Western Mass. Archives - Page 27 of 39

Building Permits

By BusinessWest Staff February 1, 2023

Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the month of January 2023. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

CHICOPEE

Fairview Knights of Columbus
1599 Memorial Dr.
$8,100 — Install fire-alarm system

Fairview Medical LLC
1176 Memorial Dr.
$19,045.10 — Interior renovations to two exam rooms

Manchem LLC
836 East Main St.
N/A — Commercial fire alarm

Dennis Menard
21 Tourtellotte Ave.
$2,471 — Remove and replace two windows

Abdullah Zahraa
147 School St.
$12,000 — Roofing

HADLEY

Pyramid Mall of Hadley Newco LLC
367 Russell St.
N/A — Remove Sephora from space, reconfigure fixtures

Walter Wanczyk Jr.
180 Russell St.
N/A — Install new sign on barn building

LEE

Berkshire Corporate Realty LLC
480 Pleasant St.
$931,501 — Roofing

LENOX

Chucky’s LLC
90 Main St.
$11,700 — Exploratory demolition of interior walls, ceiling, and insulation

PITTSFIELD

Pittsfield Cooperative Bank
70 South St.
$9,500 — Create two new offices and reception area on third floor

Tower 21C LLC
123 North St.
$15,000 — Cut and remove brick walls and portions of concrete slab for new piers and repair existing plumbing waste line

SOUTH HADLEY

Mount Holyoke College
50 College St.
$120,000 — Minor demolition and removal of finishes, new interior walls, new lighting, new plumbing for kitchen, new cabinets and flooring, minor HVAC work

SPRINGFIELD

Mary Vargas Alcala
23 Glenham St.
$10,500 — Install solar panels to roof of detached garage

Behavioral Health Network
401 Liberty St.
$6,703 — Alter cafeteria space at Cole’s Place into new food pantry

Boston Road/Pasco Rt 20 Retail LLC
1340 Boston Road
$420,000 — Alter interior tenant space for Kay Jewelers

Jewish Community Center
1160 Dickinson St.
$80,000 — Install new fire-alarm system

Red Diamond Properties LLC
281 State St.
$14,000 — Install new fire-alarm system at Playful Minds

Glenda Serrano
66 Redlands St.
$26,535 — Install solar panels to roof of detached garage

Springfield Qoz Self-Storage II LLC
55 Emery St.
$495,000 — Roof removal over ballast and decking, interior demolition, and removal of windows and doors in former Kittredge Building

Zhengs 168 Enterprise LLC
20 Montgomery St.
$26,000 — Remove and replace retaining wall at rear of property

BusinessTalk with Christina Royal, president of Holyoke Community College

By BusinessWest Staff January 23, 2023

Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 146: January 23, 2023

George Interviews Christina Royal, president of Holyoke Community College

Christina Royal, president of Holyoke Community College, is the guest on the next installment of BusinessTalk. In a wide-ranging discussion with BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien, she talks about what might come next for her — she announced last fall that she will moving on to the next stage of her career later this year — and what will likely come next for the area’s community colleges, a key cog in regional economic development efforts. It’s all must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

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Webber & Grinnell Insurance Maintains Its Local Focus

By Joseph Bednar January 20, 2023

Banking and Financial Services

Policy of Partnership

Among other reasons, Bill Grinnell says Webber & Grinnell joined with the Alera Group because of its commitment to the agency’s local focus.

Bill Grinnell says last year’s move by Webber & Grinnell Insurance to become part of the national Alera Group hasn’t changed much about the agency’s business model or its relationships with clients. And that was the idea.

“We’re still managing the agency locally here in Northampton and Holyoke,” said Grinnell, the agency’s longtime partner. “It’s still basically the same crew we had before, outside of some normal turnover.”

So why the move to Alera?

“I turned 60 last year, and we’re looking toward the future of perpetuating the agency and continuing to grow it, so we began looking for partners to help us perpetuate that moving forward,” he said. “We talked to 10 to 12 overall, and Alera, hands down, was the one group that really fit all our needs, and thus we became part of the Alera Group.

Partner Mike Welnicki, who specializes in employee benefits, explained why Alera stood out.

“Our area is a tight-knit business community, and we knew, if we joined a firm that wanted us to rebrand right away, to maybe move our offices or join up with other companies and really change the way that our model worked, we were going to lose that small-business feel in Western Massachusetts,” he said. “What Alera told us was, ‘we’re going to give you all the resources both regionally and nationally, but you’ve been successful for over 100 years; keep running your business the way you run it, and we want to be part of that.’ That’s really what made Alera stick out immediately.”

“What Alera told us was, ‘we’re going to give you all the resources both regionally and nationally, but you’ve been successful for over 100 years; keep running your business the way you run it, and we want to be part of that.”

What has changed, Grinnell said, is the breadth of resources Webber & Grinnell can now access.

“Our business is split three ways: personal lines, commercial lines, and employee benefits. Alera has a group of other property-casualty agencies, other employee-benefit agencies, across the Northeast. And we’re on the phone or in meetings just collaborating with them all the time. For example, we might get an opportunity to work on a risk, but we might not have the expertise or experience to enable us to write that risk, but another Alera agency might specialize in that market niche. So we’re able to tap into their expertise, into their markets. It just brings extra insurance minds and experience to the table in addition to what we had already at Webber & Grinnell.”

Mat Geffin says Webber & Grinnell has been consistently growing both organically and geographically.

Jenna Duval, Commercial Lines manager at Webber & Grinnell, said Alera’s values also lined up with the local agency. “That’s where it was an easy sell with my team to get behind Alera; they really do work in a collaborative spirit, and they work with each person to make sure those individual needs are being met, and it’s not just the big corporate feel of one company. We run as an individual branch with that collaborative spirit, and it really does make a huge difference with morale; everybody is on board with it.”

Beyond the new affiliation, Webber & Grinnell has been growing both organically and geographically, said Mat Geffin, another partner. He was on Cape Cod when he spoke with BusinessWest, an example of how the agency’s reach has spread.

“Our roots are in Western Mass., and that’s where the bulk of our business is, but we get pulled into clients all over New England, just because of our approach, the way we work with clients, and the value they get from it. From an organic growth standpoint, year over year, I want to say we’re always consistently growing in that 8% to 10% range, some years bigger, some years smaller, but we’re consistently growing, and most of it is referral-based business. And I think it’s because of the consultative approach we take to this business, which clients really appreciate, and it differentiates us quite a bit.”

Threat Assessment

That approach ensures that clients understand all their risks and exposures so they purchase the right policy, but it goes much deeper than that, Geffin said.

“We get really involved in the client’s business. Of course, we have a huge personal-lines operation as well, home and auto, but speaking from the commercial side of the house, it’s about being a part of their business, being on their team — understanding what they do operationally and how that translates to risk management, rather than just looking at it purely from the standpoint of coverage and insurance and quotes.

“Any agency can just quote a bunch of policies; that’s the basic part of the job,” he went on. “But how do you understand their operations, their culture, their level of employee engagement, and how that translates to risk and risk management? That’s the difference. And I think that’s what clients value about what we do.”

Welnicki said Webber & Grinnell wants clients to see the agency as a key employee in their firm.

“You need to evaluate what revenues we’re receiving as your broker and decide, are we worth it, just like any other key employee? If we’re not, then we’re not the right fit,” he explained. “We really want them to view us as an important resource of their business, and that’s why our retention rates have been in that 97%, 98%, 99% range year after year, to help us achieve that 8% to 10% growth.”

“We’re consistently growing, and most of it is referral-based business. And I think it’s because of the consultative approach we take to this business, which clients really appreciate, and it differentiates us quite a bit.”

Risk is always evolving, Grinnell said, most notably in the cyber liability realm. Since major breaches like

Bill: It’s always evolving. The biggest new coverage that emerged in the last five to eight years is cyber liability, and even that started off really as a coverage to protect your data. The TJ Maxx breach in 2007, which compromised the data of 94 million customers, and other breaches that followed have spurred companies to get on board with protecting their data.

“And that’s evolved even more; the bigger exposure now is extortion, where cyber thieves are coming in and shutting down your entire computer system and saying they want to be paid $100,000, $200,000, $500,000, or you’ll never log into your computer system again,” Grinnell said. “Not only is the coverage new, but how you’re selling it and what the exposures are have changed.”

So has the reporting employers have to do now because of the Affordable Care Act and a host of other regulatory entities, Welnicki said.

“You’ve got human-resource folks wearing 19 different hats, and controllers, CFOs, and business managers trying to do the HR functions. Part of our job is help support human resources, make sure they’re in compliance with the DOL and IRS and ACA. So many of our clients really don’t have that classically trained human resources professional, and that’s where our team, not only locally but with Alera nationally, can help them make sure they’re in full compliance.”

On the residential side, customers need to understand what their policies cover as well, Grinnell said, while insurance carriers are insisting on certain levels of protection these days, especially in coastal regions or other areas vulnerable to catastrophic weather, “because the cost of claims has just skyrocketed.”

Creating a Culture

Webber & Grinnell’s relationship with clients even extends to conversations about workplace culture, which is key to employee retention, especially at a time when businesses are struggling with that.

“We practice what we preach here at the agency, and we’re really proactive about creating a positive culture, and we’ve learned a lot along the way,” Grinnell said. “As a result, we’re able to have those conversations with our clients. So we get into not only insurance, but also just plain running your business and how to make it better. We try to have those overall business conversations with our clients and not just focus on quoting policies.”

Duval seconded the idea of practicing what they preach. “We’ve continued to build our culture. We have a work-hard, play-hard atmosphere; we’re definitely busy, and we put education into everything we do to better our employees, but we like to have fun, too.”

For example, a social committee plans events for both in-office and remote workers that helps everyone feel part of the organization and its collaborative spirit, she explained. “We want to get to know the team and have team-building moments, so everyone feels supported and has an opportunity to meet and talk and have that collaborative spirit outside of work.”

Geffin noted that culture is so important at Webber & Grinnell that the agency has a ‘culture book’ that’s given to new employees as part of the onboarding.

“It’s a way to emphasize how important culture is to the company, because, again, we try to practice what we preach. We talk about employee engagement with our clients, with our prospective clients, but most importantly with ourselves.”

That culture extends to supporting some 50 to 60 organizations in the community, by sponsoring events, like Safe Passage’s Hot Chocolate Run, and sitting on boards; for example, Grinnell is treasurer of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, and Geffin is treasurer of Clinical & Support Options.

“Whenever an employee has an idea on something they want to do from a community standpoint, we’re always figuring out how we can work it in,” Geffin said. “I think that’s just being a part of a business community with our peers and colleagues throughout Western Mass. What makes Western Mass. so great is we all do this. It’s not unique to us. We’re just happy to be a part of that community.”

When the agency acquired Ross Insurance in Holyoke several years ago, that was an important consideration for Ross as well, Grinnell said, which is why Webber & Grinnell has continued to support many Holyoke organizations.

It’s all part of a local focus that Alera has promoted from day one and impacts all parts of the business, he added.

“Alera’s tagline is ‘national scope, local service,’ and I think it’s really important to emphasize that, because we wanted that national scope, that ability to further enhance our colleagues’ careers and help our clients get more resources, yet not lose the local touch and the local leadership,” Geffin said. “When we made that move, that was top of the list.”

How to Attract Employees with the Right Retirement Plan

By Contributor January 20, 2023

Banking and Financial Services

Saving Grace

By Barbara Trombley, CPA

With a labor shortage and looming recession, attracting the right employee is more important than ever. Many small businesses are struggling to find qualified candidates.

Other than wages and healthcare, how can you make your business more attractive to a potential worker? Often, a retirement plan is the answer.

With the absence of traditional pensions today, the onus for retirement is on the employee. Many small-business owners may feel a personal responsibility to enable their employees to fund a retirement. Not having one at all can certainly be a deal breaker for many applicants.

The ability to save, directly from a paycheck, is very attractive. But what plan should you offer, and what are the costs? What are the benefits of the different types of plans?

The most common type of plan is a 401(k). You need only one employee to set up a 401(k). The biggest advantage to this plan is the high level of salary deferrals that it allows. The limit for 2023 is $22,500 with a $7,500 catch-up contribution for those over age 50. Many plans can offer both pre-tax contributions and post-tax (Roth) contributions. There are many investment choices that are possible in a 401(k) plan. Also, many plans are associated with a financial advisor who will offer education to your employees, possibly helping them save more for retirement.

“Other than wages and healthcare, how can you make your business more attractive to a potential worker? Often, a retirement plan is the answer.”

Barbara Trombley

One drawback is that a 401(k) plan can be one of the more expensive types of plans to set up and maintain. The plan needs to be either a safe-harbor plan, where the employer must make a specified matching contribution or automatically deposit 3% of the employee’s salary into the plan (any contributions made by the employer are tax-deductible), or the plan needs to be tested each year to ensure that the plan does not discriminate against highly compensated employees.

In the past, this type of plan had to be offered to all employees over 21 years of age who work at least 1,000 hours. The rules are changing to allow some part-time workers to participate. In my opinion, a 401(k) plan is the most advantageous plan to the employee but may cost the employer more in administration, setup fees, and safe-harbor contributions compared to other plans.

Another popular plan for employers is the SEP plan. Again, this plan can be offered by businesses with more than one employee. The main difference between the SEP plan and a 401(k) is that SEP contributions are made only by the employer; there are no employee contributions. This type of plan is very simple to set up and does not have testing requirements. The maximum annual contribution is 25% of salary, up to a limit of $66,000. The employer has to make the same percentage contribution for each of his or her employees.

The benefit of this plan is that it is very simple to set up; the drawback to the plan is that the business owner needs to make all of the contributions, which may not be economically feasible. As an advisor, I often see a solo business owner having this type of plan.

What if a business owner does not want the complexity and costs of a 401(k) and does not want to fully fund a retirement plan like the SEP? A Simple Plan may be the answer. A Simple Plan can be offered by a business with fewer than 100 employees. There is no annual filing, and you usually use a financial advisor to set it up and choose the investments.

The limit for an employee’s contribution is $15,500 in 2023, or $19,000 if the employee is over age 50. The reductions can come directly from payroll, and the employee can decide how much to contribute. The employer must either contribute 2% of each employee’s compensation or match 100% of employees’ contributions up to 3% of their salary (which can be lowered to 1% in any two of five years). This plan is attractive to many small-business owners as the administration overhead is drastically reduced compared to a 401(k), and there is a relatively small matching contribution that needs to be made.

Lastly, I have helped a few small businesses set up a Payroll Deduction IRA. This is the perfect solution for an owner that would like to enable their employees to save for retirement but may not have the funds for matches or administration. In this type of plan, the employee can contribute up to the Traditional IRA limit ($6,500 if under age 50 and $7,500 if over), with the funds drawn directly from their paycheck. There are no setup fees for the business owner and no employer matches or testing requirements. The employees own their account if they change jobs. Many people are eligible to contribute to a Traditional IRA, but having the deduction made through payroll makes the plan more accessible.

As an additional motivation for a small business to set up a retirement plan, the federal government has been increasing the incentives to the business owner with tax credits. The owner can deduct up to 50% or $500 of plan startup and administration costs for the first three years of the plan. Additional tax credits may become available as our government continues to encourage retirement saving. Consult your financial advisor or an employee-benefits specialist to set up a plan.

Barbara Trombley is a financial planner with Wilbraham-based Trombley Associates Investment and Retirement Planning; (413) 596-6992. Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services offered through Trombley Associates, a registered investment advisor and separate entity from LPL Financial. This material was created for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as ERISA, tax, legal, or investment advice. If you are seeking investment advice specific to your needs, such advice services must be obtained on your own separate from this education material.

Area Banks Navigate Unpredictable Economic Tides

By Joseph Bednar January 19, 2023

Banking and Financial Services Special Coverage

Cloudy Forecast

Paul Scully says loan demand was strong in 2022 despite the interest-rate hikes.

A constant flow of interest-rate increases didn’t exactly make borrowers happy in 2022, Paul Scully said, but it didn’t keep them from participating in the economy.

“I think, coming out of the pandemic, there was a pent-up desire to reconnect, within business circles and in communities. We had a terrific year for lending,” said Scully, president and CEO of Country Bank, which opened a new business production office in Tower Square in downtown Springfield last year. “That’s worked out beautifully for us. Our loan production in 2022 was the greatest level ever — we originated over $400 million in loans, almost $170 million in net growth.”

A broadening of the focus made a difference, Scully said. “Country Bank has been known as a commercial real-estate lender; that was our niche. We’ve gotten more deliberately into C&I lending from 2021 going into 2022, and have done some significant C&I deals: $10 million, $20 million, $30 million deals. We have the expertise in house to be able to do that. And based on our capitalization — we’re one of the highest-capitalized banks in the Commonwealth — it gives us the opportunity to be able to grow along with businesses and customers.”

bankESB’s holding company, Hometown Financial Group, continued to grow in 2022 as well, with the acquisition of Randolph Bancorp and its subsidiary, Envision Bank, which was merged into Abingdon Bank, another Hometown holding, more than doubling its presence on the South Shore.

“The most interest-sensitive customers are residential borrowers, and as residential mortgage rates rose throughout 2022, we saw the volume of residential lending, especially refinances, drop dramatically. Commercial lending is definitely impacted as well, though not to the same extent.”

“We’re in a very low-margin industry,” said bankESB and Hometown President and CEO Matt Sosik, explaining why growing geographically to create scale is an important part of the company’s strategy. “Any business person will tell you costs are rising, whether it’s insurance, utilities, fuel oil, you name it — and, of course, wages. It’s the same for us, and if we’re not growing, we’re going backward.”

That said, “we had our best earnings year ever in 2022, and it wasn’t even anywhere near second place,” Sosik noted.

Part of that was the fact that interest rates for borrowers rose so quickly that the lag between those rates and the rates paid to depositors generated income for banks. But heading into 2023, margins are again shrinking as deposit costs rise, and a slowing economy has some people worried about a possible recession, which would further soften the loan market.

“The most interest-sensitive customers are residential borrowers, and as residential mortgage rates rose throughout 2022, we saw the volume of residential lending, especially refinances, drop dramatically,” Sosik said. “Commercial lending is definitely impacted as well, though not to the same extent.”

Tony Worden, president and CEO of Greenfield Cooperative Bank, agreed.

“Obviously, the residential market became soft because of what’s going on with rates as the year progressed,” he told BusinessWest. “And frankly, the commercial lending market became softer because people don’t know what the economy is going to do going forward; they’re keeping their powder dry, as they say. They don’t want to make big decisions if they don’t know how the economy will turn out.

Matt Sosik says fundamentals like low inventory have kept housing prices high.

“This year, everyone is holding their breath to see what the outcome will be,” he went on. “Will the Federal Reserve be able to engineer a soft landing? Last year, we thought we were in for a couple of rate increases, but the rates went much higher than everyone thought they would. When you do strategic planning, you make assumptions about what the rate environment will be, and we were all wrong last year.”

This year, economic projections include not only the rate issue, but whether unemployment will rise, what the impact of energy costs will be, and much more. On the topic of energy, Worden said the region has seen a mild winter so far, so that could help people weather the still-high costs.

“I guess if people knew what was going to happen, they could make a lot of money. From a banking standpoint, a lot of loan customers don’t want to make decisions until they know where we’re all situated.”

Saving and Spending

Worden lend some recent historical perspective to what banks are seeing when it comes to consumer and business behavior, starting in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For a few months, Americans were saving at a rate that hadn’t been seen in 80, 90 years. They were saving money, they weren’t going anywhere, there was a lot of stimulus, both federal and state, and banks saw their deposits increase tremendously because people were sitting on a lot of cash.”

While that’s generally not a bad thing for banks, he said, cooperative banks not only pay for FDIC insurance, but also pay premiums on the private Depositors Insurance Fund, which covers deposits beyond the $250,000 the FDIC covers. “All the deposits coming in but no loan demand cost us money in a way; we were paying insurance on all the deposits, but couldn’t put the deposits to work.”

In the second year of the pandemic, people were starting to spend again, take vacations, and work on their homes, while most stimulus had ended, so deposit levels crept toward a more typical environment, and loans picked up as well. And while the current interest-rate environment has made some potential borrowers skittish, Worden said it’s important to note that those rates are still historically low — yes, a fixed 30-year mortgage rate is north of 5% right now, but a generation ago, it was 17% or higher.

“I think it’s a mental thing with borrowers,” he went on. “Rates were so low for an extended time, you get used to that mentally, and it’s hard to readjust when they start going up again.”

“Last year, we thought we were in for a couple of rate increases, but the rates went much higher than everyone thought they would. When you do strategic planning, you make assumptions about what the rate environment will be, and we were all wrong last year.”

Still, Sosik said, the housing market remains strong due to the fundamentals of low inventory levels and those still relatively low interest rates. But especially with remote work taking hold, “people who may be inclined to think about moving may not want to give up their 3% mortgage.’

“And there’s not a flow of new inventory, so we have this interesting dynamic where rates are rising, but it’s not impacting home prices materially,” he added — especially for a class of higher-income cash buyers who aren’t interest-sensitive.

“There’s a lot of liquidity in the economy, a lot of it funneled toward the residential market,” he said. “Volume is still good, but inventory is still low. Everything is still working; it’s just more expensive to borrow.”

Scully said Country continues to see significant loan demand early in 2023 — “not at the level of 2022, but we are seeing good pockets of business on the commercial side.” Meanwhile, to help customers purchase homes, the bank kicked off a homebuyers’ program in the fall featuring no money down and no private mortgage insurance in select areas.

“We’re still seeing a decent residential market, not as robust as it had been, but still decent,” he said. “On the commercial side, we’re still looking at some interesting deals. But everyone is holding their breath when it comes to construction lending for large projects.”

That said, investors are seeing positive signs, he added, including a comeback for retail and hospitality. “The restaurant industry is starting to have workers come back.”

Meanwhile, Scully added, “unemployment is still pretty low, and we’re not hearing much of layoffs, so hopefully we’ll see the Fed reach its level, see that interest-rate changes have impacted inflation, and we may be starting to see the other side of this sometime in 2023.”

Tony Worden says everyone is hoping the Fed helps the economy to a “soft landing” with its rate policy aimed at reversing inflation.

Worden said no one really knows where the economy will turn, though there are hopeful signs. “As we see inflation numbers coming down, we’ll start to get an idea whether what the Fed is doing is starting to work. And maybe they’ll start pulling back on rate increases. If they can pull off that soft landing, we might see people reinvesting in business, buying equipment, buying new properties. But I think everyone is waiting a little bit.

“When you have a good economy, banks do well; people are out investing, buying, selling, doing things,” he added. “When the economy is bad, banks struggle because no one’s out doing anything.”

Community Counts

The higher-than-usual heating costs that impact every homeowner affect bank employees as well, Scully said, which is why Country recently gave a $750 stipend to all its employees to mitigate those impacts, and other inflationary pressures.

But Country isn’t taking its focus off the community at large, recently adopting the tagline “made to make a difference,” which applies not only to customers and business clients, but to the community as well, where the bank has focused much philanthropic energy over the years to needs like healthcare and food security. In 2022, the bank donated close to $1.3 million, a year after donating a total of $1 million to two major food banks on top of its other giving.

Scully said the pandemic shed a spotlight on basic human needs, not only for banks, but their employees, who, at least in Country’s case, have been more engaged in recent years.

“We’re still seeing a decent residential market, not as robust as it had been, but still decent. On the commercial side, we’re still looking at some interesting deals. But everyone is holding their breath when it comes to construction lending for large projects.”

“We learned a lot about ourselves and humanity during the pandemic, and we have a lot of staff members who really flourished in the sense of being able to volunteer and give time to the community,” he explained. “This what our brand us all about.”

Worden said Western Mass. is fortunate to be home to numerous locally owned banks that are active in their communities by supporting nonprofits through direct donations and volunteer efforts.

“In other parts of the country, this isn’t a thing,” he said. “But up and down 91 are all these good, local, community banks, and we’re all doing what we can do for the community. Obviously, we want to make money; that’s how we stay in business and give raises to our employees and hire new employees. But when Western Mass. does well, we all do well.”

bankESB recently announced that a fundraising drive raised $35,000 for local food pantries, part of its robust charitable giving program known as the Giving Tree, which reflects the bank’s commitment to making a difference in the neighborhoods it serves.

“We try to give back to all the communities we’re in, and we pointedly give back to those in need, things like food insecurity, for both children and older folks,” Sosik said. “The objective of the Giving Tree campaign is around $1 million a year — giving that back to the communities we serve and trying to make a difference for those who truly need it.

“Food insecurity is a year-round problem,” he went on, “but we turn our focus on it a little more at the end of the year and make that the key part of our campaign.”

Looking out his window, Scully noted a $35 million project the bank financed. “That makes a difference for the property owner, but we want to make a difference for everyone in our community,” he told BusinessWest. “All community banks do a tremendous job with community giving, and we’re not cutting back on our giving. Our earnings may change, but we’re committed to our level of philanthropy.”

Picture This

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Picture This

Email ‘Picture This’ photos with a caption and contact information to [email protected]

No Shave November

No Shave November campaign 1

No Shave November campaign 2

TommyCar Auto Group joined forces with the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff Patrick Cahillane for their No Shave November campaign to raise awareness and funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This year, the Sheriff’s Office raised $2,440, which was matched by TommyCar Auto Group. In addition, TommyCar customers were also able to donate their TommyCar rewards points (which can be earned through vehicle servicing and spent toward a new car), adding another $3,736 for a grand total of $8,616, topping last year’s tally by $2,700.

Fighting Hunger

Pictured: two staff members at the Center for Access Services at STCC — Helen Angeles, assistant, and Luis Martinez, special programs coordinator — stand in the food pantry on campus known as the Ram Minimart.

Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received a $180,000 state grant to help students facing food insecurity. The Hunger Free Campus Initiative, a grant program funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, is intended to support college students who are experiencing food insecurity to reduce barriers to success.

Sparking Change

Pictured, from left: MSB President and CEO Dan Moriarty with Girls Inc. of the Valley’s Adrienne Garcia, Marketing & Communications coordinator; Ciara Speller, board member; and Alyssa Sirani, Development coordinator.

Monson Savings Bank (MSB) recently donated $1,000 to Girls Inc. of the Valley in support of its event, Speaking Out: Sparking Change. “This event invited members of the community to network and listen to a panel of inspiring local leaders,” said Suzanne Parker, executive director of Girls Inc. of the Valley.

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Court Dockets

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.

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Melissa Stetson v. Lower Mill Inc. and Jelly Belly’s Pools & Spas Inc.

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall causing personal injury: $53,182

Filed: 11/15/22

Justin Fernengel v. RCW Inc.

Allegation: Breach of employment contract: $150,000

Filed: 11/15/22

Daniel Poe and Brittney Poe v. Bretta Construction LLC, Thomas Jendrysik, Amy Beth Jendrysik, Dennis Powers and Richard Brooslin

Allegation: Legal malpractice, breach of contract, negligence, breach of contract of good faith and fair dealing, trespassing: $275,000

Filed: 11/16/22

Dennis Leclerc v. David Kalman, MD; Vikram Budhraja, MD; Linda Preston, MD; Jay Kuhn, MD; Holly Michaelson, MD; Rodrick Williams, MD; Milliam Kataoka, MD; Hampshire Gastroenterology Associates LLC; CentMass Imaging Inc.; Northampton Radiologic Associates Inc.; and New England Medical Imaging, P.C.

Allegation: Medical malpractice: $50,000

Filed: 11/16/22

Miguel Rivera v. Norberto Diaz and City of Springfield

Allegation: Negligence; motor-vehicle negligence causing personal injury: $7,068

Filed: 11/16/22

Brad Emmonds and Mary Ann Emmonds v. Jan Wojcik, MD; Trinity Health of New England Corp. Inc.; and Riverbend Medical Group

Allegation: Medical malpractice, negligence: $289,538.83

Filed: 11/18/22

Edgardo Gonzalez v. 659 State Street Apt LLC

Allegation: Negligence resulting in personal injury, failure to maintain property in a reasonable and safe manner: $32,628

Filed: 11/21/22

Maria Carrion v. PRRC Inc.

Allegation: Negligence resulting in personal injury: $35,854.92

Filed: 11/21/22

Catalina Davis v. Daniel Pava and Progressive Insurance

Allegation: Fraud, violation of HIPAA, falsifying medical document, emotional distress, harassment

Filed: 11/29/22

Quantum Properties LLC v. ESG Clean Energy LLC and Nicholas Scuderi

Allegation: Breach of contract, breach of purchase and sale agreement: $700,000

Filed: 11/29/22

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Florence Cichocki and Robert Cichocki v. Pikeshukumar Patel, M.D. and Baystate Gastroenterology

Allegation: Medical malpractice, negligence resulting in personal injury, pain and suffering, breach of expressed and implied warranties, failure to inform plaintiff of risks and potential consequences of choice of treatment, failure to inform plaintiff of alternative treatments, emotional distress, breach of warranties, failure to obtain informed consent, failure to adequately and properly diagnose plaintiff’s medical condition, failure to prescribe proper and timely treatment for condition: $50,000+

Filed: 12/7/22

Norman Guertin v. Gomez Enterprises I LLC and Jorge Gomez

Allegation: Employee discrimination, wrongful termination: $50,000+

Filed: 12/12/22

Brian Maraglia v. Joseph Chehade and Tall Cedar LLC

Allegation: Construction dispute, consumer-protection violations, breach of contract, negligence, misrepresentation: $41,210.07+

Filed: 12/13/22

Neighborhood Enterprises LLC v. 27 Brown Street LLC and Farmhouse Properties LLC

Allegation: Breach of contract: $1,011,320.23

Filed: 12/14/22

Agenda

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Agenda

Applications for Local Farmer Awards

Through Jan. 31: Farmers in Western Mass. are invited to apply for Local Farmer Awards of up to $2,500. These awards are for capital/infrastructure improvement projects related to growing, harvesting, and processing that will help farms compete in the marketplace. The Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation, in partnership with Big Y and with the support of other funders, is entering the ninth year of the awards program, which has helped more than 235 farmers carry out a total of 474 projects. Some examples of how the awards have been used include electric fencing, no-till equipment, irrigation improvements, frost-free water systems, feed troughs, and shade cloth for greenhouses. To be eligible, farms must have gross sales of $10,000 or above and either be a member of buy-local organizations Berkshire Grown or Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) or farm in one the four counties of Western Mass. For a full list of eligibility requirements and application information, farmers are encouraged to visit www.farmerawards.org.

YPS Membership Drive

Jan. 19: The Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS) will host its annual membership-drive networking event from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Springfield Country Club. This ‘Throwback’ Third Thursday membership drive and board alumni night will be hosted by former YPS board members Amie Miarecki and Alfonso Santaniello. Presented by the Westfield Starfires with support from America’s Box Choice and LiftTruck Parts & Service, the event will feature discounted membership rates, available exclusively on the night of the networking event. The membership drive is free and open to anyone who wishes to attend. Former YPS board of directors members are encouraged to attend the event early for a cocktail hour from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. to celebrate the 15th anniversary of YPS. The champagne toast will be sponsored by Sumner & Toner Insurance Agency Inc. and NRG Real Estate. Advance registration is requested. To register, visit www.springfieldyps.com/events.

Easthampton WinterFest

Feb. 11: The 10th annual Easthampton WinterFest will be held in locations throughout the city. The festival is organized by the Nashawannuck Pond Steering Committee and is a fundraising event created to bring public awareness about ongoing efforts needed to keep Nashawannuck Pond healthy for generations to come. More than 35 family-friendly activities and events are scheduled, and most are free to attend due to generous business sponsorship. Donations are accepted. Outdoor activities include a historical ice harvest on Nashawannuck Pond featuring historian Dennis Picard. Participants can try their hands at using a pond saw to ‘harvest’ blocks of ice as they learn about Easthampton’s part in the area’s ice industry. Other outdoor activities include a nature walk at Arcadia, Clay Hill Farm draft-horse wagon rides, and a fire by the pond. Ice carver Mike Rondeau will create an ice bar, luge, and tabletops on the Keystone Mill patio. Indoor activities at Keystone Mill, 122 Pleasant St., include a vendor/artisan/craft fair, Art in Motion dance demonstration, Dennis the Magician, puppeteer Tom Knight, a martial-arts demonstration, Emily Foxtrot dance lessons, and a Juggernaut Glass and Go with the Float open house. Emily Williston Library, the Council on Aging, and Easthampton Media are also planning events. Adult fun includes the first Winterfest Deca-Dance Gala, a ticketed event, at Boylston West Room featuring Johnny & the Flashbacks and appetizers by Meyers Catering and ice bar/luge outdoors on the Keystone patio featuring two signature drinks. Other events include a chili tasting hosted by Big Bear Used Books and Café, WinterFest After Dark with live music at Abandoned Building Brewery, 1 Man Party trivia at New City Brewery, and bingo at Abandoned Building Brewery. To view the full list of activities, visit www.nashawannuckpond.org/winterfest.html.

