MassDevelopment Awards $86,415 To Assist Local Economic Recovery Efforts

September 24, 2020 : BusinessWest

BOSTON — MassDevelopment awarded $86,415 for 10 projects, three of them in Western Mass., through the Commonwealth Places COVID-19 Response Round: Resurgent Places, a program made available specifically to assist local economic recovery efforts as community partners prepare public spaces and commercial districts to serve residents and visitors. Projects receiving awards include the creation of outdoor dining spaces, sidewalk retail venues, and partitions to support social distancing.

“The Commonwealth Places program is a tool to help drive foot traffic to downtowns and commercial districts by providing opportunities for safe dining and recreation,” Gov. Charlie Baker said, “and we look forward to continuing to work with municipalities to support local communities across the state.”

The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce will receive a $10,000 grant for the Amherst Resilience Initiative – A Play in Three Acts, a project in which the organization will reopen an outdoor version of the Downtown Amherst Visitor Information Center and install COVID-19 public-health and wayfinding signage and landscaping in downtown Amherst.

The Chicopee Chamber of Commerce will receive a $10,000 grant for Chicopee Center Public Spaces, to transform a remediated lot in the city’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) district at 181 Center St. into a mixed-use public space for outdoor programming, including farmers’ markets, food trucks, performances, community gatherings, and more.

The Stockbridge Library, Museum & Archives will receive a $7,200 grant for A Path to Reopening: Repurposing Public Space in Stockbridge, a project in which the organization will host three monthly pop-up events featuring artist shows and presentations on the library’s front lawn.