ServiceNet Builds Northampton Headquarters With Help From MassDevelopment Bond

October 23, 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Meggie Quackenbush, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 857-208-2777 (cell)
mquackenbush@massdevelopment.com

Amy Swisher, ServiceNet, 413-387-1183
aswisher@servicenet.org

MassDevelopment has issued a $4.1 million tax-exempt bond and a mortgage guarantee for ServiceNet Inc., a human services organization based in the Pioneer Valley. ServiceNet used bond proceeds to buy 2.3 acres of land at Village Hill Northampton from MassDevelopment, on which the organization will build, furnish, and equip a 17,600-square-foot building to be ServiceNet’s corporate headquarters and administrative offices. The project will allow ServiceNet to consolidate its administrative functions, which currently operate out of four buildings, into one site at Village Hill Northampton. TD Bank purchased the bond.

MassDevelopment has issued a total of five tax-exempt bonds for ServiceNet to date, including one in 2015 that allowed the organization to buy, renovate, and furnish residences for individuals with disabilities in Agawam and Chicopee, and five office condominiums in Greenfield to house behavioral outpatient clinics.

“ServiceNet enhances quality of life for so many Pioneer Valley individuals who experience disabilities, mental illness, substance abuse issues, and homelessness,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Lauren Liss. “It is a pleasure to help the organization centralize its offices with its new headquarters in Village Hill Northampton, a spectacular environment for its business to flourish and grow.”

Founded in 1965 as the Hampshire Association for Mental Health, ServiceNet provides a wide range of human services to people in the Pioneer Valley. ServiceNet’s staff of psychiatrists, psychotherapists, nurses, social workers, counselors, and physical and occupational therapists provide outpatient behavioral health services, adolescent support programs, early intervention for young children, home health care, residential mental health programs, and shelter services for the homeless.

At Village Hill Northampton, MassDevelopment has transformed a former state hospital campus into a community featuring office, retail, and manufacturing uses; market-rate and affordable homes and apartments; and a variety of open space and recreation areas. To date, the property has 191 housing units, including single-family and multifamily homes, townhouses, and duplexes, along with more than 400 employees in several businesses.

“We’re grateful that MassDevelopment and TD Bank are making it possible for us to own this new building,” said Susan Stubbs, President and CEO of ServiceNet. “By unifying our support departments under one roof, several of which are now located in leased office spaces, we will be able to work together more efficiently while achieving significant cost-savings over time.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2017, MassDevelopment financed or managed 377 projects generating investment of more than $4.3 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 9,488 jobs and build or rehabilitate 1,863 residential units.