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Downtown's future is bright
Update: The study (PDF) referenced below is available online, along with three attachments: target market descriptions (PDF), target market tables (PDF), and a detailed downtown map (PDF). At today’s Finance Control Board meeting, Laurie Volk of Zimmerman/Volk...Pearl of the city: memo from Mike Tuckey
The January newsletter of the Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association included a brief message from its newly-elected president, Springfield native Mike Tuckey, Sr., who wrote, "The city of Springfield has faced some very difficult times recently. It’s time to...Where's the love?
Last fall, Springfield’s WGBY aired the first of a planned series of hour-long episodes of "The State We’re In" focusing on "saving" western Massachusetts cities. The first episode examined municipal finance. Springfield Mayor Charles...Construction permits up 43 percent in 2006
The Office of Planning and Economic Development released a statement today saying that Springfield saw a 43 percent increase in total construction permits in fiscal year 2006. This trend surpasses the 31 percent increase in the previous fiscal year, the office said,...City under a microscope: the Pioneer panel
Last week, a three-person panel representing Springfield sat before an audience on the 14th floor of Boston’s Omni Parker House Hotel at an event hosted by the Pioneer Institute. Their task was to reflect on what lessons we might draw from Springfield’s...Racial underrepresentation in government
A study (PDF) recently released by UMass-Boston’s Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy shows that people of color are severely underrepresented in elected and appointed offices at the municipal level. The study looked at ten cities and towns in greater...Fixing the levees
At a Springfield City Council committee meeting yesterday at City Hall, the city’s flood protection system problem was discussed. Springfield Water and Sewer Commission executive director Joseph Superneau was there to say that the April 30 federal deadline for a...Mason Square new library branch work proceeds
The Springfield City Library Web site offers up meeting notes in a steady stream emerging from the work of a steering committee tasked with figuring out a new location for a Mason Square branch library. Mason Square’s former fire station, vacant for 20 years...City finances: an audit, perchance a policy
An independent auditor’s report (PDF) of the city’s finances during fiscal year 2006 was recently made available by the Springfield Finance Control Board. Titled unassumingly, "Report on Examination of Basic Financial Statements," the report was...Film screening tonight, “Unheard Voices”
"The Invisible Soldiers: Unheard Voices," a 2000 documentary film about the service of African-American soldiers in World War II, will be screened for the public for free tonight, 7:00 pm, at Springfield College’s Appleton Auditorium in the Fuller Arts...Beyond the usual suspects
The Urban Land Institute sure has kept us waiting. Initially expected to release its detailed written recommendations 90 days after a panel’s late September visit—which would put it right at the holidays—the ULI pushed the release back to early...Feeling lukewarm
While the city adjusts to the firing ousting resignation of mayoral chief of staff Michele Webber late yesterday, in a fiasco initially reported by ABC40, and now picked up by the Associated Press and spreading across the wires, I’m reflecting on an editorial in...Reader input on neighborhoods and engagement
Urban Compass reader Chris Eaton, who lives in Lexington after several years in the Pacific northwest, and is the consultant behind Springfield’s zoning ordinance revision project, wrote to share some ideas about neighborhood empowerment stemming from work in...New city Web site
If you’re a crazy Web surfing addict like me, you may have noticed over the weekend that the Springfield city Web site was down on Saturday for maintenance. You may also have noticed that it’s new and improved, with a sophisticated content management...Steering at-risk, lagging, neglected, draining cities away from the brink and over to that pot of gold
Announcements of a report (PDF) released today by MassINC and the Brookings Institution hit the newspapers in slightly different fashions. The Boston Globe, in an article by Sarah Schweitzer, interprets the report, which focuses on eleven Massachusetts cities, as...Luxury, and Mr. Tumnus, await on Pearl Street
Sunset Properties, LLC of Holyoke is almost done converting 1914 buildings into "affordable luxury" condominiums on Springfield’s Pearl Street. Unfortunately, the Pearl Street Condos Web site is long on words, short on pictures, and does not elicit...Eastfield Mall is not an evil place
Museums and city reach landmark partnership
Big news broke today about a series of milestone agreements reached between the city and the Springfield Library and Museums Association. A total of four contracts were signed in front of the press during a mid-day announcement in the Museum of Fine Arts gallery...Too much good news
We’ve had, and continue to have, our share of bad news in Springfield, but now some good news is streaming in seemingly all at once. On February 12, the presentation of a study (PDF) to the Finance Control Board by consultant Laurie Volk revealed that there...Segregation and schools
