Have you heard about Invest In Vermont?

Taking place via Zoom February 8-12!

“If there was ever a time to think creatively about putting capital to work to strengthen our local communities, the time is now. As we turn the chapter on a year that at times felt disorienting and chaotic, 2021 offers new opportunities to invest in Vermont’s future. To that end, the Vermont Community Foundation invites you to join us for a week of inspiration, learning, and networking, convened by some of the leading organizations in Vermont’s local investment ecosystem.”

To learn more and to register, click here!

Supporting the Ski-to-Stay and Stay-to-Stay Programs

Meet S&A Architect, Diane Abate Monday morning (2/24) at the Roost in Wilmington, VT as she supports The Chamber, Mount Snow and Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation Ski-to-Stay and Stay-to-Stay programs. These programs have been designed to attract visitors considering re-locating to our region and connect them with residents and local businesses. Please share the following links with friends and colleagues for additional information and registration.

Program Info: https://www.vermontvacation.com/stay-to-stay/brattleboro

Monday Coffee Hour at the Roost:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/93555315467

Vermont Works for Women: Women Can Do!

Thanks Erin Fajans, Structural Engineer for braving yesterday’s storms and volunteering at the Vermont Works for Women: Women Can Do! event.

To learn more about this organization and future events promoting STEM & Trades Careers visit: https://www.vtworksforwomen.org/programs/high-school-girls/women-can-do?fbclid=IwAR3VhTEXJoEsBVtl-iBmuFa_mAA1dLl4YNRejO-JKys87RCJdPPwhNLFm_8

Hidden gems found during demolition at Putnam Block redevelopment

 

Bob Stevens conducts a tour of the Putnam Block Redevelopment project highlighting some of the gems hidden within.

 

 

Read more in Vermont Business Magazine: https://vermontbiz.com/news/2019/october/07/hidden-gems-found-during-demolition-putnam-block-redevelopment?utm_source=VBM+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=2051ddf604-ENEWS_2019_10_07&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b5e56b36a4-2051ddf604-286693409

 

SNEAPA 2019: Rethink, Reinvest, Renew

Join S&A and M&S staff at SNEAPA 2019: Rethink, Reinvest, Renew on October 17-18 in Springfield, MA. Visit our table and meet our staff.

S&A – Mark Westa, ASLA will present: Psychology and the City: Springfield MA Case Study

Residents, visitors, and those that rarely or never have been to a specific city often have widely varying perceptions about the quality, character, and safety of that city. What is that? And what can be learned by digging into how various groups “see” the city.

Using urban design principles paired with ideas from human psychology, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, this session will look at how people perceive the City of Springfield and why, like in many cities, those perceptions often are significantly in opposition to each other.

Primarily using pictures of the city, we will discuss how urban areas are perceived, how taking different routes or knowledge of various districts impacts us and what can be done to address the disparity in understanding and feelings. We will also look at how these impact the goals of many communities to be creative, entrepreneurial places.
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M&S – Gabby Ciuffreda is a panelist for: It Takes a Village to Revitalize a Historic Downtown Block

It takes a Village of state, regional, local, public, and private partners to move a complex historic revitalization effort forward. Downtowns throughout New England are rich with opportunities to live, work, and play. However, many downtown buildings and sites need significant rehabilitation. There are brownfields issues and a variety of funding sources are needed to implement the necessary environmental remediation to get a site ready for redevelopment.

The Putnam Block project in Bennington Vermont (VT) utilized funding from Windham Regional Commission and the VT AGency of Commerce and Community Development for brownfields remediation. The brownfields funding helped enable the project to leverage the remaining resources needed to make this $30 million historic redevelopment project become a reality. The Bennington County Regional Commission rallied local anchor institutions to come to the table and play a role. Each of these partners are critical to the success of the project.

This session will discuss the various funding sources used for remediation, the challenges associated with the project, and the lessons learned for complex, downtown rehabilitation projects. These lessons are applicable to communities throughout New England. We will discuss the importance of such funding in making larger redevelopment projects financially viable. Joining Gabby on the panel are:

Susan Westa, AICP, Windham Regional Commission
William Colvin, Bennington County Regional Commission & Industrial Corporation
Brett Long, Vermont Department of Economic Development

For more information and to register visit: https://www.sneapa.org/registration/

Architecture + Design Film Series

Come kick-off Season 7:  A+D Film Series on Wednesday, Sept. 25th at 118 Elliot Street in Brattleboro or 149 Church Street in Burlington, Vermont.

MIES ON SCENE: BARCELONA IN TWO ACTS | September 25, 2019
Directed by Pep Martín & Xavi Campreciós
2018, Spain, 57 Minutes
PREVIEW

This is the story of a building that changed the history of architecture. The Barcelona Pavilion, constructed in 1929 and subsequently reconstructed in 1986, at two key moments in Barcelona’s history, immerses us in a reflection on the perception of art, space and the concept of masterpiece. Originally existing for only 8 months, the Barcelona Pavilion expressed the ground-breaking ideas of Ludwieg Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich and influenced generations of architects around the world. This story reveals the originality and power of the building, and the struggle of a group of architects to recover and give back to the city of Barcelona one of its most emblematic architectural works.

For more information visit: https://adfilmseries.org/

Connecticut Architecture Conference + Expo

Join S&A’s sister company, M&S Development at  CACX 2019 – Mohegan Sun Earth Expo + Convention Center.

