Funding for the estimated $40,000 project will come from an annual golf tournament that benefits the manufacturing technology department. That fund-raiser is hosted by the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the National Tooling and Machining Association and the high school’s manufacturing advisory committee.
The latest concept envisioned for downtown redevelopment calls for a six-story commercial-retail-residential building, a 500-vehicle parking garage and a single-story glass-enclosed Pioneer Valley Transit Authority bus shelter.
Work will begin early next year on the redesign and reconstruction of Airport Industrial Road, leading toward development of a new 80-acre Airport Industrial Park.
City officials, along with representatives of the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority plan to present one or two new redevelopment concepts estimated at $25 million to $30 million for Elm Street Dec. 12, seeking input from downtown businesses and the public in general.
The Mathematics Department received a $150,000 grant four years ago to launch the project. Ten textbooks have been created that now need to be revised, refined and finished, and the objective is that once completed those texts be made available to liberal arts students at no cost, Fleron said.
Cressotti said he expects completion of the project design by summer and the competitive bidding for the project during next fall. Construction would then begin in spring 2014, but some utility work by the city could begin by the fall 2013.
The estimated $2 to $2.5 million project will be unveiled during a public information meeting scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Highland Elementary School.
Despite failed talks with SunEdison, negotiations are continuing with Borrego Solar Systems Inc. for a solar farm on 35 acres of Barnes Municipal Airport property off North Road.
A new administration at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School has brought expanded focus on student achievement and school pride.
Demolition of that building, which poses a safety risk because of deterioration, is expected in early November, Daley said. A section of the building’s facade fell to the sidewalk last month cause minor injuries to a construction worker. The property has since been fenced off preventing public access
The ‘Your Vision Our Future. A Transportation Conversation’ series will resume Oct. 2 in Worcester. Davey and representatives of various DOT departments will be at the Pittsfield Public Library on Oct. 4 and at the Campus Center at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst on Oct. 10. Both sessions are scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m..
Daley said the city will also move this week to obtain appraisals on the adjoining one-story building on Elm Street, owned by Hampden Bank, which was also declared unsafe by city officials Aug. 30. The appraisal will be used in negotiations with Hampden Bank to acquire the building, Daley said. Both buildings have been targeted for demolition as part of the city’s effort to redevelop the Elm Street business corridor. Both buildings have been vacant for several years. The Block Building is already owned by the city.
The project is being financed primarily with state funding under the MassWorks Infrastructure Program. The city has already invested about $100,000 for survey, easement and land takings and design work, City Advancement Officer Jeffrey R. Daley said Thursday.
The proposed park, about 80 acres, sits adjacent to Barnes Regional Airport off North Road and abuts two large aviation firms, General Dynamics Aviation Services and Gulfstream Aerospace, located on Elise Street. Gulfstream is currently building a new $23 million maintenance facility that will bring an additional 100 high-skilled jobs to its current 130-member workforce. That facility is scheduled to be operational next spring.
The airport has now received about $7 million towards completion of the project that addresses renovations or purchase of homes impacted by high levels of noise around the airport perimeter, Airport Manager Brian P. Barnes said.
Brown said the request is being made in an effort to allow more study of the plan and ensure the city has the necessary tools in place to bring family friendly business and opportunities to the on-going redevelopment of the city's core district. That district extends from Big Y on Broad Street to Depot Square area at North Elm Street.
Cabral was named Tuesday West Springfield’s first economic development administrator, a position Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger said will drive the town’s strategy in “all aspects of economic development.
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., design engineers of Worcester is working with the city on the rail trail design and Mayor Daniel M. Knapik and City Engineer Mark s. Cressotti have said the plan is to proceed on an annual basis until Westfield’s trail is complete.
The effort is to open a museum that features a static display of the city’s industrial past along with a living museum using the manufacturing operations of Westfield Whip Manufacturing Co., the city city’s last operating whip company which still resembles the 1890s manufacturing process.
“This grant is indicative of the role Westover plays in the sense of national security and commerce,” Neal said, noting “physical improvements to both the civilian and military base during the past 15 years has amounted to tens of millions of dollars.”
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said the project, in planning for the past decade, will “dress up this neighborhood and serve as an extension of efforts to revitalize our downtown. These two projects have always been connected.”
The report examines each of the six bases in terms of jobs, defense and homeland security contracts and economic impact. A larger report that focuses on defense and homeland security economic benefits to the six New England states, also done by the Donahue Institute and DTI, was released Monday showing a regional economic impact of $34 billion and 319,000 jobs.
The amounts represent an increase 83 percent since 2003 and are responsible for 319,000 jobs at more than 5,000 firms and institutions across New England. In Massachusetts, defense and security contracts support 130,000 jobs at about 2,500 businesses and institutions.
The official dedication of the $80 million Great River Bridges June 29 will kick off several days of celebrations and activities designed to bring people to the Depot Square and downtown sections of the city.