In this week’s Valley Advocate, Maureen Turner has an interview with journalist and author Susan Eaton (pictured), who wrote The Children in Room E4: American Education on Trial. Eaton was also interviewed for NPR. Choice bits from Turner’s piece:...I'm the crazy cat lady
A stray calico cat my family adopted about two years ago fancies herself rather like a dog. Every morning, if she manages to be outside while we’re heading off to walk to school, she cheerfully tags along all the way to the corner of Dickinson and Oakland...Early sign of new market-rate housing
Miramar Real Estate Management of San Juan, Puerto Rico, submitted the winning bid of two for the transformation of the four-story, vacant former Chestnut Junior High School into housing units, just inside the Memorial Square neighborhood near the official boundaries...Quality of life survey
Update: The survey below is available for ten days online.1. How satisfied are you in Springfield with regard to the following? 5: very satisfied4: somewhat satisfied3: neutral2: somewhat dissatisfied1: very dissatisfied A. Quality of public safety services (police,...Crime down in Springfield; the beat goes on
The Springfield Police Department released new crime data yesterday reporting that violent crime—including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault—is down 16 percent in the city from 2005 to 2006. Both violent crime and overall crime are at their lowest...Last-minute retro-folk
Ken Anderson and Rebecca Hall, of southern Vermont, are performing tonight at the central library, 6:30 pm. From the library Web site: Conjuring the ancient, often haunting, ballads of the British Isles and their Appalachian counterparts, Rebecca Hall’s...On traumatizing others
When a parent harms a child I find myself feeling horrified, in part because I might identify with the child, but also because I might identify with the parent. I’m not saying any parent can so easily imagine harming a child. What I’m saying is that any...Urban grocery could be yours, part 1
Developer Leon Charkoudian of 122 Chestnut and Birnie Building, LLC, and real estate broker Fred Rowe of Atlantic Realty Advisors, have been trying for some years to lease out an 11,000 square-foot space in the Birnie Building at 11 Pearl Street, at Apremont Triangle...Country Home names Springfield nation's fourth most eco-friendly city
Country Home magazine’s April 2007 issue has apparently named Springfield the nation’s fourth most eco-friendly city, behind Burlington, Ithaca and Corvallis, Oregon. Wenatchee, Washington came in fifth. The list includes 379 metropolitan areas in a...Urban grocery could be yours, part 2
Developer Leon Charkoudian, real estate broker Fred Rowe, and property manager Dianne Little discussed with me their work to lease out an 11,000 square-foot space in the Birnie Building at 11 Pearl Street, at Apremont Triangle in downtown Springfield. This is part two...Reminder: quality of life survey
If you’re a Springfield resident and haven’t dropped by to take the informal quality of life survey announced here last week, please take a moment of your time to do so. The survey closes on Sunday at 9:00 pm.Take the surveyMany thanks to those who have...Highland Division Rail Trail between Route 83 and Sumner Avenue
Chestnut Estate: a closer look
Miramar Real Estate Management, based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the winning bidder for the redevelopment of former Chestnut Junior High School in Memorial Square provided a slick proposal to the city for its plans for market-rate condominiums. The spiral-bound book...My neighborhood is famous
As I walked to pick up my children from school this afternoon, a helicopter emblazoned with Boston’s Channel 5 logo circled overhead. Tom Brady in town with Gisele? No, a shooting at 126 Malden Street a few blocks away, where streets were allegedly cordoned off...Big day for the city: ULI report release
A 47-page written report (PDF) about development in Springfield from the Urban Land Institute is being released today at a 2:00 pm press event, tentatively scheduled to be held outside 13-31 Elm Street at Court Square. Rain is possible, but perhaps the gods will smile...ULI report: conclusion first, details later
Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan holds the ULI report at a press conference yesterday There is talk that the Urban Land Institute written report released to the public yesterday will be made available online from the city, or that the Republican newspaper may even print...Chestnut school tour today; state of the news
Interested in seeing what the interior of former Chestnut Junior High School looks like these days, prior to its pending redevelopment? A press release from the city reveals the details: Miramar Real Estate Management "will introduce its preliminary plans for the...Input sought: Oakland and Belmont intersection
Are you now, or were you ever, a frequenter or a passer-by of the intersection of Oakland Street and Belmont Avenue, the civic hub of Forest Park? Your input is sought for consideration of the area’s accessibility and parking use. What is working here, and what...ULI-Boston to generate two advisory reports
A press release filtered over the wires this weekend about work following up on the recently-released Urban Land Institute report (PDF): ULI-Boston Follows Up on Promising Prognosis for Springfield Revitalization BOSTON– The Boston District Council of the Urban...Urban grocery could be yours, part 3
