the largest and busiest on campus. It houses 14 health programs that run day and night, as well as the bookstore. There is a steady stream of traffic in and out of the building, even in summer, but few of those visitors are seemingly aware of its latest claim to fame.
Thats because it sits on the roof.
Specifically, its a solar-power array, believed to be the largest in the region and one of the largest in the state, comprised of 272 photovoltaic panels that will soon be turning sunshine into electricity.
At 82.9 kilowatts 2.5 times larger in overall energy production than the first installation the school put in three years ago across the street in the Technology Park at STCC the array will further reduce the schools carbon footprint and continue a program of expansion into alternative energy sources at the school.
Solar panels are not particularly economical to install, which is why the school funded the $663,000 project with a $407,000 grant from the Mass. Technology Collaborative and $256,000 worth of zero-interest clean renewable energy bonds (CREBs) from the IRS.
The new installation will save the school an additional $19,000 a year. Its only a nibble (about 1.7%) out of the schools $1.1 million annual electricity bill, but STCC president Ira Rubenzahl calls the move toward renewable energy socially responsible, and one of many the college is undertaking.
Quick Study
The system will eventually pay for itself, although the school estimates it will take 18 years, maybe less if energy prices go through the roof (no pun intended). But according to Rubenzahl, in addition to reducing the schools carbon footprint, the system offers other benefits.
Namely, it adds value to the schools academic program. The earlier installation on Building 101 in the Technology Park was not easily accessible to students. In contrast, the college designed the installation on Building 20 (also known as the health sciences building) as a demonstration project. Anyone can walk up to observe the system firsthand.
Whats more, the Building 20 installation is hooked up to a Web-based data-acquisition system, which students can easily access to monitor the system and get readings on ambient temperature, power output, and accumulated energy. And because the system stores data for five years, students can compare output year over year.
Rubenzahl said that, increasingly, individuals and institutions such as STCC that plan to go into building design and construction need to understand renewable energy systems.
We already have a program where we train technicians to install photovoltaic systems, he said. Now were looking at injecting components of this class into other programs in architecture and civil engineering.
Another benefit of the installation has to do with the local economy. Rubenzahl believes that green projects on campus increase the potential of renewable energy companies taking root in the region.
We think clean energy is a fertile area of economic development, he said. The more we do with it on campus, the more it helps us to build relationships and plant the seeds for new companies.
Tinkertoy Installation
Once STCC gathered approvals for its new photovoltaic installation, the rest was easy. Eric Ness, STCCs vice president of campus facilities, called it a Tinkertoy installation.
The 305-watt panels, made by SunPower Corp., arrived in boxes. Assembly essentially involved taking the panels out of the boxes and running the electrical cables.
We started setting up at the end of April, and Ive never seen more than two to three workers on the roof at a time, said Ness. It was just a matter of bolting the things together and setting them out on the roof.
Silent and unobtrusive, solar panels produce clean energy. A panel contains an array of photovoltaic cells that use semiconductors to convert sunlight into direct current. The cells produce energy even on overcast days. An inverter, located in the basement of Building 20, converts direct current into alternating current to power lights, air conditioners, and other appliances.
The STCC campus is an ideal place for photovoltaic installations, said Ness. Its natural elevation and tall buildings with flat roofs ensure the solar panels get plenty of sunlight.
Meanwhile, the school picked Building 20 for its latest installation because the structure has a new roof. Solar panels have a 30-year lifespan, and users dont want them going on an old roof that needs replacement in the near future.
Compared to the previous Tech Park installation, which is fix-mounted to the roof with bolts, the newer installation on Building 20 simply sits on the roof without damaging the roofs membrane. In fact, the school did not even need a building permit for the installation.
More to Come
With plenty of flat roofs on its campus, STCC has room for more photovoltaic installations down the road. At the same time, the school is tracking new developments in ground-powered arrays and arrays that concentrate sunlight with the use of parabolic mirrors.
A lot can be done in improving the efficiency of collecting light energy and transmitting it into electricity, explained Ness.
Until then, STCC is taking things one roof at a time.
Wireless Internet Access Coming to Peter Pan Fleet
SPRINGFIELD — Peter Pan Bus Lines is becoming one of the first inter-city bus lines to have wireless Internet available to passengers through the installation of WiFi technology on its fleet. Peter Pan is in the process of installing the WiFi technology on 150 buses in its motorcoach fleet at a cost of around $75,000, not including Peter Pan’s labor to install the technology. WiFi allows local area networks (LANs) to be deployed without wires for electronic devices such as laptop computers. Wireless network adapters are now built into most laptops. WiFi has become widespread, and the addition of this technology into Peter Pan’s fleet will allow passengers to easily access the Internet while traveling. “We’re proud or our reputation for being on the leading edge of technology in the inter-city bus industry,” said Peter A. Picknelly, president of Peter Pan. “We were among the first in the bus industry to include video monitors on our motor coaches. Other technological advances such as a real-time monitoring system that records the speed and the operation of the vehicle by our operator and a GPS tracking system are routinely retrofitted into all of our coaches. Our goal is to continue to improve the traveling experience on Peter Pan and respond to customer needs and preferences. Passengers want to use laptop computers, accessing the Internet to do work or to check E-mail, and the installation of the WiFi wireless compatibility on our coaches gives Peter Pan an advantage over air travel or travel by auto. Our passengers have indicated they want Internet access, and we always move aggressively when it comes to adding technological advances ”
Plotkin & Associates Launches New Web Site
SPRINGFIELD — NAI Samuel D. Plotkin & Associates Inc. recently launched a new Web site. The site was redesigned with a new look and feel for increased ease of navigation. In addition to an enhanced design, the Web site offers detailed information on services, current company news, client testimonials, a blog, and several regional and local commercial real-estate resources. The site also displays its footprint of managing more than 1 million square feet of commercial real estate in downtown Springfield alone.
