One Monarch Place, Suite 1210, Springfield, MA 01144 413-593-6421
© 2026 Westmass Development
Town of Charlton and Westmass Announce Route 20 Economic Corridor Study
The Town of Charlton and Westmass Area Development Corporation are partnering on a Route 20 Economic Corridor Study to better understand market conditions and identify opportunities to support responsible economic growth along the corridor.
The study will examine development trends, market demand, and key constraints and opportunities affecting Route 20, with the goal of helping the Town plan for near- and mid-term growth. The work will also consider how infrastructure, land use, and policy tools can be aligned to support investment and job creation.
“Route 20 is a critical economic corridor for Charlton, and this effort will help inform how we plan for future development,” said Town Administrator Andrew Golas. “We’re pleased to be working with Westmass on this initiative.”
“Westmass is excited to partner with the Town of Charlton on this study,” said Sean O’Donnell, Community Development & Planning Coordinator at Westmass. “Our goal is to provide clear, data-driven analysis that helps the Town evaluate opportunities and move forward thoughtfully.”
“Westmass is proud to work with towns and cities across western Massachusetts to provide objective, market-based analysis and development-focused planning,” said Jeff Daley, Westmass President and CEO. “We’re looking forward to bring that experience to Charlton through this study as the Town evaluates opportunities along this important regional corridor.”
The Route 20 Economic Corridor Study is expected to be completed in 2026 and will help inform future planning, infrastructure, and economic development efforts.
Monson Developmental Center Is the Latest Westmass Challenge
BusinessWest (July 18, 2025)
The Next Chapter
An aerial view of the Monson Developmental Center campus.
When Jeff Daley first pitched the Westmass Area Development Corp. board on the concept of redeveloping a portion of the former Monson Developmental Center (MDC) campus, it wasn’t a hard sell, necessarily.
“But it was a sell,” said Daley, the agency’s president and CEO, and for several reasons.
“It’s an imposing site, and there’s a ton of work that has to be done,” he said of the 100-acre parcel, which essentially sits between two mountains, with very little of what would be considered flat land. “And there’s a lot of money that has to be invested just to make the site developable again.”
But Daley was able to sell his board on the concept — a commitment from the state to provide a $9 million site readiness grant to the agency, as well as an accompanying reversion clause, certainly proved to be a turning point in the sales process — and late last month, the Commonwealth officially conveyed the property to Westmass, touting the transaction as part of ongoing efforts to utilize existing properties to build more housing in a state where there is a strong need for it.
And with that transfer, Westmass, in partnership with the state’s Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance, will commence work to create what will be known as the Village at Sawmill Brook.
The brook runs through the middle of the property, said Daley, adding that the name was chosen to reflect the rural nature of the community, and a ‘village’ is what is intended, with both residential and commercial development planned.
This is a village that will take shape over the next 10 to 20 years, he noted, adding that the first steps in the process involve demolition of almost all of the 14 existing buildings on the site — one structure, a recreation center at MDC, might be salvaged — as well as environmental remediation and infrastructure improvements.
Demolition is slated to begin early next year, and actual building will likely commence in maybe three years, Daley said.
Exactly what will be built remains to be seen, he told BusinessWest, as well as a gathering of about 100 Monson residents at a recent meeting of the Monson Board of Selectmen, noting that the site, and the market, will likely determine what shape this village will take.
The next phase of the MDC project will involve demolition of the buildings on the campus, most of which are in an advanced state of deterioration.
There will be housing, and probably several forms of it, with subdivisions, senior housing, veterans’ housing, and other options under consideration.
One of the first steps in the process will be creation of a master plan for the site to determine how many of those 100 acres can be developed, and in what ways.
“We’re in discussions with several of the groups that do housing for veterans,” Daley noted. “We’ll also talk with folks who do assisted living projects around the area to see if there’s a need for that in the Monson area.”
There could also be senior affordable housing, similar to what has been created at another Westmass property, Ludlow Mills, he went on, adding that single-family homes, condos, duplexes, and fourplexes could also be in the mix. There will also be commercial elements, he said, such as retail businesses with residential units on the upper floors of buildings, in keeping with that ‘village’ concept.
“Right now, it’s a blank slate,” he noted, adding, again, that need and market conditions will likely dictate how the site is redeveloped.
Before any development can take place, the site needs to be cleared and infrastructure improved, a massive undertaking involving everything from the demolition of existing buildings, some of which are quite large, to replacement of a bridge that provides access to the site, for which the state has approved $5 million in funding.
