Solar biz celebrates 2,000th installation, energy independence for Sunderland housing complex

Solar biz celebrates 2,000th installation, energy independence for Sunderland housing complex

Staff Writer
Published: 8/14/2023 10:44:08 AM

SUNDERLAND — With the flip of a switch, Sanderson Place’s solar array kicked on last Wednesday and set the senior housing facility on the road to energy independence.

At the same time, the event marked Pioneer Valley Photovoltaics’ (PV Squared Solar) 2,000th installation in western and central Massachusetts and southern Vermont. With a mission focused on sustainability and affordability, PV Squared worker-owner and Director of Marketing and Outreach Brittany Hathaway said the Sanderson Place array is a “stellar example” of how the Greenfield-based company works to create affordable housing.

“We can provide and celebrate energy independence in this diverse, beautiful senior community at Sanderson Place,” Hathaway said to residents, who were joined by PV Squared and Valley Community Development Corporation representatives. “The best part about the gift of solar is it keeps on giving and we know that this [photovoltaic] system will protect the affordability of living in this beautiful place.”

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Our Impact

Our Impact

Take a look at what we did over the past year!

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Affordable housing proposed for 27 Crafts Avenue in Northampton

Affordable housing proposed for 27 Crafts Avenue in Northampton

Aug. 8, 2023 |  Ryan Feyre
rfeyre@thereminder.com

NORTHAMPTON — Preliminary plans have been proposed involving an affordable housing project behind Northampton City Hall on 27 Crafts Ave.

The project, which is being developed by Valley Community Development, officially began in late 2022 when Valley responded to a request for proposals issued by the city to develop the location for affordable housing.

Valley was selected to be the developer for the project, which includes 30 studios for single adults/couples. Twenty of them are being developed for unhoused or “very low-income” individuals while 10 will be reserved for low-to-moderate-income tenants. Five will be handicap accessible.

According to Bill Womeldorf, a real estate project manager from Valley and point person for the project, low-to-moderate-income includes individuals who are making minimum wage while a very low-income single person includes someone who generally makes less than $20,950 a year.

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Amherst councilors withdraw zone changes to address ‘missing middle’ housing

Amherst councilors withdraw zone changes to address ‘missing middle’ housing

Staff Writer
Published: 7/27/2023 2:06:40 PM

AMHERST — Two councilors seeking a package of zoning changes aimed at making it easier for duplexes, triplexes and converted dwellings to be developed in Amherst, addressing what proponents referred to as housing options for the “missing middle” between single-family homes and apartments, this week requested the plans be withdrawn.

District 2 Councilor Pat De Angelis and At-Large Councilor Mandi Jo Hanneke, who crafted and sponsored the comprehensive proposal that was subject to Planning Board and Planning Department review for the past several months, are formally requesting the withdrawal in a letter to their colleagues sent Tuesday.

The withdrawal comes after the Planning Board in June voted not to recommend the zoning amendments, even though members appreciated many of the concepts embedded in the proposal.

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Assembling a success story: Assemble moves to prominent corner in downtown Northampton

Assembling a success story: Assemble moves to prominent corner in downtown Northampton

Published: 7/26/2023 4:13:14 PM

NORTHAMPTON — As a teenager, Justin Brown relished visiting downtown with his friends. On a number of occasions, the Westfield native could be found hanging out in front of the former Iris Photo & Digital waiting for photos to be developed.

Little did Brown know that a few decades later, he would again be waiting out front of the four-story, circa 1880s building. Only this past Friday, he waited alongside Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra to cut the ribbon to officially open his retail business, Assemble Made and Curated, at its new location.

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Summer 2023 Update!

Summer 2023 Update!

We have a lot going on – read our summer update for details!

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500-plus apply for 28 affordable units in Amherst

500-plus apply for 28 affordable units in Amherst

By SCOTT MERZBACH
Staff Writer
Published: 7/17/2023 5:09:16 PM
Modified: 7/17/2023 5:08:46 PM

AMHERST — More than 500 people are interested in becoming the first tenants at East Gables, a housing project with 28 efficiency apartments for low- and moderate-income individuals scheduled to open in the early fall at 132 Northampton Road.

More than three months before the Valley Community Development project is ready for occupancy, the demand for affordable housing was seen when the Northampton nonprofit agency held a lottery for the apartments on June 1. That lottery received 501 applications.

“It’s very sobering, honestly, to have that many applicants,” Laura Baker, Valley’s real estate development director, told the Amherst Municipal Affordable Housing Trust at its meeting last Thursday.

