Continuation of a public hearing on Pioneer Valley Hotel Group’s application to construct a new hotel and parking garage for the Round House parking lot.
A letter from Joseph Krupczysnki, University of Massachusetts Assistant Professor, Architecture and Design. Department of Art and Art History. Northampton business owner.
The proposed hotel and parking garage are shown to the right about mid-level in the picture. The hotel has the white roof and the flat gray expanse adjacent to the right is the proposed garage. The housing Joseph refers to is located just beneath the hotel in this picture and above New South Street.
Dear Central Business Architecture Committee,
I write with great concerns regarding the architectural value and environmental impact of the
hotel and parking garage proposed for the Round House parking lot.
While there are clear design and aesthetic shortcomings of this project –such as, an
unimaginative overall design, superficial decorative gestures and poor proportions–I would like to
focus on what I see as the most egregious problem with this project; its enormous size and its
detrimental impact on adjacent buildings –particularly the impact on the affordable housing units
which front onto [New] South Street.
This project is being promoted as a downtown “infill” project, and therefore has proposed minimal
side setbacks. In reality the buildings on either side of the project do not have the blank walls
that are typical of an infill project. Both buildings have windows that face the hotel and parking lot site and the siting, height and size of the project is completely unresponsive to that condition.
Particularly problematic is that the many windows and entries of the affordable apartments face
the development site and rely on that exposure for light and air. Therefore the enormous size and uncomfortable proximity of the proposed parking garage will have a extremely detrimental effect on the lives on the many residents of this building. I am particularly concerned because these
apartments house a large number of children who will be in close range to the harmful effects of
exhaust from the hundreds of cars that will be using this garage.
Currently there is a great concern among many architects, planners, city officials and community
activists regarding environmental justice issues within cities and towns. Historically there are
clear patterns of building structures and facilities that have negative health effects on the poorest
members of a community. Since this proposed hotel and parking garage is a city-sponsored
initiative, it is particularly disturbing to see a project that will clearly harm low-income and people
of color who live in downtown. A city-sponsored project that has the appearance of supporting
racist and classist attitudes regarding development cannot contribute to the human, social and
economic vitality of Northampton.
As a committee I recognize that your purview is to review the architectural value of proposed
projects with an emphasis on encouraging compatible building design. But as members of
industries and professions linked to the built environment –and as members of a board that
seeks to promote and advocate for design excellence I hope that the negative “architectural”
impacts of this project are clear to you and that you will seek to take a proactive role in promoting
both good design and social equity in our community.
Sincerely,
Joseph Krupczynski
The garage and hotel from the Round House driveway.
An environmental remediation worker in close proximity to the main coal tar depository.
It’s not good when they use the foam. It means the coal tar fumes are so strong they need to cover it quickly. I’ve witnessed the use of the foam on numerous occasions.
I am not a scientist and am not interpreting the above data as harmful. It does show that there is some amount of Naphthalene and Benzene in the atmosphere surrounding the coal tar remediation at the Round House Parking lot site. The naphthalene seems to hover in the .0025 range and the benzene slightly lower. The chart is hanging on the chain link fence at the rear of Pulaski Park for those interested. The crew working on the project does not wear respirators and the fumes have been deemed harmless by Bay State Gas. However, I have had one person contact me regarding the strong unpleasant smell and I myself have had to leave the perimeter of the site several times because the fumes have caused me to gag and cough. Unfortunately I’ve also witnessed people with their children using the Pulaski Park play structure with several holding their children up to the fence to watch the proceedings. I’ve referred them to the air quality monitors and readings and of course they vacated the area just in case… Though the fumes might indeed be harmless, the area has no yellow tape or signs of prominence alerting people to the potentially toxic conditions. See second picture below.
Remediation workers check meters
coal tar in the soil up close
Listen to Joel Saxe on Valley Free Radio WXOJ 103.3 FM tomorrow night at 6:00. Joel plans to discuss the Round House project and encourages people to call in at 585-1033 during the show with comments.
