Published: 2/4/2022 3:48:54 PM
Modified: 2/4/2022 3:47:24 PM
GREENFIELD — After two years on pause, the city is planning to “reboot” its initiative to revitalize downtown, beginning with a community input forum Monday.
“We’re really excited,” said Community and Economic Development Director MJ Adams. “I think downtown Greenfield is really a special place and offers some real opportunities, and we want everyone to be involved in helping to define what that looks like.”
The “2022 Reboot — A Deliberate Downtown: Growing by Design” is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. via Zoom. Adams said the meeting will be an opportunity to catch the community up to speed with presentations by city officials, as well as by Hannah Rechtshaffen, chair of the Sustainable Greenfield Implementation Committee (SGIC).
“We’ll certainly welcome feedback and comments,” Adams said. “We’re especially looking for thoughts and concerns and ideas about the First National Bank building.”
Adams said the city is looking to see if the private sector is interested in the historic First National Bank, which has been vacant for 40 years, through the request for proposals process.
Prior to the pandemic, the Sustainable Greenfield Implementation Committee launched a community conversation, focusing specifically on the downtown business district. Two meetings were held in February 2020 before the process was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During those meetings, community members were invited to share their vision for the downtown.
Since then, forward progress has included work on the Local Rapid Recovery Plan to determine the city’s priorities and which efforts should be taken to help small businesses downtown. The city received $90,000 worth of consulting from Peg Beranger, of FinePoint Associates in Brookline, which resulted in 12 recommendations that were presented at a meeting in August 2021.
Those recommendations included: create a pedestrian plaza at Court Square in front of City Hall; develop a marketing initiative for downtown; implement a request for proposals process to solicit developer interest in the First National Bank building; explore the use of the Urban Center Housing Tax Increment Financing Program to encourage residential development in the upper floors of downtown properties; develop a parking benefit district; develop a business director/community information kiosk; complete a 100% Corner Demonstration Project with multiple improvements, including streetscape elements, murals, banners and improved storefronts; create a storefront and sign improvement program; implement a wayfinding system; install additional streetscape elements; and revise and implement bylaw regulations to encourage a variety of downtown signs.
Adams said the city hopes to have its Downtown Revitalization Plan completed by the fall.
“It’ll become sort of our roadmap on helping to set priorities … for our downtown,” she said. “Downtowns have been changing over the last 10 or 20 years as they move away from being the retail center. Two years ago, we were really starting to witness our downtown becoming an entertainment and dining destination.”
She said as the city navigates its way out of the pandemic, “we’re going to witness people really re-thinking how they work and how they live.”
“I think people are rethinking how they’re spending their time, and are not wanting to spend time in their cars commuting long distances,” Adams said. “I think Greenfield provides some real attractive amenities to live, work and play.”
For anyone unable to attend the meeting, which can be accessed at bit.ly/3HoUXCO, written comments will be accepted through Feb. 10 via a Google Survey (bit.ly/3L4VHiv).
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne