On June 30th,MassINC joined the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for a community conversation on transformative development in Springfield. The forum was held at Make-It Springfield, a pop-up makerspace launched with support from MassDevelopment’s TDI program. Managed in partnership with the UMass Design Center in Springfield, the space has revitalized a vacant storefront bringing new energy
Investing in economic development
The Gateway Cities Journal
After several months reviewing the Baker administration’s ambitious $918 million economic development proposal, the House and Senate Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies has come to agreement on a pared-down version of the bill. The proposed legislation cuts back on the overall spending in Governor Baker’s plan by roughly $320 million and shortens
Fueling the Gateway Cities Collaborative Workspace Movement
The Transformative Development Fund will fuel the growth of collaborative workspaces—a budding new approach to draw the innovation economy into the Commonwealth’s Gateway Cities. Collaborative workspaces are hubs that have become popular among a new generation of entrepreneurs. Groups seeking to build collaborative workspace are sprouting up across the Gateway Cities. True to their manufacturing
Rundown of the Gateway Cities Allocations in Economic Development Bill
The recently passed economic stimulus package totaling $46 million is now on its way to Governor Patrick’s desk. Aside from the $16 million Gateway Cities Transformative Development Fund, the addition of $10 million to the states’ Brownfield Redevelopment Fund, and $20 million into the Housing Development Incentive Program, the bill included many other appropriations that
Gateway Cities Innovation Institute Applauds MassDevelopment’s Hiring of Director of Transformative Development
New role will focus on economic development in Gateway Cities The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute at MassINC is excited that MassDevelopment has hired Anne Gatling Haynes as Director of Transformative Development. This appointment is sign of further momentum around House Bill 311, An Act to Promote Transformative Development in Gateway Cities, which is currently being
Gateway City Leaders Applaud Extension of Transformative Redevelopment Bill
Legislation would spur private investment in Gateway Cities Gateway City leaders are encouraged by the action the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies took on Wednesday to extend consideration of House Bill 311, An Act to Promote Transformative Development in Gateway Cities. With a deadline yesterday in the two-year legislative session that ends
Latest Housing Report Card reinforces the case for transformative redevelopment
The Greater Boston Housing Report Card released last week shows that middle class families are increasingly priced out of Boston by a hostile housing market that vastly favors high-end development. Commonwealth magazine’s Paul McMorrow hammered home the point in a Boston Globe op-ed describing a “city with rapidly growing populations of both rich and poor
Transformative redevelopment heating up
Ben Forman delivered an opening address on the concept of Transformative Redevelopment at a MassDevelopment event on Wednesday. The daylong forum, billed as “Lessons in Transformative Economic Development,” brought together leaders from several Gateway Cities, including Fitchburg, Leominster, and Worcester. The transformative redevelopment discussion continued Wednesday afternoon at the State House before the House Committee on
Demonstrating the Transformative Redevelopment potential of Creative Placemaking through photography
Artists can play a major role in transformative redevelopment because they see space through a different lens, imagining authentic new uses for buildings that increase neighborhood vitality, and draw new investment to abutting properties. Help us demonstrate the opportunities that creative placemakers can unlock in your community. Send along examples of cultural projects that have been