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Date: 5/18/2022
NORTHAMPTON – A new community campaign is currently underway in Northampton to revitalize the city’s downtown business community and surrounding commercial areas in response to the COVID-19 economic downturn.
“The Northampton Vibrancy Project” has been created by local leaders and volunteers to enact a 20-month long initiative – from May until December 2023 – designed to help businesses recover from the pandemic and to reinvest in Northampton as a regional destination for entertainment, shopping and dining.
The coalition is led by the Greater Northampton Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee (EDC), which is a group of 40 community volunteers and business owners, and the Downtown Northampton Association (DNA), in partnership with the city and other organizations, influencers and stakeholders.
According to Randy Krowtowski, the Vibrancy Project leader and community volunteer on EDC, many EDC members are small business or shop owners who were heavily impacted by the economic downturn caused by COVID-19.
“We decided as a committee that we need to figure out, is there anything we can do,” Krowtowski told Reminder Publishing, in an interview.
Bob Fazzi, a retired business owner and community volunteer who serves on the EDC, conducted a survey with businesses in Northampton and determined the key themes and issues that everyone was facing.
“Everyone in our community has a role to play in Northampton’s recovery and we want to put the spotlight on the things that make Northampton the Paradise City,” said Fazzi. “The Vibrancy Project leverages existing partnerships and programs and opens the door for new collaborations to attract new businesses and give people new reasons to return to downtown.”
Through this survey, the EDC was able to determine five themes that will help drive the revitalization of Northampton: programs to help increase staffing, an expansion of downtown events and activities with broad generational appeal to increase foot traffic, a focus and support for new business owners and entrepreneurs, leveraging of partnerships to improve branding for tourism, and developing methods to increase and sustain funding to support downtown events.
“Northampton has always been a destination for tourists,” said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Vince Jackson. “Our incredible restaurants, our live music and performing arts scene, and our Main Street shopping experience combine to make Northampton a unique and vibrant attraction in Western Massachusetts.”
Krowtowski noted how there are a few vacancies up and down Main Street, which is a problem the EDC hopes to fix through this project. “There’s more vacancies now than before the pandemic,” Krowtowski said. “So, the question now is how do we get businesses, because the more businesses the more foot traffic, and the more foot traffic the more shoppers.”
Within their research, the EDC studied ways in which the region is trying to prosper following the worst of the pandemic as a way to inform themselves when revitalizing Northampton. Through this research, the EDC found that the last decade featured the slowest growth in Hampshire County since the 1930s.
“When you think about all the people shopping here and keeping the stores alive and the small businesses alive, and you take that and compare it with the fact that the pandemic shifted people online … you realize that your population is not growing that much, and a lot of money is leaving the community in online shopping,” said Krowtowski. “What’s that mean for small businesses, and restaurants, and the rest of downtown?”
The 20-month timeline allows the EDC to look at ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding, and how that can be utilized to ramp up downtown and see if festivals and other events can be scheduled faster. “There’s some things we can do now, but there’s also long-term trends that we have to deal with,” said Krowtowski. “We know we’re going into this reconstruction on Main Street. Are there things we can put in place to help our businesses during that time, and are there things we can put into place to help us come out of that strong?”
The Vibrancy Project is still in its early stages, but the EDC has already put together five action teams to assist with the five themes in focus. The Vibrancy Project Steering Committee is seeking additional community volunteers to serve on the five action teams. Those interested can contact Krowtowski via email at randy@in413.com.