The total cost of site preparation work is expected to approach and perhaps exceed $20 million, said Daley, adding that the state will work with Westmass to identify additional funding sources to advance the development.
Overall, the project represents a different kind of challenge for Westmass, but in many ways it is similar to the Ludlow Mills in that it involves extensive demolition and redevelopment of cleared sites.
“This is what we do … this is where Westmass shines,” Daley explained. “We take older properties and figure out what we can do with them, and I thank the governor and her team for trusting us and supporting us with the financial resources to do this. But once it’s down, cleaned, and demoed, it’s up to us to put together a really good, solid development plan that will benefit Monson.”
More: BusinessWest
Healey-Driscoll Administration Transfers Monson Campus to Westmass for Housing and Economic Development
“Westmass Area Development Corporation is committed to transforming the Monson Development Center into a vibrant, mixed-use community that meets the housing and economic development needs of the region. Through strategic planning, strong public-private partnerships, and phased redevelopment, Westmass will remediate, repurpose, and revitalize the long-dormant site in a way that complements and maintains the Town of Monson’s character,” said Westmass President and CEO Jeff Daley.
This article is adapted and revised from a MassLive report dated June 24, 2025.
MONSON, MA — The Healey-Driscoll Administration has initiated the transfer of over 100 acres of the long-vacant Monson Developmental Center Campus to Westmass Area Development Corporation, advancing a major redevelopment effort aimed at revitalizing the site through new housing and economic opportunities.
Governor Maura Healey underscored the potential impact:
“This is a great opportunity for Monson, the region and the state, as this site offers major housing and economic development potential. This transfer demonstrates our focus on utilizing existing properties to build more housing, provide new opportunities for local businesses, and lower costs. Our administration is committed to supporting Westmass and the Town in order to maximize that potential.”
Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll added:
“This campus has stood vacant and not contributing back to the community for far too long. Activating a campus of this size in a rural area will unlock sustainable economic growth. Our administration is tackling the housing crisis head-on, and this redevelopment will be transformative for the Town.”
The Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) is completing the transfer under the authority of Section 54 of Chapter 206 of the Acts of 2024. The land is being conveyed to Westmass for $1, with the understanding that it will be redeveloped into a mix of housing and commercial uses.
To support this transformation, the Healey-Driscoll Administration is providing a $9 million Site Readiness Grant to help Westmass begin demolition, environmental remediation, and infrastructure improvements needed to prepare the site for redevelopment. Additional funding sources are being explored collaboratively between the state and Westmass.
Ed Augustus, Secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, stated:
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is working hard to end our state’s housing shortage, and we need strong partnerships that will help us act quickly to unlock housing production and build the hundreds of thousands of units this crisis demands. It’s crucial to help move projects like this forward, and the Westmass Monson Campus redevelopment will provide needed homes for local Monson residents and spur economic growth with new jobs and revenue.”
Interim Economic Development Secretary Ashley Stolba echoed that sentiment:
“This redevelopment is a prime example of how we are leveraging underutilized state assets to address housing issues and drive economic growth in communities across Massachusetts. This is a long-term solution and we are backing it with a long-term commitment to provide through sustained funding to prepare the site and unlock its full potential.”
DCAMM Commissioner Adam Baacke emphasized the importance of Westmass’s leadership in the project:
“On behalf of the Healey-Driscoll Administration, we are excited to find a partner like Westmass to redevelop a campus that has been vacant since 2012. With a beautiful setting, proximity to transportation infrastructure and a welcoming municipality, having a mission-driven master developer with a great track record taking control of the property can be the final piece to leverage the tremendous potential of this site for both housing production and economic development.”
Following site readiness work, Westmass plans to make development parcels available to a range of partners to implement a phased redevelopment approach. In addition to housing, the campus is expected to include commercial and industrial uses to grow the local tax base and create jobs.
Daley added:
“We are excited to begin this long-overdue project. The strong leadership and commitment from the Healey-Driscoll Administration has made this opportunity possible by identifying the Monson Development Center as a site that can deliver meaningful impact through much-needed housing and economic development. Westmass is proud to take the lead in transforming this former dormant state property into a revitalized part of the community that will benefit Monson and the region for generations to come.”
In parallel with the development effort:
-
458 acres are being prepared for transfer to the Department of Fish and Game for conservation and recreation use.
-
42 acres will remain under the care of the Department of Agricultural Resources for continued farming operations.
Demolition work has already begun to remove deteriorating structures on the property. Additional details and maps are available on DCAMM’s project page.