Almost 400 of those who put their names into the lottery qualify as earning at or below 30% area median income, or $19,800, while 260 of the applications came from people who are unhoused, Baker said.

Baker told the committee that the lottery illustrates the need for more affordable housing.

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Resilient Community Arts | Small Business Spotlight

Resilient Community Arts | Small Business Spotlight

Formed in 2021 with a mission to sustain efforts for social progress and equity through art programs, Resilient Community Arts (RCA) is a non-profit organization and public art studio based in the EastWorks building in Easthampton. To achieve their mission, RCA offers youth and teen studio programs, skill-based workshops for all ages instructed by local artists, and studio membership options providing access to artists 18y.o and over. Check their website and calendar for upcoming programming and workshops: resilientcommunityarts.org/calendar

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BAM Nail Studio | Small Business Spotlight

BAM Nail Studio | Small Business Spotlight

Congratulations are in order for BAM Nail Studio, which opened its doors this month! BAM is a premiere gel x and gel-only nail studio in Northampton. Using the most sustainable, planet-friendly, and up-to-date nail products and technology, BAM’s goal is to optimize clients’ nail health while not sacrificing art, quality, and the environment.
Visit their website to schedule your next appointment: bamnailstudio.com
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Valley CDC eyes affordable housing behind Northampton City Hall

Valley CDC eyes affordable housing behind Northampton City Hall

Published: 7/5/2023 5:44:58 PM
Modified: 7/5/2023 5:44:46 PM

NORTHAMPTON — The Valley Community Development Corporation revealed preliminary plans Monday for a new affordable housing development that would provide 30 new studio apartments for low-income residents in a six-story building on Crafts Avenue behind City Hall.

Details of the planned development at 27 Crafts Ave. were presented during a Housing Partnership meeting by Valley CDC real estate development director Laura Baker. The city donated the property to Valley CDC, with a request to develop it into affordable housing, in 2022. The existing site includes a stairway leading to a parking lot between City Hall and the city’s Puchalski Municipal Building. A second parking lot for city employees is located at the bottom of the stairs along Crafts.

“Mostly, what we’re excited about is just how walkable this location is from everything to downtown,” Baker said. “It’s walkable to multiple bus locations in town, also extremely close to the bike trail as well as less than half a mile from the railway station.”

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Ecstatic Electrolysis | Small Business Spotlight

Ecstatic Electrolysis | Small Business Spotlight

Zora Berman, Owner of Ecstatic Electrolysis, reached out to Valley in January 2023 looking for assistance in starting her business. Zora’s entrepreneurial spirit, hard work, and commitment pushed her forward in her pursuit and she opened her business in April 2023. Zora, a licensed electrologist, provides tailored hair removal treatments (electrolysis) in a trauma-informed, body-neutral, and welcoming environment.

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Craig’s Doors shelter in Amherst to move guests into Hadley hotel

Craig’s Doors shelter in Amherst to move guests into Hadley hotel

Staff Writer
Published: 6/13/2023 10:09:55 AM

AMHERST — A permanent emergency shelter remains a long-term vision for the former VFW site on Main Street in Amherst, but in the short term, some guests served by Craig’s Doors: A Home Association will relocate this summer to rooms in a vacant Hadley hotel that has been eyed for affordable housing.

Craig’s Doors will soon move people from rooms at the University Motor Lodge in Amherst to the first floor at the former EconoLodge hotel at 329 Russell St., the Hadley hotel that Valley Community Development owns and has planned to convert to 51 apartments for up to 63 low- and moderate-income individuals.

That project has been delayed following the Hadley Zoning Board of Appeals voting down a comprehensive permit under the state’s Chapter 40B law.

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Northampton affordable housing project on Laurel Street fully funded

Northampton affordable housing project on Laurel Street fully funded

Published: 6/11/2023 4:00:11 PM

NORTHAMPTON — A planned affordable housing development in the city is one of 27 projects across the state to receive a combined $246 million in subsidies and tax credits from the Healey-Driscoll administration.

The money comes in the form of direct state subsidies, federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, and state and federal tax credits. The 20-unit Northampton project, at 23 Laurel St., received $5.7 million in deferred debt and $525,000 in low-income tax credits, money that allows the project to be fully funded, according to Alexis Breiteneicher, the executive director of Valley Community Development, which sponsors the project.

