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.
——————————————————————
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/
Stevens & Associates and M&S Development are proud to sponsor Radically Rural – Keene NH. Visit our table and meet the staff at the Main Street Track on Sept. 19 & 20.
Congratulations to Ben Harwood, P.E. for earning his license to practice as a Professional Engineer in the State of Vermont. Ben is a dedicated member of S&A’s Structural Team and enjoys supporting local school STEM programs and various organizations.
S&A welcomes Katie Stuart-Buckley to the M&S Development team. As Development Director, Katie will lead M&S to provide real estate development, capital sourcing, and deal-structuring services to projects which benefit economically challenged communities. Her years of dedication to the region and the State of Vermont are evident through her service as a board member with the Preservation Trust of Vermont, Vermont Downtown Development Board, Vermont Housing Finance Agency, Windham Regional Commission, Vermont Disaster Recovery Fund, and the Friends of Algiers Village.
Congratulations to Serenity Wolf, PE and Civil Team Leader at S&A for being selected as one of the 2019 Trendsetters for Brattleboro and the Monadnock region. Serenity is being recognized with this award for her valuable contribution within the workplace and community.
Snow Block Proj
For an update on the exciting revitalization development effort in Bennington, read the following article,
Putnam Block Project Approved for $3.1 million for redevelopment from VermontBiz.
https://lnkd.in/gpinp8e