About Westmass
With a broad range of professional and technical expertise in both the public and private sectors, Westmass Area Development Corporation (Westmass) shapes and manage large-scale development projects, prepare district development strategies, and has successfully develop financing and incentive packages. Westmass staff has extensive experience in site planning and analysis, green infrastructure and low impact development, and historic preservation projects.
About DCAMM
The Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) works with state agencies to create and manage forward-thinking, sustainable buildings to meet the needs of the people they serve. DCAMM partners with fellow agencies to help them meet their strategic needs with fiscally responsible building and real estate solutions.
Statements of Support
Senator Ryan Fattman:
“This is an exciting economic and residential opportunity for development for many years to come. I look forward to working with the Town of Monson, its residents and leaders, and the State to ensure that this site helps contribute to the community in a positive, constructive, and helpful way.”
Representative Angelo Puppolo:
“I am pleased to support this project and to see the progress being made to redevelop and revitalize this vacant campus. I commend the work of the Administration, DCAMM and Westmass in moving this long-overdue project forward. This project will be transformative for the Town, and I appreciate the effort is has taken to arrive at this great moment.”
Jennifer Wolowicz, Town Administrator, Town of Monson:
“The transfer of the developable areas of the Monson campus to Westmass represents an exciting step forward in unlocking the site’s potential. We’re confident that Westmass’s proven track record in responsible development will bring new opportunities for economic growth while respecting the character and needs of our community. This partnership is a promising beginning for a vibrant new chapter in Monson’s future.”
Tandem Bagel Co. Opens New Location at Ludlow Mills
Westmass is proud to announce the opening of Tandem Bagel Co. at 44 Riverside Drive – a key milestone in the continued transformation of the Ludlow Mills into a vibrant mixed-use destination.
Located in the historic Carpentry building overlooking the Chicopee River, Tandem Bagel brings new energy to this corner of the Mills campus, just steps from the public Riverwalk and growing residential community at Mills 8 & 10. The opening reflects the momentum building across the site as new businesses, housing, and public amenities come together to realize Westmass’ long-term vision of the Ludlow Mills.
Several years ago, Westmass undertook environmental cleanup and site preparation to ready the long-underutilized structure for productive reuse. This work builds on our commitment to restoring the historic mill property in ways that respect its character while supporting modern community needs.
“Tandem Bagel’s opening is exactly the kind of activation Westmass envisioned when we took on the redevelopment of the Ludlow Mills,” said Jeff Daley, President and CEO of Westmass Area Development Corporation. “It’s exciting to see a business that values community and great food becoming part of this historic campus. We’re proud of our role in helping to create a place where people want to live, work, and gather.”
For Tandem Bagel, the move to Ludlow represents a natural fit. The café’s locally sourced ingredients, welcoming vibe, and creative menu align with the values of the Ludlow Mills community and add a high-quality food option for both residents and visitors.
As the Ludlow Mills redevelopment continues, new amenities like Tandem Bagel Co. play a critical role in shaping the site’s identity and long-term success. We invite you to stop in, grab a coffee, and see the progress for yourself.
Welcome, Tandem Bagel Co. – we’re glad you’re here.
Westmass Welcomes A New Vice President — and a New Office Space!
We’re excited to welcome Dan Knapik to the growing Westmass team!
Dan Knapik joins us as Vice President of Operations, bringing more than 35 years of experience across both the public and private sectors. His background includes environmental consulting, brownfields redevelopment, municipal leadership, and clean energy strategy. Dan’s broad expertise will support our development services work and expand our capacity to take on complex redevelopment projects across Western Massachusetts.
With our expanding team, we’ve also upgraded our office space! You can now find us at Monarch Place, Suite 1210 in downtown Springfield.
As we grow, so does our capacity to take on meaningful projects that make a lasting impact across the region.
Residences at Mill 8 Opens in Ludlow, MA, as $43.2 Million Project Transforms 123-Year-Old Mill and Restores Iconic Clock Tower
WinnCompanies and Westmass Deliver 95 Mixed-Income Units for Adults 55+
BOSTON (November 18, 2024) – WinnCompanies, an award-winning national owner, developer and manager of high-impact apartment communities, and Westmass Area Development Corporation (Westmass) today announced the opening of The Residences at Mill 8, a mixed-income community in Ludlow, MA, featuring 95 apartments for adults 55 and older.
State and local leaders gathered in the western Massachusetts community to cut the ribbon on the $43.2 million project, which not only transformed a portion of the historic mill building into much-need housing but also restored and revived the iconic clock tower and clock that has been featured on the Town seal since 1919.
