Page 9 - BusinessWest April 15, 2024

“The initial impact on foot traffic downtown from 61 new units will be extraordinary.”
It also includes the prospects for the city becoming a stop on what’s being called the ‘northern tier’ of proposed east-west rail service — one that will in many ways mirror Route 2 — as well as the pending arrival of both a Starbucks and an Aldi’s grocery story near the rotary off I-91 exit 43 and a massive redesign of Main Street, now likely to start in 2027.
Together, these game changers — coupled
with some new businesses downtown; efforts
to inspire and support entrepreneurship,
including a new pitch contest called Take the
Floor; collective efforts to bring more visi-
tors to Greenfield and the surrounding area,
especially at its oldest continuously operat-
ing fairgrounds in the country; and a greater
sense of collaboration among business and economic-development agencies — have cre-
ated an upbeat tone in this community, with great enthusiasm for what comes next.
“What I’m most excited about is that we now have all these people who are thinking collectively about how we can make the most of this momentum,” said Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and Regional Tourism Council.
For this latest installment of its Community Spotlight series, BusinessWest takes an indepth look at the many developing stories in Greenfield.
Tale of the Tape
And we start with a somewhat unusual gathering downtown on the Saturday before Easter.
Indeed, Desorgher, Cahillane, Deane, and others spent several hours in the central business district cleaning the bases of street- lights, an undertaking organized by the Greenfield Business Assoc. (GBA).
An architect’s rendering of the planned redevelopment of the former Wilson’s department store into a mix of retail and housing.
All three had somewhat different takes on what they were expecting from this exercise, but the consensus is that it was more difficult, and time-consuming, to remove the remnants from count- less posters for events — and the tape used to affix them to the structures — than they thought.
But while the work was a grind, they all said it was important, worthwhile, and much more than symbolism. And it even inspired a thought to create one or more community bulletin boards so individuals and groups would have a place to promote their events other than light poles.
Deane said the clean- up was an example of a greater sense of collabo- ration within the com-
Greenfield
Continued on page 11
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