Big Y Awards More Than $250,000 in Local Scholarships
SPRINGFIELD — Big Y World Class Markets has selected more than 325 academically outstanding students from communities surrounding its stores to receive a total of over $250,000 in college scholarships for the 2009-10 academic year. Unlike most area scholarships, these awards are based on academic merit, regardless of financial need. With Big Y’s assistance, students from all over Massachusetts and Connecticut will be attending schools such as Columbia University, Elms College, Yale University, Brown University, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, Princeton University, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute this fall. Top recipients were honored at a Scholarship Awards Ceremony held at the Big Y Store Support Center in Springfield in May. Big Y’s Scholarship Program reflects its longstanding commitment to education and is considered to be one of the most competitive in New England, with thousands of students applying each year. Since this program was founded in 1984, more than $2.2 million has been awarded to more than 3,000 students. “We are grateful to be in a position to fill a real need in the communities we serve by recognizing the hard work, dedication to excellence, and outstanding academic achievement of so many fine young men and women who are our neighbors in our marketing area,” said Donald H. D’Amour, Big Y chairman and CEO. “This exercise also serves as a humbling reminder to us all to continue to strive for excellence. My personal congratulations go out to all of our winners.” What also sets Big Y’s Scholarship program apart from others is that it is open to all customers and customers’ dependents as well as employees, and employees’ dependents. Awards are given to students in the categories of high school graduate, undergraduate, community college, graduate, and non-traditional. There is also a special category within the Big Y Scholarship program that honors dependents of the law-enforcement officers and firefighters who risk their lives every day to protect and serve local communities. This year, 17 scholarships have been awarded to dependents of police officers and firefighters.
Florence Savings Bank Continues Strong Growth
NORTHAMPTON — Florence Savings Bank recently released first-quarter results that indicate a continuation of the bank’s strong growth trend. FSB’s total assets on March 31 were $1.1 billion, up $46 million, or 4.3%, from the corresponding period last year. The asset growth was the result of continued growth in the bank’s loan portfolio. Total loans ended the quarter at $688 million, up $35.9 million, or 5.5%, from March 2008 levels. The loan growth was spurred by residential mortgage loans, which increased $24.8 million, or 5.8%, allowing FSB to remain the number-one mortgage lender in Hampshire County, and commercial loans that grew $14.6 million, or 10.4%, in the year-to-year comparison. Total deposits were $761.2 million at the end of March, up $41.3 million, or 5.7%, from March 2008 levels. This deposit growth was the result of the success of FSB’s Rewards Checking program, which accounted for $31.1 million of the deposit growth.
Tighe & Bond Moves Up on List of Top Design Firms
WESTFIELD — Tighe & Bond was recently ranked among the top 500 design firms in the nation, according to Engineering News-Record. The company ranked 335, up from 392 in 2008. Companies were ranked based on gross revenue reported in 2008 for providing services and products to domestic and international markets. Tighe & Bond provides engineering and environmental services to public and private clients in government, industry, health care, education, real estate, and power-utility markets.
Hampden Bank Charitable Foundation Donates $5,000 to Gray House
SPRINGFIELD — The Hampden Bank Charitable Foundation recently donated $5,000 to the Gray House. The Gray House is a small, neighborhood human-service agency located on Sheldon Street in the North End of Springfield. In 1984, the Gray House Agency opened to provide for the civic, social, and educational needs of the people in the neighborhood. The mandate of the original founders is that “the Gray House is a place where peace is lived and learned and hope is shared.” Dena Calvanese, executive director of the Gray House, said that “the support from the Hampden Bank Charitable Foundation means so much to us, especially the children we serve. We appreciate their generosity and belief in our work.” Hector F. Toledo, vice president of Hampden Bank, added, “when I visited the Gray House, I saw first-hand all the good work they do for the community, specifically the attention they give the children in the after-school program. Agencies like the Gray House need the support desperately, and we are proud to continue supporting them.”
Bidwell ID Shares Success at CASE Awards
NORTHAMPTON — Marketing agency Bidwell ID, working with Emma Willard School, won five gold circles of excellence for the school’s magazine, Emma, at the recent CASE awards. CASE, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education is a nonprofit education association and awards the circle of excellence annually to recognize accomplishments that have lasting impact and deliver exceptional results. Emma magazine won five gold awards in the following categories: excellence in design, magazine publishing improvement; best articles of the year; independent schools; independent-school magazines; and a grand gold for independent-school periodicals. The judges who presided over the overall excellence category called it “a magazine I could settle in with and spend a great deal of time” and said the magazine has “great concept and execution, and inspiring writing and design.” Out of all the awards Emma garnered the most notable is the grand gold for independent-school periodicals. This award is considered the equivalent to ‘best in show.’ Award-winning editor Rachel Morton of Morton Associates, along with Bidwell ID art director Lily Pereira, are responsible for the successful redesign of Emma.
JMP Forges Partnership with Design Professionals
WARE — JMP Environmental Consulting Inc. announced a new partnership with South Windsor, Conn.-based Design Professionals Inc. Together, the two companies offer land-development services to meet a wide range of client needs, including civil engineering, land surveying, GIS analysis, landscape architecture, due diligence/permitting, wetland science, aquatic-wildlife and fisheries science, stream restorations, and invasive-species control.
The following is a compilation of recent lawsuits involving area businesses and organizations. These are strictly allegations that have yet to be proven in a court of law. Readers are advised to contact the parties listed, or the court, for more information concerning the individual claims.
CHICOPEE DISTRICT COURT
Gilbert & Sons Insulation Inc. v. Dupuis Construction
Allegation: Non-payment of goods and services rendered: $4,413.80
Filed: 4/13/09
FRANKLIN SUPERIOR COURT
American International Recovery (Subrogee) and Kent Hicks Construction Co. v. Ragan Builders and Joseph Ragan
Allegation: Defendants failed to carry worker’s comprehensive insurance: $206,876.37
Filed: 4/17/09
Barbara Martineau (Executrix) v. Joshua Garriga, M.D. and Connecticut River Internists, LLP
Allegation: Delay in diagnosis and treatment of colon cancer, resulting in the death of a 61-year-old man: $25,000
Filed: 4/08/09
Lynne Gosselin v. Baystate Visiting Nurses & Hospice Inc. and Baystate Health Inc.
Allegation: Failure to properly monitor and care for patient, causing hospitalizaton for 7.5 months: $1,379,000
Filed: 4/15/09
GREENFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Capital One Bank, N.A. v. Brennan Builders
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered on credit: $6,271.78
Filed: 5/07/09
Dodson Associates, LTD and Turowski Architecture Inc. v. Avotu Inc. and Gorodetsky Engineering, LLC et al
Allegation: Breach of contract for site design and construction and architectural design services rendered: $21,705.75
Filed: 5/04/09
HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT
Bradco Supply Corporation v. REI Roofing
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $47,147.01
Filed: 4/10/09
Marion Rice v. Big Y Foods Inc.