MOSSO Concert Series at Westfield Athenaeum

Feb. 23, March 23, April 20: The Westfield Athenaeum will present a three-concert chamber-music series with MOSSO (Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra) performing. This is the second year of this partnership. Guy McLain, executive director of the Westfield Athenaeum, will offer a pre-performance talk at 6 p.m., which is free to ticket holders. The Westfield Athenaeum series opens with MOSSO and Friends on Feb. 23. Violinist Beth Welty, horn player Sarah Sutherland, and pianist Elizabeth Skavish will perform horn trios of Frédéric Duvernoy, Trygve Madsen, and Johannes Brahms. Welty, chair of MOSSO, is acting principal second violin of MOSSO and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO). Sutherland, MOSSO and SSO horn player, is also MOSSO’s finance director. The series continues on Thursday, March 23 with a performance by the Vermont-based Champlain Trio, which includes MOSSO and SSO principal cello Emily Taubl. The Champlain Trio will perform “Brilliant Colors,” a program that features music by Tchaikovsky, Erik Neilsen (“Trio No. 2” written for the ensemble), Jennifer Higdon, Amy Beach, and Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite.” The series concludes on Thursday, April 20 with MOSSO and SSO horn player Robert Hoyle’s quintet, the Connecticut-based Harmonia V. The quintet will celebrate April in Paris with an all-French program, featuring pieces by Barthe, Fauré, Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy, Pierné, and Lefebvre. Tickets for the concerts, $25 per person, must be purchased in advance at the Westfield Athenaeum during business hours, or online at www.westath.org.

Chamber Corners

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Chamber Corners

1BERKSHIRE

(413) 499-1600; www.1berkshire.com

Jan. 20: Women & Minority Owned Business Certification Summit, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., hosted by Berkshire Innovation Center, 45 Woodlawn Ave., Pittsfield. 1Berkshire, EforAll Berkshire County, Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp., Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and Berkshire Innovation Center welcome any women- and/or minority-owned businesses in the Berkshires to join us for this free event that will provide information about becoming a certified women- and minority-owned business enterprise (WMBE), a space to network with fellow businesses, and direct access to resource providers who can walk you through the process of certification. This event is free and includes lunch. Registration is required at www.1berkshire.com.

Jan. 31: 1Berkshire Entrepreneurial Meetup, 4:30- 6 p.m., hosted by Anahata Schoolhouse Yoga and Wellness Center, 201 North Summer St., Adams. Join us for our first Entrepreneurial Meetup of 2023. Reconnect with your colleagues and hear from owner Howard Rosenberg about his entrepreneurial journey. This event is free to attend and made possible through the support of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. Registration is required at www.1berkshire.com.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 527-9414; www.easthamptonchamber.org

Jan. 19: Annual meeting, 12-2 p.m., hosted by the Boylston Room, 122 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Join us as we share the successes of the last year, what we have learned, and where we are headed. Cost: $35 for members, including lunch; $40 for future members, including lunch. To register, visit easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 568-1618; www.westfieldbiz.org

Jan. 26: Morning Brew, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Shortstop Bar & Grill, 99 Springfield Road, Westfield. Join us for a great networking opportunity. Introduce yourself and your business to the attendees. Everyone has a chance to discuss what their business does and what they are looking for to expand and improve. This event is free to attend. To register, visit www.westfieldbiz.org.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

People on the Move

Megan Lagoy

UMassFive College Federal Credit Union announced that Megan Lagoy has been promoted to assistant vice president (AVP) of Loan Operations. Lagoy began her career at UMassFive in 2012 as a call-center representative before taking on other various Contact Center roles, eventually becoming assistant vice president of the Contact Center and Interactive Teller Machine department. More recently, she held direct oversight of UMassFive’s flagship Hadley branch in the position of assistant vice president of Retail Services. Her various roles at the credit union over the past 10 years have prepared her for this transition to assistant vice president of Loan Operations.

•••••

Girls Inc. of the Valley recently welcomed five new members to its board of directors: Nikai Fondon, George Keady, Alaina Macaulay, Cheri Mills, and Ciara Speller. These new members join the current board of directors to support strategic planning to map out the future of the organization. Fondon has worked at Marketing Doctor Inc. since January as a marketing specialist and previously worked at the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) as a donor-engagement coordinator and scholarship program associate for four years. She currently serves as a board member for the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield (YPS). She has been a panelist for the 2020 Girls and Racism Virtual Town Hall and has worked with Girls Inc. teens on creative writing and marketing projects. She was recognized as a Dream Maker at Spirit of Girls 2022. Keady has worked at UBS Financial Services/Wealth Management in Springfield for 39 years and, upon retirement this year, was a managing director. He has served as a board member for CFWM and Saint Michael’s College, and was a chairperson for Glenmeadow Retirement Community and Bay Path University. He has been a long-time champion for girls and friend of Girls Inc. Macaulay is the senior director for Inclusion and Strategic Engagement at UMass Amherst. She worked previously at UMass Amherst Isenberg School of Management for three years as the executive director of Diversity and Inclusion and, before that, at Elms College as the director of Diversity and Inclusion for two years. She has been involved with Girls Inc. through support of the 2020 Girls and Racism Virtual Town Hall. She currently serves as a board member for YPS and Chester Theatre Co. Mills has worked at PeoplesBank for eight years as a Business Banking manager and is currently the assistant vice president. She has been involved with Girls Inc. as a volunteer through the finance committee this past year. She also served on the corporate and community impact committee and helped secure sponsorship commitments for Spirit of Girls 2022. Speller has worked at WWLP as an evening anchor for five years. She has been involved with Girls Inc. for the past couple of years, including as the moderator for the 2020 Girls and Racism Virtual Town Hall and host for Spirit of Girls 2021. She and WWLP did the news broadcast live for Spirit of Girls 2022 on location at the Big E, where she was also a recipient of a Girls Inc. Dream Maker award. She also serves as a board member for the nonprofit I Found Light Against All Odds.

•••••

Monte Belmonte

New England Public Media has hired local radio personality Monte Belmonte as host and executive producer of a new radio show and podcast celebrating life in Western Mass. Belmonte comes to New England Public Media (NEPM) from 93.9 the River/WRSI, where he’s hosted the popular “Mornings with Monte” since 2006. The new show and podcast will launch later this winter. Belmonte will be joined by Kaliis Smith, who also comes to NEPM from the River, where she hosted weekday evenings and was a regular guest on “Mornings with Monte.” Smith will be the show’s digital producer and will join Belmonte on air. Belmonte plans to bring some of his regular guests and popular segments to the live, daily program, along with new segments and opportunity for regular audience call-ins. The show will be available as a podcast and on YouTube. Belmonte will also have a presence at NEPM events and other station initiatives.

•••••

After a yearlong national search, the board of directors at Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts (JFSWM) announced the hiring of a new CEO, Rabbi James Greene, who brings more than two decades of expertise in the Jewish nonprofit world from the interdenominational space of Jewish community centers (JCCs) and independent camps. JFS’s current CEO, Maxine Stein, whose vision and leadership was responsible for the agency’s unprecedented growth and expansion during her tenure, will retire at the end of January 2023. After 20 years of professional communal work, Greene sees the need for bringing core Jewish values to the work of building a stronger community and is excited by the challenge of empowering people to build better lives and growing organizational capacity to meet the needs of this unique moment at JFS. He spent nine years in the JCC movement, first as the program director at the Addison-Penzak JCC, and more recently as the assistant executive director for the Springfield JCC. In early 2020, he stepped into Jewish camping full-time as the executive director at Camp Laurelwood, where he successfully guided the agency through the pandemic, grew fundraising and grant revenue, took new programs from vision to successful execution in partnership with community agencies around the state, and oversaw the creation of a strategic vision to guide the organization into the future. Greene has a bachelor’s degree in Holocaust and Judaic studies from Florida Atlantic University, and a master’s degree in Hebrew letters rabbinic ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Company Notebook

Hot Plate Brewing Co. Receives National Recognition

PITTSFIELD — Hot Plate Brewing Co., a Latina-owned brewery opening in downtown Pittsfield in early 2023, was selected as one of the Imbibe 75 in the January/February 2023 issue of Imbibe. According to the magazine, the Imbibe 75 features “individuals, organizations, and businesses that are dedicated to creating a more positive, sustainable, inclusive, and equitable drinks world.” As a BIPOC- and women-owned business, Hot Plate was selected by Imbibe because of the company’s mission to make the craft-beer world more accessible and inclusive. According to the Brewers Assoc., less than 1% of all American craft breweries are owned by women of color, which makes Hot Plate stand out in a crowded, maturing marketplace. Beyond representation, Hot Plate also seeks to leverage its founders’ professional skillsets to execute on their brand promise in a data-driven way. With almost 40 years of combined experience in market research, brand development, and data analysis, founders Sarah Real and Mike Dell’Aquila plan on implementing tools and best practices to reach, inspire, and engage historically underrepresented consumers. In addition to its beers and marketing plans, Hot Plate also intends to make a tangible, positive impact in the Berkshires with its Community Line, which will feature collaborations with a rotating list of mission-aligned nonprofit organizations and raise money for a variety of causes; proceeds from these collaborative beers will go directly to the charitable organizations with whom they are partnering.

PeoplesBank Donates Record $2.3 Million in 2022

HOLYOKE — For a second year in a row, PeoplesBank set a new annual record for donations to civic and charitable causes. The bank tallied $2.3 million in donations for 2022, which is $1 million dollars more than last year’s record. Since 2011, the bank has donated well over $13 million to area causes. “Supporting the community is essentially what we were set up to do,” said Tom Senecal, president and CEO of PeoplesBank. “We are a mutual bank, chartered to serve our customers and the communities they live in. As a mutual bank, we do not have stockholders who would divert profits. Therefore, we are able to significantly support nonprofits and other community causes.” As a large regional employer whose values include community service, Senecal added, PeoplesBank is able to increase its support to the community and social-service organizations through volunteerism. “We have a lot of talent in our organization, and because of that, we have a significant presence on area nonprofit boards of directors. We also look for opportunities to roll up our sleeves and serve, and we spend thousands of hours each year doing that.”

Tighe & Bond Acquires WorldTech Engineering

WESTFIELD — Tighe & Bond, a Northeast leader in engineering, design, and environmental consulting, announced it has acquired WorldTech Engineering, a full-service transportation and civil-engineering firm. This strategic acquisition aligns with the firm’s vision of being a trusted advisor by offering clients a comprehensive, single-source solution to their engineering, design, and environmental-science needs. The addition of WorldTech’s staff bolsters Tighe & Bond’s transportation services across a complementary client base. Tighe & Bond’s current offices in Eastern Mass. offices are now augmented by WorldTech’s Woburn office, bringing the total number of offices to 13 across Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Maine.

MassDevelopment, PeoplesBank Complete Financing Package for New Girls Inc. Facility

HOLYOKE — The new Girls Inc. of the Valley headquarters and program center is one big step closer to reality thanks to a new financing package developed by MassDevelopment and PeoplesBank. Girls Inc. recently announced the closing of financing on a $2,275,000 MassDevelopment revenue bond for the new program center in Holyoke. PeoplesBank was the purchaser of the bond, continuing the bank’s longtime support of Girls Inc. of the Valley. MassDevelopment enhanced the bond with a $455,000 mortgage insurance guarantee. The newly renovated, 16,000-square foot facility will allow the organization to consolidate its programs at one location. It will include a cutting-edge STEM makers’ space, a library, two multi-purpose rooms, a teen lounge, a kitchen and dining area, and administrative offices.

ILI Awarded Five-year Grant for Free English Classes

NORTHAMPTON — In mid-December, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) announced the results of its competitive grant program to fund free English classes for immigrants and refugees across the state. The International Language Institute of Massachusetts (ILI), located in Northampton, was on the list. “We were thrilled to get the good news,” said Macey Faiella, director of ILI’s English programs. “The pandemic shed new light on the disparities that face immigrants and refugees, and we reassessed our program to include greatly expanded offerings. DESE responded positively — all to the benefit of the students.” For 34 years, ILI has partnered with the state to provide free English classes in Western Mass. The new award extends the partnership for an additional five years and funds about two-thirds of the overall program. ILI is responsible for the remaining costs, raised primarily from individual donors and local businesses and foundations.

Country Bank Grants $30,000 to Revitalize CDC

WARE — Country Bank, a full-service financial institution serving Central and Western Massachusetts, announced a $30,000 grant to support Revitalize Community Development Corp. (CDC) in Springfield. Revitalize CDC performs critical repairs, modifications, and rehabilitation on the homes and nonprofit facilities of low-income families with children, elderly military veterans, and people with special needs. In 2022, the organization served 826 households with 2,309 individuals across Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee, and completed 75 home repairs, nine owned by military veteran families.

AIC Receives Second Grant to Expand Scope of DEIB Objectives

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) announced it has received a $35,000 grant from the Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation to support the college’s commitment to embracing diversity and fostering a sense of belonging. The grant will assist in establishing an Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) on campus to expand the breadth and scope of activities and initiatives that support the College’s DEIB objectives as outlined in AIC’s newly released five-year strategic plan, “AIC Reimagined.” On Dec. 6, the college also received a $30,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts to support the establishment of this office. With these grants, the creation of the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging will help AIC create and sustain an organizational environment and culture that readily acknowledges and celebrates DEIB by achieving a more diverse and inclusive undergraduate and graduate student body, faculty, and staff.

Bank of America’s Support for Massachusetts Food Relief Tops $1,175,000 in 2022

BOSTON — Bank of America announced a $275,000 donation to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, the Greater Boston Food Bank, Lovin’ Spoonfuls, and the Worcester County Food Bank to help address food insecurity in the state. The donation is part of a unique program to encourage bank employees to support the health and safety of their teammates and help address one of the most critical needs facing communities: food insecurity. As part of this program, Bank of America donated $50 to local hunger-relief organizations on behalf of employees who got their annual flu shot and an additional $50 donation for those who received and recorded their coronavirus vaccine booster before Nov. 23. The $275,000 donation builds on the bank’s first phase of the vaccine campaign, which resulted in $575,000 raised earlier this year. Along with other financial support, Bank of America has given more than $1,175,000 to help fight hunger in Massachusetts in 2022. The overall commitment is part of the bank’s longstanding efforts to address hunger relief and support the health and safety of its employees and community. As a result of these efforts, Bank of America has committed nearly $19 million to local hunger-relief organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, as well as to the World Central Kitchen and World Food Programme globally.

STCC Awarded $1.17 Million to Expand Adult-education Services

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received $1,174,200 in state funding to expand adult-education services after submitting for a competitive grant. The Baker-Polito administration announced historic funding amounts to STCC and 73 other adult-education providers and seven correctional institutions in the state. The awards total $250 million over the next five years. Statewide, adult education services will expand to new programs not currently funded and provide 5,000 total seats for adult basic education students and more than 16,000 for adult English learners. The Workforce Development Center at STCC provides free adult education through the Springfield Adult Learning Center. The community can take classes to further their education by obtaining a high-school equivalency certificate, which includes preparing for a GED or HiSET exam; developing computer, email, or internet skills; learning English as a second language; or enrolling as a student at STCC after earning a high-school equivalency certificate. STCC will receive funding for fiscal 2024, which starts July 1, 2023.

Westfield State Receives $1 Million in Community Project Funding

WESTFIELD — Westfield State University was included in community project funds secured by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal. Of the $20,367,800 included in the final 2023 appropriations government-funding package for the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts, $1 million will go toward supporting Westfield State University’s training capacity for nursing and health science students and providing a space for healthcare practitioners from both academia and practice sectors to explore, design, and prototype solutions to current healthcare gaps. Funding will be used to expand and enhance Westfield State’s simulation spaces, including the development of a new ‘Easy Street’ simulation space that will allow healthcare students to apply concepts of home-based and community care in their learning.

Franklin-Hampshire CASA Receives $31,000 Grant

NORTHAMPTON — Franklin-Hampshire CASA has been awarded a $31,000 needs-based grant from the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem Assoc. for Children (CASA/GAL). Franklin-Hampshire CASA recruits, trains, and supports volunteers who advocate for the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. The national CASA/GAL needs-based grants are designed to help sustain the capacity of local programs to recruit, screen, train, supervise, and retain CASA/GAL volunteers while maintaining quality advocacy and supporting initiatives to increase the number of children served. The $31,000 grant will enable Franklin-Hampshire CASA to focus on sustaining service to qualifying children in Franklin and Hampshire counties. Friends of Children was formed as a nonprofit child-advocate organization in 1990 to address the needs of high-risk children who are not readily supported by systems designed to protect them and encourage their full participation in society. Friends of Children has provided child-advocacy services to more than 15,000 children, 99% of whom are low-income.

STCC Receives $75,000 State Grant to Help Close Achievement Gaps

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) received a $75,000 state grant to increase the faculty’s core equity competencies and knowledge about racial equity, social justice, and structures that have an impact on student success. The Massachusetts Higher Education Innovation Fund grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education will support professional development for 20 faculty members. The goal of the project is to help underserved and underrepresented students — especially students of color — succeed along their academic journey, from applying to STCC to graduation. With the funding in hand, STCC plans to recruit faculty who will join a core coaching group known as Equity Leaders & Guides who will train in equity-minded practices. At the conclusion of their work, they will share their discoveries with STCC colleagues. The faculty will work together to discover new teaching techniques and will attend workshop training with the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton. In addition, they will engage in a virtual book club, among other tasks. STCC, which has a technical focus in all its programs, is designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution. About 30% of the student body are Latino, Latina, or Latinx.

HCC Grant to Expand Outreach to Formerly Incarcerated

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) has been awarded an $81,605 Bridges to College grant from the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education to expand community outreach to adult learners who have been previously incarcerated. Specifically, the money goes to Western Mass CORE, an HCC program that works in partnership with the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department to facilitate pathways to education for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals. CORE stands for community, opportunity, resources, and education. The program was founded in 2019 by two HCC professors, Nicole Hendricks (criminal justice) and Mary Orisich (economics). The Bridges to College grant will allow Western Mass CORE to expand office hours, advising services, and information sessions at the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department’s AISS facility, located in the WW Johnson Life Center on State Street in Springfield. AISS stands for Al Inclusive Support Services (formerly After Incarceration Support Services). The grant will also support the hiring of a new community-navigator position to lead this outreach work. This is Western Mass CORE’s third Bridges to College grant as project lead. The grant also will provide funding for Western Mass CORE to host a series of community events, including a monthly children’s story hour at the Holyoke Public Library for parents who have been previously incarcerated and their children, and community coffee hours at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute on Race Street. In the meantime, Western Mass CORE will continue its work inside the Hampden County Correctional Center in Ludlow and the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee. This spring, at the Ludlow jail, Hendricks will teach a criminology course, while Orisich will lead an economics class. HCC theater professor Patricia Sandoval will teach a fundamentals of acting class at the women’s jail.

Doing Business as Certificates

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of December 2022. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

AGAWAM

Business Planning and Development Services
66 Stony Hill Road
David Lyman

Chestnut Hill Farm & Services
625 Shoemaker Lane
Jon Benerakis

Collars and Couplings
92 Herbert P Almgren Dr.
Christopher Damore

Danner Painting
76 Alfred Circle
Eric Danner

Elite Services
172 School St.
Karen Melloni

Feeding Hills Dental Care
33 Southwick St.
Mark Bourcier

New Renovation Inc.
10 Columbus St., Unit 3
Roman Khyliuk

AMHERST

Bacon Wilson, P.C./Monsein & MacConnell
6 South East St.
Bacon Wilson

Public Serpents
44 North Pleasant St.
Sean Mcardle

BELCHERTOWN

Austin Ridge Acres
241 Bardwell St.
Loni Austin

Webster’s Garage
176 Federal St.
Barry Potter

CHICOPEE

Bowlero Chicopee
291 Burnett Road
Brett Parker

Everything Window Tint
450B New Ludlow Road
Victor Delgado

Jan’s Auto Service
1737 Donahue Road
Jan Wegrzynek

JD Group
515 Granby Road
John Dunn

Kristen Thiel, LMT
48 Center St., Suite 215
Kristin Thiel

DEERFIELD

Carolyn Wallace
66 North Main St.
Carolyn Wallace

Greenfield Antiques & Collectibles
242A Greenfield Road
Cynthia Meehan, Virginia Tash

EAST LONGMEADOW

Cherokee Flying Club Inc.
116 Meadowbrook Road
Hugh Stebbins

Dina Tax Services
72 Canterbury Circle
Dina Pham Lam

Dusty Goat Farm Living Foods
229 Hampden Road
Erin Sewell

FM Cleaning Service
7 Odion St.
Maria Machado

EASTHAMPTON

DCW Stairways
158 Line St.
Denis Shpak

Silver Spoon Restaurant
73 Main St.
Ana Diaz

ENFIELD

Acapulcos Mexican Restaurant
61 Palomba Dr.
Ruben Huerta

Asset Business & Tax Services
389 Elm St.
Barbara Crabb

CMI Time Management
89 Phoenix Ave.
Sean Grady

EVSE
89 Phoenix Ave.
Sean Grady

GREAT BARRINGTON

Berkshire Compost
307 North Plain Road
Melissa Beeson Higgins

Berkshire Glass & Glow
175 Main St.
Daniel Lowenstein

Berkshire Glass & Glow
965 Main St.
Daniel Lowenstein

GREENFIELD

AAP
12 Verde Dr.
David Komerzan

Cole Ecological Inc.
15 Bank Row, Suite B
Michael Cole

Fortin Painting
169 Wisdom Way
Shawn Fortin

Found & Co.
284 High St.
Tracy Dresser

Georgio’s Pizza
25 Main St.
Costas Alimonos

Green Mart Convenience
124 Conway St.
Sameer Khan

Ken’s Tax Prep
280 Main St.
Frank Dudek

L&S Cleaning
69 Devens St.
Serghei Taraburca

HADLEY

Aspen Dental
344 Russell St.
Patrick Dermesropian

Astarte Farm LLC
123 West St.
James Mead

Latino’s Cuisine
367 Russell St., Unit C19
Alejandro Peignand

LeCleaner
245 Russell St.
Cipriano Rodriques

LEE

Almost Anything Legal for a Buck, LLC
25 Greylock St.
Stephen Passetto

J.M. Salice
95 Old Pleasant St.
Joseph Salice

LENOX

21 Housatonic Street LLC
21 Housatonic St.
Scott Shortt

Brava
65 Church St.
Whitney Asher

Eye Care Center
55 Pittsfield Road, Unit 8A
Amanda Hale

LUDLOW

Hole Specialist
38 Virginia St.
Joseph Deliso

J.B. Meats
141 Center St.
John Batista

John’s Corner
784 Chapin St.
John Wrona

MONSON

Oktober Acres Equestrian Center
147 Wales Road
Aliya Corkery

NORTH ADAMS

Bluebird Cleaning Co.
23 South St.
Lydia Reyburn

Tim Allard Publishing
171 Kemp Ave.
Tim Allard

Top Shelf Sales
29 Dean St.
Mitchell Biros

NORTHAMPTON

Aubrey Clarinet Services
351 Pleasant St., Suite B196
Jonathan Aubrey

Bird’s Store
94 Maple St.
Gaurang Patel

Cat Nanny Love
60 Platinum Circle
Nevline Ninaji

Dunbar Associates
1152 Burts Pit Road
Joseph Dunbar

Fitness Together
22 Strong Ave.
Jessica Phaneauf

La Escuela Family Childcare
34 Hockanum Road
Bertha Thorman

Nail Care by Shawna
16 Center St., Suite 511
Shawna Rogers

PALMER

A to Z Heating and Cooling
422 Old Warren Road
Kevin Kowalski

Acropolis Pizza
1240 Park St.
Kathleen Athanasiadis

Apollo Pizza
1581 North Main St.
Jose Guimares

Baldyga Services LLC
11 Walnut St.
Bruce Baldyga

Bohnet Romani and Farrington PA
16 King St.
Jeffery Bohnet

Depot Auto Sales
1221 Thorndike St.
Edward Wurszt

Edward Jones
1448 Main St.
Edward Jones

Elite Transmision
320 Wilbraham St.
Robert Linehan III

Florian Soaps
11 Vernon St.
Ryan Gauthier

SOUTH HADLEY

Automotive Solutions
650 New Ludlow Road
Carriagetown Specialized Transportation Inc.

CR Auto Repair
55A School St.
Carlos Luis Rivera Morales

Ebenezer’s Bar & Grill
60 Bridge St.
DFI Enterprises

Hangar Pub & Grill
515 Granby Road
Chicowings Inc.

Lev Networks LLC
4 Karen Drive
Lev Networks

Liz Schwellenbach Massage Therapy
19 Ashfield Lane
Liz Schwellenbach

Medalco Metals
23 College St.
Metal Exchange Corp.

SOUTHAMPTON

The Mossy Apothecary LLC
285 College Highway
Allison Gero, Rebekah Hanlon

SPRINGFIELD

413Therapy
130 Maple St.
413Therapy

A.Tajae Clothing
17 Ringgold St.
A.Tajae Clothing

Acropolis Enterprises
191 Chestnut St.
Jorge Martinez

Before and After Beauty Services
686 Belmont Ave.
Jose Calderon

Boringquen Convenience Store
239 Dwight St.
Zainio LLC

Cintron Home Repair
11 Fordham St.
Javier Cintron

Cortes Transportation
59 Parkside St.
Ruddy Cortes

DS Design & Events Planner
104 Dunmoreland St.
Donnalee Stewart

DiLaura Naturals
245 Roosevelt Ave.
Tunzala Eynula

Family Dollar #32212
1250 St. James Ave.
Family Dollar Stores

First Family Logistics LLC
113 Cambridge St.
Veronica Wilson

G&G Transport
49 Webster St.
Jonathan Guzman

Garcia Transport
66 Oswego St.
Engel Garcia

Golden Base Tech Solutions
1500 Main St.
Michael Ayittey

Gorkha Mart
712 Sumner Ave.
Sita Pathak

The Hair Boutique
524 Main St.
Gary Corbett

Hancock Market
260 Hancock St.
Rigoberto Grullon, Cristine Batista

I.Q. Smoke Shop
1655 Boston Road
Cameron Quinlan

Immaculate Cleaning Service
64 Melha Ave.
Shukrallah Reissour

J’Majesty Hair Collection
30 Leete St.
Janeesa Smalls

SOUTHWICK

Della’s Property Services
23 North Longyard Road
Paul Della Giustina

JJORP Enterprises
1 Noble Steed Xing
Jason Perron

WARE

Hall of Fresh Embroidery and Designs
26 Pine St.
Bobbie Grimes

MSK Proofreading Services
25 Hardwick Pond Road
Martha Klassanos

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Appa Accounting & Tax Professionals
776 Westfield St.
Thinesh Kumar

Beauty Nails Care
366 Memorial Ave.
Long Ly

Cariot Consulting
1343 Riverdale St.
Jose Barina

Consumer Transport
75 West School St.
Miguel Garcia Jr.

Contractors Home Appliances
2025 Riverdale St.
Todd Thibodeau

C’s Signature and Cleaning Services
110 Old Barn Road
Lucy Mushi

WILBRAHAM

Mama Life Oils and Wellness
6 Old Farm Road
Jessica Petit

Melissa Stimpson Photography
10 Springfield St.
Melissa Stimpson

Bankruptcies

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Bankruptcies

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Andert, John T.
96 Everett St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/06/2022

Balg, Christopher J.
15 Athol Road
Philipston, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/02/2022

Battles, Jeffrey Keith
P.O. Box 2426
Westfield, MA 01086
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/07/2022

Bezio, Janice M.
111 Wildwood Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/06/2022

Bushey, Anthony Troy
92 Grove St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Chapter: 13
Date: 12/14/2022

Cerrone, Joan J.
630 Chicopee St., Apt. 307
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/01/2022

Colon Rodriguez, Noelia
4 Sawmill Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/09/2022

Foucher, Christopher J.
17 Tracy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Chapter: 13
Date: 12/05/2022

Madden, Michael Ewen
12B North Farms Road
Haydenville, MA 01039
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/12/2022

Moran, Stephen E.
9 Cricket Dr.
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Chapter: 13
Date: 12/08/2022

Nilsen, Leigh C.
88 Narragansett Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/09/2022

Peixoto, Marlene J.
39 Eunice Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Chapter: 13
Date: 12/02/2022

Richards, Victoria O.
86 Redden St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Chapter: 13
Date: 12/12/2022

Sherwin, James A.
226 Sewall St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/07/2022

Simonz, Eilbra
32 Winthrop St., 2nd Fl.
Springfield, MA 01105
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/12/2022

Real Estate Transactions

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

ASHFIELD

1910 Cape St.
Ashfield, MA 01096
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Madeline Leue
Seller: Edward T. Landers IRT
Date: 12/16/22

BERNARDSTON

11 Deacon Parker Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $5,300,000
Buyer: All Purpose Storage
Seller: Bernardston Self Storage
Date: 12/15/22

Northfield Road
Bernardston, MA 01337
Amount: $5,300,000
Buyer: All Purpose Storage
Seller: Bernardston Self Storage
Date: 12/15/22

DEERFIELD

208 Greenfield Road
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $226,000
Buyer: Finance Of America Structured
Seller: Margaret A. Robbins
Date: 12/19/22

6 Keets Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $196,500
Buyer: Kyle A. Johnson
Seller: Brandon Tessier
Date: 12/16/22

Mill Village Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Bar-Way Farm Inc.
Seller: Pasiecnik, James M., (Estate)
Date: 12/21/22

North Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: James Heller
Seller: John Bysiewski
Date: 12/19/22

144 North Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01373
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: James Heller
Seller: John Bysiewski
Date: 12/19/22

46 Old Main St.
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $1,750,000
Buyer: Trustees Of Deerfield Academy
Seller: Fenwick LLP
Date: 12/21/22

GREENFIELD

2 Birch St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Carol Martin
Seller: Chad D. Morey
Date: 12/15/22

147-151 Conway St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $905,000
Buyer: 407 Water Street LLC
Seller: David J. Larue
Date: 12/20/22

153 Conway St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $905,000
Buyer: 407 Water Street LLC
Seller: David J. Larue
Date: 12/20/22

355 Conway St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $169,900
Buyer: Thomas E. Mimitz
Seller: Alexander J. Erviti
Date: 12/14/22

16 Grove St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $905,000
Buyer: 407 Water Street LLC
Seller: David J. Larue
Date: 12/20/22

76 Hope St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: James B. Stillwaggon
Seller: Christopher J. Ethier
Date: 12/21/22

84 Hope St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: James B. Stillwaggon
Seller: Christopher J. Ethier
Date: 12/21/22

246-248 Hope St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $377,000
Buyer: Lauren E. Harris
Seller: MJDB Construction Services LLC
Date: 12/16/22

Newton St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Premier Self Storage LLC
Seller: George Marchacos
Date: 12/19/22

133 School St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Donna Manuel
Seller: EDS Enterprises LLC
Date: 12/16/22

151 Wells St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Karen Calderon
Seller: Jeffrey Phillips
Date: 12/19/22

HAWLEY

17 Bozrah Road
Hawley, MA 01339
Amount: $341,500
Buyer: James McNaughton
Seller: Angela M. Clark
Date: 12/19/22

LEVERETT

2 Chestnut Hill Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $668,000
Buyer: Catherine M. Rubinstein
Seller: Anne Beresford-Clarke
Date: 12/15/22

16 Long Hill Road
Leverett, MA 01054
Amount: $697,000
Buyer: Christine G. McDannald
Seller: Charles H. Urquhart
Date: 12/12/22

MONTAGUE

9 Burnett St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $311,000
Buyer: Joseph F. Katz
Seller: Russell F. Dean IRT
Date: 12/16/22

62 Montague St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Laurie F. Devino
Seller: William P. Devino
Date: 12/20/22

51 Swamp Road
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Robert L. Boulanger
Seller: Michael R. Boulanger
Date: 12/21/22

34 Turners Falls Road
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Grace A. Moore
Seller: Kassandra R. Rounds
Date: 12/12/22

NORTHFIELD

60 Ashuelot Road
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Peter Orlowski
Seller: Steven C. Wiggin
Date: 12/15/22

ORANGE

77 High St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Robyn L. Gintner
Seller: Kathryn M. Ahearn
Date: 12/22/22

SHELBURNE

65 Fiske Mill Road
Shelburne, MA 01370
Amount: $149,000
Buyer: Wicked Deals LLC
Seller: John Dawicki
Date: 12/15/22

SUNDERLAND

100 Bull Hill Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $234,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Sheridan
Seller: William Case
Date: 12/23/22

167 North Main St.
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $411,807
Buyer: Todd Campbell
Seller: Laurel Turk
Date: 12/15/22

197 River Road
Sunderland, MA 01375
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Christopher Haas
Seller: Ferdene I. Chin-Yee
Date: 12/23/22

WENDELL

22 Checkerberry Lane
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Laura A. Torraco
Seller: Abigail R. Shapiro
Date: 12/16/22

Gate Lane
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $215,000
Buyer: Mass. Audubon Society Inc.
Seller: James M. Killay
Date: 12/16/22

WHATELY

61 Old State Road
Whately, MA 01373
Amount: $570,000
Buyer: Ruchi Grover LLC
Seller: Niemiec 2014 RET
Date: 12/22/22

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

18 Damato Way
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $740,000
Buyer: Sajid Khan
Seller: Bretta Construction LLC
Date: 12/16/22

52 Edgewood Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $379,900
Buyer: Alma Garcia
Seller: John E. Currier
Date: 12/15/22

