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Architecture and Design
Volkmann, Ghiselin, Ford, and More: Start Anew on the Hotel Project
by Press Release | Jan 8, 2010 7:38 am | Comments (2)
Hmm. It’s easy for Mayor Higgins to ignore the young and artsy Hoopers Against the Hilton (Die Hilton Die!!! on YouTube), but when Northampton’s boomer-gen good-government crowd takes a stand, watch out. Former City Councilor Alex Ghiselin, former Mayor Mary Ford, Zoning Revision Committee Chairperson Joel Russell, and more are asking city officials to stop extending deadlines to the developer of the the proposed downtown Hilton Garden Inn and to “develop a process for determining how the land can best be used and designed based on good practices and full public participation.”
Read their call to action, dated January 7, 2010, below the fold.
Continue reading ‘Volkmann, Ghiselin, Ford, and More: Start Anew on the Hotel Project’ »
Last Mass said at St Mary’s of the Assumption
by Mary Serreze | Jan 4, 2010 8:40 am | Comments (0)
Sunday morning, the faithful gathered at St. Mary’s of the Assumption on Elm Street in Northampton for the last time. The Catholic Diocese has decided to close the historic building, and has told Northampton Catholics that they will convene at Sacred Heart on King Street from now on. What will happen to the grand 1881 St. Mary’s Church, located across from the gates of Smith College? Stay Tuned…
Saint Mary’s to Stay Open Through Epiphany
by Mary Serreze | Jan 1, 2010 1:46 am | Comments (0)
A letter dated November 4, 2009, from The Most Reverend Timothy A. McDonnell, Bishop of Springfield, to Father William Hamilton and the parishioners of St. Mary’s Church on Elm Street, delivered the news: the Sacred Heart Church on King Street will house a new, consolidated parish, and the grand church known as St. Mary’s will close. Final Mass will be said on January 3, 2010, the Feast of the Epiphany. The new parish will come into existence on Monday, January 4.
O’Donnell wrote that on All Souls Day, he received a report on three Northampton Catholic churches outlining necessary repairs as well as parking and accessibility considerations. After consulting with Diocesan officials, a decision was made to reverse an earlier decision that would have consolidated the parish at St. Mary’s and closed Sacred Heart instead.
Continue reading ‘Saint Mary’s to Stay Open Through Epiphany’ »
Hotel Group Asks City Council for Extension; Pleads for Leniency in Bonding Requirements
by Mary Serreze | Dec 21, 2009 12:53 pm | Comments (0)
The controversial Hilton Garden Inn project planned for downtown Northampton has been fraught with delays. First, environmental remediation of the site proved to be a long and complicated process. Second, as a result of economic conditions, the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group has had a hard time lining up financing. Developer Shardool Parmar now says that his financing is in place, but that it still might be difficult to come up with the $12 million bond that the city is now asking for.
Parmar has written a letter to the City Council asking for both an extension of the purchase and sale agreement and for leniency in the level of bonding that the city will require. Read the full text of Parmar’s letter here:
Hotel Deadline Looms
by Mary Serreze | Dec 17, 2009 12:39 pm | Comments (0)
A purchase-and-sale agreement between the city and the Hilton Garden Inn developer expires on Dec. 31. “We don’t want somebody to get halfway through a construction project and have it go belly up,” Higgins told reporter Dan Crowley, who writes for the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Planning Director Feiden offered little comment. Will city government offer developer Shardool Parmar more time to acquire the financing he needs to advance this project? Read All About It in the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Success on King Street: What Will It Take?
by Mary Serreze | Dec 15, 2009 11:29 am | Comments (0)
Will a rezoning of King Street help spur the redevelopment of properties such as the old Kollmorgen facility, the former Price Chopper, and the abandoned Honda Dealership? Stay tuned….
HIggins to Cohen: No Violation of Open Meeting Law in Chamber/ZRC Confab
by Guest Columnist | Dec 14, 2009 6:26 pm | Comments (0)
Dear Mayor Higgins,
On viewing a 13-minute portion of the 12/2 Zoning Revisions Committee meeting at http://www.vimeo.com/8047389, I became concerned that a planned 12/15 meeting between members of the Chamber of Commerce and the Zoning Revisions Committee may not conform to the Open Meeting Law.
I request that you ask the city’s legal counsel to review the situation and take appropriate action. If the planned 12/15 meeting does in fact conform with the Open Meeting Law, I would appreciate a brief explanation as to how it conforms.
Sincerely,
Adam Cohen
Hello Adam,
The meeting between some members of the Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee and some members of the Zoning Revisions Committee is not a violation of the Open Meeting Law because only four members of that group volunteered to attend the meeting; no deliberation will happen at that meeting; and it is not a meeting of the Zoning Revisions Committee or any sub-committee of that group.
