While state bureaucrats wonder whether to pressure smart growth from the state level, earlier this month the region’s first annual Smart Growth Awards were presented.
Awards were offered in a number of categories to a variety of projects on behalf of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, the Valley Development Council, the Home Builders Association of Western Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance.
Presented on January 16 in a ceremony at HCC’s Kittredge Center, the awards were augmented by featured speakers Kurt Gaertner of the state environmental affairs office, and Andrew Crane of the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts.
In a press release about the event, the PVPC’s Catherine Miller describes the awards as "part of a larger effort to promote smart growth, centered on the update of Valley Vision, the Pioneer Valley region’s smart growth plan. The new plan will be officially approved and released by the Pioneer Valley Region in February."
Smart growth for the purpose of the awards was defined as a development that promotes "higher density, walkability, infill and reuse, affordable housing, and environmental protection, while providing a benefit to the surrounding community."
Award criteria (PDF) included:
– location
– three Ds: density, design and diversity
– affordable housing
– transportation
– environment
– community assets
– participation
Thirteen submissions were received from five communities in the region. Of those, seven were lauded with an award while the other six received honorable mention. Five nominations came from Northampton; three were from Amherst and Holyoke each; and one each came from Springfield and Wilbraham.
There were more categories than there were awards; in other words, in several categories, no submissions were received at all. These included brownfields redevelopment, enhanced walkability—commercial district, housing for under-served groups, suburban shopping center retrofit, alternative transportation, planned business villages, congregate housing, transit-oriented development, open space/greenway protection, and green buildings. Many Springfield projects may qualify for these awards next year.
Peter Gagliardi of HAP, Inc. and Omega Johnson of the Old Hill Neighborhood Council receive a Smart Growth Award January 16. Behind them is VDC member Erica Gees. Photo courtesy Catherine Miller of PVPC
The lone Springfield project receiving this year’s award was the deserving Old Hill housing endeavor called the Partnership for the Renewal of Old Hill. The project is a collaboration among HAP, Inc., Springfield College, the city of Springfield, the Old Hill Neighborhood Council, Springfield Neighborhood Housing Services, Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity, and other supporters. The award was received by HAP executive director Peter Gagliardi and neighborhood council president Omega Johnson.
The first of the homes, 170 Pendleton Avenue, went up for purchase recently amidst a bit of fanfare, not long after the project was spotlighted during HAP’s annual dinner last fall. From G. Michael Dobbs’s Reminder article last month:
The goal of the collaboration is to build 100 new homes in the next five years. This house is the first and Gagliardi said there are five more currently under construction. Gagliardi said the strategy is to concentrate on reviving a section of Old Hill that includes Pendleton Avenue, Tyler Street and part of Eastern Avenue building single family homes on abandoned lots.
The homes presently being built will be similar to the two-story house now for sale. The home features a large combination living area, kitchen and half-bath on the first floor and three bedrooms and a full bath on the second floor. The basement is unfinished.
Gagliardi said the homes would be built to Energy Star standards for energy efficiency. He said the line of credit established by Springfield College to built the 100 homes was used for the first home and a grant from Western Massachusetts Electric Company provided funding for its energy efficient features. He believes the infusion of new homeowners will eventually make the neighborhood attractive again to private developers.
This map from Old Hill’s master plan roughly outlines a vision for residential zones, commercial corridors and an institutional zone.
Regarding the project, award jurors’ comments note that it "contains all the elements of smart growth in a downtown revitalization. Rehabilitating the existing fabric with the selective development of condemned properties, the project puts people back into a neighborhood that had been neglected over the years. The jury was impressed by the use of the neighborhood vernacular for the design of the homes." Vernacular is a reference to the way the housing blends in, reflecting the cultural context of existing buildings, rather than attempting something that veers away in appearance from the norm.
The next information night for people interested in these new homes is coming up on Thursday, February 15, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at at the Holy Family Church at 235 Eastern Avenue. More can be learned by contacting Debi McPartlan at (413) 233-1731 or dmcpartlan@haphousing.org.
Perhaps less of an item for fanfare, but still equally important, is the fact that Old Hill is one of the few (if not the only) neighborhoods in Springfield that actually has a master plan. Facilitated by the Cecil Group, Inc. beginning in 2003, the plan took shape after a series of community workshops and is considered "a guide for the renewal of Old Hill by setting concrete redevelopment goals for the neighborhood relative to housing, infrastructure investments and building partnerships."
It’s this kind of partnership that makes award-winning projects possible.