72 Granger Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Cameron Davidson
Seller: Phyllis J. Harrison
Date: 12/14/22

54 Hampden Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Sean K. O’Connor
Seller: L. William Fradet TR
Date: 12/16/22

13 James St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $279,500
Buyer: Andrew Minicuccvi-Gold
Seller: Joseph Rufino
Date: 12/15/22

22 Kathy Ter.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: ZF SPV LLC
Seller: Timothy D. Pelletier
Date: 12/20/22

17 Liberty St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Elaine Della-Ripa
Seller: Della Ripa Re LLC
Date: 12/21/22

154 Nicole Ter.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Scott P. Smith
Seller: Hillside Development Corp.
Date: 12/20/22

40 Nolan Lane
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $485,000
Buyer: Ba Vantran
Seller: Robert L. Bell
Date: 12/22/22

54 Ramah Circle
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: Blue Fields Property LLC
Seller: Marlene A. Christy
Date: 12/23/22

55 Royal Lane
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $240,100
Buyer: Stephine S. Busbee
Seller: Amanda M. Cotto
Date: 12/22/22

960 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Heidi L. Dintzner
Seller: Lawrence F. Army
Date: 12/16/22

976 Springfield St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $138,000
Buyer: Heidi L. Dintzner
Seller: Lawrence F. Army
Date: 12/16/22

1001 Suffield St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Fahad Rajee
Seller: Anthony J. Smigelski
Date: 12/20/22

130 Valentine St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $312,500
Buyer: Diane L. Jones
Seller: Brett M. Gearing
Date: 12/21/22

BLANDFORD

28 Herrick Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Joseph Sanctuary
Seller: Wilford A. Taylor
Date: 12/12/22

CHESTER

100 Prospect St.
Chester, MA 01011
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Joseph M. Barnicle
Seller: Susan E. Berger
Date: 12/19/22

CHICOPEE

70 Arthur St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Kristin McCoy
Seller: At Home Properties LLC
Date: 12/16/22

24 Beesley Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Rachael Kaplan
Seller: Adam Eckert
Date: 12/16/22

190 Bemis Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $282,000
Buyer: Fidelino R. Morales-Perez
Seller: Maple Tree Investors LLC
Date: 12/22/22

8 Bonneta Circle
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Fatima Z. Azouina
Seller: Douglas J. Dichard
Date: 12/22/22

105 Britton St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Joseph R. Lepage
Seller: Barbara A. Hebert-Pranes
Date: 12/19/22

25 Clinton St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Abdullah Mutar
Seller: Naser Thajeel
Date: 12/12/22

84 East Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: 84 East Meadow St. LLC
Seller: Edwin J. Malikowski
Date: 12/14/22

135 East St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Brent Shy
Seller: Anthony Gallant
Date: 12/12/22

Griffith Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $8,500,000
Buyer: Griffith Road Property Owner
Seller: Leoni Wire Inc.
Date: 12/13/22

301 Griffith Road
Chicopee, MA 01022
Amount: $8,500,000
Buyer: Griffith Road Property Owner
Seller: Leoni Wire Inc.
Date: 12/13/22

274 Hampden St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $363,000
Buyer: Michelle Rosa
Seller: Nres LLC
Date: 12/23/22

163 Ingham St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Ethan Bloomfield
Seller: Krzysztof J. Przybylek
Date: 12/19/22

173 Irene St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Ethan Bloomfield
Seller: Krzysztof J. Przybylek
Date: 12/19/22

119 Jamrog Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Ryan W. Jopson
Seller: Robert D. Mashia
Date: 12/16/22

148 Joy St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $139,000
Buyer: Ted Popper
Seller: J. Hunter Properties LLC
Date: 12/22/22

8 Leclair Ter.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Revampit Holdings LLC
Seller: Maureen A. Gagne
Date: 12/13/22

100 Manning St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Malia Homebuyers LLC
Seller: Donald B. Pringle
Date: 12/13/22

71 Maple St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $288,000
Buyer: Gloria Vasquez
Seller: Lisa A. Rubner
Date: 12/19/22

126 Mountainview St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $364,000
Buyer: Victoria M. Gagnon
Seller: Rachael L. Kaplan
Date: 12/16/22

163 Mountainview St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Sarah B. Fisher
Seller: Sarah Ledoux-Bielecki
Date: 12/23/22

327 New Ludlow Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Samuel Sharpe
Seller: German Garcia
Date: 12/19/22

100 Northwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $218,000
Buyer: Angela D. Soto
Seller: Tina L. Defranco
Date: 12/16/22

31 Ohio Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Lisa L. Dashnaw
Seller: Julia Albizu
Date: 12/22/22

31 Prospect St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: MAR Real Estate LLC
Seller: Michael F. Pawlishen
Date: 12/20/22

172 Rimmon Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $246,000
Buyer: Priscilla F. Rucks-Smith
Seller: Caroline E. Dziel
Date: 12/16/22

26 Sampson St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $239,900
Buyer: Ilya Matiach
Seller: Diane E. Page
Date: 12/14/22

188 School St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Ethan A. Iglesias
Seller: Raquel M. St. Pierre
Date: 12/21/22

159 Silvin Road
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Jeffrey Chagnon
Seller: Chouinardloretta, C., (Estate)
Date: 12/22/22

49 Washington St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $244,000
Buyer: Nathan B. Shaheen
Seller: Nicole M. Lopez
Date: 12/16/22

123 Wheatland Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Landny Khampaeng
Seller: Michael S. Duffus
Date: 12/12/22

86 Woodstock St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Jesenia Garcia
Seller: Nelson Garcia
Date: 12/23/22

EAST LONGMEADOW

56 Avery St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $449,900
Buyer: Grace N. Lacharite
Seller: John Foster
Date: 12/23/22

10 Callender Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Juliana M. Evans
Seller: Michael R. Greene
Date: 12/12/22

15 Channing Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01108
Amount: $398,900
Buyer: Hien P. Nguyen
Seller: Tayyab Rahil
Date: 12/19/22

54 Dearborn St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Michael R. Henshaw
Seller: Judith A. Bocchino
Date: 12/22/22

34 Favorite Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Aaron Richards
Seller: Panther NT
Date: 12/22/22

20 Hampden Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Matthew K. Smith
Seller: Gary R. Underhill
Date: 12/15/22

15 High Meadow Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $880,000
Buyer: Leah M. Kenney
Seller: Nancy Weithofer
Date: 12/15/22

16 Maynard St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Angel L. Serrano-Rios
Seller: MTGLQ Investors LP
Date: 12/13/22

393 Pease Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $495,000
Buyer: Teodoro Torres
Seller: Michelle Segura
Date: 12/12/22

41 Rollins Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $630,000
Buyer: Ryan McCarthy
Seller: Thomas P. Sweeney
Date: 12/21/22

37 Taylor St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $299,900
Buyer: Vanessa Byrnes
Seller: Marissa N. Rocha
Date: 12/12/22

GRANVILLE

1012 Main Road
Granville, MA 01034
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Peter B. Crowley
Seller: Rita Martin
Date: 12/16/22

HAMPDEN

19 Deerfield Circle
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Peter E. Miccoli
Seller: Zachary J. Muscaro
Date: 12/21/22

319 Main St.
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $126,500
Buyer: James W. Fiore
Seller: Thomas Joseph
Date: 12/15/22

HOLLAND

24 East Brimfield Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Steven F. Whittredge
Seller: 2019 Donald Demetrius IRT
Date: 12/19/22

29 Kimball Hill Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Justin D. Kelsey
Seller: Positive Spin Real Estate Inc.
Date: 12/14/22

134 Mashapaug Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Thomas J. Sparling
Seller: Shaina Labonte
Date: 12/23/22

517 Old Turnpike Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $499,853
Buyer: Ryan G. Beecher
Seller: Cormier & Sons Construction
Date: 12/23/22

97 Sandy Beach Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Noelle Bonnevie
Seller: Michael S. Melville
Date: 12/15/22

HOLYOKE

16 Cranberry Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $331,400
Buyer: Kamil Bak
Seller: Tyler M. Limoges
Date: 12/22/22

979-981 Dwight St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $242,060
Buyer: Phantom Holdings LLC
Seller: Patriot Property Management Group
Date: 12/12/22

15 Green Willow Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Onix Cruz
Seller: Stankiewicz Sr., V. J., (Estate)
Date: 12/23/22

1059 Homestead Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $298,000
Buyer: Cecily Selden
Seller: Daunheimer, Grace S., (Estate)
Date: 12/16/22

155 Huron Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $278,000
Buyer: Liam Fitzgerald
Seller: Laurie A. Gaulin
Date: 12/14/22

40-42 James St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Germika L. Davis
Seller: Pioneer Valley Redevelopment LLC
Date: 12/23/22

49 Liberty St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $540,000
Buyer: Andrew Freed
Seller: Michael P. Stoddard FT
Date: 12/23/22

32 Lindbergh Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: James C. Gilbert
Seller: Irwin, Sheryl A., (Estate)
Date: 12/22/22

284 Maple St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Ryan E. Knoechelman
Seller: Salim Abdoo
Date: 12/21/22

30 Myrtle Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Travis McBryde
Seller: Thomas W. Spencer
Date: 12/23/22

51 North Summer St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Carmen R. Martinez
Seller: Western Mass Realty LLC
Date: 12/22/22

1697-1699 Northampton St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $408,000
Buyer: Three Lions LLC
Seller: Stanley Hill
Date: 12/20/22

90 Pleasant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $655,000
Buyer: Rachel Sadler
Seller: Kenneth A. Foley
Date: 12/13/22

40 River Ter.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $373,000
Buyer: Steven Flynn
Seller: Anna C. Colvin
Date: 12/12/22

24 Rugby St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Perry R. Dulude
Seller: Joanne J. Finck
Date: 12/12/22

15 Steiger Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $314,000
Buyer: Lucy K. Kaminsky
Seller: Scott A. Taupier
Date: 12/15/22

51 Taylor St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $264,000
Buyer: Jennifer Calvo
Seller: Renovations Of RE LLC
Date: 12/21/22

LONGMEADOW

111 Academy Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $365,625
Buyer: Susan K. Carey IRT
Seller: Cheryl A. O’Connor
Date: 12/21/22

104 Ardsley Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $1,100,000
Buyer: Christopher J. Seeley
Seller: Peter Novak
Date: 12/12/22

61 Birch Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $430,200
Buyer: Susanita Carvajal
Seller: Matthew K. Smith
Date: 12/12/22

209 Birch Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $276,000
Buyer: Jackie Tang
Seller: Maryann E. Moquin
Date: 12/12/22

33 Eton Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $483,000
Buyer: Adam J. Dube
Seller: Bertrand, Joanne H., (Estate)
Date: 12/21/22

29 Eunice Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Stanislav Yagudaev
Seller: Deborah L. MacDonald
Date: 12/15/22

72 Fairway Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $372,400
Buyer: Wojciech Z. Grochowski
Seller: Ray A. Thomas TR
Date: 12/15/22

113 Franklin Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $362,500
Buyer: Matthew Fratini
Seller: Marc E. Sandler
Date: 12/13/22

34 Hillcrest Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $490,000
Buyer: Michael J. Mazur
Seller: Ryan W. Tunstall
Date: 12/23/22

125 Meadowbrook Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: Richard Plaut
Seller: Regina M. Shriver RET
Date: 12/16/22

32 Meadowlark Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $401,450
Buyer: Kylee C. Granfield
Seller: Chun K. Wun
Date: 12/16/22

110 Rugby Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Christine Aye
Seller: Denis, Louis B., (Estate)
Date: 12/20/22

LUDLOW

2 Alvin St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $525,000
Buyer: Krzysztof J. Przybylek
Seller: Bruce Tetrault
Date: 12/19/22

29 Baker St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: JT Realty Associates Inc.
Seller: Patnode, Robert J., (Estate)
Date: 12/23/22

22 Eden St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Alicia M. Ferreira
Seller: Diane A. Drozdowski
Date: 12/19/22

37 Massachusetts Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Ryan J. Kazeroid
Seller: Daniele A. Decesare
Date: 12/16/22

42 Perimeter Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Deliso Development LLC
Seller: C&J Realty LLC
Date: 12/15/22

160 Pine St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Greg Lesniak
Seller: Megliola Realty LLC
Date: 12/15/22

160 Pinewood Road
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Brianna Novaris
Seller: Peter E. Miccoli
Date: 12/16/22

257 State St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Julima Property Mgmt. LLC
Seller: David F. Huot
Date: 12/14/22

346-348 West Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Miguel Goncalves
Seller: J. A. Properties LLC
Date: 12/16/22

MONSON

4 Fern Hill Road
Monson, MA 01069
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Priscilla Chan
Seller: Brittany A. Williams
Date: 12/16/22

3 Heritage Lane
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $401,000
Buyer: Brent Ketner
Seller: Kyle Williams
Date: 12/19/22

77 May Hill Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Christine M. Mannis
Seller: US Bank
Date: 12/16/22

12 Munn Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $369,900
Buyer: Choctaw American Insurance Inc.
Seller: Luc Hardyn
Date: 12/19/22

120 Stebbins Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Benjamin K. Barton
Seller: William F. Lemon
Date: 12/16/22

11 Upper Hampden Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Samuel A. Duarte
Seller: A. R. Phillips Survivors TR
Date: 12/23/22

296 Wales Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $332,000
Buyer: Daniel Edgerton
Seller: Faerie Hill RT
Date: 12/19/22

MONTGOMERY

78 Pineridge Road
Montgomery, MA 01085
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: No Limit Assets LLC
Seller: Cormier, Nancy, (Estate)
Date: 12/22/22

PALMER

9 Countryside Dr.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Bailey T. Canedy
Seller: Michael J. Olbrych
Date: 12/21/22

68 Flynt St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $283,290
Buyer: Dwayne Jolicoeur
Seller: Monique Vadnais
Date: 12/16/22

97 Laurel Road
Palmer, MA 01095
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Joshua Labarre
Seller: Jonathan D. Jedziniak
Date: 12/21/22

2358 Main St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Renee R. Butler
Seller: Jacqueline Rygiel
Date: 12/21/22

66 Randall St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Marlene M. Williams
Seller: Todd M. Kirkland
Date: 12/20/22

SOUTHWICK

662-A College Hwy.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Premier Self Storage LLC
Seller: Ralph Depalma
Date: 12/23/22

45 Coes Hill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Ann M. Goucher
Seller: Richard P. Marshall
Date: 12/16/22

83 College Hwy.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Sean Bienvenue
Seller: R. M. Blerman LLC
Date: 12/15/22

136 Hillside Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Eric Shilyuk
Seller: Janet C. Whitney
Date: 12/23/22

7 Logie Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Joshua Gibbs
Seller: Bonnie M. Girard
Date: 12/19/22

8 Noble Steed Xing
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $549,000
Buyer: Lyudmila A. Maksyuk
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 12/19/22

81 Point Grove Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $1,000,000
Buyer: Frank Grillo Ent LLC
Seller: Tri-Pbj Enterprise LLC
Date: 12/21/22

9-A Sawgrass Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $697,600
Buyer: Ashish Patel
Seller: Hamelin Framing Inc.
Date: 12/16/22

SPRINGFIELD

105 Alden St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Serapio R. Perez
Seller: R. M. Blerman LLC
Date: 12/22/22

853 Armory St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $151,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: John Burlingham
Date: 12/16/22

59 Ashley St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Carlos Vargas
Seller: Iris N. Baez
Date: 12/14/22

770 Bay St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Argenis Ramos
Seller: MMF Realty LLC
Date: 12/21/22

225 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $352,000
Buyer: Kinan Al Haffar
Seller: Nodia W. Wright
Date: 12/20/22

486-494 Belmont Ave.
Springfield, MA 77056
Amount: $850,000
Buyer: Nalani Capital LLC
Seller: JK Wave Inc.
Date: 12/14/22

300 Birnie Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $12,000,000
Buyer: Neos Realty LLC
Seller: Birnie Medical LLC
Date: 12/21/22

977 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Nilsa E. Laboy
Seller: Jart RT
Date: 12/22/22

995 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $302,500
Buyer: H&F Properties Inc.
Seller: Jart RT
Date: 12/21/22

163 Bowles St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Linnette N. Barbosa-Ortiz
Seller: OPM Investments LLC
Date: 12/23/22

165 Brewster St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Rafael A. Rodriguez
Seller: Cory L. Phillips
Date: 12/16/22

10-12 Brookline Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Marie N. Stilus
Seller: Dubs Capital LLC
Date: 12/22/22

49 Campechi St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $184,000
Buyer: William T. Raleigh
Seller: Mark A. Phaneuf
Date: 12/16/22

27 Castle St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Qais M. Malalla
Seller: Andrew M. Siano
Date: 12/14/22

117 Cheyenne Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Yadira Rivera
Seller: James Broderick
Date: 12/14/22

78 Coral Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Raymond G. Turcotte
Seller: Joshua M. Gibbs
Date: 12/13/22

206 Corcoran Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: John J. Beas
Seller: Kimberly A. Santiago
Date: 12/19/22

31 Cottonwood Lane
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $179,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Matthew P. David
Date: 12/16/22

36 Crestwood St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Justice H. Pellegrino
Seller: J. Norbert Properties LLC
Date: 12/21/22

40 Dennis St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $145,000
Buyer: James Coombs
Seller: Nationwide Abstract LLC
Date: 12/21/22

371 Dickinson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Forest Orchard LLC
Seller: Jessica Demarco
Date: 12/12/22

376 Dwight Road
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Daniel Torres
Seller: Luis Rosa
Date: 12/13/22

103 El Paso St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Bertha Mahue
Seller: Ronnie E. Crapps
Date: 12/15/22

111 Elijah St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Alexandra L. Ortiz
Seller: Rose M. Soto
Date: 12/16/22

294 Gifford St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Justin Harrison
Seller: Glen J. Jusczyk
Date: 12/22/22

7 Gilmore St.
Springfield, MA 01013
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Chanel Gamble
Seller: Steven W. Lewis
Date: 12/15/22

326 Goodwin St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Miguel Vazquez
Seller: Joao A. Bernardo
Date: 12/12/22

24-26 Grove St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Angel Rios
Seller: Home LLC
Date: 12/13/22

62-64 Groveland St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $277,000
Buyer: Jose L. Santiago-Alicea
Seller: Long K. Tran
Date: 12/13/22

54-56 Grover St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Diana Morales-Ramirez
Seller: Moises Zanazanian
Date: 12/23/22

97 Hadley St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $279,900
Buyer: Jeffrey Donaruma
Seller: Michael J. Avigliano
Date: 12/21/22

70 Harrow Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Bryan Rae
Seller: Juan R. Rodriguez
Date: 12/23/22

12 Haskin St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: Mirtha Laguerre-Lundy
Seller: Alex Owusu
Date: 12/20/22

10 Hemlock Court
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Gage M. Miller
Seller: Ming Tsang
Date: 12/20/22

25 Hilltop St.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Daniel P. Candido
Seller: Christopher G. Roig TR
Date: 12/16/22

412 Island Pond Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Alexandra Charette
Seller: M&F Vazquez Home Improvements
Date: 12/15/22

99 Jenness St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $251,000
Buyer: Cynthia L. Maldonado
Seller: Jerry Luciano
Date: 12/21/22

116-118 Johnson St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Anthony Gibbs
Seller: Kelnate Realty LLC
Date: 12/12/22

103-105 Kent Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $340,000
Buyer: Mark Melikian
Seller: Michael J. Jolicoeur
Date: 12/23/22

391 Kent Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Amber Jaeger
Seller: Hien P. Nguyen
Date: 12/16/22

113-115 Knollwood St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $295,874
Buyer: Lycaste LLC
Seller: Jose R. Escribano
Date: 12/14/22

47 Kulig St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Yadira Rivera
Seller: Robert J. Schroeter
Date: 12/14/22

246 Lamont St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: Matthew Bourque
Seller: Joan Diaz
Date: 12/20/22

5 Lynebrook Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Ruet Properties LLC
Seller: Michael Palmer
Date: 12/20/22

50 Macomber Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $270,000
Buyer: Jacob Martinez
Seller: Blythewood Property Mgmt. LLC
Date: 12/16/22

396 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Forest Orchard LLC
Seller: J. L. H. RT
Date: 12/23/22

56 Mandalay Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $214,500
Buyer: Ruth M. Holland
Seller: Lori A. Beston
Date: 12/22/22

179-181 Massasoit St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Felix Gyabaa
Seller: Brian Thai
Date: 12/15/22

110 Mill St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Patricia Patterson
Seller: Pah Properties LLC
Date: 12/14/22

281 Newton Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $294,685
Buyer: Freedom Mortgage Corp.
Seller: Wilfred Fontaine
Date: 12/21/22

6 North Chatham St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $189,900
Buyer: Van Tran
Seller: ALDD Real Estate LLC
Date: 12/15/22

91 Northampton Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Andres Martinez-Matamoros
Seller: Bailey, Wylene, (Estate)
Date: 12/22/22

121 Northampton Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $235,000
Buyer: Quaker Capital LLC
Seller: Mark Glenn
Date: 12/21/22

98 Patricia Circle
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Daniel R. Dacruz
Seller: D&V RT
Date: 12/16/22

191 Pine Acre Road
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $237,500
Buyer: Nancy Vaz
Seller: Diane S. Salstead
Date: 12/19/22

260 Plumtree Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Tynisha A. Henderson
Seller: Christopher S. Gaffney
Date: 12/19/22

24 Putnam St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Aaron Rothwell
Seller: Phyllis R. Lacasse
Date: 12/21/22

43 Ringgold St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Kerline Prophete
Seller: Selocin Inc.
Date: 12/19/22

18 Rittenhouse Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $362,000
Buyer: Hawa Kibodya
Seller: Joejoe Properties LLC
Date: 12/21/22

30 Scott St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Erasmito Gonzalez
Seller: J3 LLC
Date: 12/19/22

198 Senator St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Alexander Sierra
Seller: Thomas A. O’Sullivan
Date: 12/22/22

47 Silver St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Jasmine Owen
Seller: Rose A. Owen
Date: 12/16/22

1447 South Branch Pkwy.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $268,000
Buyer: Deon Charles
Seller: Julian Colo
Date: 12/13/22

691 State St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: M. Mistri LLC
Seller: 691 State Street LLC
Date: 12/20/22

73-75 Sterling St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Janthony R. Molina
Seller: Jens Martinez
Date: 12/21/22

390 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Sumner Avenue LLC
Seller: Andrew W. Vivenzio
Date: 12/20/22

419 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Ty G. Mezzetti
Seller: University Of St. Joseph
Date: 12/21/22

1164 Sumner Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Armando Zayas-Izquierdo
Seller: Manchester Ent. LLC
Date: 12/16/22

Tyler St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Tyler Street LLC
Seller: Central City Boxing & Barbell
Date: 12/22/22

22-24 Tyler St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Tyler Street LLC
Seller: CEntral City Boxing & Barbell
Date: 12/22/22

28 Van Buren Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $127,500
Buyer: Strategic Homes Inc.
Seller: Alfred B. Roy
Date: 12/12/22

145 Vincent St.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Dimitri Brutskiy
Seller: Janeczek, Gary, (Estate)
Date: 12/22/22

20 Wallace St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $209,000
Buyer: Exavier J. Adorno
Seller: Naylor Nation Real Estate LLC
Date: 12/16/22

30 Wallace St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Miriam Ortiz
Seller: Equity TR Co.
Date: 12/12/22

72 Waverly St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Neha Chavan
Seller: 72 Waverly Street LLC
Date: 12/22/22

96 Wheeler Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Horatio Lennox-Pinnock
Seller: Rodriguez, Maria C., (Estate)
Date: 12/22/22

59-61 Willard Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Rury A. Vasquez-Juarez
Seller: Danoma DG LLC
Date: 12/14/22

114 William St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: RBT Enterprise LLC
Seller: Isidoro R. Sanchez
Date: 12/21/22

116-120 William St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Rbt Enterprise LLC
Seller: Isidoro R. Sanchez
Date: 12/21/22

5 Wilshire Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Megliola Realty LLC
Seller: Brian K. Scott
Date: 12/16/22

31 Wilton St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Jeremy A. Powloka
Seller: Tara T. Woods
Date: 12/16/22

72 Wrentham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Reinaldo Perez-Rodriguez
Seller: Jjj17 LLC
Date: 12/23/22

WALES

75 Main St.
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $224,000
Buyer: Nathan R. Quattrocelli
Seller: Kerrie A. Manchester
Date: 12/19/22

185 Union Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: Sonja J. Majstoravich
Seller: John Grasso
Date: 12/16/22

WESTFIELD

9 Bates St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Kathleen S. Wiechec
Seller: John P. Wiechec
Date: 12/14/22

9 Charles St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Jennifer A. Mason
Seller: Andrzej Rokicki
Date: 12/12/22

32 Cleveland Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $323,000
Buyer: Kayla A. Beany
Seller: Charles McNutt
Date: 12/15/22

49 Ely St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Amanda R. Pelletier
Seller: Betty J. Welch
Date: 12/22/22

135 Meadow St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $185,840
Buyer: Kmak LLC
Seller: Kimberly Sulek
Date: 12/22/22

145 Miller St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Shanil Bhujel
Seller: Valerie M. Cabral
Date: 12/16/22

539 North Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $2,480,000
Buyer: Nizan Holdings LLC
Seller: Djj 539 LLC
Date: 12/20/22

4 Oak St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Stephen Hupfer
Seller: Amanda R. Pyzocha
Date: 12/19/22

132 Pontoosic Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Anthony Bortolussi
Seller: Joan C. Bryskiewicz
Date: 12/20/22

19 Rider Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Ihor Sazhai
Seller: Jose A. Figueroa
Date: 12/16/22

30 Tanglewood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $364,000
Buyer: Mitchell R. Barnes
Seller: Sean F. Smith
Date: 12/12/22

70 West Silver St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $242,000
Buyer: John R. Ciampaglia
Seller: Great Brook TR
Date: 12/15/22

WILBRAHAM

6 Birch St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $315,000
Buyer: Brittany M. Dussault
Seller: Todd N. Ashford
Date: 12/15/22

52 Brookside Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $477,000
Buyer: Erica Etchells
Seller: Irwin W. Wilk
Date: 12/16/22

18 Circle Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Patrick Duncan
Seller: Circle Drive RT
Date: 12/20/22

10 Forest Glade Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $639,000
Buyer: Jonathan Mish
Seller: Jeffrey D. Wicks
Date: 12/21/22

11 Hunting Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Keith A. Nunes
Seller: Elizabeth A. Chmura
Date: 12/21/22

4 Laurel Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $494,000
Buyer: Alireza Jarihi
Seller: Paul E. Dernavich
Date: 12/20/22

166 Manchonis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Marcel Nunes
Seller: Brian S. Lashway
Date: 12/16/22

15 Maplewood Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $415,000
Buyer: Megan F. Hill
Seller: Richard Butler
Date: 12/15/22

11 Old Orchard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $427,000
Buyer: Marcus D. Verteramo
Seller: Nancy Labrie
Date: 12/22/22

6 Patriot Ridge Lane
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $640,000
Buyer: Hunter E. Boody
Seller: Adam May
Date: 12/19/22

2 Springfield St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: Chad Roy
Seller: Robert T. Kelliher
Date: 12/23/22

463 Springfield St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $339,900
Buyer: John F. Gamba
Seller: Todd R. Burke
Date: 12/16/22

78 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Teodosia C. Sanchez
Seller: Edwin Misiaszek
Date: 12/12/22

WEST SPRINGFIELD

61 Alderbrook Lane
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $333,000
Buyer: Erik Tancrati
Seller: Strout, Kenin, (Estate)
Date: 12/23/22

92 Bonnie Brae Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $314,900
Buyer: Jennifer Curtis
Seller: Michael Vincent
Date: 12/14/22

905 Dewey St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Sirat Byati
Seller: Bikash Chhetri
Date: 12/21/22

23 Elm Circle
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Malia Homebuyers LLC
Seller: Debbie D. Leavitt
Date: 12/20/22

69 Hanover St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Adriel E. Hernandez
Seller: Anthony Becker
Date: 12/19/22

25 Hayes Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Tempus Unlimited Inc.
Seller: Normandeau Realty LLC
Date: 12/23/22

440 Massachusetts Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Zeiad Zaitoun
Seller: Ebi Poudyel
Date: 12/15/22

15 Oleander St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $199,500
Buyer: MFRA TR
Seller: Anthony P. Ceccheteli
Date: 12/21/22

1240 Piper Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Nicole C. Brochu
Seller: Jerrold F. Granger
Date: 12/13/22

288 Westfield St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Westfield St. Group LLC
Seller: West Springfield Animal
Date: 12/16/22

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

24 Dickinson St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: 24 Dickinson LLC
Seller: Sea Gull Properties LLC
Date: 12/15/22

145 Glendale Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $349,600
Buyer: William M. Palmer
Seller: Mark C. Moriarty
Date: 12/16/22

30 Hitching Post Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Sophie Lippert
Seller: Mehta, Surinder K., (Estate)
Date: 12/13/22

81 Memorial Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $487,000
Buyer: David Salutric
Seller: Aaron D. Rubinstein
Date: 12/14/22

340 South Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $321,750
Buyer: Jonathan Obert
Seller: Amherst College Trust
Date: 12/15/22

15 Teaberry Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $749,000
Buyer: Joseph L. MacDonald
Seller: Terry S. Johnson
Date: 12/16/22

BELCHERTOWN

71 Bardwell St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Nohika Cherubin
Seller: M&G Land Development LLC
Date: 12/22/22

181 Franklin St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $331,750
Buyer: Katherine Nadeau
Seller: Jessica M. Daly
Date: 12/14/22

11 Rita Lane
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $308,000
Buyer: Alison Montemagni
Seller: Enix Zavala
Date: 12/14/22

475 South Washington St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Paul A. Valentine
Seller: JHP Builders LLC
Date: 12/21/22

59 Springfield Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $311,900
Buyer: Stacey Kronenberg
Seller: Benjamin A. Graham
Date: 12/14/22

Upper Pond
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $337,500
Buyer: Sharon S. Carty
Seller: Linda Tolpa
Date: 12/16/22

167 Warren Wright Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: James L. Beadle
Seller: Trexler M. Topping
Date: 12/13/22

CUMMINGTON

59 Dodwells Road
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Harrison Datkowitz
Seller: Cristi K. Lindblom
Date: 12/15/22

61 Nash Road
Cummington, MA 01026
Amount: $451,000
Buyer: Lisa A. Harvey
Seller: Aaron Robb
Date: 12/22/22

EASTHAMPTON

13 Carillon Circle
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $381,500
Buyer: Alberto Perez
Seller: Philip F. Civello
Date: 12/16/22

17 Hill Ave.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Christopher Langevin
Seller: Antonio Langevin
Date: 12/14/22

30 Pomeroy St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Olaleye A. Aina
Seller: David Marek
Date: 12/19/22

GRANBY

134 Aldrich St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $500,000
Buyer: Craig Helbok
Seller: David R. Jodoin
Date: 12/19/22

549 Amherst Road
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $294,000
Buyer: Jonathan M. Larder
Seller: Barbara Martino RET
Date: 12/15/22

601 Amherst Road
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $163,000
Buyer: Michael Pancione
Seller: Megliola Realty LLC
Date: 12/16/22

144 Carver St.
Granby, MA 01033
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Harold A. Chua
Seller: Sawicki, Thaddeus J., (Estate)
Date: 12/14/22

HADLEY

46 Huntington Road
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Jeremy Ober
Seller: Ronald J. Barrett
Date: 12/21/22

30 Russell St.
Hadley, MA 01035
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: 30 Russell Street LLC
Seller: Gregory F. Hancock
Date: 12/22/22

HATFIELD

58 Linseed Road
Hatfield, MA 01088
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Izabela Wasylik
Seller: Gretchen M. Adamski
Date: 12/21/22

NORTHAMPTON

485 Bridge Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $397,950
Buyer: Kenneth Lee
Seller: Jay Cebik
Date: 12/23/22

128 Cross Path Road
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Talmas LLC
Seller: Reil, Nancy, (Estate)
Date: 12/15/22

23 Fort Hill Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $530,000
Buyer: Luca Capogna
Seller: Scott R. Hodges
Date: 12/13/22

34 Fort Hill Ter.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $262,400
Buyer: Jeffrey T. Massimino
Seller: John G. Tenczar RET
Date: 12/13/22

21 Harold St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Jon Paul Stracco
Seller: Paul Stracco
Date: 12/16/22

1 Market St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $1,500,000
Buyer: Goodmarket Properties LLC
Seller: E. Paul Brown LT
Date: 12/15/22

661 Park Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $675,000
Buyer: Elisa S. Daus
Seller: Jeanne A. Kelley LT
Date: 12/19/22

451 Rocky Hill Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $367,100
Buyer: Adam Freed
Seller: Jessica Hertzberg
Date: 12/19/22

PELHAM

39 Harkness Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $357,500
Buyer: Jessica R. Ladin
Seller: Pamela K. Borglum
Date: 12/21/22

166 Packardville Road
Pelham, MA 01007
Amount: $165,000
Buyer: Dimiero Investments LLC
Seller: Robert L. Vallee
Date: 12/23/22

SOUTH HADLEY

48 Amherst Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $133,000
Buyer: Paul Viens
Seller: John Arthur
Date: 12/13/22

13 Lyon Green
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: JN Duquette & Son Construction
Seller: Mountain Brook LLC
Date: 12/22/22