“Valley Community Development was thrilled to have 23 Laurel Street included as one of the funded affordable housing developments announced by Governor Healey [last] month,” said Breiteneicher in a statement to the Gazette. “Building more homes, particularly ones that are affordable, is an obvious solution to the crisis our region faces.”

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The Vibrancy Project boosting life into downtown business community

The Vibrancy Project boosting life into downtown business community

Published: 6/8/2023 9:09:32 PM

NORTHAMPTON — In the ongoing attempts to revitalize the city’s downtown, local nonprofits and the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce have pitched in to try to help bring some renewed vibrancy to the city.

The Northampton Vibrancy Project, launched a year ago and expected to run to the end of the year, is a coalition of 40 community volunteers and business owners known as the Economic Development Committee, in partnership with the Downtown Northampton Association and the city of Northampton. The goal of the project is to help revive the downtown business community and surrounding commercial areas in the wake of the pandemic, according to the project’s website.

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Housing advocates measure challenges at gathering

Housing advocates measure challenges at gathering

Staff Writer
Published: 5/12/2023 8:01:30 PM

HOLYOKE — Twice facing the trauma of eviction and once making a vehicle home for herself and her four children, as well as living inside a mold-filled apartment, Shaundell Diaz of Springfield brings firsthand knowledge of homelessness.

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Amherst officials grapple with how to loosen housing squeeze

Amherst officials grapple with how to loosen housing squeeze

Staff Writer
Published: 5/24/2023 4:24:19 PM
Modified: 5/24/2023 4:24:03 PM

AMHERST — Developing senior housing projects that could potentially free up existing homes for younger families, increasing housing density around town, and encouraging the University of Massachusetts to provide more housing for its students are among ways to expand housing opportunities of all types in Amherst.

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Pause and Pivot Farm | Small Business Spotlight

Pause and Pivot Farm | Small Business Spotlight

Pause & Pivot Farm is a diversified farm in Williamsburg owned and operated by Miana Hoyt Dawson and Terry Dawson. They are passionate about supporting healthy communities and providing services for their neighbors.
They grow vegetables hydroponically year-round, providing a fresh, local option for salad greens, microgreens, and herbs. Pause and Pivot Farm sells produce through their online farm store and their booth at the Florence Farmers Market every Wednesday from May-October.
Terry creates wooden objects for the home using salvaged, antique, and native wood. You can find their woodwork in small fairs and festivals throughout the region, events at the farm, or request a consultation for your custom project.
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Splendor Solis Books | Small Business Spotlight

Splendor Solis Books | Small Business Spotlight

Kevin and Dianne Germain sell unusual, used, and new books on spirituality, the occult, esoterica, and anything else they feel relates to these endeavors. Genres include philosophy, fiction, nature, art, children’s, young adult, world history, music, poetry, LGBTQIA, women’s studies, essays, food books, science, medicine, psychology, personal growth, as well as an array of rare and antiquarian books.
Their selection is driven by the desire to know existence in all its expressions. In addition to becoming another vibrant bookshop in the Valley, they hope to become a vital part of the Northampton community by offering music, lectures, poetry, and classes. Some of these are offered on the 2nd Friday of each month as part of Arts Night Out Northampton or as a series of classes on Sunday afternoons.
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Lynn Bowmaster and Michael Docter: Get EconoLodge project back on track

Lynn Bowmaster and Michael Docter: Get EconoLodge project back on track

Published: 4/30/2023 11:33:50 AM
Modified: 4/30/2023 11:33:24 AM

On March 21, we attended a Hadley Zoning Board of Appeals meeting to show support for the Valley Community Development Corporation’s (CDC) project to renovate the EconoLodge on Route 9 into affordable housing. The room was packed, yet the Zoning Board of Appeals would not let the public speak. This was frustrating to many who’d taken their time to be there.

The EconoLodge project will make excellent use of a vacant hotel and provide affordable apartments for tenants who have limited means. The location will give tenants easy access to bus service on Route 9, the bike path and shopping malls. The land is already built on and so it won’t cost us a single acre of Hadley’s precious farm land.

 

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Shel Horowitz: EconoLodge project lost opportunity for town

Shel Horowitz: EconoLodge project lost opportunity for town

Published: 4/25/2023 3:21:10 PM
Modified: 4/25/2023 3:19:07 PM

It’s taken me a while to recover from my shock that on March 20, the Hadley Zoning Board of Appeals blocked the use of the empty EconoLodge for affordable housing. Their justification was that “three people shouldn’t decide this for the town.” But those same three people did decide for the town — to kill the project.

