Planning efforts begin with neighborhood meetings

Date: 10/18/2011

Oct. 19, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

SPRINGFIELD — What residents would like to see in their section of the city as it is rebuilt after the tornado was the subject of community meetings last week facilitated by Concordia, the consulting firm hired to assemble a master plan.

Larissa Brown of the company Goody Clancy, which is working with Concordia on writing the plan, told a packed room at the Gentile Apartments on William Street in the South End, “The tornado is an opportunity.”

Gerald Hayes, one of the two men heading the rebuilding effort for the city, said the results of the “listening tour” that was conducted earlier this summer was given to Concordia and the present series of meetings would “build” on those.

Brown said the finished plan would have “a lot of emphasis on implementation” and the three-month writing schedule was a “very accelerated process.”

She added the team writing the plan is aware the South End has been the subject of other redevelopment efforts and that some of them are in various stages of implementation.

“We’re not going to reinvent the wheel,” Brown said.

Her colleague from Goody Clancy, David Dixon, said, “Being realistic is really critical at this time.”

He said the South End is in a good position when it comes to the trends concerning how people view cities and a return to urban living. He explained that many younger people are seeking to live in urban neighborhoods in order to be closer to their jobs and amenities after years of a trend in which these potential residents were choosing to live in suburban communities.

At the same time, Dixon said the recession has changed the attitudes of businesspeople from locating offices in stand-alone office park facilities to seeking out mixed-use buildings in cities.

Dixon explained that m— how close homes are to retail, services and entertainment. He asked the participants to go to www.walkscore.com to rate their neighborhood.

According to the website, the South End has a rating of 86 out of a 100, meaning it is “very walkable.”

After Dixon’s presentation, the participants broke up into small groups and went through an exercise to determine what their priorities would be for their neighborhood as it is rebuilt.

Dixon noted the results were “similar in spirit.”

During their presentations, the participants showed that among the common goals was a cleaner and safer neighborhood. One resident said her group believes that “safety and policing is critical for the future” and recommended the return of a police sub-station in the South End.

A senior center is also something the residents noted should be established as well as a new site fore the South End Community Center.

Easier connections to the riverfront were also mentioned as well as establishing the South End as a “gateway” to the downtown area.

More market rate housing and more mixed-use buildings were also cited.

Brown said the next step after the first round of meetings would be a second series in which the planners will present their ideas for the affected neighborhoods. The next meeting for the South End will be Nov. 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the same location. The meetings for the other neighborhoods have not yet been scheduled.

For more information on the planning process, go to http://rebuildspringfield.com.