“Any doubt about the need for projects like this should be erased by the sight of people moving into this beautifully restored building even as we cut the ribbon,” said WinnDevelopment President and Managing Partner Larry Curtis. “These apartments will be filled by year end thanks to the patience and perseverance of our public and private partners, who believed in our vision for this community in the face of skyrocketing, post-pandemic financing and construction costs.”
The 95 apartments created inside the former mill building cater to households with a wide range of incomes, offering 43 affordable units for rent at 60% of Area Median Income (AMI), 40 market rate units, and 12 extremely low-income units available to those with income at or below 30% of AMI. All units have been leased and the community will be fully occupied by December 1.
“Today marks another milestone for our region as we continue to make significant investments to expand our region’s housing stock. The Ludlow Mill redevelopment represents our continued commitment to improving and expanding affordable, accessible housing here in western Massachusetts and throughout the Commonwealth,” said Congressman Richard E. Neal. “I am particularly pleased that this project is the benefactor of nearly $20 million in federal tax credits, including historic and housing tax credits – both of which I have championed on the House Ways and Means Committee. Covering nearly half of this $43.2 million project, it is a stark reminder of the prominent role these tax credits will play in addressing our housing needs here in Massachusetts and throughout the nation.”
The new community represents the second phase of WinnDevelopment’s work at the property. In 2017, the company completed the adjacent Residences at Mill 10, a 75-unit adaptive reuse community that also offers mixed-income housing for adults 55 and older.
“Westmass is proud to partner with WinnCompanies to see this important project through to completion,” said Jeffrey Daley, president and CEO of Westmass, the private, not-for-profit industrial and business development corporation that owns the 170-acre former mill complex along the Chicopee River in the center of Ludlow. “This effort marks a pivotal step in our ongoing preservation and redevelopment of the historic Ludlow Mills campus, a project we’ve been advancing since 2012. Westmass has leveraged over $2.6 million in financing resources to assist Winn with this transformative work. We are thrilled to welcome more residents to the campus and to witness the restoration of Ludlow’s most iconic landmark – the historic clock tower,” Daley added.
The new community represents the second phase of WinnDevelopment’s work at the property. In 2017, the company completed the adjacent Residences at Mill 10, a 75-unit adaptive reuse community that also offers mixed-income housing for adults 55 and older.
In addition to state and federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) provided financing from its American Rescue Plan, HOME and Housing Stabilization funds. The U.S. National Park Services and Massachusetts Historical Commission provided federal and state historic tax credits.
“It’s a great day when you can save an iconic mill that is a monument to our past while creating housing for our future,” said Ed Augustus, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. “The Residences at Mill 8 will not only provide much-needed housing but create access to people with a variety of incomes – and that builds stronger communities. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities is proud to work with local, public and private partners to revitalize this space in a way that will serve the community.”
Bank of America purchased the federal LIHTC and federal historic tax credits and provided a construction loan.
“Bank of America is pleased to help finance the adaptive reuse of the Ludlow Mill into vibrant mixed-use, mixed-income housing,” said Mary Thompson, senior vice president of Community Development Banking at Bank of America. “Working with our partners at Winn, we are demonstrating the power of public-private partnerships to restore historic sites and revitalize communities, like Ludlow.”
The Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) provided a permanent mortgage, while MassHousing provided Affordable Housing Trust funds. The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) provided a loan. BlueHub Capital provided a loan for the state LIHTC and state historic tax credits, backed by equity from Bank of America.
“MHP is pleased to be working with WinnDevelopment again and providing $2.5 million in permanent financing to support redevelopment of the historic Ludlow Mill Building #8,” said MHP Executive Director Clark Zeigler. “The Residences at Mill 8 will create 95 much-needed homes for older adults, of which 55 will be available at affordable rents. The development is located in close proximity to the Ludlow Senior Center, health and municipal facilities and will enable its new senior residents to age within the community in an architecturally stunning environment.”
Added MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay: “Congratulations to the new residents of Mill 8 and to everyone involved in this effort that not only revitalized a vacant mill property into new rental homes for older adults, but also restored a signature piece of Ludlow’s history, MassHousing was pleased to partner with WinnCompanies in bringing new life to the historic Ludlow Mills with this new mixed-income housing community in the heart of the Pioneer Valley.”
The Town of Ludlow invested its own funds, along with federal and state monies, in several key infrastructure improvements, including the construction of Riverside Drive and the addition of a wastewater pumping station for the area.
