Page 8 - BusinessWest August 7, 2023

Easthampton
at a glance
Year Incorporated: 1785
Population: 16,211
Area: 13.6 square miles
County: Hampshire
Residential Tax Rate: $14.65
Commercial Tax Rate: $14.65
Median Household Income: $45,185
Median Family Income: $54,312
Type of Government: Mayor, City Council
Largest Employers: Berry Plastics Corp., INSA, Williston Northampton School, National Nonwovens Co.
* Latest information available
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COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT >>
Easthampton Emerges as a Regional Destination
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
[email protected]
It’s called WorkHub on Union.
This is an ambitious project to create co- working space at the Easthampton Cham-
ber of Commerce facility on Union Street. WorkHub will create space for solopre-
neurs and emerging business ventures, and also provide access to mentorship programs, networking events, educational program- ming, and other support services designed to accelerate the growth of startups and small businesses.
In addition to all that, Moe Belliveau, exec- utive director of the chamber, categorizes the project as a not-so-subtle shift in the direction and overall mission at the chamber — one that moves the agency away from the traditional networking events that have defined such agencies, and more into the realm of true eco- nomic development.
“This is part of the evolution of this cham- ber,” she explained, adding that other exam- ples (as we’ll see later) include more emphasis on professional development and educational programs on topical issues such as artificial intelligence.
WorkHub, for which Belliveau is actively trying to raise $500,000 to make it reality, is one of several positive economic develop-
ments in a community that has been making headlines mostly for the wrong reasons in 2023.
Indeed, a school-superintendent search that has gone terribly awry — the leading candidate had his job offer rescinded, in part, over his use of the term ‘ladies’ in an email to the School Committee chair — has brought national and even international attention, and not the kind this community would want, as well as resignations among school-board members and even a bid within the commu- nity to recall Mayor Nicole LaChappelle.
An interim school superintendent has been hired, and a search for a permanent succes- sor will resume later this year, said a defiant LaChappelle, who responded to the recall effort in June by saying, “I will continue to
do what I have been doing for five and a half years — working to give all of Easthampton the best quality of life possible.”
As noted, aside from the controversy sur- rounding the superintendent search, there have been generally positive developments in this community. It continues to build on the considerable progress made over the past few decades in transforming itself from a mill town to a destination, one with a strong arts
“Housing, housing, housing ... that’s our biggest need right now.”
8 AUGUST 7, 2023
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