Allegation: After eating a deli sandwich from Big Y, the plaintiff suffered salmonella infection, resulting in three weeks of hospitalization: $17,524.52
Filed: 4/06/09
Meaghan O’Connell v. 80 Worthington Street, LLC
Allegation: Negligence by employees of plaintiff, causing personal injury and hospitalization: $250,000
Filed: 4/08/09
Nancy Labrie v. John M. Zeroogian, M.D.
Allegation: Medical malpractice: $1,108,000+
Filed: 4/28/09
HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT
Montgomery Company Inc. v. Gould’s Florist Inc. and John Robert Ramsey
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $47,101.08
Filed: 4/14/09
Pamela A. Brown v. Service Link Inc.
Allegation: Negligence and unfair and deceptive trade practices in home-sale transaction: $110,000
Filed: 4/05/09
Sandino McDonough-Sieben v. One Pearl Street Inc.
Allegation: Assault in licensed premises, resulting in injuries: $30,000+
Filed: 4/08/09
HOLYOKE DISTRICT COURT
Hadley Printing Co. v. Hallmark Institute of Photography Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract and non-payment of printing services rendered: $3,207
Filed: 4/29/09
NORTHAMPTON DISTRICT COURT
Charlene Mitchell Lyman v. Master Mark Plastics Inc.
Allegation: Negligence and breach of warranty requiring plaintiff to replace defective deck material manufactured and distributed by defendant: $23,384.55
Filed: 5/11/09
Janet M. Kopacz v. Mass. Energy Savers Corp. and Christian P. Poirier
Allegation: Breach of home-improvement contract and fraud: $10,133
Filed: 4/21/09
PALMER DISTRICT COURT
Irving Forest Products Inc. v. Northeast Wholesale Lumber Inc.
Allegation: Breach of contract and failure to pay for merchandise received: $24,874.96
Filed: 4/03/09
Rockville Roofing Inc. v. Monaco Restorations Inc.
Allegation: Non-payment of material and labor on several projects: $9,315.83
Filed: 3/31/09
SPRINGFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Capital One Bank, N.A. v. Excalibur Services
Allegation: Monies owed for credit advanced: $7,377.79
Filed: 4/09/09
Louis Michaelson & Son Co. v. Blue Sky Diner Restaurant
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $4,208.10
Filed: 3/25/09
Louis Michaelson & Son Co. v. O’Driscoll’s Irish Pub
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $6,820.55
Filed: 3/25/09
Sherwin Williams Cos. v. William Painting & Wallpapering
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $6,690.22
Filed: 4/09/09
Tangerine’s Kitchen & Bath Inc. v. New Future Development Corp.
Allegation: Non-payment of goods sold and delivered: $4,207.71
Filed: 4/09/09
T.D. Banknorth, N.A. v. T.S. Mann Lumber Co. Inc.
Allegation: Unpaid and defaulted promissory note: $19,910.90
Filed: 4/09/09
WESTFIELD DISTRICT COURT
Capital One Bank, N.A. v. Creative One Services
Allegation: Monies owed for credit advanced: $5,568.04
Filed: 5/07/09
City of Westfield v. R.G. Carr Civil Contracting, LLC
Allegation: Failure to pay for off-duty police detail: $3,246.38
Filed: 5/07/09
Diversity Is the Name of the Game for This 60-year-old Venture
Darrin Harris, left, and Jeff Noble, third-generation owners of Hill-Engineers, Architects, Planners Inc., say diversity is one of the keys to the company’s success.
With so many companies coming and going these days, longevity is a trait to celebrate. Thus, Hill-Engineers, Architects and Planners Inc. of Dalton has a lot to be proud of; this year, the company celebrates its 60-year anniversary.
While doing so, it will reflect on a number of changes within the industry and at the company as well.
Founded in 1949 as Hill-Engineering, the company has its roots in the paper and pulp industry. Founder William (Bill) Hill was a mechanical engineer by trade who did work for the paper companies. He kept their machines in tip-top running condition through the 50s and 60s, during a time when the paper and pulp business in the Pioneer Valley was going strong.
When the paper industry went into decline, Hill was wise enough to diversify and expand his services to include other types of engineering, mainly structural and electrical. Sometime later, the company added architecture, and in the 80s, it added civil engineering and land surveying. In 1987, the firm changed its name to reflect its new offerings.
Today, the 37-employee Hill-Engineers (note the ing is dropped) still does work for paper companies including Crane and Co. of Dalton, which, among other things, makes paper for U.S. currency but paper is no longer its core business.
Darrin Harris, manager of the civil survey division of Hill-Engineers, one of the firms current owners, explained the companys growth in simple terms. We started doing work inside the building, then we did the building itself; then we moved to the outside of the building.
The companys three current main offerings include:
Engineering. This division of the company includes mechanical, electrical, and structural engineering. It focuses on designing HVAC, plumbing, and fire-protection systems. This is also the group that designs machines for paper mills.
Architecture. Hill-Engineers has three in-house architects who focus mainly on commercial and industrial work. Weve designed whole buildings, but we also do things like take existing buildings, redo the interior, and change partition walls, said Harris.
Change of Hands
Hill-Engineers ownership is now on its third generation. In 1980, founder Bill Hill figured hed had enough of the business. He incorporated the company and sold the majority of stock to five employees (four men and one woman) who became the new owners. The remaining stock was divided among the employees in an employee stock-ownership program.
Over the past decade, the company switched hands again as gradually, the second generation owners retired one by one, forfeiting their piece of the pie. Now the company is in the hands of two owners, Harris and Jeffrey Noble, who is the company president. A third owner, Bill Stevens, retired recently.
Both Harris and Noble like to think of their company as a family. We have people who have been here a long time, said Noble. In fact, the two of them started working for Hill-Engineers during their college days, interning during the summer, and eventually taking full-time positions when they graduated.
The majority of Hill-Engineers employees work out of the firms Dalton office. Recently, the company invested $35,000 in acquiring a three-person surveying office in Adams.
We opened that about five years ago, with Northern Berkshire County going through a growth spurt, said Noble. There was a surveying company in Adams [Neff Associates] that closed due to the death of its owner, and the son didnt want to run the business anymore, so we bought it and kept it open.
High-profile Projects
The types of projects that Hill handles have changed over the years as well. We used to do mainly industrial types of projects, and now weve expanded to commercial and residential work, said Harris. With the recent and profound downturn in the housing market, the company has picked up more municipal projects, he told BusinessWest.