17 Lyon Green
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: JN Duquette & Son Construction
Seller: Mountain Brook LLC
Date: 12/22/22

21 Lyon Green
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: JN Duquette & Son Construction
Seller: Mountain Brook LLC
Date: 12/22/22

33 Mary Lyon Dr.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Patricia Hourihan
Seller: Jane M. Joslyn
Date: 12/21/22

147 Mosier St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Patrick K. Asselin
Seller: Partyka, Eva Agnes R., (Estate)
Date: 12/23/22

4 Pershing Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: James Takuraneyi-Hokonya
Seller: Kerry L. Hussey
Date: 12/22/22

93 Pittroff Ave.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Jacob Bacis
Seller: Johnson, Robert C., (Estate)
Date: 12/15/22

SOUTHAMPTON

126 East St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $405,000
Buyer: Stephen A. Miller
Seller: David M. McGrath
Date: 12/19/22

WARE

1 Anna St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Allen C. Edwards
Seller: Power, Christopher T., (Estate)
Date: 12/16/22

8 Highland St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Jacob Mingels
Seller: M&G Land Development LLC
Date: 12/15/22

19 Horseshoe Circle
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $636,000
Buyer: David Swirk
Seller: Clifford D. Heaton
Date: 12/14/22

150-R North St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Sainphonie Berlus
Seller: James E. Beauregard
Date: 12/23/22

126 West Main St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: David P. Bourdeau Realty
Seller: Melha Temple Holding Corp.
Date: 12/16/22

WESTHAMPTON

356 Northwest Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $189,000
Buyer: Gary Wickland
Seller: David R. Morin
Date: 12/16/22

Reservoir Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Kestrel Land TInc
Seller: Harris, Nancy T., (Estate)
Date: 12/21/22

WILLIAMSBURG

88 Old Goshen Road
Williamsburg, MA 01096
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Robert B. Longley
Seller: Luciano E. Barrios
Date: 12/13/22

Building Permits

By BusinessWest Staff January 18, 2023

Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the months of November and December 2022. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

CHICOPEE

Hare Krishna Springfield Hotel LLC
36 Johnny Cake Hollow
$1,537.50 — Add fire separation to mechanical room

LENOX

Casella Waste Management Inc.
64 Willow Creek Road
$176,740 — Construct parts room, two offices, a half bath, and a mezzanine storage area within existing steel garage

Casella Waste Management Inc.
68 Willow Creek Road
$60,804 — Construct office and break room within existing storage area of main building

NORTHAMPTON

Bobo LLC
88 King St.
$16,882 — Seven replacement windows

City of Northampton
80 Locust St.
$257,166 — Seventy-four replacement windows at Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School

Colvest/Northampton LLC
303 King St.
$20,000 — Illuminated ground sign for Aldi

Colvest/Northampton LLC
303 King St.
$4,000 — Illuminated wall sign for Aldi

Colvest/Northampton LLC
303 King St.
$4,000 — Illuminated side elevation wall sign for Aldi

Mananto Holdings LLP
36 King St.
$48,000 — Repair water-damaged ceilings

PITTSFIELD

Berkshire Hospitality Group LLC
1 West St.
$10,500 — Remove cell-tower equipment from roof

South Congregational Church
110 South St.
$5,000 — Remove and replace stair tread material from front steps

SOUTH HADLEY

Curran-O’Brien Funeral Home
33 Lamb St.
$10,400 — Remove and replace window

Mount Holyoke College
50 College St.
$120,000 — Renovate combined spaces, remove interior walls to enlarge reconfigured space to make new laboratory classroom, new electrical and data, add cabinets and sink

South Hadley Police Department
41 Bridge St.
$55,000 — Roofing

SPRINGFIELD

Arcoleo Realty LLC
50 Maple St.
$30,000 — Install new door to waiting area of medical office

401 Liberty Street LLC
165 Stafford St.
$56,840 — Alter interior space and install new exterior windows at McCormick-Allum

Baystate Medical Center Inc.
759 Chestnut St.
$127,696 — Alter interior space on second floor for cart-washing equipment replacement

FNBC Realty Corp.
1350 Main St.
$10,693.33 — Change ninth-floor conference suite from business use to assembly use

SJC LLC
57 Pearl St.
$15,000 — Remove and replace sheetrock at Yenian Oriental Rugs, remove and replace 14 windows and one interior door

SRC Springfield
215 Bicentennial Highway
$50,000 — Remove nine antennas and install 12 new antennas on AT&T telecommunications tower

BusinessTalk with Susan Kasa, president of Boulevard Machine

By BusinessWest Staff January 16, 2023

Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 145: January 16, 2023

George Interviews Susan Kasa, president of Boulevard Machine in Westfield

Susan Kasa, president of Boulevard Machine in Westfield, is the guest on the next installment of BusinessTalk, and she does a great job of drilling down and assessing the state of the manufacturing sector in Western Mass. and ongoing efforts to ensure that there are talented workers in the pipeline for years — and decades — to come. It’s all must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

Also Available On

BusinessTalk with Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council

By BusinessWest Staff January 9, 2023

Business Talk Podcast Special Coverage

We are excited to announce that BusinessWest has launched a new podcast series, BusinessTalk. Each episode will feature in-depth interviews and discussions with local industry leaders, providing thoughtful perspectives on the Western Massachuetts economy and the many business ventures that keep it running during these challenging times.

Go HERE to view all episodes

Episode 144: January 9, 2023

George talks to Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council

As 2023 begins, there are many question marks —as well as an abundance of cautious optimism — concerning the region and it’s economy. On the next installment of BusinessTalk, BusinessWest Editor George O’Brien and his guest, Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the Western Mass Economic Development Council, sort through it all, touching on everything from workforce issues to the prospects for needed growth and new jobs. It’s all must listening, so tune in to BusinessTalk, a podcast presented by BusinessWest in partnership with Living Local 413 and sponsored by PeoplesBank.

Sponsored by:

Also Available On

Keeping New Year’s Health Resolutions Starts with a Realistic Plan

By Joseph Bednar January 6, 2023

Health Care

One Step at a Time

[email protected]

Drew McConaha says breaking a fitness plan into manageable steps is key to sticking to health resolutions.

Drew McConaha knows all about New Year’s resolutions. And he knows why so many of them fail.

In many cases, it’s a desire to do too much, too quickly, the owner of Train for Life in Chicopee said.

“When they’re setting those resolutions at the beginning of the year, most people want to do everything as fast as possible: ‘I want to get into the gym six days a week,’ or ‘I want to go on the latest diet craze.’ They want to go 100 miles an hour into that. But that doesn’t really work. Fitness is one of those things that needs to be a lifestyle change.”

At a time of year when people traditionally set goals for fitness, nutrition, and other types of wellness — and often leave them behind by February — area health experts told BusinessWest the same thing: starting small is key.

“Most everyone wants to set goals; they say, ‘I want to lose 10 pounds,’ or whatever,” said McConaha, who explained that he works with members to write those goals down, examine them, and then — this is key — setting small action steps to make them more manageable.

“When they’re setting those resolutions at the beginning of the year, most people want to do everything as fast as possible. But that doesn’t really work. Fitness is one of those things that needs to be a lifestyle change.”

“If you come to the gym three days a week for a year, after a year, you’re going to make a huge amount of progress,” he said. “But if you start out going to the gym five days in a row and you haven’t been exercising for 10 years, you’re very unlikely to get back there for week two, because you’re going to be so sore, and that’s unmotivating, because now you can’t move; you can’t go about your daily activities. Lots of times, that’s what derails people when they jump into something at the beginning of the year.”

That’s where having a coach can make a difference, he added. “We talk about smart goals all the time, having manageable, attainable, realistic goals. Having a very specific, small goal each day instead of focusing on the large goal — say, losing weight — will make it much more attainable.”

Dr. Kathy Mueller, who practices integrative medicine with Trinity Health of New England Medical Group, went even further, explaining a philosophy she shares with patients called ‘tiny habits,’ popularized by behavior expert and author BJ Fogg.

To start the journey toward changing a habit, she explained, “pick something that takes fewer than 30 seconds that builds toward the ultimate goal. Want to exercise in the new year? Instead of saying, ‘I’m going to the gym three times a week,’ try a tiny habit: ‘I’m going to put on my walking shoes,’ or ‘I’m going to put my gym bag in the front of the car.’”

The idea is that, by wearing walking shoes, someone is more likely to go for a walk, and by loading the gym bag in the car, they’re more likely to stop at the gym when out and about. And when they achieve those steps, they can add larger goals, always building on small victories, not frustrating failures, Mueller said. “Practicing tiny habits is clever because it’s built on success.”

In fitness goals, the goal is to move more, she said, so people should just start there. If they want to incorporate pushups, start with two — which often becomes five, then 10, and eventually maybe 50. Setting out a lunchbox by the coffee maker each morning might not lead to bringing a healthy lunch to work every day, but it might have that effect some days, meaning fewer fast-food runs each week.

“There’s this idea that one day you’re a smoker, and the next day you quit. But if you quit over four months, you still quit. Incremental steps work for a lot of people.”

Dr. Kathy Mueller

“With nutrition, have one fruit or vegetable every time you eat. Want a bagel for breakfast? Great, but have fruit with it,” Mueller explained. “The idea is to anchor your tiny habits to something you’re going to do anyway.”

And for those who want to cut down their alcohol intake — which has risen, on average, for Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic — they don’t have to quit all at once, she added. “Have a glass of water with each beer. You’re still drinking and being social, but you’re cutting your alcohol intake in half.”

The How and the Why

It’s a common refrain among health practitioners: you don’t have to do everything; just do something. Even a 10-minute walk twice a day or one 20-minute walk per day can help someone reach a goal of 150 minutes of physical activity per week, said Patrick Schilling, manager of Cardiovascular Rehabilitation and Wellness at Baystate Health.

“We know physical activity feels good, improves sleep, and lowers stress, and taking care of your body may help you feel rejuvenated and will give you the extra energy you need,” he noted. “Don’t forget that children should also be reminded to stay active for at least an hour per day for optimal health. If you just can’t make it to the gym as regularly as you have in the past, you can try to keep moving in other ways. Don’t try to find that parking spot close to the mall entrance; instead, opt for one far away so that you will have to walk more. And take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.”

As an integrative medicine specialist, much of Mueller’s work is helping patients change habits and achieve lifestyle changes through complementary therapies. Some are dealing with chronic pain or other ailments, but most are trying to reach certain goals.

“Sleep is essential for our health and well-being, and getting a good night’s rest is important to help strengthen your immune system to fight infections, reduce stress, improve our mood, and to stay energized. Most adults function best with seven to eight hours of regular sleep.”

Dr. Karin Johnson

“Sometimes, people off more than they can chew. They decide to go to the gym for an hour three days a week, then life gets in the way, then it’s twice a week, then once, then the habit’s done,” she said, adding that it’s better to focus on little steps that then become bigger ones.

Take the notion that exercise isn’t impactful if it doesn’t get the heart rate up for an extended time. “That’s garbage. And one fewer cigarette is one fewer cigarette. It helps break a bad habit, as long as you have something to replace it with,” she said, adding that a good strategy is to delay how long you can go without one, and then keep extending that. “There’s this idea that one day you’re a smoker, and the next day you quit. But if you quit over four months, you still quit. Incremental steps work for a lot of people.”

McConaha said it helps many people to not only break down their goals into small, actionable steps, but actually treat those steps like appointments, not just vague intentions.

“If you’ve got a hair appointment, you’re going to show up. If you’ve got a dentist appointment, you’re going to show up at that time,” he explained. “A lot of people say, ‘I’m going to try to go to the gym tomorrow afternoon.’ Well, if you don’t have someone waiting for you there for that accountability, if you don’t have a specific appointment, it’s very easy for other things to get in the way.”

Just as important is understanding the ‘why’ behind a goal, he added.

You say, ‘hey, I want to start working out.’ But what does that mean to you? Why are you doing that? Why is that going to benefit you? How is that going to make you feel? Do you want to be around longer for your kids? Do you want to be able to do certain things you haven’t been able to do in the past? Adding that specific why behind what they’re doing makes a big difference.”

The Rest of the Story

Another golden rule for general wellness is to get plenty of rest, said Dr. Karin Johnson, director of the Baystate Health Regional Sleep Program

“Sleep is essential for our health and well-being, and getting a good night’s rest is important to help strengthen your immune system to fight infections, reduce stress, improve our mood, and to stay energized,” she explained. “Most adults function best with seven to eight hours of regular sleep.”

And any set of wellness goals should include taking care of mental health as well, which can especially suffer around and just after the holidays, said Dr. Stuart Anfang, vice chair of Psychiatry at Baystate Health.

“Don’t forget to take care of yourself emotionally as well as physically,” he urged. “Take relaxation breaks when needed; eat and drink in moderation; get plenty of sunlight, which helps avoid seasonal depression; avoid social isolation; and understand that you are not alone in feeling stressed. Volunteering and giving to others less fortunate is a great way to get perspective and feel better about your own situation and stressors.”

At the heart of every effective fitness or wellness plan is knowledge, McConaha said, as going to the gym with no plan or no information about the equipment will only lead to frustration.

“It’s easy to take on too much at once and feel defeated,” he told BusinessWest. “If you come in and do one exercise wrong, and your back doesn’t feel great after that, that’s one more obstacle to something that’s already very challenging for people.”

With the right — meaning realistic — plan, and the knowledge and commitment to follow it, anyone can make positive resolutions that don’t fall away by Groundhog Day, he added.

“Our bodies are meant to move, and no matter what age you’re at, there’s always something you can do,” he said, adding that he’s worked with people from age 7 to 97. “You can walk. You can do very scaled versions of exercises. It’s just matching up the right plan with the right person. The older people get, the more they feel they’re too old to start, but they’re not too old to do the right thing for them, whatever that might be.”

Economic Outlook 2023

By BusinessWest Staff January 5, 2023

Cover Story Economic Outlook

Inflation, Workforce Issues Cloud the Forecast

A Look Ahead to the New Year

Talking the Talk

Roundtable Panelists Note Opportunities, Challenges for Year Ahead

Selling Points

EDC Leaders See Need to Market the Region, Leverage Its Assets

Reasons for Optimism — and Concern

Economy Shows Progress, but Workforce Remains a Challenge

Doctors Urge Caution in a Season of Flu, RSV, and COVID

By Joseph Bednar January 5, 2023

Health Care Special Coverage

Riding Out a ‘Tripledemic’

[email protected]

Two years ago, flu took a vacation.

Dr. Mark Kenton remembers those days — but they were no vacation for emergency doctors, who had dealt with almost a year of COVID-19 and the hospitalizations and deaths that it caused, with vaccines just beginning to emerge.

But influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV? There was almost none to be found, mainly because masking and isolating had become the norm, cutting off the potential for spreading these common viruses.

“With COVID, we had people masking, home from school, and we had no flu; there was no RSV,” said Kenton, chief of Emergency Medicine at Mercy Medical Center in Springfield. “In fact, Mercy didn’t have one ICU case of flu. Then, when we started to normalize, these viruses made their way back.”

So much that the prevalence of flu and RSV this year, combined with a still-lingering COVID threat — albeit one that has been muted by vaccinations — has combined for what has been called a ‘tripledemic’ this winter.

“It seems like the RSV population this year is much larger than in the past, which complicates things,” Kenton said. “We’re definitely seeing a lot of influenza, even in patients who have been vaccinated, and we’ve actually been seeing a lot of pneumonia. There are a lot of respiratory complaints this time of year, because it spreads through schools with kids at the end of the term, and parents may not want to keep the kids home.”

Because COVID still has a presence, he explained, when somebody comes in with a respiratory complaint, they’re tested for that as well as for influenza and RSV, a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, but can be more severe in certain patients.

“With COVID, we had people masking, home from school, and we had no flu; there was no RSV. Then, when we started to normalize, these viruses made their way back.”

Dr. Mark Kenton

“We were seeing a lot of RSV a few weeks ago, but it seems that may be tapering off now,” Kenton added, noting that Mercy has seen both children and adults with RSV, a condition that can be especially precarious for infants. “We worry about them getting RSV; a lot of local hospitals have been inundated with pediatric RSV.”

Indeed, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and viral pneumonia in children under age 1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that approximately 58,000 children under age 5 are hospitalized each year with the infection. Most infants are infected before age 1, and virtually all children have had an RSV infection by age 2. RSV can also affect older children, teenagers and adults.

Spiros Hatiras says he’s not sure who came up with that phrase ‘tripledemic.’ He’s quite sure, though, it wasn’t someone in healthcare.

“It had to be someone in the media — they’re the ones who like to attach names to things like this,” said Hatiras, president and CEO of Holyoke Medical Center.

But it’s as good a term as any to describe a convergence of COVID, flu, and RSV. In some parts of the country, this convergence is filling hospitals and putting additional strain on staffs already taxed by shortages of nurses and other healthcare professionals. But Hatiras told BusinessWest he hasn’t really seen much of any of the above at his hospital — from the individual ailments to the additional strain on people and resources.

Indeed, he reported very few, if any, COVID cases, noting that there isn’t anyone in his hospital solely because of COVID, though some are there for another reason and test positive for COVID. Meanwhile, he reports few cases of RSV, and flu numbers that are similar to previous years and nothing out of the ordinary.

The Emergency Department is crowded, he acknowledged, but not because of this tripledemic; rather, it’s because fewer staff members — a result of the ongoing workforce crisis, especially in healthcare — are tending to what would be considered a normal amount of patients.

“Because there were so few cases of RSV in the first two years of the pandemic, most infants and toddlers did not get the natural immunity that their body would have produced if they had natural illness. That left a larger number of children more vulnerable to getting RSV illness, which is what we are seeing now in the community.”

Dr. John O’Reilly

Kenton has observed the same phenomenon in the workforce. “So many nurses in this profession are either retired or gone on to something else,” he said. “This is everywhere, across the board. Every hospital is dealing with staffing issues. Even with [patient] volumes overall being down, when you get the tripledemic, it’s become a significant strain on resources within the hospital.”

What Is RSV?

Flu is a common term, and most people are now well-versed in COVID, but not everyone knows what RSV is, and how it deviates from other respiratory ailments.

While RSV results in mild, cold-like symptoms for most — a runny nose, nasal congestion, cough, and fever — for some, especially infants and older adults, it can lead to serious illness, though only a small percentage of young patients develop severe disease and require hospitalization, said Dr. John O’Reilly, chief of General Pediatrics at Baystate Children’s Hospital.

“Those hospitalized often have severe breathing problems or are seriously dehydrated and need IV fluids. In most cases, hospitalization only lasts a few days, and complete recovery usually occurs in about one to two weeks,” he explained.

Those who have a higher risk for severe illness caused by RSV include premature babies, very young infants, children younger than age 2 with chronic lung disease or congenital heart disease, children with weakened immune systems, and children who have neuromuscular disorders. Other at-risk groups include adults age 65 and older, 177,000 of whom are hospitalized and 14,000 of whom die from RSV each year in the U.S.; people with chronic lung disease or certain heart problems; and people with weakened immune systems, such as from HIV infection, organ transplants, or certain medical treatments, like chemotherapy.

The COVID pandemic has had a big impact on the normal pediatric respiratory illness cycles, O’Reilly noted. “Early in the pandemic, masking and social distancing helped to limit the spread of respiratory viruses such as RSV. Because there were so few cases of RSV in the first two years of the pandemic, most infants and toddlers did not get the natural immunity that their body would have produced if they had natural illness. That left a larger number of children more vulnerable to getting RSV illness, which is what we are seeing now in the community.”

There is no vaccine yet to prevent RSV infection, but there is a medication, called palivzumab, that can help protect some babies at high risk for severe RSV disease, O’Reilly noted. Healthcare providers usually administer it to premature infants and young children with certain heart and lung conditions as a series of monthly shots during RSV season.

“Don’t go out or attend gatherings if you are sick. Take COVID-19 tests if you think you have COVID-19 symptoms. Frequent hand washing can also help prevent the spread of respiratory infections. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 15 seconds and consider carrying a hand sanitizer with you at all times. Open windows for ventilation. Practice proper cough etiquette. And, because there is more sickness at this time of year, refrain from sharing utensils or drinking cups.”

The severity of symptoms can vary depending on the age of the child and whether he or she has any chronic medical problems, such as asthma or premature birth. Bacterial infections such as ear infections and pneumonia may develop in children with RSV infection.

At first, it’s all about symptom management for young children with RSV, O’Reilly said, including keeping the child hydrated and the fever under control. “If a child is having high fevers without relief for multiple days, or increased difficulty with breathing, such as wheezing, grunting, or ongoing flaring of the nostrils is observed along with a child’s runny nose and cough, then a call to your pediatrician is warranted.”

Part of the reason why RSV is a common virus in children is the fact that it can be easily transmitted. It can spread directly from person to person — when an infected person coughs or sneezes, sending virus-containing droplets into the air, where they can infect a person who inhales them, as well as by hand-to-nose, hand-to-mouth, and hand-to-eye contact. The virus can be spread indirectly when someone touches any object infected with the virus, such as toys, countertops, doorknobs, or pens, and can live on environmental surfaces for several hours.

The CDC’s advice on limiting the spread is the same as any virus-prevention measure: covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve, washing hands often with soap and water, avoiding touching one’s face, disinfecting surfaces, staying home when sick, and avoiding close contact with sick people, as well as kissing, shaking hands, and sharing cups and utensils with others.

“The good news,” O’Reilly said, “is that most infants and children overcome RSV infections without any long-term complications, as RSV infections can often be relatively asymptomatic and even go unnoticed.”

Safety First

After almost three years of COVID, it’s easy to push those common-sense cautions aside, but that would be a mistake, said Dr. Vincent Meoli, Massachusetts regional medical director at American Family Care, which operates urgent-care clinics in Springfield and West Springfield.

“We know there is a significant amount of COVID fatigue as we enter our third year of the pandemic, but vigilance is still important, both to protect those most at risk of developing complications and to minimize the impact on our healthcare system,” he said, noting that area hospitals saw high rates of RSV admissions early in the season.

“We saw a tremendous reduction in flu cases during the height of the pandemic because people were wearing masks and isolating,” Meoli said. “Now that society has opened up again and masks are no longer required in most places, we anticipate the number of flu cases to increase.”

Kenton emphasized that, while flu and RSV might be more prevalent now, COVID hasn’t gone away. According to the CDC, about 350 people in the U.S. still die every day from COVID, and about six out of every seven of those are unvaccinated.

“I always say, vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate. It’s been proven that, with vaccination from COVID, you’re still able to get COVID, but you’re less likely to die,” he told BusinessWest. “Are you going to feel sick? Yes, absolutely. But you’re less likely to be hospitalized and die from it. It’s still present, unfortunately. I think it’s always going to remain present for us in combination with the flu and RSV. So definitely get the flu vaccine every year, too.”

Dr. Armando Paez, chief of the Infectious Disease Division at Baystate Health, said vaccination is a must, but it’s important to maintain other precautions as well during the tripledemic.

“Don’t go out or attend gatherings if you are sick. Take COVID-19 tests if you think you have COVID-19 symptoms,” Paez said, adding that, during the holiday season and after, people are traveling and potentially spreading viruses. “Frequent hand washing can also help prevent the spread of respiratory infections. Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 15 seconds and consider carrying a hand sanitizer with you at all times. Open windows for ventilation. Practice proper cough etiquette. And, because there is more sickness at this time of year, refrain from sharing utensils or drinking cups.”

Kenton said there’s nothing wrong with turning down an invitation to a gathering where people are sick — or if there’s a possibility of introducing sickness into that house. “If someone in your house is sick, don’t go to someone else’s house, especially if they have co-morbidity conditions; getting RSV on top of that can cause them to end up hospitalized or potentially die.”

He also reminds people that COVID has an asymptomatic period between infection and symptoms, so if someone in a household tests positive, not only should the infected individual isolate, but it’s a good idea for others in the house to avoid gatherings for a few days until they know they’re negative, to avoid spreading the virus to someone else.

Meoli noted that, for those who do plan to attend gatherings — especially with people at high risk for COVID, like the elderly, children, or people who are immunocompromised — testing for COVID the day before or the day of the gathering can provide some extra reassurance.

“Talk to a healthcare provider if you have any concerns about vaccines, symptoms, or testing,” he added. “COVID-19, flu, and RSV all have the potential for complications, hospitalization, or death.”

It’s certainly a triple threat, area doctors say, but taking simple precautions can help keep families safe and patients out of the hospital — or worse.

EDC Leaders See Need to Market the Region, Leverage Its Assets

By George O'Brien January 5, 2023

Economic Outlook

Selling Points

[email protected]

As he surveys the scene in Western Mass., especially the ongoing focus on encouraging entrepreneurship and helping startups get to the next level, Charlie D’Amour says he can see some parallels to when his father, Gerry, and uncle, Paul, were getting started in Chicopee nearly 80 years ago with a venture that would eventually become known as Big Y.

But this current surge in entrepreneurship is different in some respects from than the one in the mid-’30s, he told BusinessWest, adding that it is deeper and more diverse. And it holds enormous promise for the future of the region in terms of job creation and the vibrancy of individual communities.

“I continue to be impressed by the fact that we have a diverse and growing class of new entrepreneurs,” D’Amour noted. “Through the commitment of the EDC, the commitment of other organizations, and the commitment of anchor institutions in the area, if we can continue to grow, develop, nurture, and encourage these entrepreneurs, it’s only going to put us in a great position.

“That’s part of what gives me some optimism for the economy of our region — to see this growth in entrepreneurship,” he went on. “This is an interesting group of young entrepreneurs, and it’s a diverse group, and that speaks to where our future is going to be.”

Entrepreneurship and the prospects for more of it comprise one of many subjects touched on by D’Amour and other representatives of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council (EDC) during a wide-ranging discussion of the issues facing the region as the calendar turns to 2023.

“I continue to be impressed by the fact that we have a diverse and growing class of new entrepreneurs. Through the commitment of the EDC, the commitment of other organizations, and the commitment of anchor institutions in the area, if we can continue to grow, develop, nurture, and encourage these entrepreneurs, it’s only going to put us in a great position.”

Charlie D’Amour

D’Amour is a long-time member of the EDC and member of its executive committee. Others joining the discussion were Rick Sullivan, president and CEO of the EDC; Tricia Canavan, CEO of Tech Foundry and current EDC board chair, and relatively new board member Cesar Ruiz, president and CEO of Golden Years Home Care Services.

Together, they addressed subjects ranging from workforce issues to marketing of the region to the prospects for bringing more jobs to the area.

Overall, as the new year begins, those we spoke with are optimistic about the region and its fortunes, but there are reasons for concern, especially when it comes to workforce (more on that later), an issue touched on by many in this special Economic Outlook section.

“I’ve seen some real opportunities with some investments that I do believe will be coming with the new governor’s administration in terms of broadband and internet access,” Sullivan said. “There is a digital divide, in our urban communities but also in our rural communities, and I think there’s a real opportunity there with a significant investment by the state and federal government to make those final connections and finally bring high-speed broadband to people’s homes and businesses; that’s a real opportunity for us.

“And I also some see some significant investment in the field of cybersecurity, which is an industry that, unfortunately, is probably here for the long run, and we need to be doing a lot of work every single day to stay ahead of the bad guys,” he went on. “With Springfield already being designated as one of the centers of the statewide system … that’s a real opportunity for us in terms of both workforce and working with our municipalities and particularly with our higher-ed institutions, so I’m very optimistic about the opportunities that are going to present themselves for this region in 2023.”

D’Amour agreed.

“The good news is that the economy of Western Massachusetts, with its diversity and whatnot, has proven to be somewhat resilient, from what I’ve seen,” he noted. “Though I anticipate a downturn in the economy, a slowing of the economy, I do expect that we’ll be able to weather it fairly well.”

“We’re all experiencing challenges in hiring — we can’t hire fast enough; we can’t hire quality enough within our workforce. Hiring is certainly going to be a barometer for how successful we’re going to be with expanding our business.”

Cesar Ruiz

Canavan concurred, noting that the many lessons learned during the pandemic will serve to make the region’s economy and individual businesses stronger and more resilient.

“The silver lining of the pandemic has been some lessons learned,” she said. “I’ve seen people start to integrate these lessons into their businesses and organizations and into their collaboration in the community. I’m really excited about progress on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts; digital equity and access; and additional community alignment. I think we’ve learned the importance of working together. I’m optimistic about Western Mass. — we are going to be resilient, and we’re going to recover from the pandemic, even if there are some additional bumps coming our way.”

Working Things Out

One of those bumps is likely to be a continuation of very challenging times when it comes to workforce and companies attracting — and then retaining — the talent they need to grow and prosper. Those we spoke with said this is easily the biggest challenge moving forward and perhaps the most difficult problem to solve.

Ruiz, whose industry, home care, has been particularly hard hit by the workforce crisis, said workforce issues are more than an annoyance — they are hindering the growth and progress of companies, including his own.

“In Massachusetts, we have roughly two open jobs for every candidate that’s in the market. This is a great time for people who may not have been able to access those jobs previously to get training, to get education, and to seize those opportunities.”

Tricia Canavan

“We’re all experiencing challenges in hiring — we can’t hire fast enough; we can’t hire quality enough within our workforce,” he noted. “Hiring is certainly going to be a barometer for how successful we’re going to be with expanding our business.”

He said individual sectors and specific businesses are, out of necessity, forced to be creative when it comes to putting more talent into the pipeline. Golden Years, for example, is collaborating with area colleges to help ready them for careers in healthcare.

Still, the problem is acute, and he’s talking with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and others about ways to bring more people from other parts of the world into this country to work.

“Using foreign workers is nothing new — our resort areas bring them in by the hundreds,” Ruiz noted. “They come here for a six-month period, and there are certain obligations as an employer that we have to meet to tap that source. But we have to come with creative ways to tap these resources.”

Canavan concurred, and noted that the current workforce challenge presents a huge opportunity to engage those who are currently not engaged in education or work.

“That’s one of the big opportunities for us at this moment in time,” she said. “In Massachusetts, we have roughly two open jobs for every candidate that’s in the market. This is a great time for people who may not have been able to access those jobs previously to get training, to get education, and to seize those opportunities.”

“Our population has basically been flat, and in some areas, it’s declining. If we’re going to be vibrant, there has to be some growth; you need to grow to survive.”

Rick Sullivan

D’Amour agreed, and said his company has been creative and also diligent in addressing the problem.

“Our staffing has improved — it’s much better than it was a year ago or a year and a half ago,” he noted. “But part of it is because we worked at it — we’ve addressed it proactively. We didn’t just put a sign in the window saying ‘now hiring.’ We’ve been a little bit more deliberate, a little bit more strategic, and a little bit more focused about it, and those are the kinds of things that we’re going to need moving forward.”

Elaborating, he said workforce issues require both creativity and a lengthy time horizon, meaning measures that will fill the pipeline with workers for the long term. And the focus needs to be on education.

“From early education to higher education, we need to make sure that we’re bringing our kids and our young people along so that they can be the workforce of the future,” he told BusinessWest. “If we don’t have that, we can’t do a lot of the things that we aspire to. We need to reach into these various communities and make sure that young people have the skills they’re going to need to be successful; that’s where our workforce is going to come from, and those are the kinds of things we have to do.

“I know that’s an area of focus for the EDC, and I know it’s an area of focus for the anchor institutions and many individual companies,” he went on. “We’re not going to get there in a year, but we need to start now; it’s probably a little bit overdue.”

Being Positive

As noted earlier, those we spoke with could find plenty of reasons for optimism concerning 2023 and beyond in this region. Collectively, they mentioned everything from the Victory Theatre project in Holyoke (Ruiz is among the many involved in that effort) to the growing number, and diversity, of new businesses being started in this region, especially within the Hispanic and African-American communities; from the strong education and healthcare sectors to the quality of life here and the opportunities presented by remote work for people to live in this region and work wherever they desire.

Meanwhile, those we spoke with said there are real opportunities to grow certain business sectors in this region — from cybersecurity to clean energy to water technology — with the area’s higher-education institutions taking lead roles in each one.

Sullivan said another often-overlooked or forgotten sector showing promise is manufacturing, what he called the “invisible backbone” of the region’s economy.

“Most of our manufacturers were classified as essential employers during the pandemic, so they were able to continue operating,” he noted. “They proved to be really flexible and able to pivot, in some cases even manufacturing PPE and other products that were not part of their portfolio before COVID. That flexibility, if you will, served them well, and now they’re well-poised for growth, and you’re starting to see them make significant investments.

“Whether it’s Advance Manufacturing, Boulevard Machine, or Advance Welding in Springfield, they’re making investment in their own facilities and their own people, and they’re creating jobs — and jobs that will exist well into the future because of the work they’re doing and the contractors that they have, whether it’s the Department of Defense or the Department of Transportation or healthcare,” he went on. “And these manufacturers have recognized that, while this region may not be the cheapest in terms of power or the cheapest in terms of taxation, we are the best when it comes to workforce.”

D’Amour agreed, and said another aspect of the local economy that is often overlooked is agriculture.

“We’re the garden of New England here in Connecticut River Valley, and there are a lot of young farmers in this region that are doing great stuff,” he said. “Agriculture and food products are an important part of our economy, and it adds to the diversity of the economy in our region. Having fields and orchards is also why many people like to live here; it leads to the whole genus of our community and what makes Western Mass. so special.”