“The Town is thankful to have WinnCompanies as a partner. Along with Westmass, WinnCompanies and the Town have now collaborated on two transformative redevelopment projects at Mill 8 and Mill 10, creating housing opportunities while also catalyzing economic development on the Ludlow Mills campus and the adjacent downtown area,” said Ludlow Town Administrator Marc Strange. “For our part, the Town looks forward to investing in our downtown open spaces and infrastructure to create even more amenities for residents and economic vitality for the community as a whole.”
The 220,000-square-foot development site is one segment of the historic Ludlow Manufacturing Company complex, which once served an economic engine for the region, employing more than 5,000 people in the production of jute yarns, twine, and webbing.
“After my great-grandparents immigrated here from Portugal and Poland many years ago, they worked right here in these mills. The Mills are a part of my family’s history and the region’s history. Today, we celebrate the opening of The Residences at Mill 8 and the preservation of Ludlow’s rich industrial heritage through thoughtful, community-centered redevelopment,” said State Sen. Jake Oliveira. “Projects like these are a reflection of the transformative power of historic spaces, offering much-needed housing for our older residents while providing economic growth in our downtown. Through the dedication of WinnCompanies, Westmass, and local leaders, we’ve turned a cherished landmark into a vital resource that honors our past while meeting the demands of our future.”
Added State Rep. Aaron Saunders: “This is another opportunity to celebrate the incredible redevelopment of the Ludlow Mills. The work of WinnCompanies is breathing new life into the Mills while addressing the housing needs of the Commonwealth, particularly in Western Massachusetts.”
The longtime symbol of Mill 8 – its three-story, 123-year-old clock tower – underwent a complete restoration, including replacement of rotted wood, copper urns and slate roof, along with the installation of new aluminum screens at the belfry level. Its bell weighs 3,064 pounds and was produced by Meneely & Co., the same company commissioned to replace the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, PA.
Electric Time Company, Inc., of Medfield, MA., an expert clock tower manufacturer with tower and street clock installations on every continent, restored the four clock faces to working form by rebuilding the dial gear assemblies offsite in an effort funded in part by an Underutilized Properties Program grant from MassDevelopment. The company also installed proprietary clock technology that will keep the clocks accurate for Daylight Savings Times and in the event of a power outage.
The Residences at Mill 8 features 27 one-bedroom units, 59 one bedrooms with dens, five 2-bedroom units and 4 two bedrooms with dens. The redeveloped property also offers modern amenities, including on-site laundry facilities, on-site management, a fitness room, a resident lounge, and several outdoor recreation areas.
Westmass will oversee the commercial development and leasing of 48,000 square feet on the first floor of the Mill 8 segment, further driving economic impact for both the Town of Ludlow and the broader Western Massachusetts region.
The new community was designed to meet the standards of Enterprise Green Communities, an environmental certification program for affordable housing that includes milestones for water conservation, energy efficiency, healthy materials, and green operations and management.
The construction effort achieved significant workforce equity milestones, with people of color completing nearly 55 percent of all hours worked on site and low-income individuals accounting for more than 40 percent of hours worked, according to data compiled by Renaissance Groups, a leading consultant in the field of minority and women-owned business enterprises.
WinnDevelopment Vice President Dana Angelo worked with Vice President of Construction Jason Quinn to oversee the project on a day-to-day basis. Dellbrook Construction LLC of Quincy, MA, served as general contractor, working from designs by The Architectural Team of Chelsea, MA. The Public Archaeology Laboratory, Inc., served as historic consultant. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., served as civil engineer. Robinson + Cole LLP served as legal counsel.
Since 1981, WinnDevelopment has transformed 46 historic buildings in seven states into more than 5,275 modern, mixed-income apartments. No other developer has won more awards for the adaptive reuse of vacant, historic structures to create multifamily communities.
The start of work on the project was delayed two years by unprecedented, post-pandemic volatility in the construction and housing markets, causing the budget to balloon by almost 40 percent. WinnDevelopment was able to close the budget gap in fall 2023 with the support of its project partners.
ABOUT WINNCOMPANIES
WinnCompanies is an award-winning owner, developer and manager of high-impact, quality apartment homes, supported by over 4,000 team members in 27 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The company is known as a leading manager of multifamily apartment communities, operating the nation’s largest portfolio of affordable housing with a groundbreaking resident services platform. Its community development work focuses on creating and revitalizing mixed-income properties through environmentally sustainable new construction and pioneering adaptive reuse techniques. The company has also been a top manager of privatized housing for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families since 2001. Founded in Boston in 1971, WinnCompanies is a family-owned, private company. Learn more at www.winncompanies.com.