Were doing a lot of work for the Department of Housing and Community Development, said Harris, adding that were also working for the Department of Conservation and Recreation, so it seems like we are doing a lot of public types of work.
Several of those projects fall into the green-building realm, said Harris, who talked with BusinessWest about four high-profile projects the firm is currently involved in:
The Berkshire Wind Project. One day soon, 10 wind turbines on the top of Mount Brodie will provide green energy to the regions power grid. Hill-Engineers is handling the site engineering and road design for the project. Were also doing all the permitting, explained Harris. We go to the public meetings for the Conservation Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. They are looking at finishing the site excavations by end of this summer, he said.
Sixty years in business is a big achievement. Will Hill-Engineers be doing any celebrating? Im sure we will do something for our 60th, probably this summer, said Harris.And Im sure it will involve champagne or some other beverage of choice. We do like to have fun here at Hill.
Western Builders Expands on Its Solid Foundation
Paul Ugolini says the economic downturn has created a highly competitive state that is just one of the many challenges facing builders today.
When discussing the changing nature of the construction sector in western Mass, Paul Ugolini looked to the past to contemplate the future.
President of Western Builders in Granby, Ugolini said that his shop, like many others, once employed a front-to-back approach to construction.
A long time ago, general contractors used to do all their own work in the construction industry. Now a lot of them dont, he said. But typically, a GC would do their own foundation, their own carpentry, the masonry, plastering. Now, because of the way the economy is, and with competition so strong, they sub it all out. Someone who does it all the time, they can do it far more efficiently than you can.
Maybe a handful of shops still operate like that, he continued, meaning the way it was years ago, but thats one instance where the industry has reinvented itself, and thats only been within the last 15 years. Who knows what will happen in the next 10 years?
Construction in the Pioneer Valley is currently at its most competitive state in decades. Ugolinis response to the changing face of the industry is to make sure that his team not only gets the job done right, but lets that job get more jobs.
Talking with BusinessWest recently, Ugolini considered the past, the present, and the future of both Western Builders and his industry.
Third Times a Charm
Ugolini is a good example of the hard work that will pay off in climbing the corporate ladder.
After graduating in the mid-80s with a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering from UMass Amherst, he said that hes worked in the construction field ever since.
I used to work for Macomber Builders out of Boston for a few years, and at one time they were talking about opening up a satellite office out here, he said. They ran out of work, and my option was to go back to working in Boston, but Western Builders had a job opening here, and I was thrilled to be able to return permanently to the area.
After starting out as a project manager in 2000, he steadily climbed the ranks to become the third president of the 34-year-old firm.
While owned by the parent organization the OConnell Companies, which also owns the larger construction firm Daniel OConnells Sons, Western Builders doesnt feel any competition from that local heavyweight.
Ugolini calls his firm small to mid-size, with a current staff of 15, which traditionally keeps its project roster in the under-$10 million range, putting the company in a different ballpark than its big brother in the field.
Most of the work we do is in the local area, said Ugolini, and he offered a roster of clients and projects including Bay Path College, Smith College, Glenmeadow Retirement Community in Longmeadow and the Lathrop Retirement Community in Easthampton. Additionally, Western Builders teamed up with world-famous architect Graham Gund to build the contemporary retail and residential complex in the center of South Hadley called the Village Commons.
We do a mix of work from colleges to supermarkets, assisted living, multi-residential, Ugolini said. We do all kinds of things. The only thing we dont do is heavy and highway work, roadwork, bridgework, that kind of thing. Which we probably should because thats where the money is going to come in the future.
We have a great reputation, he continued. We have some real talent in the field, with some superintendents that have been with us for a long time.
And the word from the other side of the boardroom table is similar in nature.
Holyoke City Planner Kathleen Anderson said that Western Builders work on the Jones Ferry Boathouse has been very well-received, and that comments coming into City Hall are favorable for this example of green architecture on the Connecticut River.
This is a very important project to the city, she said, given that it is the only public access Holyoke has to the river. There are some complex systems at the building, like the green roof (planted with vegetation to absorb rainwater) and the solar systems, but everything is working out perfectly. We look forward to the building put into use later this spring.
Further south in the Paper City is another example of Westerns work, one that is likely to lead to additional work for the client.
After an $8.9 million Housing and Urban Development-assisted project for the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Holyoke, Western Builders put its reputation to task. Completed in 2008 at the congregations Mont Marie campus, the facility was designed to meet the needs of affordable housing for area senior citizens.
Sr. Denise Granger is on the Leadership Team for the SSJ, and also is the president of the Mont Marie Senior Residence Inc.
This was our first venture into a large project, said Granger. The work involved a gut, rehab of one of our buildings, and had to be tailored to be accomplished within the amount of money we had. We had a lot to learn and had a lot of guidance, but some of our best advice and ideas came from Western Builders site supervision, Mike Guy, and the project supervisor, Mike Flanders. As the 14-month project unfolded, we developed a mutual understanding and built a trust level that resulted in a wonderful building.
The results paid off. Granger mentioned that, due to such a positive relationship with the builders, she plans to contract with them again for another large project on the books for the SSJ.
Bidding Wars
Ugolini noted that Western Builders has a few projects on the books for the coming year and that, while times are tight, he isnt too worried about how the economic climate is going to affect his shop. We do have a fairly decent backlog; its just about waiting for those things to start, he said.
But the economy is hitting the sector at large pretty hard, and the nature of project bids has gotten to a level Ugolini has never seen in his time in the field.
Were bidding things on and off, he continued. Well bid things where we think that well actually have a shot at getting the project.
But after a recent open call for bids at Holyokes Multimodal Transportation Center at the old fire station on Maple Street, Ugolini shook his head as he described the scene. Youd think it was a pancake breakfast, there were so many builders there. The architect had two people walking around with sign-in sheets because of the volume. Ive never seen anything like that. Its unbelievable. What do you think you need to do to get a job like that? You have to go in there with either nothing as your margin, or below nothing.
He mentioned that Western Builders would consider looking outside the region for work, but not often, and laughed when talking about peoples commitment to keeping local workforce on a project. You always hear that when the client goes before the Planning Committee!
After completing the Red Robin restaurant chains Holyoke outlet, Ugolini considered his firm in good stead for the pending Wilbraham branch. We lost that bid to a Maine contractor. Everybody he hired was from Maine; not a single person was local. I dont know how he can afford to do that. Maybe labor rates are much different in Maine, and they could be more aggressive, he laughed.