Another priority for the region, Sullivan said, is to better leverage its many assets in higher education.

“Many of the other parts of the country, and even the eastern end of this state, really market the presence of higher ed,” he said. “And we have world-class institutions here; whether it’s the flagship campus for UMass or Smith or Mount Holyoke or Bay Path, the cohort of higher education we have here is really significant. And when we talk about workforce, the students that are sitting in the classrooms at the Elms and AIC and the other institutions are the workforce that everyone is looking for, and I really believe that economic vitality and higher ed are entwined tighter than they ever have been before.”

Work to Be Done

While there are reasons for optimism, there are also some concerns and priorities for the months and years to come, said those we spoke with.

Sullivan noted, for example, that the region — known in the banking sector and many others as a ‘no-growth’ area — certainly needs a growth strategy.

“Our population has basically been flat, and in some areas, it’s declining,” he told BusinessWest. “If we’re going to be vibrant, there has to be some growth; you need to grow to survive. We can absolutely sell our cost of living and quality of life here, but we need to have the housing for people to move into, and they need to be able to work from home or do their coursework from home, which means, again, that we have to make that investment in broadband and the internet across our region so we can take advantage of that opportunity.

“When people discuss work/life balance and what they want for their families, this lands in a sweet spot for us,” he went on. “That’s who we are; we can sell work/life balance and quality of life, as long as we have all the components. They’re not all going to happen in a month or a year, but there needs to a positive trajectory on all of those things.”

D’Amour agreed, noting that the region has a number of sellable assets, from location to transportation infrastructure to relatively inexpensive (and often green) power, as well as higher education. One priority moving forward is to more aggressively sell these assets and market the region.

“Our challenge has always been telling our story,” he said. “We have not participated as fully as we could have or should have in the economic boom that Eastern Mass. has had. How do we get some of the business community in Eastern Mass. to focus on us instead of going to Southern New Hampshire, or Rhode Island, or wherever?”

Canavan agreed. “We are, in some ways, our own worst enemy when it comes to not telling our story — or appreciating where we live,” she said. “And we do have a lot of assets here, starting with diversity; we’re very lucky to have people from all over the world here, people with different perspectives — that is a real asset. I also think we’re small enough to be agile and to pilot things … we’re like the scrappy player who can try new things, and that’s very exciting.”

Lastly, Sullivan said he is hopeful, and confident, that the state’s new governor, Maura Healey, will not just “talk about how we care about Western Mass.,” but make some significant investments in the region.

“And I think you’ll see them, whether it’s vocational education or community colleges, or broadband or cyber or clean energy,” he said. “I think that there’s an opportunity to make very strategic, intentional investments in Western Massachusetts that will allow it to grow.”

What We Want to See in 2023

By Editorial January 4, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

As we turn the page on 2022 and look ahead to a year filled with question marks, those of us at BusinessWest offer up some thoughts on what we’d like to see in the year ahead.

Some wishes would fall in the category of ‘obvious’ — a slowing of inflation, fewer and less dramatic interest-rate hikes (how about none at all?), improvement on the workforce front, and some real movement on job growth — while others might be less obvious. Here’s a short list:

Less Whitewater

The past three years have been a long, grueling grind for area businesses, large and small. They have had to cope with COVID, a workforce crisis, supply-chain issues, dramatic price increases, recession fears, waning consumer confidence, a microchip shortage, incessant employment-law challenges, cybersecurity issues, the various challenges of remote work, early retirement among Baby Boomers … the list doesn’t seem to end, and we certainly forgot a few.

The region’s business community could use a break, a breather, some real ‘party like its 2019’ normalcy, not the new normal. Let’s hope some is coming in 2023.

A More Impactful MGM Springfield

Let’s start by saying the casino complex on Main Street has had to deal with everything on the list above, just like everyone else. So it has certainly not had an easy ride since the parade that marked its grand opening in late August 2018. That said, few if any would say that MGM Springfield has had anything close to the kind of economic impact we were all hoping for, if not expecting, when it was blueprinted and then built.

Yes, it has had a stake in several meaningful initiatives, like the project to revitalize the old Court Square Hotel. But, overall, gaming revenues are not what were projected, and the same can be said for vibrancy in the casino area, the list of things to do at the complex, meetings and conventions, and impact. We’ve said it before, and it bears repeating … there are many days when, if you didn’t know there was a casino on Main Street, you wouldn’t know there was a casino on Main Street. This needs to change, and hopefully we’ll see some progress in 2023. Maybe sports betting will help.

Continued Growth of the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

This has been one of the better economic-development stories of the past several years, and the region needs to continue and build upon its efforts to encourage entrepreneurship. As the immense competition for manufacturers and other kinds of businesses, and the jobs they create, only increases, perhaps the most realistic opportunities for growth in this region are of the organic kind. Progress in this fashion comes slowly and, in most cases, undramatically. But we have to continue to plant seeds.

Relief on the Workforce Front

We’re not sure if or how it can happen, but the area’s employers need some relief from the crushing workforce crisis. As the stories that begin on page 13 clearly show, workforce is the issue that is keeping business owners and managers up at night. Worse, it’s keeping many businesses from reaching their full potential and realize some of the opportunities that are coming their way.

The region and the state cannot simply wave a wand and bring thousands of people into the workforce. But what they can do is continue and accelerate the work to make this state more attractive, not just for businesses, but for the people who will work at them, by creating more affordable housing and taking other steps to bring people here instead of compelling them to look or move elsewhere to find a job, start a career, or write the next chapter.

Picture This

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Picture This

Email ‘Picture This’ photos with a caption and contact information to [email protected]

Supporting Community

Monson Savings Bank recently made a $10,000 donation to the Hispanic-American Institute in Springfield, a nonprofit corporation that is committed to encouraging social, educational, and economic development in Hispanic communities in the continental U.S., Puerto Rico, and Latin America. In addition to the Springfield branch, the institute has offices and staff in Boston; Albuquerque, N.M.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Pictured, from left: Dan Moriarty, Monson Savings Bank President and CEO; Veronica Garcia, CEO of Latino Marketing Agency; and John Perez, project office manager at the Hispanic-American Institute Inc.

New Location, Higher Gear

On Dec. 13, Springfield Auto & Truck Equipment held a ribbon cutting at its new location at 797 Berkshire Ave. in Indian Orchard. The move represents a significant expansion from a 3,800-square-foot facility to a 12,000-square-foot building, which includes a 5,000-square-foot showroom for product displays.

Local dignitaries in attendance at the ribbon cutting included Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno, state Reps. Angelo Puppolo and Orlando Ramos, Hampden County Sheriff Nicholas Cocchi, Indian Orchard Citizen’s Council Vice President Yolanda Cancel, and Springfield Chief Development Officer Timothy Sheehan.

Meeting Critical Needs

American Eagle Financial Credit Union announced $7,500 in donations to local food- and housing-assistance organizations within the credit union’s service area. The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Connecticut Foodshare, and Hands on Hartford each received a $2,500 donation.

Pictured: Teresa Knox, COO of American Eagle Financial Credit Union (right), presents the $2,500 donation to Jillian Morgan, director of Philanthropy at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts.

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Court Dockets

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.

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Thomas Murtha v. Sturdy Home Improvements Inc.

Allegation: Breach of contract: $59,000

Filed: 11/1/22

Marie Norgaisse v. City of Springfield Historical Commission, Robert McCarroll, Ralph Slate, Philip Bromey, Alvin Allen, and Thomas Belton

Allegation: Fraud, financial damages, withholding evidence, mental stress, prosecution, harassment, humiliation: $170,400

Filed: 11/4/22

Hemant Ajbani v. Sterling Architectural Millwork, Demetrios Cenetis, Jeffery Struck, C&S Building and Renovations Inc., and Craftwork Inc.

Allegation: Failure to pay wages, breach of contract, retaliation, breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing: $500,000+

Filed: 11/7/22

Raymond Knapp v. Town of West Springfield

Allegation: Tortious action involving municipality: $256,500+

Filed: 11/8/22

Javier Acovedo Aponte v. Department of Unemployment

Allegation: Failure to pay wages: $11,600+

Filed: 11/9/22

RK on Main Street LLC v. Isla Associates I LLC

Allegation: Breach of contract: $100,000+

Filed: 11/22/22

Scott Wall v. John Doe and Brown Packaging

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall resulting in personal injury: $150,000

Filed: 11/30/22

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Chocorua Realty Investments LLC v. Anne Frey, Sarah Spencer, and Greenfield Savings Bank

Allegation: Breach of contract: $70,880

Filed: 12/5/22

Chamber Corners: Upcoming Events

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Chamber Corners

1BERKSHIRE

(413) 499-1600; www.1berkshire.com

Jan. 20: Women & Minority Owned Business Certification Summit, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., hosted by Berkshire Innovation Center, 45 Woodlawn Ave., Pittsfield. 1Berkshire, EforAll Berkshire County, Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp., Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and Berkshire Innovation Center welcome any women- and/or minority-owned businesses in the Berkshires to join us for this free event that will provide information about becoming a certified women- and minority-owned business enterprise (WMBE), a space to network with fellow businesses, and direct access to resource providers who can walk you through the process of certification. This event is free and includes lunch. Registration is required at www.1berkshire.com.

Jan. 31: 1Berkshire Entrepreneurial Meetup, 4:30- 6 p.m., hosted by Anahata Schoolhouse Yoga and Wellness Center, 201 North Summer St., Adams. Join us for our first Entrepreneurial Meetup of 2023. Reconnect with your colleagues and hear from owner Howard Rosenberg about his entrepreneurial journey. This event is free to attend and made possible through the support of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. Registration is required at www.1berkshire.com.

EAST OF THE RIVER FIVE TOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 575-7230; www.erc5.com

Jan. 4: ERC5 After 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m., location to be announced. ERC5 After 5s happen on the first Wednesday of every other month. Please be sure to RSVP for future dates and secure your spot before they sell out. Cost is free, but registration is limited and required. To register, visit www.erc5.com.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 527-9414; www.easthamptonchamber.org

Jan. 19: Annual meeting, 12-2 p.m., hosted by the Boylston Room, 122 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Join us as we share the successes of the last year, what we have learned, and where we are headed. Cost: $35 for members, including lunch; $40 for future members, including lunch. To register, visit easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 568-1618; www.westfieldbiz.org

Jan. 4: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Westfield Gas & Electric Operations Center, 40 Turnpike Industrial Road, Westfield. Join us for the first Mayor’s Coffee Hour of 2023. Mayor Michael McCabe will update attendees on City Hall activities, and there will be an opportunity to ask the mayor questions. This event is free to attend. To register, visit www.westfieldbiz.org.

Jan. 26: Morning Brew, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Shortstop Bar & Grill, 99 Springfield Road, Westfield. Join us for a great networking opportunity. Introduce yourself and your business to the attendees. Everyone has a chance to discuss what their business does and what they are looking for to expand and improve. This event is free to attend. To register, visit www.westfieldbiz.org.

Agenda

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Agenda

IRS Tax Changes

Jan. 12: The Pioneer Valley Estate Planning Council Inc. announced that its next event will be held at the Hotel Northampton. The planned topic is an update on IRS tax changes that may result in changes to the tax code and estate-planning techniques. A buffet-style breakfast will be served. Social hour begins at 7:30 a.m. The event cost is $40 for both members and non-members. Checks will be accepted at the door. As an update, the council received $800 from the National Council as reimbursement of fees for the current fiscal year, helping to replenish its bank account. Full details will be provided at the January meeting.

Cirque du Soleil Presents ‘Corteo’

Jan. 12-15: Corteo, the arena production from Cirque du Soleil, is back in North America and heading to Worcester. This unique production, directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, first premiered in Montreal under the Big Top in April 2005. Since its creation, the show has amazed more than 10 million spectators in 20 countries on four continents. Corteo will be presented at the DCU Center on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Jan. 14 at 3:30 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 15 at 1 p.m. Corteo, which means ‘cortege’ in Italian, is a joyous procession, a festive parade imagined by a clown. The show brings together the passion of the actor with the grace and power of the acrobat to plunge the audience into a theatrical world of fun, comedy, and spontaneity situated in a mysterious space between heaven and earth. In a Cirque du Soleil first, the stage is central in the arena and divides the venue, with each half of the audience facing the other half, giving a unique perspective not only of the show, but also a performer’s eye view of the audience, an atmosphere never seen before in Cirque du Soleil arena shows. Tickets for Corteo in Worcester are currently available at cirquedusoleil.com/corteo.

World Affairs Council

Jan. 13: The World Affairs Council of Western Massachusetts announced that its next Instant Issues brown-bag lunchtime discussion will take place at noon on the new, ninth-floor event space at 1350 Main St. in downtown Springfield. Longtime friend of the council Mahsa Khanbabai, an attorney with Khanbabai Immigration Law, will speak on the current status of women in Iran. Khanbabai was born in Iran and raised in Western Mass. She is regularly interviewed by news agencies such as NPR, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, MSNBC, and others. Her legal advocacy and strategic use of the media spotlight has led to numerous high-impact immigration changes, including the reinstatement of deferred action. Admission to the event is $5 for council members without a lunch provided, or $20 with a box lunch. Non-members’ admission cost is $10 without a lunch or $25 with a lunch. For those who purchase a meal, box lunches with a choice of sandwich — turkey, tuna, roast beef, or vegetarian — will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Lunches also include a deli salad, cookie, chips, and soda or water. At the request of the speaker, this event will not be recorded. To register, visit www.eventbrite.com/e/instant-issues-mahsa-khanbabai-on-women-youth-movements-in-iran-tickets-490513698677.

SSO to Celebrate MLK

Jan. 14: The Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO) will celebrate the life and spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. on the Symphony Hall stage at 7:30 p.m. Music of African-American composers will be performed by the orchestra and guest pianist Artina McCain, and highlighted by a spoken-word presentation by Springfield’s poet laureate, Magdalena Gómez.

Tickets are on sale, starting at $15, on the SSO website, www.springfieldsymphony.org. Kevin Scott, an African-American conductor, composer, and native New Yorker, will lead the orchestra on Jan. 14. Born in the Bronx and raised in Harlem, Scott has led various orchestras, choruses, and bands throughout the Greater New York area and in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Varna, Bulgaria. His works have been performed by the orchestras of Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, and St. Louis. Concert attendees will hear works such as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” (J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson, arr. Hale Smith); “Rise to the Occasion” (Quinn Mason); “The Audacity of Hope” (Ozie Cargile II); and “Fannie’s Homecoming,” composed by the evening’s conductor, who has been inspired by the legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer, a leader in the civil-rights movement. Music of Florence Price and William Grant Still will also be performed. A ‘classical conversation’ with Scott will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 14 for all ticketholders, and there will be a meet and greet following the performance in the Mahogany Room.

MOSSO Concert Series at Westfield Athenaeum

Feb. 23, March 23, April 20: The Westfield Athenaeum will present a three-concert chamber-music series with MOSSO (Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra) performing. This is the second year of this partnership. Guy McLain, executive director of the Westfield Athenaeum, will offer a pre-performance talk at 6 p.m., which is free to ticket holders. The Westfield Athenaeum series opens with MOSSO and Friends on Feb. 23. Violinist Beth Welty, horn player Sarah Sutherland, and pianist Elizabeth Skavish will perform horn trios of Frédéric Duvernoy, Trygve Madsen, and Johannes Brahms. Welty, chair of MOSSO, is acting principal second violin of MOSSO and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (SSO). Sutherland, MOSSO and SSO horn player, is also MOSSO’s finance director. The series continues on Thursday, March 23 with a performance by the Vermont-based Champlain Trio, which includes MOSSO and SSO principal cello Emily Taubl. The Champlain Trio will perform “Brilliant Colors,” a program that features music by Tchaikovsky, Erik Neilsen (“Trio No. 2” written for the ensemble), Jennifer Higdon, Amy Beach, and Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite.” The series concludes on Thursday, April 20 with MOSSO and SSO horn player Robert Hoyle’s quintet, the Connecticut-based Harmonia V. The quintet will celebrate April in Paris with an all-French program, featuring pieces by Barthe, Fauré, Ravel, Poulenc, Debussy, Pierné, and Lefebvre. Tickets for the concerts, $25 per person, must be purchased in advance at the Westfield Athenaeum during business hours, or online at www.westath.org.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

People on the Move

Elms College announced that seven prominent leaders in the region have joined the board of trustees.

Kathleen Bernardo

• Kathleen Bernardo is a partner at Bulkley Richardson and leads the Real Estate practice group. Her practice focuses on commercial real-estate matters such as conveyancing, financing, leasing, title matters, and all aspects of complex property transfers, including purchase agreements, easements, liquor-license transfers, special permits, regulatory compliance, zoning and variance issues, 1031 exchange transfers, boundary disputes, public and private conservation restrictions including agricultural preservation restrictions, petitions to partition, and other land-court matters. Her probate practice includes the preparation of wills and trusts, estate and trust administration, equity petitions, guardianships, and conservatorships.

Larry Eagan

• Larry Eagan is the president and CEO of Collins Electric and has been with the company since 1984. Collins Electric is a private company with offices in Chicopee and Pittsfield, sales of more than $15 million, and more than 80 employees. Collins Electric is an Elms College vendor and a sponsor of the Executive Leadership Breakfast. Eagan is on the board of directors of Associated Subcontractors of Massachusetts, serves as the chapter president of Legatus of Western Massachusetts, and is a member of the National Electrical Contractors Assoc.

Lindsey Gamble

• Lindsey Gamble is the director of Nursing at Mercy Medical Center, a broad role that carries with it many responsibilities, including staffing, budgeting, training, and ongoing education of the nursing staff. Gamble started her nursing career as a labor and delivery nurse. She played a key role in the opening of Mercy’s Innovation Unit, designed to ensure that families of COVID-19 patients stay connected with the patient and the care team during their hospital stay.

Catherine Ormond

• Catherine Ormond, SSJ serves as pastoral visitor at St. Jerome’s Parish in Holyoke and most recently was pastoral minister at St. Patrick’s Church in South Hadley for nearly 20 years. Prior to that, she held counseling positions at Holyoke Catholic High School and Charles River Hospital in Chicopee Falls, and was coordinator of services at Brightside Mental Health Clinic.

Frank Robinson

• Frank Robinson is the vice president of Public Health for Baystate Health. In this role, he is responsible for integrating clinical and community care to better serve vulnerable people and populations across the spectrum of diversity and create healthier communities. Robinson also represents Baystate Health in the area of community relations by building a shared agenda and common goals for community improvement with neighborhood, community, and business representatives, as well as other key stakeholders. He has led the establishment of the Baystate Springfield Educational Partnership and the founding of the Baystate Academy Charter Public School.

Betsy Sullivan

• Betsy Sullivan, SSJ serves as president of the congregation for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield. She has extensive leadership experience, including vice president of the congregation, preceded by three decades as a licensed administrator of Mont Marie Health Care Center, a licensed nursing home in Holyoke.

Henry Thomas III

• Henry Thomas III serves as president and CEO of the Urban League of Springfield Inc. He has worked in the Urban League movement for 43 years, serving 39 years as president and CEO. Previously, he served as vice president for Youth Development with the National Urban League in New York. He is also the former chair of the Springfield Fire Commission and the Springfield Police Commission. Thomas serves as CEO for the historic Camp Atwater, the oldest African-American overnight youth camp in the U.S., which he reopened in 1980 following a six-year hiatus. He served on the UMass board of trustees from 2007 to 2021 and served as chairman in 2012.

•••••

Katharine Shove

Brodeur-McGan, P.C. announced that Katharine Shove joined the firm this fall. As a litigator, Shove particularly enjoys employment law, representing both employees and employers in discrimination, retaliation, and wage-and-hour cases. She regularly assists employers with complex state and federal compliance issues, representing electric companies, construction companies, and manufacturers. In addition to employment and compliance matters, she litigates matters involving property damages (real and personal), personal injuries, contract disputes, and consumer-protection violations, such as violations of General Laws Chapter 93A. After law school, Shove clerked for Justice C. Jeffrey Kinder of the Massachusetts Appeals Court, where she conducted legal research and drafted criminal and civil decisions for panel cases. Following her clerkship, she practiced as a litigator with Bacon Wilson, P.C. Shove serves as a board member of the Hampden County Bar Assoc. New Lawyers Section and is a member of the Hampden County Legal Clinic’s pro bono associate advisory board.

•••••

The Realtor Assoc. of Pioneer Valley announced its annual award winners at the association’s holiday luncheon on Dec. 1 at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. The 2022 Realtor of the Year is Arlene Castellano of Acuna Real Estate. The 2022 Affiliate of the Year is Victor Rodriguez Sr. of PeoplesBank. A Realtor since 2015, Castellano has served on the RAPV board of directors since 2020. She has also served on the community service, finance, government affairs, member engagement, professional standards, and YPN committees. She has given back to the community through her active involvement with the community service committee, including as a board member for Dress for Success and co-chair of its relocation committee; as a basketball coach; serving in the Franklin County Meal; and coordinating a Meet the Candidate event for state Rep. Jake Oliveira. She has also coordinated RAPV’s new-member orientation and has been featured on the Real Estate Minute segment of WWLP’s Mass Appeal program intended to educate the public about real estate and the role of Realtors. She recently participated in and graduated from the Massachusetts Assoc. of Realtors’ 2022 Leadership Academy Class. A member of RAPV since 2015, Rodriguez is the mortgage consultant at PeoplesBank and has served on the affiliate-Realtor and community service committees. He has demonstrated tremendous support to the association and community outreach and volunteered in RAPV’s community-service efforts through its Christmas adopt-a-family program. His community activities include being director at Heir of Christ Christian Church since 2016, a board member of Holyoke Chapter Salvation Army since 2019, a board member of One Holyoke CDC since 2019, a committee member of Buy Holyoke Now, and a prior board member of the Greater Holyoke YMCA.

•••••

Diane Sabato

John Diffley

Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) professors Diane Sabato and John Diffley received the Michelson IP Educator of Excellence Award. Sabato, an STCC business professor, and Diffley, an attorney and history professor, have been working on the intellectual-property (IP) educational initiative since 2020. STCC was one of only five colleges nationwide with faculty accepted into the Michelson IP Educator in Residence initiative. The Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property and the National Assoc. for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE) selected Sabato and Diffley for the project. Sabato and Diffley have been collaborating with four other educators focusing on a mission to deliver intellectual-property education. They joined faculty from institutions in New Jersey, Florida, California, and New Mexico. Intellectual property refers to inventions and human creations such as literary and artistic works, designs, symbols, and names and images used in commerce. Sabato taught intellectual-property concepts in an entrepreneurship class at STCC. Diffley brought the historical perspective of Springfield as an innovation hub and the capacity to implement campus-wide initiatives, initially, through the Honors Program.

•••••

Berkshire Money Management (BMM), a boutique advisory firm with offices in Dalton and Great Barrington, recently welcomed Brenda Bailly and Tina Archambault as client care specialists. The two new hires join the client care team led by Chelsea Smith, recently promoted to the role of client specialist leader. All three employees play a vital role in providing attentive, personalized service to the clients of Berkshire Money Management. Bailly, based in the company’s downtown Great Barrington office, brings more than 24 years of experience in financial services and wealth-management operations to her role as client care specialist. Before joining the BMM team, she was a wealth management senior operations specialist at Berkshire Bank, where her responsibilities included client care, opening and closing accounts, audit assistance, system configurations, and more. A notary, Berkshire Community College graduate, and experienced customer-service professional, Archambault joins the Berkshire Money Management team as client care specialist at the Dalton office. She brings to her new role 25 years in customer service and 16 years of experience in trusts. In her previous role as wealth management operations specialist at Berkshire Bank, she worked with various accounts, including IRAs, trusts, and investment and estate accounts, and was responsible for the opening of new accounts, asset transfers, and other operational tasks. As part of the client care team, both Bailly and Archambault will assist with client onboarding, scheduling, opening and servicing accounts, facilitating account transactions, building strong relationships, and helping clients with their day-to-day service needs. Berkshire Money Management also congratulates Smith on her recent promotion to client specialist leader. She joined BMM in 2021 as a client care specialist. In her new role, she is focused on strengthening BMM’s client care team through coaching, developing new standards and practices, and leading the team in providing exceptional client service. She is a veteran customer-service professional and notary public and has an associate degree from Berkshire Community College in liberal arts with a concentration in business administration.

•••••

Pema Latshang

Teach Western Mass Executive Director Pema Latshang has been selected to serve on the Healey-Driscoll Thriving Youth and Young Adults Transition Committee. Transition committees aim to guide Gov.-elect Maura Healey and Lt. Gov.-elect Kim Driscoll on important work as they prepare to take office in January. Each committee is composed of a diverse group of community members, advocates, subject-matter experts, and business and nonprofit leaders. Latshang’s participation gives voice to the education community of Western Mass. Her expertise in reducing barriers to entry to the profession, maintaining performance standards, and increasing retention supports for new teachers will help her advocate for a high-quality, diverse teacher workforce.

•••••

The Look Memorial Park board of trustees voted unanimously to name Justin Pelis the park’s fifth executive director. Pelis has served as the interim executive director since July 29. “Look Memorial Park is special to so many people,” Pelis said. “It evokes a different meaning to everyone, but in the end, the park is a place where memories are built between families and community. I’m proud to be the newest executive director of Look Park, where my vision and contribution will live on in the hearts of the community for years to come. That was the intent of Mrs. Fannie Look when she set forth to memorialize her late husband Frank Newhall Look in 1928. As executive director, I honor the responsibility to preserve Mrs. Look’s vision while also being responsive and adaptive to the changing needs of our patrons and communities.”

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Company Notebook

MassMutual Foundation Awards $2 Million Grant to Way Finders

SPRINGFIELD — Way Finders and the MassMutual Foundation announced that Way Finders has been provided with a $2 million gift from the MassMutual Foundation to help fund its City of Homes (COH) initiative. This pilot program will address the need for quality, affordable homeownership opportunities in Springfield, the headquarters city of MassMutual and Way Finders. COH will create homeownership opportunities for first-time homebuyers by leveraging the receivership process to acquire and rehabilitate single-family homes or properties for sale at affordable prices in pilot neighborhoods in Springfield. To qualify for the applicant lottery, prospective homebuyers must have either attended a first-time-homebuyer seminar with Way Finders or another certified organization and secured mortgage funding with MassHousing or a private lender. By focusing on Springfield’s North End and Mason Square neighborhoods, where 75% or more of the residents are Black or Hispanic and 50% or more live below the poverty line, the project will provide much-needed access to homeownership opportunities traditionally unavailable to many residents in these communities. Since 2018, the MassMutual Foundation has supported Way Finders’ financial-capability programming, which lays the groundwork for homeownership with financial education and first-time homebuyer workshops. Through the COH pilot program, Way Finders will be able to help Springfield residents turn this education into action as they become first-time homebuyers. In 2022, Way Finders programs impacted the lives of more than 46,000 people through services including homelessness and foreclosure prevention, financial education and first-time homebuyer workshops, and small-business loans.

MassDevelopment, PeoplesBank Complete Financing Package for New Girls Inc. Facility

HOLYOKE — The new Girls Inc. of the Valley headquarters and program center is one big step closer to reality thanks to a new financing package developed by MassDevelopment and PeoplesBank. Girls Inc. recently announced the closing of financing on a $2,275,000 MassDevelopment revenue bond for the new program center in Holyoke. PeoplesBank was the purchaser of the bond, continuing the bank’s longtime support of Girls Inc. of the Valley. MassDevelopment enhanced the bond with a $455,000 mortgage insurance guarantee. The newly renovated, 16,000-square foot facility will allow the organization to consolidate its programs at one location. It will include a cutting-edge STEM makers’ space, a library, two multi-purpose rooms, a teen lounge, a kitchen and dining area, and administrative offices. “We are thrilled to be able to continue our support of Girls Inc. of the Valley and be a part of this exciting project,” said Vicky Crouse, senior vice president, Commercial Banking at PeoplesBank. “Their mission to inspire all girls to be strong, smart, and bold by providing them the opportunity to develop and achieve their full potential is one that we embrace as well.” Dan Rivera, president and CEO of MassDevelopment, noted that “Girls Inc. has a proven track record of supporting girls in all their academic and social endeavors, while also empowering them to unlock the best version of themselves. We are pleased to partner with PeoplesBank to help this nonprofit purchase a new building in Holyoke to call home.”

Berkshire Agricultural Ventures Awards Grant to Gould Farm

GREAT BARRINGTON — Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) awarded Gould Farm a resilience grant of $5,000 to complete construction of a new hoop house that will enable the farm to extend its growing season. This grant was awarded in conjunction with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Services. Gould Farm will use this hoop house (also known as a ‘high tunnel system’) to cover and protect crops from sun, wind, excessive rainfall, and frost, and increase spring and fall crop production in an environmentally safe manner. Gould Farm produces crops as part of its mental-health programming, through which clients grow, cook, and consume vegetables from the farm. During the growing season, Gould Farm also supplies the multicultural BRIDGE food pantry. With the hoop-house addition, Gould Farm will be able to increase the amount and availability of fresh produce for the farm and pantry.

Rocky’s Raises Nearly $26,000 to Support Children’s Hospitals

SPRINGFIELD — Rocky’s Ace Hardware, one of the country’s largest family-owned Ace Hardware dealers with 47 locations in nine states, kicked off the season of giving in November with its semi-annual Round Up for Kids fundraiser, raising a grand total of $25,908 across all participating locations. Customers were asked to round up their purchase total to the next dollar, and the difference was donated to Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) hospitals. This was the third Round Up for Kids fundraiser Rocky’s has held this year, with 100% of the money raised going to benefit local CMN hospitals, including Baystate Children’s Hospital in Springfield. Participating Rocky’s locations included the Island Pond Road and Liberty Street stores in Springfield and the stores in Agawam, East Longmeadow, Westfield, Ludlow, Palmer, and South Hadley. Since 1983, CMN hospitals have helped fill funding gaps by raising more than $7 billion. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit’s mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible.

Country Bank Supports Nonprofits During ‘Season of Difference’

WARE — Children, seniors, and those who are most in need got a lot of care this holiday season from Country Bank, a full-service financial institution serving Central and Western Mass. The bank’s 210 team members gathered on Dec. 14 to write holiday greetings, wrap gifts, and pack homeless care bags in a show of support for the numerous nonprofits that serve the region. During the bank’s Season of Difference Campaign event, team members (also called Difference Makers) wrapped gifts for 400 children at the Worcester and Springfield YMCAs and Boys and Girls Clubs and the Ludlow Boys and Girls Club, along with 300 gifts for local nursing homes, including Quaboag Rehabilitation Center & Skilled Care and Brookhaven Assisted Care in West Brookfield, as well as Life Care Center in Wilbraham. They also packed 300 homeless care bags, which were delivered to Friends of the Homeless in Springfield and St. John’s Food for the Poor Program in Worcester. Team members volunteered at other local nonprofits, including the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, Juniper Outreach, Wreaths Across America, Friends of the Homeless dinner service, St. John’s Food for the Poor breakfast service, and local senior-center holiday celebrations, as well as ringing the bell for the Salvation Army in Ware and Belchertown. Country Bank also announced donations to 21 senior centers throughout the region. A total of $42,000 in donations were made to local senior centers. These donations are made without restriction for those necessary items that may not be met within annual budgets. In addition to its annual monetary support, Country Bank also sends teams of its Difference Makers to volunteer at local senior centers on a monthly basis.

Incorporations

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Incorporations

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

Yori Korean Restaurant Inc., 1 Cooper St., Agawam, MA 01001. Kyoungyeol Byun, 54 River Road Agawam, MA 01001. Restaurant.

BELCHERTOWN

Devine Pursuit Holdings Inc., 43 Meadow Pond Road, Belchertown, MA 01007. Eric Devine, same. Investment.

CHICOPEE

A&J Landscape Construction Inc., 54 Marten St., Chicopee, MA 01020. Arthur Zawadzki, same. Landscape construction and snow removal.

Proform Construction Inc., 21 Fredette St., Chicopee, MA 01022. Michael Ash, same. Residential and commercial construction.

EASTHAMPTON

Carbonstar Systems Inc., 7 Fairfield Ave., Suite 2, Easthampton, MA 01027. Michael Garjian, same. Atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide removal.

GREENFIELD

The Spartan’s, Inc., 25 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01301. Costa Alimonos, 1 Maplewood Terrace Hadley, MA 01035. Rental property.

LENOX

Berkshire Jewish Center Inc., 150 Pittsfield Road, Suite E-1, Lenox, MA 01240. Levi Volovik, 450 South St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Incorporation established to build, open, and operate a Jewish Temple in Berkshire County MA.

NORTHAMPTON

The Whole Person Institute, PC., 16 Armory St., Suite 21, Northampton, MA 01060. Scott Barvainis, same. Mental health services.

PITTSFIELD

Blast Trans Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Valesta Lynch, 9113 Kings Hwy., Brooklyn, NY 11212. Bridge construction and maintenance.

Racial Fairness Berkshires Inc., 75 Broad St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Sinead O’Brien, 80 Broad St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Non-profit organization established to upend localized systemic racism through education and empowerment.

SPRINGFIELD

Buy and Develop Inc., 69 Silver St., Springfield, MA 01107. Zachary Nunnally, same. Incorporation established to promote and educate African Americans the importance of black home ownership and real-estate holdings.

