5 research outputs found
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Gleasondale Village Revitalization Plan
In 2005, the Town of Stow received a Priority Development Fund Grant made available by MassHousing. The funds were used to develop zoning bylaws with the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission for a draft Mixed-Use Overlay District in town (Stow Lower Village 2011, 4). At that time, two of Stow’s villages, Gleasondale and the Lower Village, seemed like ideal candidates for the project. After focusing its initial efforts on the Lower Village, the Town is preparing to turn next to Gleasondale, in the southern edge of town. A classic mill village on the Assabet River, Gleasontdale is home to Stow’s contribution to the American Industrial Revolution.
The purpose of this project is to create a revitalization plan for Gleasondale that will capitalize on the village’s remarkable characteristics. Today, Gleasondale is home to a variety of uses, including agriculture, outdoor recreation, housing, and light industry. At the center of the village are two mill buildings, which have housed Gleasondale’s industrial operations for generations. Throughout the spring of 2013, a team of graduate students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has assessed the social and economic potential of the village and the town. As part of the Economic Development Practicum, the team was tasked with identifying key issues and developing recommendations for revitalization and preservation in accordance with Stow’s values.
The project team has gathered information from a number of sources: Documents and Reports, Town Officials, Industry Professionals, and Local Stakeholders. Documents from municipal, regional, and state agencies were reviewed alongside reports from civic groups and non-profit organizations. Town officials were consulted for insights pertaining to the town and village, and the feasibility of potential recommendations. The team contacted industry professionals for in-depth guidance on larger-scale issues, in order to place particulars in their appropriate context. Local stakeholders were interviewed, as well, to gather the perspective of tenants and property owners at the Gleasondale Mill site.
Following initial meetings with planning officials in Stow, the team drafted a project scope. The project was completed in three phases: inventory, assessment, and implementation. This report presents the output of each of these phases. The inventory examines the physical, social, cultural, legal, and commercial elements in the project area. The assessment identifies the major issues pertaining to the redevelopment potential of the site, gathered from the inventory. Guided by the assessment, the implementation presents the team’s recommendations, and strategies for realizing them. The report concludes with a vision for Gleasondale
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A Vision for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club
The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), a Vision for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (Springfield, MA).
For a Vision for the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club, the Studio Team of six students was tasked with helping the newly invigorated nonprofit rowing club write a plan that implements their vision and expands their programs the next five years. Historically, the rowing club was an organization with a small budget and devoted following. Recently, the organization experienced an influx of revenue in the form of a public health grant. This new budget presents opportunities for organizational prosperity and sustainability and the Studio Team provides strategies to sustain the organization. The client was Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club
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The Revitalization of Springfield’s North End - Envisioning New Housing and Places to Live, Work and Recreate
This report summarizes the results of a seven-week design studio in our Landscape Architecture Program and engaged experts, stakeholders and medical students of the Memorial Square Neighborhood, in conjunction with planning officials from the Springfield Office of Planning and Economic Development. The project brought students and local export together in a supportive and constructive atmosphere of reciprocal learning.
The proposals seek to connect the powerful economy of the medical sector with the rich culture of the North End to create a more balanced social and economic climate. More spatial, green connections of the hospitals with local businesses on Main Street together with exploration of market-rate housing can benefit the area and will result in long-term opportunities for current and future residents
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Place-Making in the Regional Landscape, Site Planning for Fieldstone Farm | Princeton, MA
Fieldstone Farm, is located on Route 62, Hubbardston Road, just a few miles beyond the historic west village of Princeton, MA. The historic dairy farm is a landmark in town, with its grand white colonial home, massive, yet sadly abandoned, red cow barn, and stone-edged irrigation pond flanking the main road. When Ruth Smith passed away in 2012, concern spread over the future of the extensive farmland. The extended Smith family is currently in discussions with developers, and the site is being tested for development potential. Over 100 acres of meadows, successional fields, woodland, and wetland are up for review and capacity. Currently, several tenants who maintain the homestead occupy the house, and an adjacent three-acre field is being actively farmed for vegetable and flower production by a local tenant farmer. The Princeton Land Trust is at the forefront of studying the land use potential on behalf of the Town. This studio focused on siting appropriate uses on abandoned farmland, balancing the need for housing, agriculture, and unique cultural opportunities with the preservation of sensitive open space for passive recreational use and wildlife habitat
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An evaluation of Master Plans and their Land-Use Elements
The goal of Planning Studio is to develop a student’s techniques for collecting, analyzing, synthesizing spatial and non-spatial data and presenting that collective data in a manner (i.e., report, video, presentation, charettes) that is understandable to academics, professionals, and the public. Planning Studio allows students to integrate knowledge from coursework and research, and apply such knowledge to resolving representative planning problems. At UMASS Amherst, these problems are found in neighborhood, rural, urban, and/or regional settings. In Fall 2013, the course completed three projects: Master Plans & Land-Use Elements, the Revitalization of the Lower Worthington Street District (Springfield, MA), an Asset map and plan for Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (Springfield, MA).
For the Master Plans & Land Use Element evaluations, this assignment was conducted as preparation for the Springfield-based projects. The goal was to evaluate the land-use element of a municipal master plan, while allowing the students to develop as teams and refine their analytical skills. Each team read the master plan’s introduction and land-use element, examined development that has occurred within the last five to ten years, and determined if recent development was consistent with the goals, objectives, policies, and programs of the adopted master plan. If the master plan was recently adopted, then the students were to determine if the master plan would correct any deficiencies. Materials for this project include an Executive Summary for all analyses and a Poster