ABOUT THE WESTMASS AREA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
Created by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1960 as a not-for-profit economic and real estate development firm, Westmass’ mission is to develop and manage exceptional properties, enhance and strengthen western Massachusetts communities through investments that create jobs, housing and sustainability. Westmass’ record of success includes development of more than 2,500 acres in 13 industrial parks and projects; enabling the build-out of over 12 million sf of commercial space and residential units; leveraging $400 million in invested resources on our developments; and helping create more than 10,000 jobs.
MEDIA CONTACT
Ed Cafasso
edcafasso@gmail.com
Call or Text: (617)455-9651
Westmass Area Redevelopment Corp. Seeks Ways to Broaden Its Impact
BusinessWest (November 21, 2024)
Developing a Strategy
Community Development & Planning Coordinator Sean O’Donnell (left) and President and CEO Jeff Daley.
Since its inception in 1960, the role of Westmass Area Development Corp. has remained remarkably consistent in many ways.
Created by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a not-for-profit economic and real-estate development firm, its mission has long been to develop and manage properties and enhance and strengthen communities through investments that create jobs, housing, and sustainability. But the way Westmass is accomplishing those goals is evolving.
“Traditionally, we would build infrastructure, sell off individual lots, have the town adopt those as public ways, and then we would go on and do the next projects. We are the economic-development agency for Western Mass. to really advance job creation and increase the economic tax base for communities in the region,” said Sean O’Donnell, Community Development & Planning coordinator, noting that the firm’s work has helped facilitate more than 10,000 jobs in the region.
While Westmass has done some consulting work in the past, it has mostly focused on its own real-estate projects, he noted, from its business parks to Ludlow Mills, which has been its flagship project since 2012.
“But over time,” O’Donnell went on, “and with my background and with the team we have here, we increasingly see opportunity in Western Mass. where we can play a facilitator role and a consulting role.”
Specifically, he explained, Westmass can take on this role for brownfield developers and municipalities that are trying to come up with creative ways to publicly finance their infrastructure. “We can put together different financing tools to make some of these more challenging real-estate projects in Western Mass. pencil out, and build these public-private partnerships.”
One example is the Ferry Street Mills project in Easthampton, where Westmass is assisting on the pre-development side and seeking cleanup funding to facilitate some of the planned housing work there. Others include a current business-park feasibility study for the town of Northfield and work with the town of East Longmeadow on the former Carlin Combustion Technology site at 70 Maple St., coordinating with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and looking into funding resources.
“My interest and background is in planning, particularly rural economic development, and we see a lot of opportunity in underserved areas in Western Mass. that could be thinking about economic development — not necessarily in the traditional sense, but how that embeds within a community that might want to stay rural,” O’Donnell said. “In the case of Northfield, that’s a business park that aligns with a recreation-based economy, rural tourism, agritourism, that type of thing. We’re trying to find all these different niches in Western Massachusetts.
Sean O’Donnell presents at the Western Massachusetts Brownfields Roundtable hosted by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission on Sept. 17.
“We have a lot of experience as a nonprofit developer and are very much a community-based developer,” he went on, “but I think we can play, and we have been playing, a really strong intermediary role and facilitating role with private projects and communities, while also looking out to Boston to see what new programs and financing and funding sources might be available to pull into Western Mass.”
Jeff Daley, president and CEO of Westmass, told BusinessWest that another growth area for the company is helping with or taking on projects that most developers can’t handle on their own.
“A lot of projects don’t pencil out anyways, and if you throw in the mix of outdated, dilapidated buildings that have potential contamination, brownfields, whatever, they can’t pencil financially for any developer,” Daley said. “So not only do we take on projects ourselves, but we also partner with projects to get through.”
One example is the most recent housing units to open up at Ludlow Mills, in Mill 8, a joint venture with Winn Development that allowed Westmass to retain 48,000 square feet on the first floor for commercial use.
“We invested our own money, we invested our own time, and we invested other monies that we received through grants and/or other mechanisms of financing to offset some of the cost explosion during COVID. We’re technically a joint-venture partner with Winn in that project,” Daley explained.
“So we can do projects like that to help make projects pencil, because it’s very, very hard today. In the economy we’re in, plus the cost of doing business, it’s really hard to make a lot of projects work. So by partnering with others, we certainly can bring added value to the team to make sure these things actually do pencil out at the end of the day.”