Developer Leon Charkoudian, real estate broker Fred Rowe, and property manager Dianne Little discussed with me their work to lease out an 11,000 square-foot space in the Birnie Building at 11 Pearl Street, at Apremont Triangle in downtown Springfield. This is part...Control board and IRS reach agreement on retiree health insurance premium error
Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan, alongside Congressman Richard Neal, Finance Control Board Executive Director Philip Puccia, and City Councilor Bud Williams, announced today that the control board—on behalf of the city—reached an agreement with the...Trash fee all over again
A brief article in today’s Republican gives a preview of today’s 11:00 am press conference in Room 220 at Springfield City Hall about the upcoming fiscal year’s trash fee. From the piece, by Peter Goonan: The city plans to send postcards explaining...Encouraging street-level retail
As the Urban Land Institute’s report (PDF) reminds us, sometimes it’s the folks from outside Springfield who recognize its assets most easily. Page 14 reads, "Interestingly, the panel notes that outside business interests—the so-called bottom...Inside 495 Chestnut Street
“This is a nice place”
Crazy delicious stuff at Frigo’s Gourmet Foods in the South End. Photos from Frigo’s site I went with my family to Frigo’s Gourmet Foods on William Street, which is always a treat for us. My daughter had never been there, but had heard tales of the...Upcoming event roundup
It being spring now, naturally there are more events emerging like bright little crocuses out of the civic landscape. Here are a few events and upcoming items of interest, in attempted chronological order. Exploring World Citizenship Conference Saturday, March 24,...Caught in the act
A man pouring motor oil down a city sewer grate was apparently caught in the act around 5:00 pm yesterday by a passing police cruiser. By the time I noticed what was going on, the man had been placed in the back seat of the cruiser, and the officer questioning him...Parking guru video interview
Donald Shoup, parking guru and UCLA professor, sat with The Open Planning Project’s Mark Gorton for a recent six-minute interview in New York City touching on Shoup’s book, The High Cost of Free Parking, and how his ideas could benefit the city. From...Downtown safety regulation: learning to say no
The Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association recently welcomed public safety officials to its March membership meeting. According to secretary Anna Brandenburg’s notes (Word doc):Specifically regarding the downtown homeless population, [Police] Commissioner [Edward]...Putting down roots
An article published this week about growing trends in urban agriculture, "Urban Farming: Coming to a City Near You," by Jason Mark, tells how cities across the country are manifesting these signs of green, propelled in part by the drive for more sustainable...Trash fee postcards coming your way
The Springfield city Web site announces that trash fee postcards (PDF) will be on their way to residents on April 2 explaining the upcoming revised trash fee and the related options available. The Reminder’s G. Michael Dobbs attended a March 20 trash fee press...Live-blogging the control board public speakout
10:17 am: Today’s Finance Control Board meeting taking place at Springfield City Hall includes the first of a regular 30-minute public speakout prior to meetings. An article in yesterday’s Republican by Peter Goonan described the process: Under the newly...Courage
Today’s Springfield Republican includes two letters to the editor that focus on the March 13 shooting incident in which a Officer David Askins was shot in the leg, and suspect Aaron Brevoort was shot and killed by police as he emerged from a house, firing at the...A visit to 83 Maple
Crime stats presented to control board
At last week’s Springfield Finance Control Board meeting, Police Commissioner Edward Flynn appeared in order to present 2006 crime data. Resident Sheila McElwaine provided a transcript of the proceedings. Police Commissioner Edward Flynn: Good morning. I...Friends of the Homeless sets new access policy
In response to a blog post here last week about setting standards in Springfield, and our collective cultural struggle to do so, I was contacted by Bill Miller. Miller is executive director of Friends of the Homeless, a non-profit that operates Worthington House at...Vote for a Mason Square library site
At 4:00 pm on Wednesday, April 18, the Mason Square branch library advisory committee is planning an event to announce the results of a public vote for a suitable location for a new branch to serve the surrounding neighborhood (technically the juncture of several...Ask Charlie
The ever-expanding Springfield blogosphere receives a new addition to the mix next week: MassLive.com is launching a maiden podcast, on Wednesday, April 11, of an interview with Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan (pictured). It will be the first regular podcast of its...Downtown updates
The community improvements committee of downtown Springfield’s Armoury-Quadrangle Civic Association met last Wednesday evening. Committee chair Carol Costa kindly provided notes (Word doc) from the meeting, where honored guests included Deputy Police Chief...First quarter crime stats
News began to circulate last night that Springfield Police Commissioner Edward Flynn had released first-quarter crime statistics late in the day. Below is the press release. FLYNN ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER CRIME STATSCommissioner Edward A. Flynn released crime...E-Edition
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