Iglesia Pentecostal El Calvario Inc., 282 Locust St., Springfield, MA 01101. Juan Rivera, 294 Dorwell St., Springfield, MA 01108. Charitable organization established to engage in religious purposes and activities. To rescue lives for Christ and the gospel.

Maroa’s Cuisine Inc., 679 Chestnut St., Springfield, MA 01107. Pedro David Perez Urena, same. Sales of prepared foods in a restaurant style setting.

Unitarian Universalist for A Just Economic Community, 435 Porter Lake Dr. #227, Springfield, MA 01106. Terry Lee Lowman, 3425 Valley View Rd. Ames, IA 07677. Motivate, educate and activate members of our Unitarian Universalist congregations to engage economic injustices and religious worship in their regions and nationwide.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Iglesia Pentecostal Bethel Concilio Prn Inc., 750 Main St., West Springfield, MA 01089. Josue Rivera, same. A local church by the direction of the lord Jesus Christ and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit in accordance with all of the commandments and provisions set forth in the Holy Bible, the irrevocable word of God.

Vitality Digital Tech Inc., 442 Westfield St., West Springfield, MA 01089. Vitaliy Tkachenko, 38 Deer Run Southwick, MA 01077. Digital dental practices.

Doing Business as Certificates

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

DBA Certificates

The following business certificates and/or trade names were issued or renewed during the month of December 2022. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

AGAWAM

Jacy’s Oriental Massage
525 Springfield St., Unit K
Huaiging Liu

Peppo’s Pizza
421 Springfield St.
Abaz Cecunjann

Ryan Associates
23 Southwick St.
Christine Day

The Still
63 Springfield St.
Rebecca Maslar

Taplin Yard Pump & Power
197 Main St.
Martin Jagodowski

The TV Doctor
10 Southwick St.
David Gomez

AMHERST

JShefftz Consulting
14 Moody Field Road
Jonathan Shefftz

Northeast Ski Mountaineering
14 Moody Field Road
Jonathan Shefftz

The Other Realm
8 Tuckerman Lane
Aaron Evans-Janes

Provisions
113 Cowls Road
Benson Hyde, Andrew McAmis

Sonya Clark Studios LLC
1 Tuckerman Lane
Sonya Clark

Transformation in Action
1325 Bay Road
Annabelle Keil

Zoey Simmons Jewelry
460 Flat Hills Road
David Dali

BELCHERTOWN

Austin Ridge Acres
241 Bardwell St.
Loni Austin

DBJ Investments
115B North Main St.
James Bachand Jr.

Webster’s Garage
176 Federal St.
Barry Potter

CHICOPEE

Beyond Beauty Hair and Nail Studio
290 East St.
Dineen Veene

JP Quality Carpentry
308 Hampden St.
John Carlos Pagán

Paddy 733 Inc.
733 Chicopee St.
Blake Bryan

ENFIELD

Cerritos Enfield LLC
61 Palomba Dr.
Ruben Huerta

Exclusive Painting
11 Parker St.
Ryan Roberts

R&M Cleaning Solutions
11 Salerno Dr.
Ryan Gaetani

GREAT BARRINGTON

Elizabeth Rose
15 Mahawie St.
Elizabeth Rose

The Grille
800 Main St.
Backstage Plates LLC

Meg Agnew, LMT
15 Mahaiwe St.
Margaret Agnew

Small Wonders Workshop
304 North Plain Road
David Long

South County Taxi
7 Hart St.
John Mercer

GREENFIELD

M. McIntyre Professional Coach
277 Main St., Suite 301C
Michael McIntyre

Mohawk Falafel and Shawarma
142 Mohawk Trail
Afran Akach, Ismail Asaad

RegalCare at Greenfield
95 Laurel St.
Eliyahu Mirlis

Semaski Financial
58 Highland Ave.
Jason Semaski

Z’s Inspection Center
184 Federal St.
Zain Naveed

HOLYOKE

Gary Rome Hyundai Inc.
150 Whiting Farms Road
Gary Rome

Homestead Grocery Mart LLC
625 Homestead Ave.
Sanjay Patel

The Joint
37 Commercial St.
Carlo Sarno, Brian Boru

Pizza D’Action
232 Lyman St.
Carlos Fonseca

We Care for Your Business
336A Maple St.
Van Tran

MONSON

The QuickBooks Fixer
40 Stafford Hollow Road
Myrna Stacey

Seymco
268 Palmer Road, #39
Michael Seymour

Savage Investigations
27 Margaret St.
Alison Whitehill

NORTHAMPTON

OnCall Healthy Living Program
51 Locust St., Suite 1
James Carroll, Mike Stevens, Louis Durkin

La Escuela Family Daycare
34 Hockanum Road
Bertha Thorman

Fair Trust Market
183 Grove St.
Tino Maric

Release Therapeutic Bodywork
7 Main St.
Sheila Murray

SOUTH HADLEY

Savannah Brzoska
353 North Main St.
Savannah Brzoska

Sok’s
30 Bridge St.
Sokharun Yim

SOUTHWICK

Tactical Recovery Solutions
5 Maple St.
Christopher Bonanno

Whalley Precision Inc.
28 Hudson Dr.
Jennifer Whalley

SPRINGFIELD

Khan’s Food and Drinks
1333 Boston Road
Derrick Crespo

Len’s Home Improvement
17 Brentwood St.
Lenworth Moncrieffe

Little Tigerz Daycare
88 Margerie St.
Janira Marrero

Loomis Lakeside at Reeds Landing
807 Wilbraham Road
Loomis Senior Living

MA Grocery Store
345 Main St.
Ahmed Aziz

Mad Science of Western New England
34 Front St.
Michael Budnick

The Main Event
268 Bridge St.
Sheina Rodriguez

Margie’s Cozy Corner
61 Pear St.
Margarita Celestino

New Blue Moon Bodywork
432 Newbury St.
Xiaoxin Zhang

Perfecto Primo Services
33 Plumtree Road
Rayanne Garcia

Perusse Home Improvements
248 Nottingham St.
Donald Perusse

Pro Auto Air Service
1000 Worcester St.
SilverAuto Inc.

Ramos Detailing
720 Berkshire Ave.
Jose Ramos

Reseanunlimited
78 Bowdoin St.
James Johnson

WESTFIELD

AG Remodeling
156 Old Cabot Road
Aleksandr Glib

All Natural Reiki
16 Union Ave., Unit 1E
Harlene Simmons

AMF Aviation LLC
64 Lockhouse Road
Michael Ferraccio

Ape
21 Barbara St.
Nikita Lesnik

Belco Court Tree Farm
194 Pontoosic Road
John Beltrandi

Bella MedSpa
53 Court St.
Craig Schacher, MD

Donna’s Children
344 Falley Dr.
Donna Sabonis

EZ Restore
262 Steiger Dr.
Elijah Zuev

Graphic Signs
344 Falley Dr.
Richard Sabonis

Katy Noes Yoga
21 Fowler St.
Kathryn Noes

Marzeke Collections
23 Falley Dr.
Marie Fortin

Maple Brook Alpacas
893 East Mountain Road
Robin Tierney

San-Man Graphics
16 Union Ave., Unit G
Edgardo Sanchez Jr.

Shelley LaCross Tax Service
85 Reservoir Ave.
Shelley LaCross

True Environmental LLC
146 Root Road
Cristian Sagastome

Vitaliy Panchenko Electrical LLC
14 Birch Road
Vitaliy Panchencko

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Bare with Me Beauty Bar LLC
1680 Riverdale St.
Daijha Hudson

Consumer Transport
75 West School St.
Miguel Garcia Jr.

C’s Signature and Cleaning Services
110 Old Barn Road
Lucy Mushi

Custom Build LLC
2405 Westfield St.
Dmytro Barynov

Hannoush Jewelers Inc.
1769 Riverdale St.
Peter Hannoush

Lotus General Contracting
12 South Blvd.
James Stephenson

Transcension’s Barbershop
450 Main St.
James Seward

WILBRAHAM

The Scented Garden Gift Shop
2341 Boston Road, A110
Sandra Polom

School of Fish Inc.
2133 Boston Road, Units 9-10
School of Fish Inc.

Zee Haddad Realty
5 Forest Glade Dr.
Zahi Haddad

Bankruptcies

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Bankruptcies

The following bankruptcy petitions were recently filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Readers should confirm all information with the court.

Alluring Designs by Lorna
Spencer, Lorna S.
a/k/a Simmons, Lorna S.
136 Thompkins Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 13
Date: 11/21/2022

Bile, Emmanuel Toffe
Bile, Hortense Yvonne
9 Garfield Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 13
Date: 11/30/2022

Chapman, George A.
1-18 Apple Blossom Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/16/2022

Chrusciel, Allen
86 Manchonis Road, Apt. A
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/23/2022

Davila, Victor A.
15 Brown St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/28/2022

Del Toro, Kristin L.
11 Atwood Ave.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/18/2022

Grenier, Randall D.
6 Rita Circle
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Date: 12/01/2022

Krawiec, Walter L.
4 Pell St., Apt. 6
Ludlow, MA 01056
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/29/2022

Laurin, Katelyn Marie
67 Bay State Road
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/21/2022

Lopez, Myra Y.
129 Chapin Ter.
Springfield, MA 01107
Chapter: 13
Date: 11/28/2022

Lopez Nelida
225 Beech St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 13
Date: 11/16/2022

Lukina, Nadezhda P.
378 Chicopee St., 1st Fl.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/28/2022

Mailloux, Cheryl Ann
116 Bostwick Lane
Chicopee, MA 01020
Chapter: 13
Date: 12/01/2022

Martin, Andrew Byun
8 Columbia St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/18/2022

Matthews, Randall J.
Matthews, Karen L.
379 West Royalston Road
Athol, MA 01331
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/30/2022

Moretz, Mark H.
68 Sessions Dr.
Hampden, MA 01036
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/30/2022

Nicholson, Paul C.
15 Hollywood St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Chapter: 7
Date: 11/27/2022

Real Estate Transactions

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Real Estate

The following real estate transactions (latest available) were compiled by Banker & Tradesman and are published as they were received. Only transactions exceeding $115,000 are listed. Buyer and seller fields contain only the first name listed on the deed.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

ASHFIELD

227 Beldingville Road
Ashfield, MA 01330
Amount: $544,000
Buyer: Christopher T. Bousquet
Seller: Aurelie J. Sheehan
Date: 11/30/22

BUCKLAND

119 Charlemont Road
Buckland, MA 01338
Amount: $467,500
Buyer: Michael Carotenuto
Seller: Todd Seavy
Date: 11/29/22

49 Conway St.
Buckland, MA 01370
Amount: $2,000,000
Buyer: Below The Dam LLC
Seller: John E. Madocks
Date: 11/29/22

53 Conway St.
Buckland, MA 01370
Amount: $2,000,000
Buyer: Below The Dam LLC
Seller: John E. Madocks
Date: 11/29/22

51 Elm St.
Buckland, MA 01370
Amount: $249,000
Buyer: Colleen Lindroos
Seller: Heinig, Thomas H., (Estate)
Date: 12/02/22

DEERFIELD

4 Pleasant Ave.
Deerfield, MA 01342
Amount: $737,500
Buyer: DA Pleasant St. LLC
Seller: 4 Pleasant Street LLC
Date: 12/01/22

ERVING

13 Gunn St.
Erving, MA 01344
Amount: $162,000
Buyer: Kayani Rodriguez
Seller: Nicole M. Gadreault
Date: 11/30/22

GILL

22 Center Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $710,000
Buyer: Benjamin Foberg
Seller: David A. Virgilio
Date: 12/02/22

291 Mountain Road
Gill, MA 01354
Amount: $420,000
Buyer: Ethan A. Buhl
Seller: Michael J. Lafleur
Date: 12/01/22

GREENFIELD

111 Beacon St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $481,000
Buyer: John Anhalt
Seller: Brian Abramson
Date: 11/29/22

87 Beech St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $199,000
Buyer: Damon K. Bragdon
Seller: Tedder, Frances E., (Estate)
Date: 12/02/22

25 Duren Dr.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $267,000
Buyer: Erika A. Nygard
Seller: Keller, Dorothy E., (Estate)
Date: 12/09/22

83 James St.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $180,000
Buyer: Emma Donnelly
Seller: Archelon Properties LLC
Date: 11/29/22

71 Leyden Road
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Russell L. Fisk
Seller: Richard Geidel
Date: 11/30/22

3 Prospect Ave.
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $127,661
Buyer: Lakeview Loan Servicing
Seller: Robert Marco
Date: 12/06/22

36 Sunset Square
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $570,000
Buyer: Paul C. Garny
Seller: John P. Doleva
Date: 12/05/22

5 Woodsia Ridge
Greenfield, MA 01301
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Melissa C. Sweet
Seller: Collins, Norma J., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/22

LEYDEN

162 Alexander Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Corey J. Cusson
Seller: Kenneth C. Griswold
Date: 11/30/22

24 Zimmerman Hill Road
Leyden, MA 01337
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Mark S. Waller
Seller: Roxanne Zimmerman
Date: 12/07/22

MONTAGUE

127 Chestnut Hill Loop
Montague, MA 01351
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: John Miles-Snyder
Seller: Nathaniel D. Groppe
Date: 12/01/22

43 X St.
Montague, MA 01376
Amount: $195,000
Buyer: Gertrude Walker-Saville
Seller: Kimberly J. White
Date: 11/30/22

NORTHFIELD

Dickinson St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Town Of Northfield
Seller: NGC Realty LLC
Date: 11/30/22

Main St.
Northfield, MA 01360
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Town Of Northfield
Seller: NGC Realty LLC
Date: 11/30/22

ORANGE

20 Fieldstone Dr.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Christine Goodwin
Seller: Christopher Leslie
Date: 12/08/22

Mountain Road (off)
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Joseph C. Sumner
Seller: Channel Z. Siesmometry Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

Mountain Road (off)
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Joseph C. Sumner
Seller: Channel Z. Seismometry Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

35 Oaklawn Ave.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $284,906
Buyer: New Day Financial LLC
Seller: John A. Burbine
Date: 12/08/22

314 South Main St.
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $349,000
Buyer: Andres D. Ramirez
Seller: AGT Homes LLC
Date: 11/29/22

6 Shingle Brook Road
Orange, MA 01364
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Candace Robinson
Seller: Christine L. Baranoski
Date: 11/30/22

SHUTESBURY

13 Great Pines Dr. Ext.
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $267,500
Buyer: Gary Jekanowski
Seller: Amanda L. Nash
Date: 11/28/22

408 Montague Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $775,408
Buyer: Frances E. Towle
Seller: James M. McNaughton
Date: 12/06/22

212-B Wendell Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Colin P. Davis
Seller: Hilda Grnbaum RET
Date: 12/06/22

WARWICK

Athol Road
Warwick, MA 01364
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Channel Z. Seismometry Inc.
Seller: Heyes Family Forests LLC
Date: 12/02/22

WENDELL

493 New Salem Road
Wendell, MA 01379
Amount: $354,500
Buyer: Alison Raposo
Seller: Douglas Simon
Date: 12/01/22

WHATELY

157 Westbrook Road
Whately, MA 01373
Amount: $232,500
Buyer: Farm At Westbrook LLC
Seller: Jon A. Higgins
Date: 12/09/22

HAMPDEN COUNTY

AGAWAM

116 Adams St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $680,000
Buyer: Yelena A. Artemova
Seller: Anatoliy Paliy
Date: 12/06/22

49 Doane Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Shannon O’Connor
Seller: Madeline R. Catania
Date: 12/05/22

52 Forest Hill Road
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: James A. Boucher
Seller: Barako FT
Date: 12/09/22

11 Liberty Ave.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Scott D. Ramsdell
Seller: Jason L. Elder
Date: 12/02/22

117 Maple St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $272,500
Buyer: Brianna L. Flahive
Seller: Karla M. Dejesus
Date: 12/09/22

28 Merrill Dr.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Daniel L. Stevens
Seller: Mark J. Chevalier
Date: 12/02/22

34 Mooreland St.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $167,500
Buyer: Plata O. Plomo Inc.
Seller: Sousa, Louis A. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 12/02/22

55 Northwood St.
Agawam, MA 01001
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: Dona Skala
Seller: Joshua W. Gerrish
Date: 12/06/22

15 Red Fox Dr.
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Scott A. Zielinski
Seller: Amy M. Heiden-Martin
Date: 11/30/22

92 Sylvan Lane
Agawam, MA 01030
Amount: $190,000
Buyer: William Lynch
Seller: Grangercharles, Edward, (Estate)
Date: 11/30/22

BLANDFORD

6 Russell Stage Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Joshua F. Webster
Seller: Joseph A. Sanctuary
Date: 11/29/22

6 Sunset Rock Road
Blandford, MA 01008
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Scott D. Texeira
Seller: Donald G. Cornelius
Date: 12/05/22

CHICOPEE

35 Asinof Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Susan M. Blumenthal
Seller: John L. Coach
Date: 11/30/22

393 Chicopee St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Carlos Reyes
Seller: John Urbanowicz
Date: 12/09/22

29 Cochran St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Linda Woods
Seller: Christopher Hernandez
Date: 12/02/22

58 Cochran St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Casa Bonita Apts. LLC
Seller: Luke Realty Mgmt. LLC
Date: 11/30/22

Crestwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Lak FT
Date: 12/05/22

55 Dakota Dr.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Ebony A. Wheeler
Seller: Jodee Pineau-Chaisson
Date: 11/29/22

31 Eldridge St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $201,000
Buyer: Maribel Velazquez-Rios
Seller: Steven P. Davis
Date: 11/28/22

512 Irene St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Doreen Rushins
Seller: Aguasvivas Realty LLC
Date: 12/01/22

93 Lafayette St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Kristy L. Munro
Seller: Claire V. Ringuette
Date: 11/28/22

48 Liberty St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Jennifer L. Drew
Seller: Lynne A. Martino
Date: 12/08/22

16 Lincoln St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $287,000
Buyer: Jacob E. Tompkins
Seller: Kristen Kowal
Date: 12/02/22

59 Mayflower Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Damaris Delvalle
Seller: Tang Properties LLC
Date: 12/09/22

156 Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Niki M. Jones
Seller: Jeffrey S. Parker
Date: 12/07/22

157 Meadow St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $323,000
Buyer: Jeremy Koerner
Seller: Louis A. Alicea
Date: 12/01/22

4 Moreau Court
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Haley M. Asselin
Seller: Erik J. Cables
Date: 11/30/22

170 Narragansett Blvd.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Casa Bonita Apts. LLC
Seller: Hebert, Raymond J. Jr., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/22

72 Paradise St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $198,688
Buyer: Lakeview Loan Servicing
Seller: Taylor A. Ross
Date: 12/06/22

77 Putting Lane
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $463,000
Buyer: Sarah L. Rondeau
Seller: Robert J. King
Date: 12/01/22

21 Reed Ave.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $206,500
Buyer: Roger L. Lafortune
Seller: Krystle A. Renkie
Date: 12/05/22

Roger St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Maria E. Kazimierczak
Date: 12/06/22

56 Sanford St.
Chicopee, MA 01013
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: David E. Vickers
Seller: Cheryl A. Kopec
Date: 11/28/22

54 Thornwood St.
Chicopee, MA 01020
Amount: $269,900
Buyer: Lino Fritz
Seller: Louise A. Delude
Date: 11/28/22

EAST LONGMEADOW

247 Allen St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Elizabeth Bond
Seller: Antonio Berardi
Date: 12/06/22

33 Athens St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01108
Amount: $216,000
Buyer: Wells Fargo Bank
Seller: Adam W. Cochran
Date: 12/01/22

6 Concord Dr.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Gerard McEnany
Seller: Sheila M. Hess
Date: 12/09/22

65 Harwich Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Erin L. Beck
Seller: Shirley S. Palmer
Date: 11/30/22

76 Helen Circle
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Griffin Casey
Seller: Maryann Tremblay-Montrym
Date: 11/30/22

2 Oxford Lane
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $565,000
Buyer: Robert O. Azeez
Seller: Frederick H. Zimmerman
Date: 11/28/22

322 Prospect St.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Peter Dimichele
Seller: Nancy M. Power
Date: 12/01/22

144 Shaker Road
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $1,985,000
Buyer: AW Brown Real Estate LLC
Seller: A&B Realty LLC
Date: 12/05/22

208 Westwood Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Maryann A. Spillane
Seller: Dion, Agnes M., (Estate)
Date: 12/01/22

71 Wood Ave.
East Longmeadow, MA 01028
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Katherine A. Dugan
Seller: Pah Properties LLC
Date: 12/01/22

HAMPDEN

50 Meadow Brook Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Cameron T. Servantez
Seller: Derek R. White
Date: 11/29/22

11 Potash Hill Lane
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Derek R. White
Seller: Steve A. Burzdak
Date: 11/29/22

45 Saint Germain Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Douglas W. Hanks
Seller: Lafreniere, Ann Marie, (Estate)
Date: 12/02/22

125 Stony Hill Road
Hampden, MA 01036
Amount: $600,000
Buyer: Nathan York
Seller: Joel A. Fuller
Date: 12/07/22

HOLYOKE

16 Charles Hill Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: Brian Barnes
Seller: Samuel Rosa-Melendez
Date: 11/30/22

16-18 Davis St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Cedric A. Saez-Aguirre
Seller: Heather M. Fleury
Date: 12/09/22

141 Dupuis Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $296,800
Buyer: Adam R. Beaulieu
Seller: Brian E. Besko
Date: 11/30/22

101 Elm St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $950,000
Buyer: Picket Investment LLC
Seller: Blue Chip Buildings LLC
Date: 11/30/22

105 Elm St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Picket Investment LLC
Seller: Blue Chip Buildings LLC
Date: 11/30/22

193 Fairmont St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $174,900
Buyer: Alixa B. Mojica-Fontanez
Seller: Daniel A. Long
Date: 12/06/22

12 Florida Dr.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Kara Moriarty
Seller: Joan M. Greaney
Date: 11/28/22

7 Line Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Amber L. Hoey
Seller: Lasca L. Hoey
Date: 11/30/22

244 Ontario Ave.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $318,000
Buyer: Shawn M. O’Donnell
Seller: Luis A. Rodriguez
Date: 12/01/22

90 Oxford Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Kaitlin Hanning
Seller: Thomas, Edward S., (Estate)
Date: 12/06/22

207-1/2 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Jahjan LLC
Seller: Rosalie A. Pratt
Date: 12/09/22

209-211 Sargeant St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Jahjan LLC
Seller: Rosalie A. Pratt
Date: 12/09/22

193 Sycamore St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $212,000
Buyer: Sarai Brunelle
Seller: Valerie M. Garcia
Date: 11/30/22

27 Temple St.
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Thomas T. Feeley
Seller: Jessica Ryder-Toomey
Date: 11/28/22

73 Wellesley Road
Holyoke, MA 01040
Amount: $440,500
Buyer: Erika Bonnevie
Seller: Lori A. Hafner
Date: 12/01/22

HOLLAND

37 Long Hill Road
Holland, MA 01521
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Emily Elliott
Seller: Truax Holdings LLC
Date: 12/09/22

LONGMEADOW

40 Bel Air Dr.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $384,000
Buyer: Tera Ohora TR
Seller: Lois E. Meyers RET
Date: 12/06/22

70 Canterbury Lane
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $568,000
Buyer: Pamela O. Zizzamia
Seller: Paul G. Lenke
Date: 12/01/22

995 Frank Smith Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $509,000
Buyer: Brian Besko
Seller: Jeffrey P. Dunn
Date: 11/30/22

197 Maple Road
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $284,000
Buyer: James E. Purcell
Seller: Renee G. Tetrault
Date: 12/08/22

11 Nevins Ave.
Longmeadow, MA 01106
Amount: $379,000
Buyer: Elizabeth A. Kendall
Seller: Dnepro Properties LLC
Date: 12/09/22

LUDLOW

148 Carmelinas Circle
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $1,975,000
Buyer: Pauldin LLC
Seller: Ludlow Self Storage LLC
Date: 12/01/22

144-146 Church St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $356,750
Buyer: Matthew E. Laamanen
Seller: LCSM Realty LLC
Date: 11/30/22

498 Fuller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Ryan Ainslie
Seller: Harry Russell
Date: 12/01/22

498-504 Fuller St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $292,000
Buyer: Harry Russell
Seller: Dogwood Creek Land Holdings LLC
Date: 11/30/22

16 Pine St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: Shawn Morris
Seller: Liliana Azevedo
Date: 12/08/22

283 Poole St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Brooke Heisler-Leary
Seller: Joseph Deponte
Date: 12/06/22

391 West Ave.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $198,000
Buyer: Wilmington Savings
Seller: Evelyn M. Narreau
Date: 11/28/22

554 Winsor St.
Ludlow, MA 01056
Amount: $247,000
Buyer: Miguel Cabido-Torrao
Seller: Robert S. Duffy
Date: 12/02/22

MONSON

122 Cote Road
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $725,000
Buyer: Sabino Piccirilli
Seller: J. G. Carter Jr. TR 2021
Date: 12/09/22

61 Green St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Todd M. Young
Seller: Raymond A. Goulet
Date: 12/02/22

78 Silver St.
Monson, MA 01057
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Sara E. Malo
Seller: Thomas W. Haley
Date: 12/02/22

PALMER

2 Arch St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Theresa Martinson
Seller: Heather A. Korzec
Date: 11/29/22

86 Boston Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $253,000
Buyer: Tyler Martin
Seller: Revampit LLC
Date: 12/09/22

260 Breckenridge St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Steven Herbert
Seller: Carlton B. Martin
Date: 12/05/22

166 Chudy St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Jill Dannay
Seller: William Walker
Date: 11/29/22

174 Chudy St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $255,000
Buyer: William Walker
Seller: Thomas A. Palazzi
Date: 11/29/22

92 Griffin St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Thomas S. Ngan
Seller: Eric A. Raymond
Date: 12/07/22

2170-2176 Main St.
Palmer, MA 01080
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Western Mass RE LLC
Seller: Lee R. O’Connor
Date: 11/30/22

67 Mount Dumplin Road
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $436,000
Buyer: Steve Burzdak
Seller: Donald R. Duffy
Date: 11/30/22

46-48 Stewart St.
Palmer, MA 01069
Amount: $227,000
Buyer: Brandon Romaniak
Seller: Casa Bonita Apts. LLC
Date: 12/08/22

RUSSELL

216 Woodland Way
Russell, MA 01071
Amount: $655,000
Buyer: Slava Novik
Seller: Lisa Liptak
Date: 11/30/22

SOUTHWICK

124 Berkshire Ave.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $455,000
Buyer: Anthony Degrandi
Seller: Deyo FT
Date: 12/09/22

33 Birchwood Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $269,000
Buyer: William A. Cunningham
Seller: James R. Fahey
Date: 12/01/22

111 Coes Hill Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $1,175,000
Buyer: Tasos FT
Seller: Aziz S. Elias
Date: 12/06/22

8 Lauren Lane
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: Lisa N. Liptak
Seller: Andrew K. Blumenthal
Date: 11/30/22

48 Mort Vining Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $595,000
Buyer: Oscar L. Carrillo
Seller: Oak Rdg Custom Home Builders
Date: 11/30/22

294 South Longyard Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $249,900
Buyer: Matthew J. Lockhart
Seller: Jean M. Maloney
Date: 11/30/22

34 South Loomis St.
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $385,000
Buyer: Andrew Chase
Seller: Paul A. Hood
Date: 11/30/22

104 Sheep Pasture Road
Southwick, MA 01077
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Kassandra E. O’Connor
Seller: Denise E. Forgue
Date: 12/02/22

SPRINGFIELD

70 Alexander St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: Angel Villar
Seller: Villar Real Estate Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

78 Alexander St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: Angel Villar
Seller: Villar Real Estate Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

182 Ambrose St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Ivette Hernandez
Seller: Virgilio Santos
Date: 12/09/22

123 Appleton St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Tuan Truong
Seller: Dave Robbins
Date: 11/28/22

114 Arcadia Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $367,000
Buyer: Rolf D. Flor
Seller: William Raleigh
Date: 12/01/22

3 Balboa Dr.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $305,000
Buyer: Bretta Construction LLC
Seller: Douglas A. Robar
Date: 12/07/22

151 Boston Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Andy Downtown Realty LLC
Seller: Kristopher Quinn
Date: 12/01/22

139 Bowles St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $159,900
Buyer: Rosemary M. Hernandez
Seller: Full Service RE LLC
Date: 12/05/22

52 Boyer St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Jennifer Cutler
Seller: Carmen Camacho-Rivera
Date: 12/05/22

22 Braywood Circle
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $227,500
Buyer: Juan C. Alvarez
Seller: Peter J. Hopkins
Date: 12/09/22

92 Briggs St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Ramon Torres-Vega
Seller: Joseph A. Cretella
Date: 12/08/22

34 Brooks St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Marta James
Seller: Jennie L. Oyola
Date: 12/01/22

23 Calhoun St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: Angel Villar
Seller: Villar Real Estate Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

41 California Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Emily Benoit
Seller: Kristen Dowd
Date: 12/06/22

44 Cheyenne Road
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Evergrain Orchard LLC
Seller: Thornton FT
Date: 12/02/22

514 Chestnut St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Wendy Reyes-Demata
Seller: Jose Gonzalez
Date: 12/09/22

91-93 Clantoy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Geyssa L. Gonzalez
Seller: Hedge Hog Industries Corp.
Date: 11/30/22

63 Clifton Ave.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: Angel Villar
Seller: Villar Real Estate Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

186 Corcoran Blvd.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Daniel J. Hill
Seller: Laura D. Champagne
Date: 12/02/22

87 Corey Road
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Michelle M. Jackson
Seller: Rainville, Marie P., (Estate)
Date: 11/29/22

42 Cornell St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $360,000
Buyer: Shavon Diaz
Seller: Eugeniu Banaru
Date: 12/09/22

251 Cortland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $217,000
Buyer: William P. Bohmbach
Seller: Donna M. Stewart
Date: 12/02/22

72-74 Crystal Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $322,000
Buyer: Ngan T. Tan
Seller: Dorothy R. Romeo
Date: 12/05/22

146 Davis St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: Mickelia A. Pearson
Seller: Efrain Rivera
Date: 12/07/22

17 Dearborn St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $158,000
Buyer: KMAK LLC
Seller: Johnny C. Rosemond
Date: 12/02/22

30 Derryfield Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $399,900
Buyer: Weslaine N. Viaud
Seller: Christine M. Goodwin
Date: 11/30/22

104-106 Dunmoreland St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Jiijo Ali
Seller: Robert J. Lefebvre
Date: 12/07/22

140 Eddy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $132,400
Buyer: ARPC LLC
Seller: Megliola Realty LLC
Date: 12/02/22

29 Eton St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: 29 Eton RT
Seller: Jannie G. Birks
Date: 12/09/22

111 Fort Pleasant Ave.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Diego A. Dejesus
Seller: Annmarie Harding
Date: 12/01/22

20 Greaney St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $310,000
Buyer: Pierre Tendeng
Seller: Joseph O. Campbell
Date: 12/02/22

61 Harvey St.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $230,000
Buyer: Justin J. Johnson
Seller: Dorothy M. Cody
Date: 11/30/22

103 Hastings St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $295,000
Buyer: Geoffrey R. Cone
Seller: Lesly A. Reiter
Date: 12/09/22

140 Hermitage Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: William Lovett
Seller: Thao T. Pham
Date: 12/09/22

301 Holcomb Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Jose L. Ponce-Santamaria
Seller: Kokoleka RT
Date: 12/02/22

24-26 Howard St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Cullin Moore
Seller: Walter G. Willard
Date: 11/30/22

47 Jefferson Ave.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: Angel Villar
Seller: Villar Real Estate Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

79 Judson St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $355,000
Buyer: Adan Rivera
Seller: Stephen D. Clay
Date: 12/02/22

80-84 Keith St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Elving L. Rosado
Seller: Hanh N. Pham
Date: 12/07/22

26-28 Lebanon St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $279,000
Buyer: Alberto R. Diaz
Seller: Theodore P. Sares
Date: 11/29/22

79-81 Leyfred Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $155,000
Buyer: Xiuyu Ma
Seller: Alonzo Williams
Date: 12/08/22

15 Lucerne Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $225,000
Buyer: Jadel Infante-Guzman
Seller: Barrepski, Mark S., (Estate)
Date: 12/02/22

70 Magnolia Ter.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $349,900
Buyer: Mary P. Thonneson
Seller: Brian Sheedy
Date: 11/30/22

708 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Guyseymore Wilson
Seller: Patrick Unachukwu
Date: 12/09/22

2960-2964 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: KHP Realty LLC
Seller: Dennis L. Durant
Date: 12/02/22

2972 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: KHP Realty LLC
Seller: Dennis L. Durant
Date: 12/02/22

2988 Main St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: KHP Realty LLC
Seller: Dennis L. Durant
Date: 12/02/22

110-112 Malden St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Veronika Baldenebro
Seller: Benny Troncoso
Date: 12/01/22

67-69 Massachusetts Ave.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Rhinah Ondiso
Seller: Danalax LLC
Date: 12/01/22

