NORTHAMPTON — Four pols, two seats. An hour and 15 minutes allotted. Questions answered in two-minute soundbites, in serial rotation. The mayoral hopefuls waiting in the wings, preparing to take the stage. It ain’t easy being an at-large candidate for City Council this year. Last Wednesday night, at the Bridge Street Elementary School, the Ward [...]

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story was published on Thursday morning, Sept. 8 with the headline, “King Street Re-Zoning Hearing Tonight.” The meeting was held that night, and we are preparing a report on that meeting. NORTHAMPTON – A complex package of zoning ordinances proposed to encourage commercial development and enhance design standards along King Street, the [...]

Lawsuit Claims Planning Board Requirement for Rail Trail Access Would Place Undue Burden on Church   NORTHAMPTON – The Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield, a non-profit corporation, has filed a lawsuit in Hampshire Superior Court to stop a Planning Board requirement that the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish provide bike path access from its Sacred [...]

Sacred Heart’s Development Plan Got the Nod Two Weeks Ago, But Confusion Over Counting Votes Convinced City Officials To Schedule A Re-Do on the Final Outcome.   NORTHAMPTON – The Planning Board, which botched up a vote two weeks ago on the revised site plan for the Sacred Heart Church property on King Street, will [...]

The day after Kollmorgen listed its 5-acre King Street parcel for $4 million, the U.S. Defense Department announced it had awarded the Electro-Optical Division a $41.2 million contract for a new generation of submarine masts.   NORTHAMPTON – Sixty years ago last month, the Kollmorgen Realty Corp. bought a 5-acre parcel on King Street for [...]

After meeting with neighbors late Wednesday, Father John Connors agreed to take another look at plans for a new parish house at the Sacred Heart Church on King Street. Connors also agreed to postpone a site plan hearing until December. *** NORTHAMPTON – A face-off expected at tonight’s Planning Board was avoided late Wednesday when [...]

King Street Church Wants Big Parish Hall; Hearing on Thursday NORTHAMPTON — The Catholic church formerly known as Sacred Heart — renamed St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in January — will go before three city committees on Thursday night in its bid to tear down two buildings and construct a new, 14,000 square-foot parish hall and [...]

While some see conflict in his dual role as Chamber of Commerce bigwig and city planning official, real estate consultant Dennis Bidwell makes no apologies. *** By DAVID REID  and MARY SERREZE NORTHAMPTON — In the past two weeks, Northampton Media has published two stories (“Chaos on King Street,” Sept. 21, and “Farewell Finger-Pointing,” Sept. [...]

King Street Zoning Forum Tonight NORTHAMPTON – Tonight’s public forum on proposed zoning changes for King Street will be held tonight (Wednesday, Sept. 29) at 7-9 p.m. at the Jackson Street School auditorium. The public meeting is the second of two planned by the city’s Zoning Revisions Committee (ZRC), which since June has been reviewing [...]

Colvest Northampton LLC, which bought the site for $5.3 million in 2007, will invest another $4 million there, firm president says. NORTHAMPTON – The Planning Board Thursday night OK’ed a revised site plan for Colvest Northampton LLC to redevelop the former Hill & Dale mall at 327 King St. The site has been a mostly [...]

Zoning Revisions Committee chairman quits amidst power struggle with Chamber of Commerce over the future of King Street and the zoning review process itself. The committee meets at 7 p.m. tonight at the Bluebonnet Diner. NORTHAMPTON — Urban planner and land-use attorney Joel Russell abruptly resigned last week  from the city’s Zoning Revisions Committee (ZRC), [...]

Sunday Bridge-Raising Delayed for Up to a Week NORTHAMPTON – The installation of a three-piece, metal bridge over Route 10 linking Northampton and Easthampton rail trails will not take place tomorrow (Sunday, Sept. 19) as planned. The giant pedestrian-bicycle bridge, built in Minnesota, was set to be assembled here, hoisted up by a giant crane [...]

NORTHAMPTON — Cars aren’t the devil. At least that’s what a proposed plan for King Street — Northampton’s “Miracle Mile“— has to convey. The 33-page plan, unveiled on June 10 — called “Rezoning King Street: Findings and Recommendations” — was developed by the Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce over a period of six months. (download [...]