Opportunity Knocks
O’Donnell said Westmass’s expanding work in development services can benefit all types of projects, from housing to recreation to downtown revitalization.
“We’re increasingly looking on the housing side, keeping a close eye on the housing bond bill that passed in Boston a couple months back, seeing what new programs might be coming down the pipeline, and maybe finding a project that was thinking more commercial — maybe there’s an opportunity for mixed use, to have a residential component, because that can tie in new funding sources that can make the overall project more feasible.”
O’Donnell sees the client roster continuing to include both municipalities and private developers.
“It’s sometimes municipalities that maybe have a private development that’s proposed in town, but they know they need to get public infrastructure to the site. So they’re thinking about things like district improvement financing or grant writing to make that more plausible or more affordable for the community,” he explained. “But on the developer side, with us as a nonprofit partner, we might be able to help tap into some grant-funding resources that a private, for-profit developer might not otherwise be able to.”
Westmass also took over leadership of Develop Springfield late last year; one current project on that front is McCaffery Interests’ work on the Clocktower Building in Springfield’s South End, which will include market-rate housing. “We’re working with them as consultants, helping them with their capital stack, figuring out where financing can come from,” Daley said.
The Ferry Street Mills project in Easthampton is an example of the brownfield and mill properties Westmass works on.
And housing — specifically the need for more of it in most area cities and towns right now — poses significant opportunities for Westmass, O’Donnell added.
“Communities are trying to be proactive, but many communities might not have a full-time planner on staff or have the capacity to re-examine where they might want to expand public infrastructure to make a certain site or area of town viable for housing. They’re also looking at maybe recalibrating their zoning so they can allow for more mixed-use or multi-family in certain areas of the town. I think that’s where we can help, in partnership with other planning firms and the planning commissions as well.”
He noted that Westmass is uniquely situated to be a resource to municipalities and developers, especially in the case of brownfields sites, of which there are hundreds in Western Mass.
For example, in the case of the Ferry Street Mills project in Easthampton, “as a nonprofit, we’re doing a land lease of the property to have site control in order to go after cleanup dollars from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Even though the development following the cleanup will be led by the for-profit developer and the partners there, as a nonprofit, if we have site control during the EPA grant, we can receive those grant funds, clean up the site, and get it ready for projects.
“That’s a huge role that I think is increasingly needed in Western Mass.,” he added. “There’s more funding right now at the federal level, particularly for cleanup and brownfield mill redevelopment work. And I think that we can play a really great, active role with those types of projects around here.”
Community Support
O’Donnell took his current role at Westmass in 2020, the year after Daley took the reins at the company.
“I was Facilities manager over at Ludlow Mills, so I cut my teeth over there. And I was Leasing manager over there for a while,” said O’Donnell, who earned a master’s degree in regional planning from UMass Amherst and has worked at planning commissions at the municipal level. “But my interest is really in economic development and mill redevelopment.”
As for Ludlow Mills, progress continues apace at that complex, where the residential units at Mill 8 were recently completed and Westmass is finishing about $3 million worth of roads and sewer and water service to all the buildings on campus.
“All the electrical’s going in; instead of overhead wires, we put conduit underground, and every single building there will have their own meter, and it will all be underground,” Daley said, adding that Westmass is also partnering with the town through a MassWorks grant to have a $3.5 million road built. “Once that’s built and the town accepts it, then we’ll probably have about 40 acres to develop. So it’s moving; there’s a lot of stuff going on.”
Pre-development work continues on Mill 11, the largest building with about 400,000 square feet, which is awaiting some cooperative work with the National Park Service to remove a historical building on site. “But once we do that, we think it will probably generate about 220 apartments and probably 15 or 20 condominiums, and 60,000 to 100,000 square feet of commercial space,” Daley said. “That’s the big gorilla that we need to get done over there. It’s projected to be a quarter-billion-dollar project.”
Ludlow Mills is a project that clearly impacts an entire neighborhood and town, and O’Donnell sees further opportunities to make similar impacts around Western Mass. in the future.
“Ludlow is a unique case, but I don’t think it would be possible without the community support that started before even we bought it. Westmass started those conversations early, started to lay out what a plan might look like for the entire campus, and the town has been such an incredible partner all the way through,” he told BusinessWest. “And we’re seeing the same thing at Easthampton with the mill projects over there. You need that community buy-in and to have those conversations early to make these large-scale redevelopment projects successful. We want everybody paddling in the same direction, for sure.”