Western Influence
Ugolini said he gets the feeling that many of the shovel-ready stimulus projects are going to be outside the purview of his firm. Most of them, from what Ive seen, are roads, he said. And if not, they are either really huge, or very minor.
For us, he continued, we are going to go after more of those multi-housing projects, to capitalize on a winning formula for Western Builders.
Green architecture might prove to be the big buzz of the Obama years, and after finishing the Boat House in Holyoke, Western Builders will be no stranger to that trend. But Ugolini doesnt know how much he sees those techniques trickling down to the everyday project.
These systems are costly, and really, how many people in this area can afford to put up green buildings? he asked. My definition of green architecture goes beyond paint, or products, and smaller details. I think of all the building systems wastewater, solar. The larger colleges can afford this, but an investor putting up a couple-million-dollar office building somewhere, would they spend that kind of money? I dont know.
While the job market for the building industry looks into the future of 2009 with hope for a return to a stable economy, Ugolini said that Western Builders is well-placed to continue in the same direction. The best thing for us to do is to keep going in the direction weve been going, and to wait for the projects weve got on the books to get their funding.
But, he conceded, maybe some reinvention could be considered. Its an increasingly changing market out there, and weve got to come up with competitive ways to get the job done.
Since the start, thats been the business model at Western Builders.
Robert A. Plasse has been named Assistant to the President for Communications at Westfield State College. Plasse is the founding member, president, and director of programs for Westfield on Weekends, and most recently served as Assistant Professor in the Human Services Department at Holyoke Community College.
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Chuck Breidenbach has joined Mountain Development Corp., owner and manager of the Eastfield Mall in Springfield, as Managing Director of the MDC Retail Properties Group. He will oversee the retail business operations incorporating his wide variety of experience including development, leasing, management, marketing, and construction of both enclosed and open-air retail facilities. His background in new development, turnarounds, and expansions will help facilitate Mountain Development’s continued growth.•••••
Carolyne Hannan has been named Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Comcast in Western Mass., Connecticut, and New York. In this role, Hannan will oversee all marketing and sales initiatives in the 128 communities that comprise the region. Hannan has 15 years of experience in the communications industry, including four years with Comcast. •••••
Witalisz & Associates Inc. of Westfield announced the following:• Bernadette Bain joins the firm as a Realtor/ Consultant;
• Grace Sullivan joins the firm as a Broker/Realtor, and
• Barbara Petrucelli joins the firm as a Broker/Realtor.
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Mark Grumoli has been named Senior Vice President and Commercial Loan Officer at Greenfield Savings Bank. He brings more than 17 years of sales, commercial-banking, and management experience to his new position.•••••
Maryann Lombardi, who for the past year has served as acting Director of Creative Economy for the UMass Amherst division of University Outreach, has been named to become the first full-time director for that office. In this role she also serves as Managing Director of the Sankofa Dance Project, which celebrates African roots in American dance through intensive summer study, choreographic residencies, performances, and events. She brings extensive directing and production experience to the new Outreach position, having served almost 10 years as producer, general manager, and resident director for boulevard arts, inc., and as artistic producer and resident director for the Leopold Project.•••••
Edward J. Garbacik has been elected Vice President, Investment Executive of Financial Services of Florence Savings Bank. He has more than 20 years of financial services experience, having worked previously for UBS Financial Service Inc.•••••
William E. Templeton has joined Berkshire Bank as AVP/Mortgage Loan Manager for the Pioneer Valley. He will concentrate his efforts on developing mortgage business in the Greater Springfield area.•••••
Hogan Communications in Easthampton announced the following:• Jenna Gable has joined the firm in the Accounting Department. She is creating policies and procedures that will further enhance the company’s customer service.
• Krystal Ayala has joined the firm as a Customer Advocate, specializing in increasing customer satisfaction.
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UMass Amherst faculty and staff members have received recognition for their work in recent weeks:• Fergus M. Clydesdale, Distinguished Professor and head of the Food Science Department, presented the 2008 Sterling B. Hendricks Memorial Lecture on Aug. 19 at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia;
• Ashoke Ganguli, Director of Auxiliary Services, received the Pinnacle Award from the (OS1) Users Group Aug. 18 in recognition of his “outstanding contributions to the cleaning industry and the (OS1) program”;
• Eliot Moss, Professor of Computer Science, shared an award for the most influential paper at the International Symposium on Computer Architecture June 21-25 in Beijing; and
• Brian D. Bunk, visiting Assistant Professor of History, co-edited Nation and Conflict in Modern Spain: Essays in Honor of Stanley G. Payne, published in August by the Parallel Press of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Co-edited by Sasha Pack and Carl Gustaf-Scott, the book is a collection of original scholarship and reflective essays written by students and colleagues of the distinguished Hispanist.
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Pat French has been named SCORE Community Outreach Coordinator for the Western Mass, division at H&R Block.•••••
FieldEddy has appointed Wendy L. Fitzgerald and Dina N. Rehbein as Personal Line Account Managers. Both are licensed property and casualty insurance agents in Massachusetts.•••••
Andrew Ross has been promoted at Scottrade’s Springfield branch office at 1441 Main St. Ross is responsible for branch operations, managing personnel, and providing customer service.•••••
Kristina Lavigne has been promoted to Personal Insurance Manager for Insurance Center of New England in West Springfield.•••••
GCB Financial Services division in Greenfield announces the addition of Sharon A. Connery as a Financial Services Representative.•••••
UMass Five College Federal Credit Union announced that Craig Layman, a registered representative affiliated with broker-dealer and registered investment adviser CUSO Financial Services, was a recent recipient of the CFS 2007 Bronze Pacesetter Award at the annual conference in San Diego. The award honors the top-producing registered representatives among 100-plus credit union programs. UMass Five serves UMass as well as the Five College System and other select employee groups.•••••
Realtor Association of Pioneer Valley President-Elect Mark Abramson and Executive Vice President Edward M. Moore recently attended the 2008 National Association of Realtors Leadership Summit in Chicago.•••••
Donna Huff, Minimum Data Set Coordinator for Jewish Geriatric Services, was recently awarded Minimum Data Set (MDS) certification granted by the National Assoc. of Subacute/Post Acute Care. MDS, a uniform set of elements for assessing the functional capacity of residents of long-term care facilities, is required for communication with designated state agencies as a condition of Medicare and Medicaid programs.•••••
Bill Blair recently joined ERA Laplante Realty of South Hadley.•••••
Peter Spedero, a Senior Analyst for Unemployment Tax Control Associates in Springfield, recently celebrated his five-year anniversary with the firm. Spedero services the multi-state accounts division, including the US Air-America West and Sovereign Bank accounts.•••••
Terrie Edson recently joined Franklin County Home Care as Program Director of the Men’s Health Partnership and Women’s Health Network.
