South Holyoke Revitalization Stratregy
March 2008
This report was prepared in March of 2008 and integrated into the City of Holyoke’s city-wide Urban Renewal Plan.
The development of this strategy was guided by the South Holyoke Revitalization Coordinating Committee which was comprised of representatives of non-profit organizations, elected officials, City of Holyoke officials, neighborhood residents and local businesses. HAP, Inc. served as the administrative lead for the project, in collaboration with Nueva Esperanza, Inc., who in partnership secured the $35,000 in grant funding from the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development.
Organizations involved in the South Holyoke Revitalization Coordinating Committee include: HAP, Inc., Nueva Esperanza, Nuestras Raices, Enlace do Familias, Holyoke Food & Fitness Policy Council, City of Holyoke, Holyoke Organizing to Protect the Environment, Holyoke Unites/Holyoke Se Une, UMass Amherst/Five College COPC, Pioneer Valley Environmental Health Network.The purpose of the South Holyoke Revitalization Strategy was to mobilize the community residents, organizations, businesses, and municipality in a shared effort to a transform the South Holyoke neighborhood into a more desirable place to live and work. The constituents and participants in this process want to make South Holyoke a top choice location for businesses and residents.
The components of the South Holyoke Revitalization Strategy are a summary of existing conditions, an informal market analysis, and through consultation with the Coordinating Committee, an accurate picture of the neighborhood’s current circumstances, including its assets and liabilities. The culmination of this review and coordinated community input process is an outline of strategies for revitalization of the neighborhood and identification of the potential benefits and challenges of each proposed strategy. The strategy includes:
- Identification of key parcels for redevelopment and recommendations for uses of those parcels.
- Recommendations for appropriate types of housing development, including general analysis of the feasibility of developing homeownership housing.
- Recommendations for approaches to economic revitalization in South Holyoke, including recommendations for strategies to enhance/revitalize the neighborhood’s existing commercial areas.
- Recommendations for possible safety, infrastructure, transportation, and open space improvements needed to support the proposed revitalization strategies.
- Recommendations of development funding strategies for this revitalization effort, based on successful strategies that have worked in similar neighborhoods
- Recommendations of further action steps to implement the revitalization strategies outlined in the Strategic Plan and a suggested timeline for those steps.
Contact Joshua A. Garcia (garcia.joshua@hotmail.com) for electronic copy of report.