Page 12 - BusinessWest April 3, 2023
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 Jessye Deane says Greenfield businesses thrive through connections with myriad agencies that provide technical, financial, and other forms of support.
ing block in our efforts to create more business development and housing in Greenfield.” But the Wilson’s project is only one piece; another 36-unit develop- ment on Wells Street will hit the con- struction phase soon, and developers are eyeing other potential residential- development sites both within and out- side of Greenfield’s downtown sector.
“We know we need to take a look at the missing middle-market supply of housing that serves working people who are not eligible for subsidized housing but are also struggling to
find housing in any market now,” she said. “This is an issue for the whole state. Everyone is feeling, quite accu- rately, that we’ve made progress with
affordable rental housing, but now we need to work on other aspects of the market.”
Adams feels like Greenfield is an attractive market for people looking for a place to live because it’s considered more affordable than other communi- ties and boasts strong transit links to the rest of the region and beyond.
A $7.8 million, state- and feder- ally funded multi-modal Main Street improvement project should only lend
“I’m fond of saying that, in five years, you’re not going to
recognize Main Street.”
momentum to that perception, she and Wedegartner believe. The mayor appropriated $288,900 in capital funds for engineering and design of the project, which begins 100 feet to the east of Colrain Street and ends at High Street. The project is on track
to be included in MassDOT’s Trans- portation Improvement Program, with construction slated to begin as early as fall 2026.
“While this project is underway, the city will also be able to upgrade underground utilities, primarily our water and sewer infrastructure. This will save the city money as we will not need to dig up Main Street twice,” the mayor noted, adding that additional grant money is being used to fund a parking-management study for the downtown area.
One significant goal of all this, she told BusinessWest, is to make Main Street more pedestrian- and bike- friendly, including continued efforts to make Court Square a pedestrian plaza. “Route 2A can never be pedes- trian-only; Main Street has to be open to all traffic. But there’s significant work being done curb to curb.”
Wedegartner stressed that develop- ment activity in Greenfield extends well beyond downtown. The Plan- ning Department and City Council continue work to rezone about 40 acres across Route 2A from the I-91 Industrial Park as additional indus- trial space geared to attracting more advanced manufacturers and sustain- ing existing manufacturers who have run out of space in the current indus- trial park.
Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Com- merce and Regional Tourism Council, said one of the city’s selling points is its balance between that industrial sector and the sorts of small, locally owned shops and eateries that dot the
Greenfield >> Continued on page 38
                12 APRIL 3, 2023
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