Studio One Inc. Puts Architecture to Work for Springfield
Studio One Inc. President Greg Zorzi (left) and Vice President Dan Zorzi.
When Greg and Dean Zorzi were teenagers, their father, Peter Zorzi, founder of Studio One Architects and Planners in Springfield, brought them to see an historical home hed just purchased to renovate.
He explained the importance of the building, its interesting features, and what it would take to make it livable again. Then, he handed his sons sledgehammers and told them to get to work.
Greg Zorzi said this was his and his brothers informal indoctrination into the field of architecture, and similar scenes played out repeatedly as they matured along with their fathers business.
The process went on for quite a while, he said, exchanging a hearty laugh with his brother. If he was going to work on a project, then we were going to work on it, too.
Today, that trend of sharing the load continues for the Zorzi brothers, though with different trappings. The siblings serve as president and vice president, respectively, of Studio One Inc., the company their parents started in 1974 and for which their father still works on a part-time basis. Its a unique situation, because architecture firms arent known typically for being family businesses. But its principals, who assumed their new positions two years ago as part of a succession plan that passed the management of the business from one generation to the next, say this has become a core tenet of their culture a word they return to often.
As kids, we would listen to our father talk about the business at the dinner table every night, said Greg. I think its those times that made us realize how much of daily life depended on this business, and we never lost that.
Coming Home
Dean Zorzi joined the firm officially in 1987, and today oversees the creation of construction drawings that are presented for bid and to contractors; hes also a constant presence at job sites across the region.
Greg joined the firm in 1994 after studying at the Boston Architectural Center (BAC) and interning with one of the citys largest firms.
It was interesting to see and experience the culture of other companies, he said, but as enamored as I was with the work, the experience also taught me that I didnt want to run a big office. Im so glad I had that realization, because it contributed a lot to how our company has evolved.
Tucked into an historical brick building on Main Street in Springfields South End, Studio One has a number of other family-owned businesses as neighbors Mom and Ricos, La Fiorentina pastry shop, and the Red Rose Pizzeria, to name a few.
Were definitely in keeping with the neighborhood, said Greg, adding that, like many of those other mom-and-pop shops, Studio One has been a fixture in the South End for several years, taking up residence in the early 1980s when Peter Zorzi purchased and redeveloped several blocks.
From these offices, Studio One has developed a diverse portfolio of work, including historical design and preservation projects and work for municipalities, educational institutions, churches, residential complexes, and senior-living centers, among others. The firms work can be seen across Western Mass. as well as in eastern parts of the Commonwealth, including the Cape and Islands, and in Connecticut.
Many projects are recognizable landmarks; Studio One spearheaded renovation efforts at the Austin Dickinson homestead in Amherst, for instance, and the Wilbraham Meetinghouse.
On the more-modern side of things, Studio One has also helped erect some landmarks in training, as the brothers call them, such as the Scantic Valley YMCA in Wilbraham, the Sullivan Public Safety Complex on Carew Street in Springfield, and the Edgewood Gardens suite-style dorms at American Inter-national College, also in Springfield.
In addition, Studio One has a particular niche in senior housing; the firm recently designed the conversion of the former Mont Marie convent in Holyoke into a 60,000-square-foot, 50-unit senior-housing complex that is slated to open in the fall, for instance, and a second new development on the campus is also being devised, with Studio One at the helm.
The style is reflective of the original convent, so its a nice mix of three kinds of work we like to do historical, senior housing, and religious buildings, said Greg, adding that the project has led to new work in New Britain, Conn., where the Daughters of Mary are planning a similar addition. Its interesting how work evolves. Who would think working with the nuns would lead to a new business niche?
Dean Zorzi added that its not merely the interesting sectors Studio One works within that he enjoys, but the fact that its services have become so wide-reaching.
One thing I really like about what we do is the diversity of the practice, he said. We have nicely distributed levels of expertise in different things, and weve realized that we can do that without being the biggest firm and going after every job.
Moving forward, Dean added that Studio One is focused on securing new projects in similar sectors, but also on continued work as ambassadors of the South End, of Springfield in general, and of the profession of architecture.
Weve been able to secure a number of smaller jobs in the South End that we feel are really important, he said, and that we might not be able to work on if our business model was different.
Going South
Such local projects are ones that Peter Zorzi will often take on, because they fit his interests in historical preservation and community development. A recent example of this work is the centennial renovation of the Mount Carmel Society building.
This was something he took on as his project, and the firm was very supportive of it, said Dean. It was one more tie-in with the South End for us, and led to other things.
Indeed, the brothers followed suit in contributing to the health of the South End shortly after the Mount Carmel project, drafting their own master plan for the area.
No one asked us to do it; we just did it, and now people are referring to it as the Zorzi Plan, said Greg, noting that the document discusses several opportunities within the South End for redevelopment. Were studying various cross streets and intersections, as well as the Emerson Wright Park and what we can do to make that a more central, usable location.
The park, the Zorzis explained, is secluded, and therefore poses certain security issues that detract residents from using it. Now working with the Springfield Planning and Economic Development department to draft proposals for the parcel of land, Studio One is finalizing plans to reconfigure the area and make it more visible. The idea is to get more eyes on the park, said Greg.
But the firm is also working to get more eyes on the city, as well as its rising workforce. A graduate of Springfield Technical Community College and its associates degree program in Architecture, Greg hopes to help create a pipeline from high school to higher education in the field.
Our profession is still one that requires a lot of training and practice a lot of hands-on work, he said. We talk about the pluses of our work all the time, but we also want to walk the talk and help introduce more young people to the job.
While the Zorzi brothers may not have plans to hand sledgehammers to their interns any time soon, their interest in exposing a greater number of students to architecture as a profession is a trait they say they both inherited from their parents when the family business was in its early years.
Were very fortunate to have the work that we have, said Greg. We enjoy it, we appreciate it, and we work to hold onto it.
The same goes, he said, for their neighborhood and their city.
Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]
Texcel Sees Dramatic Growth in Medical Device Manufacturing
Keith Checca stands in Texcel’s manufacturing facility in East Longmeadow, where complicated, implantable medical devices are created.
