Mass. space vacant since the 1990s may get new life helping underserved business owners

November 3, 2023 : MassLive, Juliet Schulman-Hall

A group called The Sphere, which has been working to connect and uplift women and nonbinary entrepreneurs in Western Massachusetts and beyond, will soon be opening a co-working space in Florence with the help of a $100,000 grant.

The space — which has been vacant since the 1990s — is expected to be located at 82 Maple Street and will be called The Sphere Innovation Lab. The lab will offer an “inclusive space for organizations and individuals seeking entrepreneurial support or accessible options for collaborative opportunities, professional resources and private workspace,” said The Sphere co-founder Megan Allen.

Allen said The Sphere has a letter of intent for the storefront.

“The Sphere Innovation Lab is set to become a valuable resource, fostering collaboration, providing access to professional resources and ultimately, supporting the growth and success of businesses in Northampton. This initiative aligns with our commitment to building a more inclusive and equitable business environment in our city,” said Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra.

The Sphere was one of 39 projects which were funded by the collaborative workspace program which aims to accelerate the pace of new business formation, job creation and entrepreneurial activity by supporting infrastructure that funds community-based innovation. The collaborative workspace program is part of the state’s community one stop for growth awards which used 13 state grant programs to distribute $164 million in funding to 338 local economic development projects. The grants were spread across 161 communities in the Commonwealth.

Allen, who is also the founder of the Community Classroom, a tutoring and academic coaching center in Florence, said The Sphere will be using the grant funds to renovate the storefront in Florence which hasn’t been occupied since the 1990s. Renovations are expected to begin in January and a soft opening is tentatively planned for spring 2024.

A former bake shop

The storefront is in a block of stores called Parson’s Block which was built in the late 1800s, according to Virginia Shea, manager of Doyle’s Package Store in Parson’s Block whose family owned the complex for three generations until they sold it in June 2022.

Shea said her grandparents came to Florence in the 1940s, taking over Bird’s Store in Parson’s Block and later were able to purchase it.

“It was an entrepreneurial move in the ‘40s, and a risk,” Shea said. “Years later, it went up for sale ... He and my grandma thought, well, why don’t we buy the building? It will secure our future.”

Shea said it was her father’s vision to keep Florence quaint and local, not wanting Parson’s Block to be turned over to a corporation but a place meant for locals.

“My grandmother used to call it [Parson’s Block] the jewel of Florence,” Shea said smiling.

Before its vacancy, Shea said The Sphere’s potential new co-working space was a bake shop. She remembers living in her first apartment above the 82 Maple Street storefront and hearing the rush of foot traffic in the morning.

“I remember the slapping of the door at 5, 6 in the morning when people would come in to get their bread and deliveries,” Shea said. “The wafting of bread being made and baked goods.”

Since the family bake shop closed, Shea said her father didn’t find the right tenants to rent the space and it has been used off and on as storage.

While Parson’s Block is now out of the family, Shea said she hopes the new owners are able to keep the historical parts of the residential units and storefronts, highlighting the tin detailing in many of the units.

What will the Innovation Lab do?

“The Innovation Lab supports The Sphere’s mission to uplift and strengthen the Greater Northampton Area entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Lab will be intentionally designed to create collaboration and community to combat bias, streamline and ease access to resources, and provide time management solutions,” Allen said.

The space will also plans to offer a concierge service for women and nonbinary businesses owners to be able to focus on big-picture business success, Allen said.

“The Sphere Innovation Hub will play a vital role in boosting support for entrepreneurial activity, and this MassDevelopment workspace grant will provide the space and resources to help accelerate business growth and further position Northampton as a great place to start and develop a business,” said Vince Jackson, executive director of the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce.

The Sphere has worked with 46 local women and nonbinary businesses and put almost $57,000 back into the community in less than a year, according to Allen.

Since forming the group, The Sphere has hosted learning programs such as coffee and mentor hours and three salons to help women and nonbinary entrepreneurs connect.

Allen said she has heard from business owners that their businesses flourished just by going to a Sphere event, connecting with people not only located in Northampton but also in Springfield, Holyoke or even Keene, New Hampshire.

“Those stories of women supporting women, of business owners referring and supporting one another: Those are the data points that really fuel our work,” Allen said.

Allen said their curriculum such as their agendas, timelines, slide decks and handouts are available for free on their website to allow for other communities to replicate what they have done.

“We are working hard to make resources within our network public and free. We are also hoping that other cities can use the research process we designed to identify their own barriers to success and create their own, personalized solution,” Allen said. “We are also looking for future funders and partners who can help us ensure free access to those entrepreneurs who need support.”

What is The Sphere?

The Sphere began to be imagined through a podcast called Monday Moxie which spotlighted female entrepreneurs and their stories of growth and leadership, according to their website. A few months later, Allen, photographer Tiffany Chapman and Carrielynn Fournier, of Busy Bee-Cleans, started the Resilient Project which spotlighted the resilience of Florence women entrepreneurs in the pandemic. A joint installation of portraits and podcasts, the project highlighted 17 female entrepreneurs in the Florence village.

In partnership with the Downtown Northampton Association, the project then expanded, aiming to address the challenges faced by women who own businesses across the city.

In addition to the new $100,000 grant, the group has also received other funding since its formation. The Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative awarded the Downtown Northampton this summer $200,000 for The Sphere. The year prior, MassTech awarded the group a $25,000 grant to research the barriers faced by female entrepreneurs in Northampton and design a solution.

The Sphere’s solution, also known as their strategic plan, works to address the three barriers they’ve identified for women and nonbinary business owners, including intersectional identity, access to and ability to find resources and time.

“Mass Tech has been insanely supportive. They took a chance on us, for we aren’t the usual suspect as a Mass Tech grantee. But they have been communicative, open, supportive and attended all of our events. It is a true partnership and we are forever grateful,” Allen said.

The Sphere used the $200,000 to identify and connect women- and nonbinary- owned businesses and create a trail map for visitors, conduct studies to better understand the community and its needs and develop more resources to boost the economic success of Northampton, according to Allen.

Allen said they are currently working on The Sphere’s strengths and skills database where someone visiting Northampton can access the businesses who are traditionally underserved by the community. There will also be an internal component to the database which allows entrepreneurs in the network can connect and resource share based on their strengths, skills and passions.

“We are each other’s best resource,” Allen said.

She said The Sphere has been working with partners at Smith College to figure out whether they can make it into an app.

The other Northampton organization which received grant money as part of the state’s community one stop for growth awards was Collaborative for Educational Services. They will be using the $100,000 to build the capacity of their food policy leaders program which is centered on 25 residents who are Black, Latino, foreign-born and/or experiencing financial hardship, according to the one stop award list.

The program works to advance civic and economic solutions to food insecurity, distributing stipends, offering training sessions and design projects that will increase employability, civic, and leadership skills that will impact the local food economy.

A list of other awardees across Massachusetts can be found here.