Page 15 - BusinessWest February 3, 2025

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Chicopee
an urgent need for more housing. Pouliot said the owners of the last
remaining building in the Facemate manufacturing complex, the so-called Baskin parcel, are finalizing the secur- ing of resources from the Common- wealth, and a groundbreaking is expect- ed in the near future on 105 units of housing.
Meanwhile, a developer has been recommended for the four remaining buildings within the massive Uniroyal tire-manufacturing complex, the rede- velopment of which has been a more- than-40-year saga, said Pouliot, adding that a mixed-use development that includes housing is being eyed.
These projects are moving slowly, he noted, because of the high cost of rehabilitating former mills of this kind into housing and other uses, as well as the time-consuming process of secur- ing the various forms of financing, often including historic tax credits, needed to make such endeavors viable.
“Slow but steady wins the game when it comes to mill conversion,” he told BusinessWest, adding that the Uniroyal project will most likely devel- op in phases over several years.
In the case of another huge old mill,
Continued from page 13
area.
Grade Expectations
While the city works to rehabilitate its landmarks, one of its leading institu- tions, Elms College, is trying to build a more secure future by taking a proac- tive approach to the many challenges facing higher ed today, especially small- er, private institutions.
“There’s never a moment to rest,” said Dumay of this challenging time, describing Elms as being “healthy, not wealthy.”
By that, he meant that the school has a small endowment — $12 million, although it’s much larger than it was even a few years ago — but it remains in solid fiscal heath, thanks to steady enrollment in many of its divisions. These including transfers, continuing education, and graduate programs, making up for a decline in enrollment among high-school graduates, some- thing being seen across this region and across the country, a situation exacer- bated by what Dumay (and many oth- ers) have called the “less than adequate rollout” of Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA.
“We had a really good year of stu- dents transferring to Elms College, a good year for students completing their degrees through our continuing-educa- tion program, and a good year of gradu- ate students,” he explained. ‘Overall, we took in around the usual number
of 500 students that we traditionally take in for all categories, despite the fact that, with our first-time freshmen, we didn’t reach the target that we were looking for.”
In this environment, schools need
to be aggressive in telling their stories, stress their strengths and values — and the value they provide — and be respon- sive to those challenged by the high cost of a college education, he said, adding that the Elms Promise was cre- ated to help empower those students least likely to afford higher educa-
tion, and it underscores the school’s affordability.
“Having this Elms Promise out there clearly and crisply conveys to stu- dents and their families that an Elms College education can be as within their reach as some of the other alter- natives available to them,” he explained, adding that this includes MassEducate, the state’s free community-college ini- tiative, which, as noted earlier, is both another challenge and a great opportu- nity down the road.
“I’ll always be in favor of any initia- tive that makes college accessible for students,” said Dumay, a first-genera- tion college graduate himself. “And we already know that this has increased enrollment at community colleges sig- nificantly, in this area and beyond. And because of the articulation agreements
we have with all the area community colleges, and because many of the com- munity-college students transfer to us, we’re expecting the number of students that will transfer to us to increase, and we see that as an opportunity down the road.”
Developing Stories
While Elms copes with its chal- lenges, the city continues its work to put some of its former mills back to productive use while also addressing
Chicopee
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