In the 1990s, Texcel, a company that designs and constructs devices and components for some of the most highly regulated markets in the world, was working on some big things literally. The company was a major player in the aerospace and defense industries, but gradually that started to change, and today Texcel works with international clients to devise some of the smallest, most intricate medical technologies ever seen. And this, the company has found, is where its heart lies.
Larry Derose, president of Texcel, a medical device manufacturer in East Longmeadow, said theres story behind every tiny component his company creates that speaks volumes regarding the importance of this work.
Weve had clients come back to us with presentations that show how a device is working in its early stages, he said. Weve seen stroke victims whove improved enough to use the telephone or change a diaper. When youre working to develop theories that have that kind of promise, everyone feels connected to the process, and everyone sees how important their work is.
Derose founded Texcel in 1987, and said it was always his passion to work with this type of technology. However, only recently has the company come into its own with the development of complex, implantable medical devices some of which many within health care and technology fields see as the future of modern medicine.
Our long-term goal was to use our expertise in the field of medical devices, said Derose, noting that this expertise includes the use of precise, high-powered lasers, clean-room assembly, and product and process development. It took a number of years to achieve that while we waited for the market to develop. But new information in this field is triggering a wave of new device design and development, and thats creating a great number of opportunities for us.
Bionic Biology
Texcel contracts with several different international companies to help them develop devices including pacemakers, endoscopic surgical instruments, spinal orthopaedic implants, total artificial hearts, and neurostimulators. More specifically, this line of work is dubbed implantable device architecture and construction.
Some in the industry refer to Texcel as an integrator, because it joins technology with the necessary raw materials, both figuratively and literally.
Due in part to increased activity in the development of neurostimulating devices in particular, Texcel is now enjoying a major growth period in its history. Keith Checca, director of business development for the company, said several new employees with expertise in areas specific to the medical device market have joined the company over the past three years, nearly doubling its size.
The last two years have been really explosive, said Checca. Weve realized what were good at, and we know how to focus it thats really the key for a contract company like us. Our clients are everything.
Checca said attention to this specific niche in the medical device market is important to working with these diverse clients, most of which are kept confidential by Texcel.
Were big enough to offer everything thats needed, and small enough to remain a dynamic firm thats easy to work with, he said. Clients dont want to hear we cant do that they want you to be an infinite well. Thats where our focus on that niche comes back in.
Planes, Trains, and Biomanufacturing
But it also helps to underscore the companys long-held mission to use its capabilities for the greater good, despite many years of building to this point and working in other fields. Medical manufacturing was not as brisk in the past as it is today, Checca explained, and over the years, this has opened the door to contracts in other highly regulated fields such as aerospace and defense.
The medical device market was evolving, but aerospace and defense were already here, he said, adding, however, that as global needs and trends began to shift, Texcel began taking on more medical device work, and today, that sector represents more than 95% of the companys contracts.
A handful of aerospace- and defense-related partners remain, but with an FDA- and ISO-registered environment in which to work and a medical technology boom underway around the world, Checca said the company has long been primed and ready to become a strong player in this sector.
Equipment-wise, we havent had to change much, said Checca. We are a laser-processing, controlled environment, and thats technology that is being adopted by the medical community. This has been not so much a facility-changing event as it has been a culture-changing event.
New partnerships have also emerged, including one forged in June with Microtest Labs of Agawam. The strategic alliance will capitalize on a particularly healthy aspect of medical manufacturing combination products, which pair devices with pharmaceutical or biologic components like those Microtest works with. The market is expected to reach approximately $9.5 billion in 2009.
Checca added that the existing emphasis placed on quality of both work product and service has been another hallmark of Texcels foray into this arena.
Perfect is barely good enough, he said, borrowing a phrase he said he heard at a recent internal meeting. Were lucky to have built a culture focused on that very early, and its something of which we are constantly aware.
Theories of Evolution
Still, Checca added, with such growth spurts come some requisite internal changes, including some to workforce development and process management. With potential openings for professionals ranging from engineers to manufacturing technicians and assembly operators, Texcel has forged relationships with several area colleges, including Springfield Technical Community College, Western New England College, UConn, and the University of Hartford, to create a sort of educational pipeline to its doors.
Its a little hard to find applicable experience in this area because there arent as many companies doing what we do, he said. But last year, the story would have been all about growth; we climbed that hill, and were still breathing heavy, but now were moving forward.
Checca said Texcel is likely to continue expanding in size, both physically and in terms of staff, which now totals about 65 people.
There will be further growth at a slower pace, he said. Now, were more focused on refining the mix. The life cycle of some of the products we manufacture is very long, often five or six years until theyre ready for use on humans, and until our client is ready to ask us for more than a few. To that end, were looking now to be even more efficient on the manufacturing side, and changing how we manufacture.
One way the company is striving to do this is through cellular manufacturing, which spreads work on a single item out more evenly throughout the facility. Checca calls it a tried and true manufacturing principle that can be applied to many different industries, and can especially help improve efficiency among growing businesses.
Its also another system of checks and balances in this highly regulated environment, which also includes several clients (Checca estimates there are about four dozen) with varying development schedules.
These companies dont follow the old vertical-integration model, he said. Because the process of developing a medical device is a long one, they need suppliers that can cover the needs of an entire product, and that will remain strong partners for the long term.
Part of Texcels business model is to actively seek out these types of companies, and educate the industry as a whole regarding its capabilities.
But theyre out there searching for us, as well, Checca said. If were doing our job right, we find them before they find us.
The Human Experience
Derose said that active recruiting, so to speak, leads to a greater number of opportunities to help in the creation of new, innovative, and potentially life-saving devices.
Its inspiring when a client approaches us with a product that hasnt been recognized by the public or even the medical community yet, he said. Usually, when a client comes to us, theyre in the embryonic stage of development. Were a high-tech manufacturer, but really, we act like a fulfillment agency.
We help them convert a dream into a reality.
Jaclyn Stevenson can be reached at[email protected]
Springfield Developer Bucks Current Trends with Unique, Retro-inspired Project
Leslie Clement has always had a creative mind.
She graduated from Indiana University with a Liberal Arts degree, having studied dance, music, art, and culture for many years of her life. But eventually, she said, she had a revelation.
“I realized my degree prepared me for absolutely nothing,” said Clement, who soon started searching for more practical applications for her far-reaching creative interests. She recalled one of her favorite hobbies as a child — her father would often channel Clement’s flair for thinking outside of the box into small building projects — and took a dramatic leap onto a new career path, studying to be a carpenter’s apprentice in the late 1970s.