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Spotlight: ILI Business Program Cohort

Spotlight: ILI Business Program Cohort

In March, the International Language Institute and Valley launched the Small Business Fundamentals class for non-native English speakers. The curriculum covers a wide range of topics and is tailored to encourage and support starting businesses.
The class is designed to introduce students to business terminologies, simulate business discussions, and build networks between students through group activities in a supportive and safe environment. The goal of this program is to equip the students with the language, knowledge, cultural competencies, and resources necessary to start a successful business in our area.
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Submit comments on the proposal of affordable homes on Ball Lane in Amherst

Submit comments on the proposal of affordable homes on Ball Lane in Amherst

by: Ashley Shook

Posted: Apr 17, 2023 / 02:29 PM EDT
Updated: Apr 17, 2023 / 02:29 PM EDT

AMHERST, Mass. (WWLP) – MassHousing is looking for the public’s help by submitting comments about the planned construction of affordable homes on Ball Lane in Amherst.

The non-profit organization, Valley Community Development Corporation in Northampton has applied to MassHousing for funding assistance. During the application’s project eligibility phase, MassHousing’s review involves an evaluation of the site, the design concept, the financial feasibility of the proposal, and the appropriateness of the proposal in relation to local housing needs and strategies.

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Comment sought on Valley Community Development’s affordable home project in North Amherst

Comment sought on Valley Community Development’s affordable home project in North Amherst

Staff Writer
Published: 4/13/2023 10:31:46 AM

AMHERST — Before Valley Community Development moves forward with bringing 30 affordable homes to a North Amherst site, town officials are soliciting input from residents about the suitability of the site and the community need for such a project.

The comments, being solicited through noon on May 1, are required by MassHousing, the state’s quasi-public agency that provides funding for affordable housing projects. Those comments will also help Town Manager Paul Bockelman to submit a comment letter next month.

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Hadley planners consider designating denser housing districts

Hadley planners consider designating denser housing districts

Staff Writer
Published: 4/6/2023 3:32:38 PM

HADLEY — In the wake of the recent rejection by the Zoning Board of Appeals for a Route 9 hotel’s conversion into affordable apartments, municipal planners are exploring the possibility of adjusting zoning to allow denser housing in certain areas of town.

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Women-Owned Small Business Spotlights

Women-Owned Small Business Spotlights

This month, we’ve highlighted several women-owned businesses: 2 Cents Homegrown, Consign360, ArtStar: Creative Arts Lounge, and Champagne Apothecary!

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Free Tax Resources

Free Tax Resources

It’s tax season! Learn more about how to receive free help with your taxes.

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Northampton Nursing Home Update!

Northampton Nursing Home Update!

We are clearing out the asbestos at the old Northampton Nursing home thanks to grant funding. This will help prepare the site for a major rehab. Valley is waiting to hear about funding to gut the interior and make 60 family-sized affordable apartments. If funded, work will start in early 2024. Stay tuned for more information or reach out to us – info@valleycdc.org!

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Splendor Solis Books | Small Business Spotlight

Splendor Solis Books | Small Business Spotlight

Splendor Solis Books, an early recipient of the Empower Digital grant program, is now open on Market Street.

Dianne and Kevin say, “We’re a husband & wife team who sell unusual, used, and new books on spirituality, books on the occult, books about esoterica, and anything else we feel relates to these endeavors.”

Owners Dianne and Kevin Germain were recently highlighted in the Hampshire Gazette – read their story here, or visit them at their new location!
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Affordable housing complex opens its doors in Sunderland

Affordable housing complex opens its doors in Sunderland

Staff Writer
Published: 1/26/2023 6:13:11 PM

SUNDERLAND — The first tenants are moving into Sanderson Place as Franklin County’s first new affordable housing complex in years opened its doors on Thursday.

Located at 120 North Main St. and featuring 33 wheelchair-accessible apartments, Sanderson Place is an affordable senior housing complex that was six years in the making. Tenants were approved through a lottery over the summer and have been waiting the last seven months for the OK to begin moving in.

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Free training program available to small businesses in Westfield

Free training program available to small businesses in Westfield

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Small businesses in Westfield that have been operating for three years or less may be eligible to receive free training.

The City of Westfield announced its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is funding the “Business Blueprint Program”, through Valley Community Development and Cities Gateway consultants. The non-profit organization called Valley Community Development in Northampton has provided technical assistance to over 2,000 entrepreneurs.

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