The Chamber’s committee invited members of the ZRC to attend their meeting to listen to their feedback. Four members of the ZRC volunteered to attend and to listen and to report back to the larger group. They are not an official or an ad-hoc subcommittee of the ZRC; they are the four members who were able to attend that meeting.
The ZRC has 9 members and a quorum of that committee would be 5 members.
No ZRC deliberative business will be conducted at this meeting. The ZRC members who are able to attend will be listening to feedback from private property owners and business people.
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Mary Clare Higgins
Mayor of Northampton
Chamber to Lead King St Rezoning Effort; Members of City Zoning Committee Invited to Private Meeting
by Mary Serreze | Dec 14, 2009 11:45 am | Comments (0)
The Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce will host an invitation-only meeting on Tuesday, December 15 to discuss potential zoning changes to King Street, Northampton’s shabby and car-centric “miracle mile.” King Street, poxed by a number of derelict properties, stretches from Damon Road to Main Street and serves as the city’s gateway from the north. A minority of the city’s Zoning Revisions Committee (ZRC), a public nine-member advisory group appointed by the Planning Board, are among those invited to attend.
What Does the Sustainable Northampton Plan say about King Street?
by Mary Serreze | Dec 13, 2009 1:31 pm | Comments (0)
The nine-member Zoning Revisions Committee (ZRC), appointed by the Planning Board, is tasked with recommending ways to amend the city’s zoning code to better support the goals and objectives of the 2007 Sustainable Northampton Plan. King Street, Northampton’s beleaguered “miracle mile,” has been a recent topic of discussion at ZRC meetings.
The ZRC is planning to work closely with the Northampton Area Chamber of Commerce to develop recommendations for rezoning the corridor, which stretches from Damon Road to Main Street and serves as the city’s gateway from the north.
What does the Sustainable Northampton Plan have to say about King Street? Read On…
Continue reading ‘What Does the Sustainable Northampton Plan say about King Street?’ »
Die Hilton Die Part Two: Jena Wikler Dances Her Politics
by Guest Columnist | Dec 9, 2009 5:28 pm | Comments (0)
“all of our efforts to date to stop the hilton having failed, we are left with no recourse but to bring out the big guns: interpretive dance.” Jena Wikler’s MischiefRobot.
The Walter Salvo House: A Conversation with Housing Authority Director Jon Hite
by Mary Serreze | Dec 9, 2009 10:16 am | Comments (0)
The 192-unit Walter Salvo House, located at 81 Conz Street and owned and operated by the Northampton Housing Authority, was built in 1975 to house the low-income elderly and disabled.
Continue reading ‘The Walter Salvo House: A Conversation with Housing Authority Director Jon Hite’ »
Wetlands Dispute Alters Condo Project
by Edward Shanahan | Dec 4, 2009 4:09 am | Comments (0)
New from Ed Shanahan’s downstreet.net…
Travelers driving along Nonotuck Street must be puzzled by what they view as one of the odder developments very slowly taking shape behind what is to be the future home of the David Ruggles Center.
The dark gray house at 225 Nonotuck St. which was partially purchased with $150,000 in city community preservation funds is scheduled eventually to be a research and historical center focusing on early Florence history, especially as its relates to the activities of the Underground Railroad here in the 19th Century.
Continue reading ‘Wetlands Dispute Alters Condo Project’ »
Amendment of Kollmorgen TIF on City Council Agenda
by Mary Serreze | Dec 2, 2009 9:44 am | Comments (0)
On Tuesday afternoon, city economic development director Teri Anderson called an “emergency meeting” of the City Council’s Economic Development, Housing, and Land Use (EDHLU) committee. The issue? The status of a 5-year, 5% Tax Increment Financing (TIF) arrangement promised to Kollmorgen Electro-Optical, the defense contractor building a new $18 million, 40,000 square-foot headquarters complex on Northampton’s Village Hill.
(Dann Vasquez’ Scrapbook Blog. )
Continue reading ‘Amendment of Kollmorgen TIF on City Council Agenda’ »
Fairground ENF Filed: Clock Ticking on Public Comment
by Mary Serreze | Nov 22, 2009 8:45 am | Comments (1)
The Three County Fair Redevelopment Authority has submitted an Environmental Notification Form (ENF) to state regulators, kicking off a public comment period that will last until December 14. (Download 4-page ENF here.)
Continue reading ‘Fairground ENF Filed: Clock Ticking on Public Comment’ »
Exit 19 Traffic Engineers Visit Northampton; Provide Update
by Mary Serreze | Nov 21, 2009 11:06 am | Comments (0)
Video by Lachlan Zeigler. Posted to North Street Neighborhood Association BlipTV Channel.