The apprenticeship, completed with the Springfield Carpenters Union Local 108, required four years of working construction, as well as specialty skills such as draftsmanship, finish carpentry, surveying, and estimating.
A number of intriguing jobs followed, including work on a series of bridges for Interstate 391 and a downtown highrise, but the more views of the city she saw, the more changes Clement wanted to make.
“In Springfield, I saw a city that needed a lot,” she said, “but more than anything, it needed help with its poor self-image.”
So she set out to do something about it.
Raise the Rafters
Clement’s first solo project in the housing sector was a home restoration in the historic Maple Hill section of the city, which later led to the renovation of 14 additional National Historic Register properties in concert with a team of tradespeople (funding for these projects included financing from limited partnerships, private funding, loans, and grants).
“These were incredible, historic homes, and a number of the projects had strict criteria for renovation,” she said, noting that, upon completion of that suite of projects, she’d developed an interest in and respect for historical design, as well as the city’s assets.
Soon though, it was on to new endeavors, including a condominium conversion in a Victorian mansion in Holyoke, the Wyndhurst Condominiums overlooking the Connecticut River on Crescent Hill in Springfield, and nine homes on a parcel of land abutting Lake Massasoit in the East Forest Park section of the city. The latter ultimately sold for a total of $1.05 million over the course of 18 months.
By that time, the early 1990s, Clement had also become a real estate broker as well as a developer, and this began to further shape her home-building goals.
“I began to see home sales from a reverse perspective,” she explained. “Instead of only saying, ‘if I build it, they will come,’ I started saying, ‘if I build it, there’s still a chance they won’t come.’”
Stepping back to take a broader look at the home-building landscape, Clement said she saw a huge disconnect between the labors of love required to restore an old home to its former glory and what was happening in the new-home market.
At that time, she told BusinessWest, few developers were building homes in urban areas based on consumer wants or demands.
She added that without something interesting to draw buyers into — or keep them within — an urban area like Springfield, those with the means to purchase new, moderate- to high-end homes soon flee to new areas or suburbs.
“Nobody was building what people wanted,” Clement said. “There was a lot of cookie-cutter activity going on, and I saw a huge opportunity being missed — to give people some beautiful, interesting homes that they were instantly attracted to.”
The Forest Through the Trees
Thus, her latest project, now being developed under the company name Forest Park Fine Homes, is one answer to the question of how to retain these homeowners.
“This community has a ton of urban professionals,” said Clement. “That’s a lot of money that’s going unnoticed in this city, and people are leaving for other places or not even considering Springfield as a destination.
“But often, these are people who are looking for interesting properties,” she continued, “something with great architecture that doesn’t look like everything else — and the goal here is to reach those untapped markets.”
Located off of Tiffany Street not far from the Longmeadow town line, the new neighborhood Clement is now in the process of developing abuts the southern end of Forest Park and is about a half-mile away from Franconia Golf Course.
Today, Clement’s varied experiences lend a number of additional titles to her business card, including general contractor, designer, and listing agent. All of these skills are being put into play in creating her new niche neighborhood in the City of Homes, and Clement estimates they also save her about $5,000 per property in general development costs.
She purchased the 12-acre parcel from a private owner in 2004, again with the help of private investors and financing through United Bank, and from that parcel has created 37 individual lots with the assistance of Springfield-based architect Phil Burdick.
“He suggested we created little clusters of homes on small streets that branch off of the main road, which is Brentwood,” said Clement, adding that this idea was also in line with the historic-inspired type of homes she wanted to build.
Until 1943, when the town line was moved, she explained, this area was actually part of Longmeadow, and was dubbed ‘Franconia Village’ on some historical maps.
She added that when constructing new homes on the previously undeveloped land, she wanted to honor the area’s heyday, and modeled some of her plans after the 1920s-era ‘craftsman style,’ the originals of which can still be seen in historic parts of the Forest Park section of Springfield and in Longmeadow.
June Gets Her Way
These homes typically have large front porches and use natural materials when available, including wood shingles, stone walls woven throughout the landscaping, and detached garages that Clement said “make for a friendlier-looking street.”
The lots are spaced out across five roadways. Grace Street represents what will be the final phase of the project, including 18 lots that have yet to be developed. Also in process are home plans on Craig and Bassing streets, which will accommodate houses in the $300,000 to $390,000 range, and on South Park Avenue, building is now in process on 11 homes in the $290,000 to $340,000 range, slated for completion in or around spring 2008.
But the current jewel of Clement’s project is June’s Way, named for her daughter and including six lots on a private cul-de-sac. Four homes, each unique in design and ranging in price from $330,000 to $390,000, have already been completed, while two lots remain for construction.
The finished homes on June’s Way are geared, Clement said, toward empty-nesters and urban professionals. In contrast to the retro feel of the houses’ exteriors, the floor plans inside are more modern and informal, with a ‘bungalow’ feel. They feature bedrooms on both the first and second floors, most with adjoining private bathrooms, which can accommodate ‘aging-in-place’ living for older Americans planning to stay in the home or living with elderly parents.
The homes also have a relatively small footprint, between 2,200 and 2,600 square feet per lot, but the wide-open floor plans inside are meant to maximize space.
All of these features, Clement said, work together to create a quality product that is in keeping with her goal to offer something new and yet solid to Springfield’s real-estate market.
“People move for real needs,” she said. “The need for more space, proximity to schools, etc. This development offers these things, and with slightly better design and better buyer targeting, we’re attracting the right people.”
National Staging
The project is attracting some positive press for Springfield, too. It was recently featured in Builder magazine as one of five “bright spots” across the nation that have taken “design’s high road” and reached some positive benchmarks.
Builder identified Clement’s project along with others in Las Vegas, Portland, Ore., Los Angeles, and Fowler, Mich. (a stretch between Detroit and Lansing). While sales volume isn’t the best indicator of the Forest Park lots’ success — seven homes have been built and sold since construction began — the magazine took particular note of the going rates for these homes. New, single-family properties in Springfield typically sell for between $275,000 and $315,000, but Clement’s properties are averaging $75,000 above that or more, and prices haven’t slid in the four years since the project started, regardless of the tepid state of the current housing market.
“I think that’s proof that details make the difference, and people appreciate quality,” said Clement, wiping a speck of dust off of the bay window seat and flicking the ambient lights off in the kitchen.
It would also seem she’s found an outlet for a lifetime of creative thinking.
