Chicopee Area Wide Planning Grant

Chicopee West End Area-Wide Planning Grant

In October 2010, PVPC was awarded a grant to team with the City of Chicopee to plan for brownfields redevelopment in Chicopee’s downtown West End. The $175,000 grant will be utilized to hire planning consultants to conduct a market study, a review of environmental conditions, and an inventory of area infrastructure in order to inform site-specific and neighborhood-wide brownfields revitalization strategies.

The West End

The West End is Chicopee’s original industrial core. There are at least

fifteen suspected brownfields in the area, clustered in three main areas. Between

Front Street and the Dwight Canal, the historic and vast Cabotville Mills complex is currently underutilized, with some residual commercial activity and a proposed residential re-use for the eastern portion of the complex. The Lyman Paper facility is newly vacant. Along the riverfront west of the Pan Am railroad and I-391, the former Hampden Steam power plant and Delta Industrial Park have been demolished, leaving vacant sites that may be suitable for redevelopment after cleanup. To the south, a pair of former gas or service station properties is located on Center Street, and the City’s former Water Department building is located on Tremont Street. These brownfields occupy key sites throughout the

West End and must be addressed in order for neighborhood

revitalization efforts to be successful.

Approximate boundaries of the plan area include (starting at the northeast and moving clockwise): Chicopee River (at the Chicopee Street bridge), Springfield Street (southeast for 1 block), Center Street (southwest several blocks to I-391: please note that some brownfields to be examined under this plan are located on the southeast side of Center Street), cutting west across I-391, Connecticut River north and northwest to the mouth of the Chicopee River, and the Chicopee River eastward back to the starting point at the Chicopee Street bridge.

Upcoming Public Events

Public input and participation are valued during the planning process. The next public event will be held on Tuesday, March 27 2012 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at the Portuguese American Club (149 Exchange Street, Chicopee). This free Downtown Chicopee Business Marketing Workshop will include a review of potential future commercial/retail, industrial, office, and residential markets, along with a retail analysis providing neighborhood-specific data and clearly defined strategies to catalyze redevelopment of local brownfields and the neighborhood in general. For more information or to attend the workshop, please click here.

Check back here at www.chicopeema.gov for scheduling information when it becomes available.

A variety of media and documents including maps, brownfield property fact sheets, and plan documents are available on the City of Chicopee’s website. Please click here to access that content.

Media & Documents

Cabotville Mill along  Dwight Canal

Former site of Delta Industrial Park along the

Chicopee River

Photos: Frank Gardner, US EPA

Pioneer Valley Planning Commission • 60 Congress Street – Floor 1 • Springfield, MA 01104-3419 • 413 781-6045