169 Mayflower Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Leon Girard
Seller: David A. Nadle
Date: 11/28/22

23-25 Moulton St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $156,000
Buyer: Joshua W. Bechard
Seller: John P. Bechard
Date: 12/06/22

15 Norfolk St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Denny Nunez
Seller: Nha Tran
Date: 12/02/22

47 Old Farm Road
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $245,000
Buyer: Scott A. Introvigne
Seller: Basile Realty LLC
Date: 11/29/22

255-257 Orange St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Karla M. Rivera
Seller: Daniel C. Miller
Date: 12/07/22

Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01101
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Sareen Holdings LLC
Seller: Barbara Bates
Date: 12/01/22

12-16 Parker St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Sareen Holdings LLC
Seller: Barbara Bates
Date: 12/01/22

85 Paulk Ter.
Springfield, MA 01128
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Justine M. Trowbridge
Seller: Frederic C. Baxter
Date: 11/28/22

32 Pear St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Jillian Lopez
Seller: Henry Downey
Date: 11/30/22

77 Phillips Ave.
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $243,000
Buyer: Ricky Soto-Alvarado
Seller: Malia Homebuyers LLC
Date: 11/29/22

53 Piedmont St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Justin P. Morin
Seller: Ahern, Robert Lawrence, (Estate)
Date: 11/28/22

134 Pinevale St.
Springfield, MA 01151
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: Luis M. Ovalle
Seller: Sebastiano S. Siniscalchi
Date: 11/28/22

436-438 Plainfield St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Blanca J. Loja
Seller: Maria C. Martinez
Date: 11/29/22

6-8 Pomona St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Kevin J. Merlos
Seller: Chief Dawg LLC
Date: 12/09/22

6 Portland St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: KHP Realty LLC
Seller: Dennis L. Durant
Date: 12/02/22

26 Portulaca Dr.
Springfield, MA 01129
Amount: $170,000
Buyer: Unlimited Property Services LLC
Seller: Darcam LLC
Date: 12/05/22

249 Quincy St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Luis Baez-Pimentel
Seller: Sir Construction Inc.
Date: 12/07/22

57 Regal St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Patricia Ennis
Seller: Donald G. Hughes
Date: 12/07/22

27-29 Ringgold St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $1,400,000
Buyer: Angel Villar
Seller: Villar Real Estate Inc.
Date: 12/01/22

24 Rockland St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $247,900
Buyer: Darrell Waller
Seller: Gina M. Horniak
Date: 11/30/22

379 Roosevelt Ave.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $140,000
Buyer: Thaddeus Tokarz
Seller: Dunphy, Carol A., (Estate)
Date: 12/09/22

154 Roy St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Jose Diaz
Seller: Roberto D. Otero
Date: 11/30/22

31 Rush St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $284,273
Buyer: Isanthes LLC
Seller: Rodney E. Gould
Date: 12/05/22

87 Saint Lawrence Ave.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $160,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Lawrence J. Poole
Date: 12/05/22

18 Schley St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $370,000
Buyer: Michael X. Richardson-Polk
Seller: East Coast Contracting
Date: 12/09/22

91 Somerset St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Pah Properties LLC
Seller: Carr, Ronald A., (Estate)
Date: 11/29/22

300 State St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $1,600,000
Buyer: Residences At The Vault
Seller: 300 State St. Realty Co. LLC
Date: 12/09/22

310 State St.
Springfield, MA 01105
Amount: $1,600,000
Buyer: Residences At The Vault
Seller: 300 State St. Realty Co. LLC
Date: 12/09/22

93 Sunapee St.
Springfield, MA 01104
Amount: $260,000
Buyer: Trevor Neverson
Seller: Brittnie Lincoln
Date: 12/06/22

49-51 Talcott St.
Springfield, MA 01107
Amount: $289,900
Buyer: Aletheia Benjamin
Seller: Talcott Realty LLC
Date: 12/02/22

46 Timber Lane
Springfield, MA 01119
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Neftali Rivera
Seller: Robert O. Azeez
Date: 12/02/22

58 Vail St.
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $280,600
Buyer: Andrew Barrett
Seller: Brital 1987 LLC
Date: 11/28/22

28 Virginia St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $254,000
Buyer: Ramona A. Rodriguez-Valle
Seller: Scott Introvigne
Date: 11/28/22

94 Webber St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $260,150
Buyer: Mariah Perez-Martinez
Seller: Jessee M. Dabrea
Date: 12/08/22

57 Wendover Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Terry L. Owens
Seller: Pedersen FT
Date: 12/05/22

49 West Allen Ridge Road
Springfield, MA 01118
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Julie E. Guarente
Seller: Guarente, Robert H. Sr., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/22

140 West Alvord St.
Springfield, MA 01108
Amount: $300,000
Buyer: Aleksander Kobilarov
Seller: Jose J. Diaz
Date: 11/30/22

119-121 Wellington St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $207,000
Buyer: Maria Garcia
Seller: 196-198 Bowdoin Realty LLC
Date: 11/28/22

101 Yale St.
Springfield, MA 01109
Amount: $308,061
Buyer: Eric L. Brown
Seller: Tasha Moultrie
Date: 11/28/22

WALES

28 Monson Road
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Adam C. Smedberg
Seller: Robert F. Lopes
Date: 12/07/22

21 Woodland Dr.
Wales, MA 01081
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Steven Chidester
Seller: Robert H. Paige
Date: 11/30/22

WEST SPRINGFIELD

561 Amostown Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Joshua W. Gerrish
Seller: Maa Property LLC
Date: 12/06/22

52-54 Ashley St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Azusa RT
Seller: Ciollaro, Michael D., (Estate)
Date: 12/06/22

47 Burford Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $259,000
Buyer: Karen Dimauro
Seller: Oscar L. Carrillo
Date: 11/30/22

258 Circle Dr.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $252,000
Buyer: Justin G. Wellington
Seller: Olcay Kocaman
Date: 11/30/22

140 Craiwell Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $306,000
Buyer: George Yacoub
Seller: Alyce K. Beaudry
Date: 12/06/22

70 Grove St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $273,000
Buyer: Heather Allen
Seller: Dwight Northrup
Date: 11/28/22

23 Healy St.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $262,000
Buyer: Julia Berberena
Seller: Scott D. Ramsdell
Date: 12/02/22

36 Laurel Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $295,500
Buyer: Patrick J. Lewis
Seller: Joseph F. Douglas
Date: 12/05/22

62 Lower Massachusetts Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $336,000
Buyer: Marie Wakelee
Seller: Vantage Home Buyers LLC
Date: 12/08/22

36 Maple Ter.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Charles Ciarametaro
Seller: MRMM TR
Date: 12/02/22

64 Poplar Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Logan W. Boyles
Seller: Duane H. Mason
Date: 12/06/22

161 Robinson Road
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $331,000
Buyer: Michael A. Kocot
Seller: Jillian N. Janicki
Date: 12/08/22

444 Rogers Ave.
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Eddie Rodriguez
Seller: Robyn Smith-Champion
Date: 11/28/22

72 Upper Beverly Hills
West Springfield, MA 01089
Amount: $309,500
Buyer: Kyle Stille
Seller: Donald J. Finamore
Date: 12/02/22

WESTFIELD

6 Apple Orchard Heights
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $311,950
Buyer: Joseph S. Thresher
Seller: Matthew T. Howard
Date: 11/30/22

209 Belanger Road
Westfield, MA 01073
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Richton & Wynne LLC
Seller: Katie M. McLean
Date: 11/30/22

28 Brookline Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: Vyacheslav Chekhovskiy
Seller: Nancy L. Heathcote
Date: 12/06/22

53 Christopher Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $390,000
Buyer: Bobby R. Williams
Seller: Xiuyu Ma
Date: 12/06/22

76 Court St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Baccara LLC
Seller: 76 Court St. Realty LLC
Date: 11/30/22

32 Cross St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Heather Maloney
Seller: Simmons, Elizabeth B., (Estate)
Date: 12/08/22

1161 East Mountain Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $290,000
Buyer: Mark Dupuis
Seller: Clauson, Bryan K., (Estate)
Date: 12/08/22

121 Highland Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $248,000
Buyer: Nicole E. St.Jean
Seller: Aaron Platt
Date: 12/08/22

419 Holyoke Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $200,000
Buyer: Jake A. Cupak
Seller: Seth Cupak
Date: 11/29/22

52 Knollwood Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $307,000
Buyer: Anthony Janicki
Seller: Mikhail V. Sharakina
Date: 11/29/22

171 Main St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Selpan Holdings LLC
Seller: MTB Real Estate LLC
Date: 11/30/22

140 Meadow St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $150,000
Buyer: Vantage Home Buyers LLC
Seller: Jeffrey M. Besnia
Date: 12/09/22

456 North Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $281,281
Buyer: Magerick LLC
Seller: John D. Runyon
Date: 12/08/22

121 Otis St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Daniel Mosijchuk
Seller: Vasily Zhuk
Date: 12/06/22

13 Paper St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $237,000
Buyer: Ursula Elmes
Seller: Fitzgerald Home Solutions LLC
Date: 11/30/22

107 Pinehurst St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $275,000
Buyer: John Pini
Seller: Trista M. Perrea
Date: 11/29/22

61 Sherwood Ave.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $303,000
Buyer: Adam J. Dempsey
Seller: Pack FT
Date: 12/09/22

15 State St.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $325,000
Buyer: Kelsey Wyman
Seller: Ann M. Crum
Date: 12/06/22

14 Valley View Dr.
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $265,000
Buyer: Trista M. Perrea
Seller: Kathryn V. Roberts
Date: 11/29/22

76 Wood Road
Westfield, MA 01085
Amount: $391,000
Buyer: Kathryn V. Roberts
Seller: Robert W. Healy
Date: 11/29/22

WILBRAHAM

20 Bartlett Ave.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: Mark D. Haggan
Seller: Connor J. Mooney
Date: 11/30/22

23 Briar Cliff Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $750,000
Buyer: Joanne Hetherington
Seller: Brianrcliff NT
Date: 11/28/22

19 Bridge St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $250,000
Buyer: Jeffrey D. Tweedell
Seller: Ronald N. Rauscher
Date: 12/02/22

11 Deerfield Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $700,000
Buyer: Heather M. Leone
Seller: A. R. & P. A. Roos TR
Date: 12/08/22

17 Glenn Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $450,000
Buyer: Hector Rivera
Seller: Custom Home Development Group LLC
Date: 12/02/22

43 Glenn Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Tyler Hadley
Seller: Vincent Pelletier
Date: 12/08/22

8 Maynard Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $204,000
Buyer: Diamond Home Improvement
Seller: Elizabeth E. Berard
Date: 12/01/22

11 Nokomis Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $365,000
Buyer: John C. Farr
Seller: McCarthy, Veronica C., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/22

42 Oakland St.
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Cathleen M. Bradlee
Seller: Ashley D. Kunz
Date: 11/28/22

1084 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, MA 01095
Amount: $293,000
Buyer: Laurie A. Boganski
Seller: Zachary K. Pueschel
Date: 12/09/22

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY

AMHERST

20 Cortland Dr.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $220,000
Buyer: Evelyn A. Villa RET
Seller: Edward W. Westhead RET
Date: 12/07/22

444 Flat Hills Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $492,000
Buyer: Jeffrey W. Conant
Seller: Constance W. Gildea
Date: 12/09/22

25 Greenwich Road
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $343,000
Buyer: Joseph A. Oliverio
Seller: John Vassallo
Date: 12/06/22

25 Hunters Hill Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $382,000
Buyer: Uttam Acharya
Seller: Kinney, Arthur F., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/22

144 Maplewood Circle
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $620,000
Buyer: Ian S. Novey
Seller: Joann Carino
Date: 11/30/22

220 North East St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $659,000
Buyer: 220 North East Street LLC
Seller: RPF LLC
Date: 12/02/22

786 North Pleasant St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $558,600
Buyer: Shiyue Deng
Seller: Susan E. Jahoda
Date: 11/28/22

71 North Prospect St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $876,000
Buyer: North Prospect LLC
Seller: Joseph S. R. Volpe RET
Date: 12/09/22

77-79 North Prospect St.
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $996,000
Buyer: North Prospect LLC
Seller: Joseph S. R. Volpe RET
Date: 12/09/22

15 Teaberry Lane
Amherst, MA 01002
Amount: $749,000
Buyer: Joseph L. MacDonald
Seller: Terry S. Johnson
Date: 12/01/22

BELCHERTOWN

355 Amherst Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $425,000
Buyer: Brian E. Alexander
Seller: Jerry N. Lachance
Date: 12/07/22

2 Barrett St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $395,000
Buyer: Kerri Bolow
Seller: Stephanie Bonafini
Date: 11/28/22

431 Chauncey Walker St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $535,000
Buyer: James R. Carvalho
Seller: Randy L. Barnes
Date: 11/30/22

16 Forest Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $317,000
Buyer: Deborah A. Fuller
Seller: Angela Wilcox-Braese
Date: 12/05/22

205 North St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $788,000
Buyer: Richard G. Prager
Seller: Daniel W. Shelton
Date: 11/30/22

73 Old Enfield Road
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Matthew Kwiatkowski
Seller: Brighenti RT
Date: 12/02/22

331 Stebbins St.
Belchertown, MA 01007
Amount: $585,000
Buyer: Kenneth R. Sloat
Seller: Scott C. Thurston
Date: 11/30/22

CHESTERFIELD

388 Ireland St.
Chesterfield, MA 01084
Amount: $205,000
Buyer: Samantha Rice
Seller: Brandon Burgess
Date: 12/05/22

Munson Road Lot 2A2
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $130,000
Buyer: Laura Dimmler
Seller: Andrea L. Looney
Date: 11/28/22

63 North Road
Chesterfield, MA 01012
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: Jeffery Manley
Seller: Anika Kimble-Huntley
Date: 12/02/22

201 Sugar Hill Road
Chesterfield, MA 01096
Amount: $299,000
Buyer: Audrey M. Healy
Seller: Jenny Navasky
Date: 11/29/22

EASTHAMPTON

157 East St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $375,000
Buyer: Tyler Gagne
Seller: Ellen J. Laroche
Date: 12/01/22

144 Main St.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $520,000
Buyer: Carl D. Bannon
Seller: Jennifer A. Hamilton
Date: 11/28/22

49 Overlook Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $335,000
Buyer: Amy Bradford-Landau
Seller: Cynthia D. Rzonca
Date: 12/02/22

18 Sandra Road
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $445,000
Buyer: Carl R. Henderson
Seller: Simone Palladino
Date: 11/30/22

25 Sterling Dr.
Easthampton, MA 01027
Amount: $422,000
Buyer: Luzed L. Guzman-Romano
Seller: Ronald J. Gregoire
Date: 11/29/22

HATFIELD

23 Elm St.
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $320,000
Buyer: Ryan W. Rourke
Seller: Charles A. Labbee
Date: 12/05/22

Straits Road
Hatfield, MA 01038
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Thomas Hicks
Seller: Paul J. Cernak
Date: 12/01/22

HUNTINGTON

117 County Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $539,000
Buyer: Thomas A. Garran
Seller: Adrene S. Adams
Date: 12/09/22

76 Laurel Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $135,000
Buyer: Frederick M. Scibelli
Seller: Henry E. Thomas
Date: 11/29/22

22 Upper Russell Road
Huntington, MA 01050
Amount: $210,000
Buyer: Congamond Management LLC
Seller: Jeffrey T. Reynolds
Date: 12/06/22

NORTHAMPTON

38 Allison St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $475,000
Buyer: Eileen M. Travis
Seller: Paul Redstone
Date: 12/05/22

10 Evergreen Road
Northampton, MA 01053
Amount: $416,000
Buyer: Andrew Griffith
Seller: Daniel G. Kirouac
Date: 12/09/22

723 Florence Road
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $125,000
Buyer: Manmeet Singh-Saini
Seller: Amrik Singh
Date: 11/30/22

54 Grant Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $605,000
Buyer: Anne Bayerle
Seller: Daniele Girardi
Date: 12/05/22

19 Hayes Ave.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $351,000
Buyer: Mary Read
Seller: Redmond, Diane, (Estate)
Date: 12/02/22

8 Liberty St.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $724,900
Buyer: Adele Kogan
Seller: Nu Way Homes Inc.
Date: 12/02/22

78 Overlook Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $345,000
Buyer: Hannah L. Hebert
Seller: Veteran Stan LLC
Date: 11/29/22

615 Riverside Dr.
Northampton, MA 01062
Amount: $324,000
Buyer: Florence LLC
Seller: Debra Thomson-Bercuvitz
Date: 12/02/22

25 Williams St.
Northampton, MA 01060
Amount: $510,000
Buyer: 25 Williams LLC
Seller: Elizabeth D. Katz
Date: 11/30/22

PELHAM

57 Amherst Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $374,000
Buyer: Ella J. Johnson-Yarosevich
Seller: Gregory H. Wardlaw
Date: 11/29/22

59 Arnold Road
Pelham, MA 01002
Amount: $350,000
Buyer: Chelsea E. Grybko
Seller: Teraspulsky, Peter A., (Estate)
Date: 11/30/22

SOUTH HADLEY

32 Brigham Road
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $330,000
Buyer: Eva M. Boyer
Seller: Wayne J. Harris
Date: 11/29/22

64 Columbia St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $280,000
Buyer: Kristen Briody
Seller: Debra A. Gendreau
Date: 12/08/22

157 Ferry St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $461,500
Buyer: Leah C. Manchester
Seller: Robert J. Roose
Date: 11/29/22

79 Lyman St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $550,000
Buyer: CVVF South Hadley MA LLC
Seller: South Hadley RE LLC
Date: 11/30/22

29 Lyon Green
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $575,000
Buyer: Charles O’Donnell
Seller: JN Duquette & Son Construction
Date: 11/29/22

12 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $580,000
Buyer: Julie A. Sayre
Seller: Mary A. Coughlin
Date: 12/01/22

85 Pearl St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $286,500
Buyer: Dora M. Shick
Seller: Kristin S. Loiko
Date: 11/30/22

18 Pheasant Run
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $560,000
Buyer: Umair Saeed
Seller: John F. Delaney
Date: 12/09/22

40 Prospect St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $285,000
Buyer: Jerome Bailey
Seller: P&R Prospects LLC
Date: 12/07/22

10 Spring St.
South Hadley, MA 01075
Amount: $281,000
Buyer: Ryan A. Cyr
Seller: Nicholas A. Friscia
Date: 12/01/22

SOUTHAMPTON

9 Cold Spring Road
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $435,000
Buyer: Vincent R. Snyder
Seller: Matthew Stine
Date: 12/05/22

2 East St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $175,000
Buyer: Brandon T. Blais
Seller: Kristine P. Canton
Date: 11/30/22

9 Maple St.
Southampton, MA 01073
Amount: $460,000
Buyer: Bradley Towle
Seller: Gabriel A. Kushin
Date: 11/30/22

WARE

31 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $192,000
Buyer: Nicholas G. Straight
Seller: Carol A. Hutchinson
Date: 12/07/22

211 Monson Turnpike Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $440,000
Buyer: James E. Odell
Seller: Dailla Rios
Date: 12/09/22

282 Old Gilbertville Road
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $400,000
Buyer: Erik J. Heintz
Seller: Michael Wisnoski
Date: 12/01/22

9-R West St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $166,200
Buyer: Daniel A. Bruso
Seller: Alfred Loader
Date: 12/08/22

23-25 West St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $240,000
Buyer: For My Littles LLC
Seller: Manomednet LLC
Date: 11/30/22

61 West St.
Ware, MA 01082
Amount: $430,000
Buyer: 61 West Street LLC
Seller: Rejicus LLC
Date: 12/02/22

WESTHAMPTON

1 Main Road
Westhampton, MA 01027
Amount: $380,000
Buyer: Fortier Properties LLC
Seller: Northcountry Properties LLC
Date: 12/06/22

WORTHINGTON

304 Kinnebrook Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $120,000
Buyer: Evelyn Voorhees
Seller: Eugene Labrie
Date: 12/09/22

68 Thrasher Hill Road
Worthington, MA 01098
Amount: $167,500
Buyer: Allen Rosario
Seller: Evelyn Voorhees
Date: 12/09/22

Building Permits

By BusinessWest Staff January 4, 2023

Building Permits

The following building permits were issued during the months of November and December 2022. (Filings are limited due to closures or reduced staffing hours at municipal offices due to COVID-19 restrictions).

CHICOPEE

Hannoush Jewelers
704 Memorial Dr.
$9,000 — Install commercial fire-alarm system

Patricia Midura
74 Ames Ave.
$16,800 — Roofing

PAH Properties LLC
38 Front St.
$30,000 — Roofing

Valley Opportunity Council
30 Center St.
$1,202,286 — Upgrade restaurant in Unit 32; interior renovation with new bathrooms in Units 26 and 28; third-floor renovation to apartment units and new laundry; new windows, plumbing, and heating

HADLEY

220 Russell Street LLC
220 Russell St.
N/A — Install sign

Barstow’s Longview Farm Inc.
172 Hockanum Road
N/A — Shed addition to connect to store

DLW Realty LLC
155 Russell St.
N/A — Fix exterior damage on carport

DLW Realty LLC
155 Russell St.
N/A — Repair awning damage from truck impact

FTF Realty LLP
299 Russell St.
N/A — Demolish ceiling tiles and insulation, install new lights

Hadley Corner LLC
344 Russell St.
N/A — Replace sign

McDonald’s Real Estate Co.
374 Russell St.
N/A — Saw cut, excavate, backfill, repour concrete, tile floor

Francine Ness
137 West St.
N/A — Roofing

Research Park LP
100 Venture Way
N/A — Open wall between two conference rooms, frame new wall

LENOX

PVI Lenox Village LLC
21 Housatonic St.
$40,000 — Foundation for addition and four footings in existing structure

NORTHAMPTON

52 Maple Street Place LLC
52 Maple St.
$9,200 — Roofing

Community Care Resources Inc.
142 Glendale Road
$8,000 — Build ramp and deck

Lathrop Community Inc.
680 Bridge Road
$6,000 — Replacement windows

Smith College
Henshaw Avenue
$130,000 — Fire sprinkler system

Suher Properties LLC
50 Main St.
$65,100 — Interior partition at Florence Bank

Sunwood Development Corp.
33 Chapel St.
$31,200 — Demolish and rebuild garage

PITTSFIELD

AER Inc.
52 Lincoln St.
$2,500 — Install handrail on both sides of exterior entry stair

William Bravo
160 Wahconah St.
$13,440 — Roofing

SPRINGFIELD

AA LLC
111 Chestnut St.
$60,000 — Alter interior of restaurant bar and kitchen

AJN Rentals LLC
6 Sorrento St.
$10,643 — Install fire-alarm system

Baystate Medical Center Inc.
759 Chestnut St.
$118,000 — Alter interior for new emergency room offices on first floor

Baystate Medical Center Inc.
3300 Main St.
$469,500 — Alter interior to expand pharmacy area

Joe Billafame
1078 Allen St.
$9,000 — Remodel bathroom

Jose Manus Botero
88 Appleton St.
$43,000 — Install solar panels to roof of detached garage

Ellen Boynton, Lewis Boynton
666 State St.
$59,000 — Alter interior for retail cannabis store, Primus Dispensary

City of Springfield
1840 Roosevelt Ave.
$120,200 — Install concrete foundation and slab for future walk-in cooler at Central High School

Manuel Colon
824 Worthington St.
$8,000 — Enclose rear porch

Jonathan Dos Santos
48 Enfield St.
$3,884.16 — Add insulation to basement ceiling

Karen Hoyt
21 Utica St.
$41,000 — Install solar panels to roof of detached garage

MGM Springfield Redevelopment LLC
12 MGM Way
$100,000 — Add three doors on second level of MGM Springfield casino

Maryneida Perez
27 Rutledge Ave.
$14,580 — Add insulation to attic and exterior walls

Pride Real Estate LLC
1211 East Columbus Ave.
$110,000 — Alter interior space for existing Dunkin’ Donuts area

Roca Pallin Youth Center Inc.
27 School St.
$10,080 — Alter existing basement storage into new office space, install smoke detectors and emergency exit signs

Springfield College
236 Wilbraham Ave.
$61,200 — Roofing at Weiser Hall

Western MA EEN LLC
487 East Columbus Ave.
$20,000 — Alter front and side fascia overhang of convenience store

Year in Review

By George O'Brien December 23, 2022

Features Special Coverage

Here Are the Stories That Impacted Western Mass. in 2022

By George O’Brien and Joseph Bednar

Cannabis Sector Continues to Grow

How many dispensaries is too many? Cities like Northampton, Holyoke, and Easthampton that have embraced the cannabis industry are demonstrating that many such businesses can thrive together, while generating healthy tax revenues for the municipality itself. However, the recent closure of the Source — the state’s first adult-use dispensary to close since shops began opening in 2018 — poses new questions on the competition front.

There’s no doubt cannabis has been a success in Massachusetts, with recreational sales approaching $4 billion since legalization. But one big question is what form the industry will eventually take — with some predicting eventual consolidation by bigger entities alongside a robust population of boutique sellers — and how the state will continue to protect opportunities for smaller players, especially minorities.

The latter prospect was strengthened by a law passed in August aimed at giving minority cannabis entrepreneurs easier access into the industry, and also paving the way for municipalities to allow marijuana cafés. The bill also better regulates host community agreements, creates a state-run loan fund for minority entrepreneurs, lowers taxes for marijuana businesses, and makes it easier to expunge records for old marijuana offenses.

In short, this story is still evolving in intriguing ways.

Companies Grapple with Workforce Challenges

The pandemic temporarily dislodged millions of people from their jobs, and when companies started rehiring again, they found it was much more difficult to recruit and retain employees, particularly in lower-paying industries like hospitality, but it was a trend that stretched across all fields, from healthcare to construction to … well, you name it.

At issue has been three intersecting trends: the Great Resignation of older workers, many of whom moved up their retirement timeline in the wake of the pandemic’s economic upheaval; a movement among Gen-Zers and younger Millennials, particularly in service industries, to re-evaluate their worth and push for higher wages and more flexibility; and ‘quiet quitting,’ defined as doing the bare minimum to fulfill one’s job, which, of course, cuts into a company’s productivity.

There are no easy answers to combat these trends, and companies struggling with workforce shortages must grapple with what they mean in the longer term. Workers no doubt have leverage right now like they haven’t had in recent memory, and they’re wielding it, to significant — and, in many cases, still-undetermined — effect.

An architect’s rendering of a renovated Victory Theatre

Victory Theatre Project Gains Momentum

Holyoke officials and groups involved with the arts have been engaged in efforts to try to revitalize the historic Victory Theatre for more than 40 years now. And while this initiative still has a ways to go before it can cross the goal line, some significant progress was seen this past year.

It came in several forms, but especially the earmarking of ARPA funding to renovate the theater, which opened in the 1920s and last showed a movie in 1979. The ARPA funding is expected to help close the gap between the funds that have been raised for the initiative and the total needed — roughly $60 million.

Momentum can also be seen in a firm commitment on the part of Joshua Garcia, the city’s first Hispanic mayor, who sees the project as an important catalyst for bringing new businesses to downtown Holyoke and another key ingredient in the larger formula for revitalizing the Paper City.

The Marriott Flag Returns to Downtown Springfield

It took more than three years, and there were a number of challenges to overcome along the way, but the Marriott flag is now flying again over the hotel in the Tower Square complex. The massive renovation — or “re-imagining” — of the space, as it’s been called, earned Tower Square owners Dinesh Patel and Vid Mitta BusinessWest’s Top Entrepreneur honor for 2022.

But the undertaking has done more than that. It has helped transform the property into one of the best hotels west of Boston, and it has become a stunning addition to a Tower Square complex that has been reinvented as well, with intriguing additions ranging from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Springfield to White Lion Brewery to a scaled-down version of a Big Y supermarket soon to emerge in space formerly occupied by CVS.

The new Marriott staged a truly grand opening in November, an event that was a big day not just for Patel and Mitta, but for the entire city.

Remote Work Is Here to Stay

This past year was one in which the region’s business community was to return to normal in most all respects after two painful years of COVID. But there was one realm where it didn’t — and that was by choice.

Indeed, remote work continued to be part of the landscape in 2022, but this time there was an air of permanence to the concept, not merely a temporary response to COVID. In interviews for stories written over the course of the year, owners of businesses large and small said remote work and hybrid work schedules have become the new norm. They have become a benefit of sorts for valued workers and have become an effective means for attracting and recruiting talent, as well as for as widening the net for job applicants well beyond the 413 area.

The full impact of remote work on the commercial real-estate market and small businesses that rely on workers being in their offices — restaurants and bars, for example — has yet to be fully and accurately measured, but it appears that this fundamental change in how people work is here to stay.

East-west Rail Chugs Forward

East-west rail service between Pittsfield and Boston is still far from reality, and plenty can still happen to derail the decades-long dream of so many legislators, businesses, municipalities, and other rail advocates. But 2022 marked the strongest progress toward that goal yet, with $275 million allocated toward the project in August as part of the state’s $11 billion infrastructure bill — a good start, but only a start.

A high-speed rail connection between the Hub and Western Mass. is about more than convenience; it’s about expanded opportunity — both for workers who can earn Boston wages while enjoying a decidedly non-Boston cost of living, and also for employers who can cast a wider net for talent — not to mention easier access to recreational and regional resources, as well as reduced traffic and emissions.

“We have the money, the support, and I have secured the commitment from both the outgoing Baker-Polito administration and the incoming Healey-Driscoll administration to keep this train literally and metaphorically moving forward,” U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said earlier this month. “This is an opportunity that will not avail itself again, and now is the time to move on an east-west rail project that will be transformative for all of Massachusetts.”

The T-Birds came up a few wins shy of an AHL championship, but their playoff run was a huge win for the team and the region.

Springfield Thunderbirds Reach AHL Finals

The Springfield Thunderbirds eventually wound up a few wins shy of a Calder Cup this past spring. But their dramatic run to the finals was a huge win for the team, the city, and the region.

Indeed, the race for the cup captured the attention of the entire area, with fans old and new turning out at the MassMutual Center, tuning in on social media, and talking about the team at the water cooler — or the weekly Zoom meeting.

The team, which eventually lost in the finals to the Chicago Wolves, created a great deal of momentum with its playoff run, as well as a surge in season-ticket sales. While not all deep playoff runs are financial success stories, this was one, said the team’s president, Nate Costa. It was also validation for him and for the ownership group that stepped up and brought hockey back to Springfield when the Falcons departed for Arizona.

There’s now an Eastern Conference Championship banner hanging in the MassMutual Center, and even more of a connection between the region and its pro hockey team.

Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade Returns

After a long, as in very long, two-year absence, the Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Parade and road race returned in full force in March. The twin events have always been part of the fabric of the region and a huge contributor to the Greater Holyoke economy, and that became clear in interviews with parade organizers, city officials, and individual business owners in the weeks leading up to the parade for a story in BusinessWest that carried the headline: “The Return of a Tradition: For Holyoke, the Parade Brings Business — and a Sense of Normalcy.”

Business owners told BusinessWest that the parade and race account for large amounts of annual revenues, and that losing the events for two years due to COVID was devastating. But beyond business and vibrancy, something else went missing for those two years. Marc Joyce, president of the parade for the past three years, put it all in perspective.

“It’s in the mindset and emotions of people who have grown up here,” he said. “It’s a homecoming; people come back to the city, and you see people you haven’t seen since perhaps last year. It’s a wonderful, family-oriented event.”

The LEDC has a unique model featuring coaches on matters ranging from accounting to mental health.

Latino EDC Opens Its Doors

The Latino Economic Development Corp. opened its doors to considerable fanfare in September, and with good reason. The agency, called the Latino EDC, or LEDC, has a broad mission and a unique business model, one aimed at helping businesses, especially Latino-owned businesses, open their doors and keep them open.

The LEDC, located on Fort Street in Springfield, is a place where more than two dozen coaches, experts in many aspects of business, will make themselves available to business owners and share what they know. Executive Director Andrew Meledez says the agency will focus on what he calls the three ‘Cs’ of helping business owners get where they want to go — coaching, capital, and connections. Overall, its goal is to turn employees into employers, and the agency is already capturing the attention of economic-development leaders in this region — and well beyond.

New College Presidents Take the Reins

College and university presidents are in many ways key regional voices, shaping public perspectives on issues through programs and initiatives they spearhead. And in 2022, that exclusive pool of influencers saw some significant ripples.

In April, Hubert Benitez, vice president for Strategic Initiatives and Academic Innovation and acting chief Inclusion officer at Rockhurst University, took the reins at American International College, replacing Vince Maniaci, who had been president there for 17 years.

Then Michelle Schutt, previously vice president of Community and Learner Services at the College of Southern Idaho, began her tenure as president of Greenfield Community College in July, replacing Richard Hopper, who had been interim president since the summer of 2021.

Also in July, Smith College announced that Sarah Willie-LeBreton, provost and dean of faculty at Swarthmore College, will replace Kathleen McCartney, who has served as president since 2013, starting in July 2023.

Finally, in June, UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy announced he will retire in June 2023 after serving in that role since 2012, and the following month, Christina Royal, president of Holyoke Community College since 2017, announced she will retire in July 2023; searches are on to replace both.

An architect’s rendering of the new parking-garage facility at the MassMutual Center.