Bob Stevens and Skye Morse will present: Beating the Odds: The economic and community impacts of downtown mixed-use projects can be trans-formative and create lasting change. This session will identify metrics to show these impacts and how to leverage those to finance projects. Using case studies to explore Impact Assessment; Benefits and Resilience; Overcoming Barriers and Financing Strategies.

 

Vermont Dignitaries – Kick Off Bennington Redevelopment

News coverage from the Putnam Block Redevelopment groundbreaking celebration in Bennington on August 7.  Governor Phil Scott, Congressman Peter Welch, and others commended the Bennington community effort and stamina to bring what is now confirmed as the largest rural community/economic development project in the state at this time.

https://www.wcax.com/content/news/Vermont-dignitaries-to-kick-off-Bennington-redevelopment-525080471.html?fbclid=IwAR0xwCMVeXBdJ2zsNCzR0XPrHF5mbLUUV_Z1lnodo7Cv2JFeEOierhDnntw

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CNU 27.Louisville KY

S&A Architectural Designer and Accredited CNU member, Nikki Perry enjoyed a week at CNU 27.Louisville.  In addition to interesting and educational sessions on transect oriented development, inclusive healthy places, and improving the public realm with place making, she spent time taking in the sites of Louisville and networked with other professionals eager to learn more about the New Urbanism movement.  Nikki found Louisville to be a great example of a walkable city blending old and new urbanist communities.

Putnam Block Update ~ Financing Deal Done & Construction Begins

HOLLY PELCZYNSKI – BENNINGTON BANNER Robert Stevens, Owner of M&S Construction offers congratulatory remarks at the celebration of the closing of the Putnam deal.

S&A is happy to congratulate M&S Development, all the organizations & community members responsible for reaching a huge milestone to revitalize downtown Bennington, VT.

For more information about the Putnam Block Redevelopment project visit  :

https://www.reformer.com/stories/putnam-block-financing-deal-done-construction-begins,577216

2019 Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors Conference

 

S&A Team Leader, Mark Westa, ASLA  joins Peter Flinker, Principal of Dodson & Flinker and Ted Brovitz, Founder of Brovitz Community Planning & Design for the 2019 Massachusetts Association of Planning Directors Conference.

 

During the Master Planning and Implementation Strategies to Help Downtown and Village Centers Get Ready for the New Economy session,  Mark will focus on how designers and developers can overcome the economic barriers to mixed-use downtown projects through innovative financing strategies, including the use of historic or New Market tax credits and “community-supported development.

For more details on this event, visit: https://www.planning.org/events/activity/9177284/

 

Vermont Statewide Housing Conference 2018

Stevens & Associates and M&S Development are looking forward to presenting at the Vermont Statewide Housing Conference 2018.

On November 14th, look for Jillian Tomaselli, AIA and Martha Ratcliffe to speak during the Small Living Spaces-Municipal and Developer Considerations workshop.  Bob Stevens, PE will present during the case study-oriented workshop, Economic Development.  Trends, living spaces, and economic tools will be addressed during these sessions.

Join us and register HERE.

Groundbreaking News on Snow Block

Stevens & Associates is excited to provide architectural and engineering services for another great Windham & Windsor Housing Trust project. The Snow Block will offer affordable housing and replace a vacant lot adding to the streetscape and extending the downtown fabric on Flat Street. The design will respect the distinct architectural form of Brattleboro’s downtown district.
For more information, please read the October 24th article in the Brattleboro Reformer. https://lnkd.in/eiyAEEi?

Bob Stevens Presented at the Radically Rural Summit

Bob Stevens discussed the feasibility of restoring downtown historic buildings during the Radically Rural Summit in Keene, NH

For more information about this event, read the following article from the Keene Sentinel.  https://www.sentinelsource.com/news/local/for-radically-rural-keene-transformed-into-a-conference-center/article_e7a9bbd3-c026-53c8-80be-d5dc096dc995.html

SNEAPA 2018 Conference

 

Bob Stevens, PE and Craig Miskovich, Esq. will present – “Beating the Odds: Overcoming the Obstacles that Face Economically Challenged Downtown Mixed-Use Projects” at the Southern New England American Planning Association Conference in Hartford, CT on Oct. 19th.

This session will explore which metrics to measure and how to show the value of a project. It also will delve into unique strategies to leverage that value into community support and funding sources.

Please join them for this two-day conference of high quality, hands-on and interactive sessions, mobile workshops, planning law and planning ethics presentations, and member networking.

For more information visit SNEAPA.

 

 

The Radically Rural Summit – Sept. 27-28

Bob Stevens is looking forward to the Radically Rural Summit in Keene, NH on Sept. 27th & 28th.  He will join rural leaders, founders, and trailblazers as they come together for a two-day summit to learn, connect, collaborate, and lead change to create vibrant and robust rural communities.

This event features five program tracks including three programs per track over the course of two days, as well as keynote opening and closing speeches, and the popular CONNECT event on Thursday night.  As a panelist for the Historic Buildings as a Downtown Catalyst for Vibrancy session, Bob will focus on the Putnam Block Revitalization project, Bennington, VT.

For more information about this event, click HERE.

“Making It Happen” – VT Rural Summit18

Join Bob Stevens and register for “Making It Happen!” Local Leadership for the Future of Vermont Communities on Oct. 1st at Castleton University.  Vermont communities thrive with local leaders getting big things done – share success stories, gain new skills, and think together about supporting strong leaders across Vermont.
For more information visit: https://www.vtrural.org/Summit18