Community Profiles

Greenfield’s Downtown Gaining Momentum

Community Spotlight Greenfield Mayor William Martin acknowledged that it isn’t exactly a scientific measure of either his downtown’s vibrancy or the efficiency of his long-term strategic plan for the central […]

South Hadley Aims to Become a Destination

Community Spotlight When Andy Yee talks about South Hadley, he speaks from experience. All kinds of experience. He grew up there, went to high school there, lives there still, and […]

South Hadley Aims to Become a Destination

Community Spotlight When Andy Yee talks about South Hadley, he speaks from experience. All kinds of experience. He grew up there, went to high school there, lives there still, and […]

Deerfield Strives to Be More Than a Tourist Town

Community Spotlight Wendy Foxmyn acknowleged that, when pressed to describe Deerfield with a word or two, most responders would say ‘tourist town,’ or something to that effect. And, sounding somewhat […]

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Home Values Drive Economy in Longmeadow

Community Spotlight In a town where more than 95% of all property is residential, economic development isn’t about attracting a flood of new businesses to town — if only because […]

Businesses Connect and Grow at the Orange Innovation Center

Hive of Activity The movement toward innovation centers and collaborative maker spaces might be hot right now across Western Mass., but the Orange Innovation Center was on the cutting edge […]

GCC’s Bob Pura Made the Community-college Mission a Career

Living the Dream Bob Pura couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head as he talked about it. And that’s because the whole idea of it was so, well, foreign […]

There’s Certainly Growing Interest in Holyoke

Community Spotlight Marcos Marrero says that if one were to have a machine running an optimization algorithm that would weigh a host of quantitative and qualitative factors to ultimately determine […]

‘The Year of the New Springfield’ Is Underway

Community Spotlight To say projects are coming to fruition in Springfield is a bit of an understatement these days, with a $950 million casino opening downtown in September, following right […]

New Projects Energize Palmer’s Neighborhoods

Community Spotlight In a neighborhood struggling to regain some momentum, any new development matters — no matter how humble. Literally, in the case of Humble Pie, a restaurant with a […]

Mixed-use Projects Highlight Growth in Amherst

Community Spotlight Anyone who has spent time in Amherst recognizes the town’s enviable mix of cultural institutions, restaurants, academic energy — more than 33,000 students attend UMass Amherst, Hampshire College, […]

Pittsfield Gets Proactive with Growth Measures

Community Spotlight When she issued her annual state-of-the-city address recently, Pittsfield Mayor Linda Tyer spoke at length about issues ranging from schools to public safety; from recreation to housing, and […]

New Developments Light the Way in Chicopee

Community Spotlight Mayor Richard Kos is fond of pointing out that Chicopee is alone among Western Mass. communities in having two exits off the Mass Pike — and now it […]

Stockbridge Strengthens Role as Regional Draw

Community Spotlight The Elm Court Estate in Stockbridge was constructed in 1886 as a summer cottage for William Douglas Stone and Emily Vanderbilt, completed a series of renovations in 1919, […]

Southwick Offers Winning Mix of Business, Fun

Community Spotlight Many communities, Doug Moglin notes, tout themselves as a great place to live, or an ideal spot to do business, or a haven for recreation. “But we have […]