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Date: 5/24/2022
SOUTH HADLEY – Town Administrator Lisa Wong recently announced that South Hadley was awarded two Regional Economic Development Organization grants totaling $100,500. The grants are to help assist with facade improvements for businesses in South Hadley Falls, as well as establishing a mesh Wi-Fi network in the Falls and Village Commons District areas.
“It was a fairly streamlined process” said Wong. “We just tried to put our proposals in writing with the project description and a budget. The grant needed to be linked to a Local Rapid Recovery Plan, which the town developed before I came here. Thankfully, we had one for the town that was completed last year and that plan outlined a number of different projects, so, we just selected them from that plan and put two of them forward.”
Many are excited to see how this pair of regional developments will help benefit the South Hadley community, she indicated.
“I’m glad that we got funding and are able to do a little bit of everything we have asked for” Wong added. “Having the Wi-Fi system for both the Village Commons and the Falls area is great. We were happy to get the areas covered as opposed to just picking one.”
As for the future of facade improvement for South Hadley, Wong seems confident in her vision for the town. “We will have funding for facade improvement in the Falls area, which is within our urban renewal plan means. It is a targeted area that the town wants to redevelop so that’ll be a nice kickstart to that.”
With a sense of renewal, some are concerned that places around the area might lose their local charm. Wong, however, is not.
“Essentially, we are supporting small businesses by doing things that we think will attract more people to the area,” Wong added. “The Village Commons will be getting some outdoor games and outdoor furniture which is kind of neat, so we anticipate people being outside, being able to get on the free Wi-Fi system in the Falls area, and working with small business to make their storefronts more attractive. All of these things we are hoping will bring more people into the area and support our business.”
Wong has been the town administrator for over half a year, and while there has been an upsurge in South Hadley activity since COVID-19 restrictions have slowed down, she is looking to bring even more economic potential to the budding area.
“I think the biggest thing we are aiming for is more foot traffic in our various business districts” said Wong. “We think both areas have a lot of potential. The local rapid recovery that was targeted in the Village Commons area but we do recognize that there are many, many business districts throughout the town, not just one or two, so we are going to do whatever we can to support local businesses both big and small.”