Page 78 - BusinessWest September 28, 2020
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Women’s Leadership
Luncheon Series
Sept. 30, Oct. 28: Tanisha Arena, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Arise for Social Justice, and Pam Victor, owner of Happier Valley Comedy, will be the featured presenters on Wednesday, Sept. 30, during the third session of the 2020 Virtual Wom- en’s Leadership Luncheon Series. Arena and Victor will present “Comfortable in Your Own Skin, Find- ing Your Voice” from noon to 1 p.m. over Zoom. The series, postponed from spring because of COVID-19, is sponsored by Holyoke Community College and
Agenda
Training and Workforce Options, a collaboration between HCC and Springfield Technical Community College. Each of four lunchtime events features two presenters leading discussions on different topics. For the final session on Oct. 28, Colleen Loveless, president and CEO of Revitalize Community Devel- opment Corp., and Nicole Palange, vice president
of V&F Auto, will lead a discussion titled “Women Leaders in Non-traditional Businesses.” Each session costs $20, and advance registration is required. To register, visit hcc.edu/womens-leadership.
Virtual Info Session for WSU Master of Social Work Program
Oct. 7: Westfield State University’s (WSU) College of Graduate and Continuing Education (CGCE) will host a virtual information session for the master of social work program at 6 p.m. on Zoom. The pro- gram, one of only four located in Western Mass., is
Market
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a longer stretch of working from home. “Between 2002 and 2005, there was
a big movement happening — com- mercial real estate had become so expensive that everyone was trying remote working,” he recalled. “Jamie Dimon is saying the same thing that everyone was saying back then — that they see a decrease in productivity.
So I think real estate is coming back; I don’t think you get this energy that you have when people are working together in one office, and you don’t see the productivity.”
Plotkin concurred. “Today, people can work from anywhere, and it’s appealing to people to work from any- where. But the reality is that working from home is isolating, and I don’t think that’s a long-term solution.”
Added Bolotin, “there is a lot of speculation on both sides of that fence. I believe that the office market will
still have a future — there will still be demand. Working from home is fine on a limited basis, but people will eventu- ally migrate back to an office setting.
“Needs might change,” he went on. “They may need to consolidate, or they may wish to add more space for social- distancing purposes. But what the net effect of this will be ... time will tell.”
Returning to the present, those we
also offered at the YWCA at Salem Square in Worces- ter. The master of social work (MSW) program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Edu- cation and prepares students to become licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) and to work in a variety of positions in the human-services field. The program aims to prepare advanced-level social-work practitioners who have specialized knowledge and skills for clinical practice, based on a firm generalist foundation. “The MSW program at Westfield State University provides students with a competitive, accessible, and affordable social-work education,” program Director Maria del Mar Farinam said. “As future social-work professionals, students will be exceptionally well-prepared to meet the increasingly complex needs of the diverse communities served by our profession.” With full- or part-time options
— and the consistency of having all of one’s classes on Monday and Thursday evenings — the MSW pro- gram offers flexibility and affordability. Information- session attendees will have an opportunity to speak with faculty and members of the outreach team about the program and its application process. The $50 application fee will be waived for all attendees. To RSVP, visit www.gobacknow.com. For more infor- mation, call (413) 572-8020 or e-mail wsucgce@west- field.ma.edu.
40 Under Forty
Oct. 7-8: BusinessWest’s celebration of the 40 Under Forty class of 2020, rescheduled from June, will be held at the upper vista at the Log Cabin in Holyoke. This two-day event will include two sessions each day, ‘mini-events’ where we will celebrate 10 honor- ees at a time, with their guests and event sponsors in attendance, and ‘virtual guests’ able to access a live stream as the class of 2020 — and this year’s Alumni Achievement Award winners, Carla Cosenzi and
Peter DePergola — take to the stage to accept their awards. For a list of this year’s honorees, visit busi- nesswest.com/40-under-forty/40-under-forty. The 40 Under Forty program is sponsored by Health New England and PeoplesBank (presenting sponsors), and Comcast Business, the Isenberg School of Man- agement at UMass Amherst, and Mercedes-Benz
of Springfield, with event partners WWLP 22 News/ CW Springfield and the Young Professional Society of Greater Springfield.
STCC Virtual Open House
Oct. 14-15: Springfield Technical Community Col- lege (STCC) will hold its annual fall open house on two dates: Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and Thursday, Oct. 15 from 1 to 3:30 p.m., in a virtual format. High-school students, adult learners, and their family members can log into Zoom and meet virtually with representatives from the college’s degree and certificate programs and departments. For information about registering to attend the vir- tual event, visit stcc.edu/apply/open-house. Open to the public, STCC’s open house is an opportunity for anyone thinking about becoming a student to learn more about what the college has to offer, including associate-degree and certificate programs, transfer opportunities, financial aid, athletics and student life, online learning, workforce-training options, high-school equivalency exam (HiSET), and classes for English language learners. Representatives from specific programs and departments will hold break- out sessions to speak with anyone who joins. For more information, contact the STCC Admissions Office at (413) 755-3333 or [email protected]. To apply to STCC, visit stcc.edu/apply. STCC is accepting applications for Fall Flex Term 2, which starts Oct. 28, and for the spring term, which begins in January.
   spoke with said there are certainly some deals getting done, and the mar- ket remains active. Panteleakis cited not only Tower Square, but also neigh- boring 1550 Main St., which he also handles, and which is fully occupied.
Bolotin, citing those recent trans-
ries — office, retail, industrial, land, investments. We’ve had activity in all segments.”
Some of these transactions bode well for the region and some of its indi- vidual communities, he noted, such as the sale of 95 Elm St. in West Spring-
negatively impacted,” he stressed. “But there is still activity within the marketplace.”
Bottom Line
As for the immediate future ... Pan- teleakis said a pause, or lull, is common just before presidential elections. And this year, COVID-19 has given business owners and managers more reason to be cautious.
“People are in a wait-and-see mode,” he explained. “Most of the executives that I’ve spoken with are waiting to see what happens in the first quarter of 2021. So I think the jury will be out until that first quarter of next year.”
After that ... no one really knows when the jury will actually be back and what the verdict will be.
But some are already anticipating long-term changes to the landscape. That’s why Venture X is taking shape in Holyoke and why Evan Plotkin is draft- ing plans for a remote work hub.
Plenty of questions remain about the future, and the answers won’t come easily. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
“We’re very active, we’re busy, there are transactions happening. Over the past few months, we’ve had deals close across a number of categories — office, retail, industrial, land, investments. We’ve had activity in all segments.
   ”
actions in West Springfield, Amherst, South Deerfield, and other communi- ties his firm was involved with, said they provide evidence of a resilient economy and an equally resilient com- mercial real-estate market, one that has seen a number of downturns — and recoveries.
“We’re very active, we’re busy, there are transactions happening,” he said of his firm but also the market overall. “Over the past few months, we’ve had deals close across a number of catego-
field. Considered a key to development of the downtown area, the property is being targeted for a mix of office and retail, said Bolotin, and his firm is cur- rently negotiating several potential leases in that building.
Meanwhile, other deals have been closed involving retail (two Family Dollar stores), industrial (more than 500,000 square feet in total), and even a few church properties.
“It is certainly a challenging time, and there are people who have been
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