Please see the cover letter below containing a link to a petition regarding the downtown hotel property. You will need to scroll down to view the text of the petition. If you agree, please sign the petition, remember to put your Ward number in the Comments box under your email signature, and then forward to as many like-minded residents of Northampton as you can to send a message to our Ward Councilors.
Let’s start anew on the hotel, 1/7/2010
We are writing to enlist your support for a petition to the Mayor and the City Council regarding construction of a Hilton Garden Inn in the Pulaski Park/Round House area. Specifically, the petition asks the Mayor and the City Council for two actions:
First, to not extend the deadline for the developer to come up with the required funds for the project beyond February 15, the latest established deadline.
Second, to develop a process for determining how the land can best be used and designed based on good practices and full public participation.
As we all know, the plan to build this hotel has been controversial since its inception two years ago. It precipitated a major public outcry at the time the proposal reached the Planning Board, and resulted in expensive lawsuits, which the city settled out of court. Now, two years later, the developer has not secured the funds or performance guarantees necessary to begin construction. A number of deadlines have been extended. We think it is time to bring this project to a close.
Allowing the agreement to expire would enable the city to develop a new process for deciding the future of this site. The undersigned are not opposed to developing the site but rather want to see it developed in a manner that maximizes its value to the whole community. The Pulaski Park/Round House lot lies at the very center of our city, and should become a jewel in the crown of downtown Northampton – a Center that serves our residents, visitors, arts communities, and businesses. We need to develop a workable vision for this site. A carefully designed process that generates a wide range of ideas and public buy-in will provide the groundwork for a successful project going forward.
The project may not reach fruition in the short-term, given the present economy. But the land has essentially lain idle for decades, and the Hilton Garden Inn project has not gotten off the ground either. We can do better as a City than remain in this limbo by continuing to extend deadlines – we can seek a new direction for this site.
If prior to Feb.15 the developer manages to raise the funds and guarantees needed, then we will have no case; but if not, we have an opportunity to make our voices heard on this matter. The Mayor has indicated that she intends to consult with the City Council prior to further extensions to the developer. This is our chance to urge our City Councilors, and through them, the Mayor, to revisit the project and start anew.
Will you help us to do this? We need you to send e-mails to your contacts who live in Northampton, to talk with people about this initiative, to get as many names as possible on the petition. It all has to be done by January 18 as the next City Council meeting is January 21 – plenty of time if we get going right away.
Here’s what is required:
Click on the following link. It will take you to an on-line petition that you can sign:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/northamptonnewdirectionsforhotelproperty/
- It is important that when signing the online petition, you add your Ward number if you know it in the Comments section immediately below your email address so that your Ward Councilor can be made aware of the number of people in his or her Ward who have signed.
- Forward this e-mail to everybody you can think of who might wish to join this petition.
- Let us know any additional ideas you have about making our voices heard on this matter.
Together we might just make a real difference here!
With best regards,
Joan Cenedella, Frances Crowe, Mary Ford, Alex Ghiselin, Mari Gottdiener, Joel Russell, Gordon Thorne, Fran Volkmann, Penny Burke
The Petition reads:
PETITION
Whereas more than two years have passed since the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement with the City and received approvals to build a Hilton Garden Inn hotel and parking garage behind Pulaski Park in the city’s Round House parking lot; and
Whereas construction has not yet begun and the agreement has expired on several previous occasions; and
Whereas each time the agreement has expired, the Mayor has extended the deadline, the most recent extension granted in December, 2009, giving the developer until February 15, 2010 to obtain a performance guarantee; and
Whereas the Mayor could make a new beginning by returning to the initial stages of consideration for the use and design of this property and fully engaging the public using best practices, and thereby recapture this critically important land in the center of our downtown and create a truly useful and beautiful center for our city; and
Whereas the Mayor has stated her desire that the new City Council be involved in decision-making on the project; and
Whereas this petition is a vehicle for residents of Northampton to communicate through our City Council representatives our collective desire to re-examine the use and design of this parcel;
THEREFORE,
We, the undersigned hereby petition our Councilors at Large and Ward Councilors to:
- Urge the Mayor to grant no further extensions of the purchase and sale agreement to the Pioneer Valley Hotel Group when the 45-day extension granted in December 2009 expires; and
- Work with the Mayor and the community at large to create an inclusive and unbiased process for determining the best future use and design of this critically important parcel; and
- Work with the Mayor to ensure that the City solicits and evaluates a range of ideas that would lead to a better plan, one that represents our collective vision, is financially feasible, and enjoys broad community support as the best use of the property.