Among its other recent projects, Westmass has worked in a number of ways on the proposed data center in Westfield — from helping the developer through tax-financing programs to securing energy costs with Westfield Gas & Electric to working on state legislation for a personal property-tax exemption — and played a construction-management role for Baystate Health on its Mary Lane Hospital decommissioning, to name just a couple. Westmass was also recently selected also as a house doctor for MassDevelopment projects.
And it’s just getting started.
“We just want to continue expanding our impact,” O’Donnell said. “I think we’ve played a really strong role in these discrete projects, but I think we have an incredible team and the bandwidth to start thinking about potentially larger partnerships and projects throughout Western Mass.
“It’s going to be an evolutionary process on our part, and hopefully we keep bringing in enough work that we can hire some more staff and a team to keep growing this thing,” he added. “It’s incremental at this point, but we’re really trying to build those relationships and get those projects moving.”
More: BusinessWest
A multibillion-dollar data center project is coming to Western Mass.
Boston Globe (November 20, 2024)
A measure in the economic development bill paves the way for a massive data center, the largest in the state, to be built in Westfield. Pictured here is a rendering of what those data-center buildings would look like.
So which giant tech company is going to set up a major operation in Westfield? Will it be Amazon, Alphabet, or maybe Microsoft?
The state Legislature last week approved a measure that exempts data centers from the state’s sales and use tax. And a massive project near the Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport, about 15 miles west of Springfield, is moving ahead as a result, according to Jeff Daley, president of the Westmass Area Development Corp.
Estimated to cost more than $3 billion at full buildout, the Westfield data center would be the largest such complex in the state by far, not to mention one of the largest private-sector projects of any type. As many as 10 buildings packed with computer servers for storing and processing data would be built there over time.
Westmass helped the data-center developer, Servistar Realties, secure approval from the city’s planning board as well as a major tax break from the city council two years ago. Servistar also negotiated a power purchase agreement with the local municipal utility, Westfield Gas & Electric, that will allow it to receive below-market electric rates. But a sales tax exemption, like what is offered to data centers in more than half of US states, was a big missing component necessary to make the deal happen, Daley said.
That changes with the passage of a new economic development bill last week at the State House; that bill, which includes the sales tax exemption for data centers, was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey on Wednesday. Servistar was represented in State House negotiations by Smith, Costello & Crawford, Boston’s busiest lobbying firm.
Data center developers have long steered clear of New England, in large part because of the high cost of electricity here. But Daley argues that the sales-tax exemption will spur other projects, beyond the one in Westfield, in other cities and towns served by a municipal electricity utility, particularly those that are strategically located on the electric grid (as the Westfield site is).
Daley said he spoke to Paul Corey, a Connecticut lawyer who represents the investors in Servistar, on Friday, the day after the bill passed. Corey told Daley that he is having conversations this week with several potential anchor tenants for the data center complex. Daley said he doesn’t know the specific company names, other than many of the biggest data-center users in the country have expressed an interest — a group that includes the likes of Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, and Microsoft.
“One of his quotes was, ‘None of this would have moved forward without these tax incentives,’ ” Daley said. “They won’t even look at Massachusetts without that being on the books.”
The project was proposed before the recent boom in artificial intelligence prompted many of the big tech players to devote even more capital to expanding data center capabilities. A recent analysis from McKinsey & Co. shows demand for data-center capacity more than tripling in the US by 2030 from today’s levels.
Daley said the 10 data-center buildings would go up over two decades, eventually spanning 2.7 million square feet of space. He said the AI boom would likely accelerate that timeline. Because of the need for regular equipment upgrades, Daley said the sales tax exemption could save the future data-park owners up to $30 million a year. Construction could start by sometime in early 2026, Daley said, and the first building would likely take around 18 months to complete.
Servistar, named after the road where the project would go up, will most likely sell the 155-acre development to a national data center operator, which would then lease some or most of the buildings to a big tech company, while also hunting for smaller users to share those buildings. Under the city’s tax break plan, the owners would pay up to $372 million in property taxes to Westfield over 40 years, Daley said, while also saving them millions of dollars a year. Eventually, as many as 400 people could work there on a full-time basis.
The provision in the economic development bill, sponsored by Representative Michael Finn of West Springfield, would exempt qualified data centers from sales taxes for up to 30 years. Finn issued a statement saying the bill “represents a major step forward in ensuring Massachusetts remains a competitive player in the digital economy.” Senator John Velis of Westfield filed a similar bill in the Senate.
“I honestly think it’s a game changer, not only for Western Mass.,” Daley said. “It opens up a whole other sector of technology for Massachusetts to compete with other states.”
More: Boston Globe