Civic Center Parking Garage Comes Down — Finally

After years of talking about and working with state leaders to assemble the financing to build a replacement, the city tore down the crumbling Civic Center Parking Garage this fall. As the demolition crews began their work, workers in downtown office buildings paused to watch.

It wasn’t a landmark that was coming down, but rather a decaying structure that had become a symbol of all that Springfield was trying to put behind it — the hard economic times, aging infrastructure, and a downtown of another era.

While the long-awaited demise of the parking garage was news, the more exciting news is what’s going up in its place — a new, state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly, 1,000-space facility, and activation of abutting property, acquired by the city, that will enable Springfield to create an atmosphere that officials say will be similar to the scene at Fenway Park on game nights.

The transformation of the old Court Square Hotel is a long time coming.

Court Square Transformation Project Proceeds

When Dave Fontaine Jr. talks about work to renovate the former Court Square Hotel into market-rate apartments being a “generational project,’” he means it. Indeed, when he talked with BusinessWest about the initiative this past summer, he said he believes his father and grandfather were both involved in bids on projects to transform the property going back more than 30 years.

It’s taken decades of effort, but the transformation of the property is now well under way. The project is expected to not only bring new life to that historic property — in the form of 71 units of housing as well as retail on the ground floor — but also create more vibrancy in the city’s downtown and possibly be a catalyst for new hospitality and service-sector businesses.

The Court Square project is a true public-partnership, with funding support from several parties, including Winn Development, Opal Development, the state, the city, and MGM Springfield. And it will make sure that an important part of the city’s past is now a vital cog in its future.

Navigating Challenges in Auto Sales

This past year was another wild ride, if that’s the right term, for the region’s auto dealers. Indeed, the trends that emerged in 2020 and 2021 — from historically low levels of inventory to sky-high prices and low inventory of used cars — continued in 2022.

Matters improved to some degree for area dealers, but there were still many challenges to face — and still a number of used cars taking up space on the showroom floors.

But perhaps the biggest news in 2002 involved electric vehicles, with many dealers reporting huge increases in the sales of such models. There are several reasons why, but simple math is perhaps the biggest, with drivers of electric vehicles — after the initial investment, anyway — spending far less to get from here to there than those with gas-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs.

That trend is expected to continue into next year, say area dealers, as more makers introduce electric-vehicle lines.

Live Music Scene Expands

When the Drake opened in downtown Amherst in April, it became the town’s first-ever dedicated music venue, hosting everything from jazz and rock to funk and world music. And it opened at a time when demand for live music in the region is on the rise, and an increasing number of spaces are meeting the need.

With Eric Suher’s Iron Horse Music Hall, Pearl Street Nightclub, and Mountain Park shuttered to concerts these days and the Calvin Theatre hosting a bare trickle of tribute bands, others have picked up the slack.

They include not just the Drake, but Race Street Live, which hosts national touring acts in the Gateway City Arts complex in Holyoke; Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in downtown Greenfield, which schedules a robust slate of events across four spaces; MASS MoCA, which hosts concerts inside the museum and festivals outside it; Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence, which opened in October 2021 in a converted 1861 church; and many more.

It’s clear that people are enjoying live music again, and a new generation of venues — and some venerable ones as well — are stepping up to meet that need.

Moving On from COVID

President Biden declared COVID over in September. With a winter setting in in which doctors are warning of a ‘tripledemic’ of flu, RSV, and COVID, that’s … well, not quite the truth, not with about 350 people still dying from COVID each day in the U.S., about 85% of them unvaccinated.

What is true is that, even as some people are still overcoming COVID, just about everyone is over it — and especially over the disruptions the pandemic caused to the global economy.

Still, moving on is easier said than done, as is shifting back to something resembling business as usual pre-2020. Construction firms still face challenges with scheduling and cost, knowing that the supply chain can be wildly inconsistent. Families still struggle with inflation, and are getting hit hard by the tonic being poured on it: higher interest rates for loans. As noted earlier, real-estate owners wonder whether a slowed market will remain so as tenants decide they need less space for a workforce that has gone largely remote and may remain so.

In short, moving on from COVID is a slow process, and its effects will continue to reverberate, no matter how much anyone — even the president — wishes it would just go away.

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

Joseph Bednar can be reached at [email protected]

Picture This

By BusinessWest Staff December 21, 2022

Picture This

Email ‘Picture This’ photos with a caption and contact information to [email protected]m

Thriller of a Gift

Pictured, from left: Stacey Warren, Hampton Inn and chamber 5K committee co-chair; Kate Riley, Riley Home Realty and chamber 5K committee; Melissa Breor, Chicopee Chamber of Commerce executive director; Aida Gaouette, Lorraine’s board member; Cathy Desorcy, Lorraine’s board secretary; Kim Caisse, Lorraine’s executive director; Kenneth Fontanez, Westfield Bank and Lorraine’s board member; and Heather Leclerc, Riley Home Realty and Lorraine’s board member.

The Greater Chicopee Chamber of Commerce presented a $4,172 donation to Lorraine’s Soup Kitchen & Pantry, the result of the chamber’s 2022 Thriller 5K held at the end of October. On race day, 236 pounds of food donations were also collected for Lorraine’s.

Marathon Effort

Rock 102 hosted its 29th annual Mayflower Marathon food drive to benefit Springfield’s Open Pantry

On the three days before Thanksgiving, Rock 102 hosted its 29th annual Mayflower Marathon food drive to benefit Springfield’s Open Pantry. This year, the tradition found a new home at MGM Springfield, where Bax & Nagle broadcast for 52 hours while collecting non-perishable food donations for Open Pantry. The effort filled more than three 53-foot tractor-trailer trucks and raised more than $174,000 in food and cash donations. The Springfield Thunderbirds Foundation added a donation of $10,500 in both cash and food.

Supporting Critical Work

The Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. (MBA) recently awarded the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin (CAC) a $5,000 grant

The Massachusetts Bankers Assoc. (MBA) recently awarded the Children’s Advocacy Center of Franklin County and North Quabbin (CAC) a $5,000 grant, thanks to a nomination from Greenfield Cooperative Bank. The MBA Charitable Foundation awarded 52 grants, totaling $162,000, to nonprofits over eight geographic regions across the Commonwealth. Member banks were asked to nominate deserving organizations in their community. CAC Executive Director Irene Woods (center) noted that “this award will allow us to meet the mental-health needs of children that have experienced sexual abuse and have had their worlds turned upside down by trauma.”

Court Dockets

By BusinessWest Staff December 21, 2022

Court Dockets

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.

HAMPDEN SUPERIOR COURT

Roman Bodner and Alla Bodner v. City of Springfield and Walter Washington

Allegation: Negligence, vicarious liability, negligent retention and supervision, loss of consortium, unfair and deceptive acts or practices, knowing and willful violation, failure to make a reasonable offer of settlement, personal injury, property damage, tortious action involving municipality: $90,965

Filed: 10/17/22

Armando Gonzalez v. Thomas Martin Brown, City of Springfield, and City of Springfield Department of Public Works

Allegation: Breach of duty, reasonable safety violation, liability pursuant: $16,702.82

Filed: 10/19/22

Ashlee Salvador v. WW Staffing LLC, SixSails LLC, and Daniel Dunalsky

Allegation: Employment discrimination: $100,000+

Filed: 10/20/22

Carolyn Wilson v. McDonald’s Corp. and P&D Management Group LLC

Allegation: Negligence resulting in personal injury: $30,892.05

Filed: 10/20/22

Juana Duran v. JCPenney Corp., Copper Retail JV LLC, Penny Intermediate Holdings LLC, 3 Phase/Excel Elevator Corp., Excel Elevator Corp., and 3Phase Excel Elevator LLC

Allegation: Negligence resulting in personal injury: $750,000

Filed: 10/25/22

Carlos Benitez v. McDonald’s

Allegation: Negligence; slip and fall resulting in personal injury: $50,000+

Filed: 10/26/22

Angel Garcia and Carmen Figueroa v. Hailey Alysse Tucker, Robert Cabral, and American Medical Response Inc.

Allegation: Motor-vehicle negligence resulting in personal injury, negligent entrustment: $16,104.50

Filed: 10/27/22

Selective Insurance Co. of the Southeast v. GG’s Ink

Allegation: Breach of insurance contract, unjust enrichment: $57,538

Filed: 10/31/22

Chelan Brown v. MGM Springfield and Michael Mathis

Allegation: Employment discrimination, race discrimination in employment, retaliation, breach of contract: $307,500

Filed: 11/10/22

HAMPSHIRE SUPERIOR COURT

Michael Hakim, MD; Hakim Medical P.C.; Hakim & Safi MDs, LLC; and Cold Spring Medical LLC v. Elam Safi, MD and Safi MD LLC

Allegation: Usurpation of corporate opportunities, breach of fiduciary duty, injunctive relief, conversion, tortious interference with advantageous business relationships: $59,712.16

Filed: 11/9/22

Advanced Warehouse Systems Inc. v. New England Treatment Access, LLC

Allegation: Breach of contract: $500,000

Filed: 11/15/22

Paul Moryl and Gail Moryl v. Town of Ware Zoning Board of Appeals and its members, Lewis Iadarola, Jodi Chartier, Charles Dowd, Gregory Eaton, Phillip Hamel, David Skoczylas, and Shaun Robinson

Allegation: Zoning appeal, gross negligence: $725,000

Filed: 11/23/22

Chamber Corners

By BusinessWest Staff December 21, 2022

Chamber Corners

1BERKSHIRE

(413) 499-1600; www.1berkshire.com

Jan. 20: Women & Minority Owned Business Certification Summit, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., hosted by Berkshire Innovation Center, 45 Woodlawn Ave., Pittsfield. 1Berkshire, EforAll Berkshire County, Pittsfield Economic Revitalization Corp., Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, and Berkshire Innovation Center welcome any women- and/or minority-owned businesses in the Berkshires to join us for this free event that will provide information about becoming a certified women- and minority-owned business enterprise (WMBE), a space to network with fellow businesses, and direct access to resource providers who can walk you through the process of certification. This event is free and includes lunch. Registration is required at www.1berkshire.com.

Jan. 31: 1Berkshire Entrepreneurial Meetup, 4:30- 6 p.m., hosted by Anahata Schoolhouse Yoga and Wellness Center, 201 North Summer St., Adams. Join us for our first Entrepreneurial Meetup of 2023. Reconnect with your colleagues and hear from owner Howard Rosenberg about his entrepreneurial journey. This event is free to attend and made possible through the support of Pittsfield Cooperative Bank. Registration is required at www.1berkshire.com.

EAST OF THE RIVER FIVE TOWN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 575-7230; www.erc5.com

Jan. 4: ERC5 After 5, 5:30-6:30 p.m., location to be announced. ERC5 After 5s happen on the first Wednesday of every other month. Please be sure to RSVP for future dates and secure your spot before they sell out. Cost is free, but registration is limited and required. To register, visit www.erc5.com.

GREATER EASTHAMPTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 527-9414; www.easthamptonchamber.org

Jan. 19: Annual meeting, 12-2 p.m., hosted by the Boylston Room, 122 Pleasant St., Easthampton. Join us as we share the successes of the last year, what we have learned, and where we are headed. Cost: $35 for members, including lunch; $40 for future members, including lunch. To register, visit easthamptonchamber.org.

GREATER WESTFIELD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

(413) 568-1618; www.westfieldbiz.org

Jan. 4: Mayor’s Coffee Hour, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Westfield Gas & Electric Operations Center, 40 Turnpike Industrial Road, Westfield. Join us for the first Mayor’s Coffee Hour of 2023. Mayor Michael McCabe will update attendees on City Hall activities, and there will be an opportunity to ask the mayor questions. This event is free to attend. To register, visit www.westfieldbiz.org.

Jan. 26: Morning Brew, 8-9 a.m., hosted by Shortstop Bar & Grill, 99 Springfield Road, Westfield. Join us for a great networking opportunity. Introduce yourself and your business to the attendees. Everyone has a chance to discuss what their business does and what they are looking for to expand and improve. This event is free to attend. To register, visit www.westfieldbiz.org.

People on the Move

By BusinessWest Staff December 21, 2022

People on the Move

Jackson Findlay

John Santaniello

Freedom Credit Union recently announced the hiring of two staff members for its new loan-production office at 115 Elm Street in Enfield, Conn.: Jackson Findlay, mortgage loan originator, and John Santaniello, assistant vice president of Member Business Lending. Findlay will be responsible for helping guide members through mortgage loan options, preparing and submitting mortgage loan applications, and working with prospective homebuyers throughout the process of obtaining a mortgage loan. A graduate of Newbury College with a bachelor’s degree in international business and Elms College with an MBA, he previously served as a virtual mortgage officer with another financial institution. Santaniello will work with businesses seeking loans, including term, Small Business Administration, commercial real estate, and commercial vehicle loans. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He previously worked at another financial institution in Connecticut as assistant vice president of Commercial Lending.

•••••

Robert Ciraco

Michael Ostrowski, president and CEO of Arrha Credit Union, announced that Robert Ciraco has been promoted to the role of executive vice president, chief lending officer. Ciraco joined Arrha in 2019 and served as vice president, chief lending officer for all aspects of residential and commercial lending. He has more than 25 years in the financial-services lending industry. During his extensive career, he has been responsible for all aspects of lending. He was vice president of Residential and Consumer Lending for Rockville Bank, a $2 billion community bank, where he was in charge of loan processing, underwriting, loan closings, quality control, secondary market sales, loan servicing, and administration of all residential and consumer loan systems. After leaving Rockville, Ciraco built a highly successful, high-volume wholesale lending operations center to support East Coast loan originations for a West Coast wholesale lender as director of Operations. He has been involved in youth hockey for more than 15 years, coaching and serving as a board member at several different hockey organizations.

•••••

Michael Tiberii

Tom Ingle

Nicole LaCroix

Fontaine Bros. Inc., a construction management and general contracting firm serving the public and private sectors since 1933, recently announced three new hires to the organization: Michael Tiberii as senior project supervisor, Tom Ingle as project supervisor/manager, and Nicole LaCroix as project manager. Tiberii joins Fontaine from AECOM Tishman, where he was vice president of MEP Services. With more than 35 years of experience, he has worked on projects in many sectors including life science, hospitality, and residential. He completed the Wentworth Institute of Technology’s Architectural Design and Drafting program and earned a certificate from the University of Texas’ Project Management program. Before joining Fontaine, Ingle was a general contractor who managed his own construction and remodeling company. He is a licensed construction supervisor and earned a degree in business management from Providence College. Lacroix comes to Fontaine from Bowdoin Construction. She earned a master’s degree in construction management from Wentworth Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree in interior design. Her diverse experience includes a wide range of projects in the academic and life-science sectors.

•••••

The Western Mass. Hyundai dealers (Balise, Gary Rome, and Country) surprised Bob “the Bike Man” Charland with a new 2023 Hyundai Tucson yesterday at his repair shop at the Eastfield Mall in Springfield. Charland is the founder of Pedal Thru Youth Inc. He started working with children in 2003 when he led a Girl Scout troop for his daughter and coached her softball team. He started teaching automotive for Willie Ross School for the Deaf in 2012. Around the same time, he started fixing up bikes to donate to less fortunate kids. In 2017, after being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, he decided that he wanted to create a formal organization and start donating bikes to large groups of children. Thus, the idea for Pedal Thru Youth was born. Charland has made significant contributions to the community that also includes volunteering his time to supply law-enforcement agencies around Massachusetts and Connecticut with backpacks filled with essential supplies for the homeless. Hyundai Salute To Heroes is an annual event that was launched in 2021 and brought to the Western Mass. region by Gary Rome, president of Gary Rome Hyundai and president of the Hyundai Dealers Advertising Assoc., to recognize local, everyday heroes. The Hyundai Tucson SEL AWD is valued at $33,495, and the dealers are paying for all taxes and fees associated with the vehicle.

•••••

Charlie D’Amour

Gregory Thomas

Aaron Vega

The Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts (CFWM) announced the appointment of three new trustees. Charlie D’Amour, Gregory Thomas, and Aaron Vega, each of which began their three-year terms in October, will provide guidance and leadership during a pivotal time for CFWM, which embarked on a national search for its next president and CEO earlier this year. D’Amour is the president and CEO of Big Y, where he is responsible for the successful development and execution of long-term strategies for the company. Throughout his tenure at Big Y, he has been instrumental in the development and growth of all aspects of the business, including its World Class Supermarkets, its other retail-store formats, distribution and facilities-management capabilities, and support functions. D’Amour is board member and serves on the public affairs committee for FMI, the national food-industry association. He is also a member of the board and executive committee and former chair of Topco Associates Inc., a member-owned, $16 billion buying consortium headquartered in Chicago. He has served as the chairman of Baystate Health and serves on the board and is a former chair of the Western Massachusetts Economic Development Council. Thomas serves as executive director and lecturer at UMass Amherst. Thomas has an extensive background in business as both a strategic manager and a professor. Since 2018, he has been at UMass Amherst, serving in a dual role as a lecturer at the Isenberg School of Management and executive director of the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship. Additionally, since 2008, he has served as a manufacturing strategy manager for a multi-national technology company. His volunteer experience includes roles on the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, Beta Sigma Boule Foundation in Springfield, and the Corning Children’s Center in Corning, N.Y., where he served as both president and treasurer. Vega was appointed director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development for the city of Holyoke in 2020. Prior to his appointment, he served as state representative for the 5th Hampden District. He continues his focus on providing constituent services, education policy, and economic development. Over the past 10 years, he has been involved in several local nonprofit boards and volunteer projects.

•••••

Country Bank recently announced four promotions. Lisa DiMarzio and Scott Emerson were promoted to first vice presidents. DiMarzio oversees the bank’s Compliance and Community Reinvestment area. She has worked in various positions as a long-tenured team member with 36 years at Country Bank. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Anna Maria College. In addition, she is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies and the American Bankers Assoc. Stonier Graduate School of Banking, where she also earned a Wharton leadership certification. Emerson has more than 20 years of experience in the technology industry and has been an essential part of the Innovation and Technology team at Country Bank for the last 17 years. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UMass Amherst and has completed several technology-related certifications throughout the course of his career. Dianna Lussier, who oversees the Risk Management area, has been promoted to vice president. She has been with Country Bank for 18 years and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Worcester State University with a concentration in finance and accounting. She is also a graduate of the Massachusetts Bankers New England School for Financial Studies. She is currently attending the American Bankers Assoc. Stonier Graduate School of Banking and completing her Wharton leadership certification. Jason Bourbeau was promoted to Technology Architecture officer. He has been with Country Bank for eight years, earned an associate degree in computer systems engineering from Springfield Technical Community College, and is certified as a Cisco network professional.

•••••

Jane Johnson Vottero

Holyoke Community College (HCC) recently welcomed Jane Johnson Vottero as its new director of Marketing and Strategic Communications. Vottero joins HCC after 21 years at Springfield College, where she has worked as manager of editorial services, publications director, director of executive communications, and, most recently, editorial director. Her work includes award-winning publications, executive speech writing, supervision of creative and volunteer teams, advertising campaigns, newspaper reporting, freelance correspondence, development writing, web writing, video production, and strategic communications for businesses, nonprofits, and political and social-issue campaigns. At HCC, Vottero will oversee the operations of marketing, media relations, social media, graphic design, website management, publications, and other internal and external communications. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from UMass Amherst and a master’s degree in psychology from Springfield College. She has worked as a writer, editor, and publicist in Western Mass., including at Baystate Health, the Western Massachusetts Business Journal (now BusinessWest), the Westfield Evening News, and Barron’s Business and Financial Weekly. She is a past president of the Junior League of Greater Springfield, the founding president of CISV Greater Springfield, and a graduate of the Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts Leadership Institute for Political and Public Impact.

•••••

Meridith Salois

bankESB recently promoted Meridith Salois to vice president, Commercial Credit Systems Management. Salois joined bankESB in 2001 as a loan servicer and progressed over time to collections assistant, credit analyst, and senior credit analyst before being elected officer in 2015 and promoted to assistant vice president in 2016. In 2020, she was promoted to assistant vice president, Commercial Credit Systems manager. She was responsible for leading the commercial integration group for bankESB parent Hometown Financial Group’s recent acquisition of Randolph Bancorp and Envision Bank. Salois holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Bay Path College and is a graduate of the New England School for Financial Studies. She currently serves as vice president of the LoanVantage User Group and is an active volunteer in her community with the Southampton Road PTO and All 4-Kids Consignment Sale.

•••••

John Miarecki

Shawna Griffin

Erica Moulton

Susan Mayhew

Market Mentors, the region’s largest marketing, advertising, and public-relations agency, is proud to announce the addition of four new team members, adding to the depth and expertise of its staff. The hires span multiple departments, including account services, media buying, and administration. John Miarecki joined the agency as director of Growth and Development. A marketing guru with almost 15 years of experience in various roles, as well as degrees in marketing and psychology from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, he is tasked with assisting with business development, client services, internal operations and talent development. Shawna Griffin is the agency’s new media planner/buyer, bringing with her two decades of experience in the field. A graduate of Hofstra University, she is adept at creating comprehensive media plans that drive action and results. Erica Moulton joined the agency as an account executive with nearly 20 years of expertise in all things communications, including social media, public relations, referral relations, fundraising, account management, and more. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the Catholic University of America and has extensive expertise in the healthcare and nonprofit verticals. Susan Mayhew made her return to Market Mentors as office manager, a position she previously held for four years before moving to Colorado and then South Carolina. With more than 25 years of business administration experience, she is responsible for office management, including financials (including accounts payable, accounts receivable, and reporting) and some human-resources duties.

•••••

Jessica Oliver

Hometown Mortgage, a division of bankESB, recently announced that Jessica Oliver has been hired as a loan officer. Oliver has more than 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Prior to her hiring at Hometown Mortgage, she was employed as a loan officer at First Eastern Mortgage for 15 years and at Fairway Independent Mortgage for nearly seven years.

Company Notebook

By BusinessWest Staff December 21, 2022

Company Notebook

Rocky’s Ace Hardware Inducted into Retail Hall of Fame

SPRINGFIELD — Rocky’s Ace Hardware, one of the country’s largest family-owned Ace Hardware dealers, was recently awarded the Award of Excellence in Retail by the Retailers Assoc. of Massachusetts and inducted into the Retail Hall of Fame. Recipients are nominated by their industry peers and local chambers of commerce and are recognized for their overall excellence, innovation, and service within the retail industry. Falcone’s grandfather, also named Rocco but nicknamed Rocky, opened the first Rocky’s in 1926 in Springfield. In 1966, Rocky’s son James began running the business, eventually expanding to a successful seven-store chain before affiliating with the Ace Hardware Co-op. James’ son Rocco is the third generation of the family to serve as president. Rocky’s Ace Hardware now has 47 locations in nine states: Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Rocco’s son John represents the fourth generation to join the family business, currently serving as the company’s director of Merchandising. He attributes the success of the company to its three core values.

White Lion Brewing Co. Recognized Nationally

SPRINGFIELD — Brewbound, a leading multimedia industry trade publication, recently announced its 2022 award winners and class of Rising Stars during the trade publication’s Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica, California. The Brewbound Awards recognize large and small beverage/alcohol companies that thrived over the last year, while also celebrating notable industry figures, change agents, up-and-coming entrepreneurs, and philanthropic initiatives. Springfield-based White Lion Brewing Co. was named a Rising Star, joining seven other emerging beverage companies to keep an eye on.

AIC Receives Grant to Elevate Diversity, Equity Objectives

SPRINGFIELD — American International College (AIC) announced it has received a $30,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts to uphold the college’s commitment to embracing diversity and fostering a sense of belonging. The 2022 Flexible Funding Grant will support the establishment of an Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) on campus to lead and facilitate the College’s DEIB Plan, outlined in AIC’s newly released five-year strategic plan, “AIC Reimagined.” The office’s focus will be on recruiting and retaining diverse students, faculty, and staff. AIC’s goal is to identify its structure and staffing needs by the end of the 2022-23 academic year. Founded in 1991, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts seeks to enrich quality of life for the people of the region. The foundation received nearly 250 applicants for the Flexible Funding Grants this year, about twice as many as in 2021. One of the priorities for its funding decisions was organizations where the leadership is racially diverse.

Kwench Juice Café Holds Ribbon Cutting

AMHERST — The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a ribbon cutting at Kwench Juice Café, located at 19 North Pleasant St. in Amherst, on Dec. 9. Kwench Juice Café offers a selection of menu items made with nutritious, locally sourced ingredients, including freshly prepared juices, smoothies, and acai bowls, all served in a welcoming atmosphere in downtown Amherst featuring local art. The business is women-owned, Pacific Islander-owned, LGBTQ+-owned, and Asian-owned. “We are excited to show the Amherst community our passion and spread love through fresh nutritious juices and foods,” co-owners Chandra Hart and Janice Samson said.

AIC Graduate Strength and Conditioning Program Recognized

SPRINGFIELD — The Division of Exercise Science at American International College (AIC) announced that its Graduate Strength and Conditioning Program has been approved for continued recognition through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Education Recognition Program (ERP). The recognition renewal period is three years, lasting through Sept. 20, 2025. Recognition through the ERP demonstrates that the AIC Graduate Strength and Conditioning Program meets the requirements to prepare students for the NSCA-CPT and CSCS certifications and is committed to quality. The NSCA recognizes exemplary programs that provide the best education to students looking to become leaders within the field of strength and conditioning.

T-Birds Foundation Raises $10,000 for Cancer Charities

SPRINGFIELD — The Springfield Thunderbirds announced that, through the T-Birds Foundation, it has donated $10,000 to cancer charities as a result of proceeds from the club’s annual Hockey Fights Cancer Night on Nov. 19. A total of $5,000 will be presented to the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada through the proceeds generated through both donations and sales of Bitsy’s Army merchandise. Thunderbirds and Blues forward Will Bitten and the T-Birds rebooted Bitten’s charitable efforts, which were inspired by the seven-year battle against brain cancer endured by Martin Piché, the cousin of the Springfield winger. Tragically, Piché passed away in January 2021 at the age of 31. In addition, a total of $5,000 will be donated across a number of local cancer charities in Western Mass, including Baystate Children’s Hospital, Sister Caritas Cancer Center, CHD’s Cancer House of Hope, and Survivor Journeys. Fans who could not attend Hockey Fights Cancer Night can still contribute to Bitsy’s Army by visiting www.gofundme.com/f/bitsys-army.

Home City Development Awarded Funding for Development in Pelham

SPRINGFIELD — Home City Development Inc., a Springfield-based affordable-housing developer, was awarded funding for the construction of 34 mixed-income rental apartments in Pelham. Gov. Charlie Baker awarded the funding in the form of low-income housing tax credits, soft debt, and rental vouchers on Dec. 8. Home City Development previously received funds for Amethyst Brook Apartments from the Life Insurance Community Investment Initiative and Community Economic Development Assistance Corp. This is the first multi-family affordable-housing development approved in the Town of Pelham. The 2.6-acre site at 20-22 Amherst Road will consist of two highly energy-efficient buildings. A 28-unit building will be certified to passive house standards, and a six-unit building which will be certified by Energy Star. The Pelham Zoning Board of Appeals issued a comprehensive permit for Amethyst Brook Apartments in August 2021. Construction is expected to begin in late spring 2023 and is expected to be completed within 14 months. Western Builders of Granby will be the general contractor on the project, and the design team is led by Architecture Environment Life of East Longmeadow.

Home Depot Honors FastenMaster for Innovative Decking System

AGAWAM — FastenMaster’s Cortex hidden fastening system has been named as one of the top three innovation award winners for 2022 by the Home Depot. Cortex is a fast and easy way to build a deck with fully hidden hardware and fasteners. The product comes with a proprietary drive bit that sets the screw to the perfect depth every time in composite, cap-stock, and PVC decking boards. The Cortex hidden deck-fastening system features fasteners with a Torx T-Tap drive system that is nearly impossible to strip out and comes with a strong setting tool that enables both pros and DIYers to install up to 350 fasteners with one tool. Cortex plugs are made from the same material as the decking board being installed.

Eppendorf Group Donates 682 Pounds of Food to Enfield Food Shelf

ENFIELD, Conn. — The staff at Eppendorf Group, a life-science company that develops and sells instruments, consumables, and services for laboratories worldwide, recently donated 682 pounds of food to the Enfield Food Shelf, which provides food assistance to local families. Enfield Food Shelf estimates that the donated food will provide an equivalent of roughly 800 meals. The mission of the Enfield Food Shelf is to ensure that no Enfield family in need is without food assistance. Its programs include weekly and monthly food assistance, SNAP enrollment, a hunger action team, and Healthy Meals=Healthy Minds initiatives.

UMassFive Employees Raise More Than $20,000 for Nonprofits

HADLEY — UMassFive College Federal Credit Union announced that its employees have raised more than $20,000 for two local nonprofits during the fall of 2022. Specifically, $15,700 was raised in support of the UMass Cancer Center via participation in the UMass Cancer Walk and Run, and $4,800 was raised for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts via participation in Will Bike 4 Food. A longstanding and top supporter of the UMass Cancer Walk and Run event for more than 20 years, UMassFive employees joined together as Team UMassFive to raise funds for the cause, both personally and in branch locations. In 2022, fundraising efforts included raffle baskets, bake sales, candy sales, and art and jewelry sales. Donations were also sought from credit-union corporate partners, whose support helps bolster efforts each year. Including the funds raised so far this year, Team UMassFive has raised more than $173,000 in donations to the UMass Cancer Center over the lifetime of their participation. For years now, UMassFive employees have also jumped on their bicycles in support of Will Bike 4 Food, a major fundraising event for the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. In 2022, six team members worked together to raise $4,800 from supporters, which equates to 18,800 meals for neighbors in need. At the Will Bike 4 Food event, the team rode 300 total miles for this cause.

Incorporations

By BusinessWest Staff December 21, 2022

Incorporations

The following business incorporations were recorded in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties and are the latest available. They are listed by community.

AGAWAM

Grossgreen Inc., 61 Rowley St., Agawam, MA 01001. Viktor Verkhoglyadov, same. Trucking services.

BECKET

Jane Startz Productions Inc., 50 Blandford Road, Becket, MA 01223. Jane Startz, same. Entertainment services.

BROOKFIELD

Prograham Electric Inc., 52 Town Farm Road, Brookfield MA, 01506. Joseph M. Graham, same. Electrical installation, repair, and maintenance.

CHICOPEE

M & C Cleaning Corp., 409 Front St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Cezar Augusto De Azevedo Gomes, same. Janitorial and cleaning services.

CONWAY

Mission First Construction Inc., 1352 Ashfield Road, Conway, MA 01341. Katelyn Savarese, same.

GREENFIELD

Neb Workers Cooperative Inc., 179 Silvio O. Conte Dr., Greenfield, MA 01301. Thomas Ratte, 44 Flower Hill Road, Warwick, MA 01378. Labor, management and other services in the biodiesel and energy sectors.

LEE

Chief Roosa Scholarship Foundation Inc., 240 Mandalay Road, Lee, MA 01238. Jennifer M Roosa, same. Charitable organization designed exclusively to raise money for scholarships and/or charitable organizations in memory of Chief Jeffrey Roosa.

LUDLOW

Phoenix Watch Company Inc., 90 Southwood Dr., Ludlow, MA 01056. David Dicienzo, same. Manufacture, market, and sell watches and time pieces.

PITTSFIELD

B & E Niemiec Trucking Inc., 82 Wendell Ave. Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Bruce Niemiec, 5905 Robert Dr., South Easton, MA 02375. Trucking services.

Flomed Staffing Inc., 82 Wendell Ave., Suite 100, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Ameka Anglin, 2050 North Andrews Ave., Suite 102-1077 Pompano Beach, Fla. 33069.Temporary staffing services.

Yungas Services, Inc., 400 Wahconah St., Pittsfield, MA 01201. Segundo Yunga, same. Home improvement services.

SPRINGFIELD

Breaking Oppression Inc., 111 Wollaston St., Springfield, MA 01109. Wilfredo Lopez Jr., 111 Wollaston St., Springfield, MA 01119. Non-profit organization which provides education, support, scholarships, resources and opportunities to the inner city and urban communities affected by oppression.

Hold Me 4 A Moment, 64 Dearborn St., Springfield, MA 01109. Jirah Marie Sanchez, same. A nationwide limited service for individuals facing a sudden hardship that may hinder their ability to financially provide for self and or family. The corporation will be an extension to state programs and providers for the nation with individuals or families that undergoes financial hardship.

Lee’s Taekwondo at Springfield 2, Inc., 1400 Boston Road, Springfield, MA 01119. Suhyun Lee, 82 Main St. Chicopee, MA 01020. Taekwondo martial arts studio.

Sorrell Neurology Services Inc., 299 Carew St., Suite 323, Springfield, MA 01104. Michael R. Sorrell, 103 Webber Road West Whately, MA 01039.Medical practice of neurology.

WEST SPRINGFIELD

Diamond Gold Inc., 389 Park St., West Springfield, MA 01089. Candice Douglas, 36 Laurel Road West Springfield, MA 01089. Buying and selling jewelry.

The George W. David Family Charitable Foundation Inc., 181 Park Street, West Springfield, MA 01089. George W. David, same. Charitable foundation established to receive and distribute funds for charitable, religious, educational, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition, and preventing cruelty to children or animals.