Pioneer Valley
Planning Commission

Eric Carle Museum, Amherst, MA

Media Release

CONTACT: Larry Smith, Westfield Director of Planning and Community Development, (413) 572-6246
Jayne Bernhard, PVPC Housing and Land Use Planner (413) 781-6045


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 4, 2009

"Westfield Rediscovered" Opening Reception to Feature Re-thinking Downtown Westfield Report

Citizens of Westfield are invited to attend the gallery opening of “Westfield Rediscovered: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow” Thursday, August 6, 5:30 p.m. at the Westfield State College Downtown Art Gallery in the Rinnova Building, 105 Elm Street in downtown Westfield. This event will feature the launch of the Re-thinking Downtown Westfield project report.

The draft report summarizing project’s findings will be available online at www.westfielddowntownplan.com August 6-20 for public comments before being finalized by the end of the month. Comments may be made online at the project website, and a comment box will be available at the gallery until the August 20 deadline.

The City of Westfield, in collaboration with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, Westfield State College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Architecture, have been working since February of this year to develop a comprehensive downtown housing and economic development action plan.

Over the last seven months, the project team has conducted a downtown district plan survey, held a series of community interviews and focus groups, hosted a downtown visioning session, and coordinated two consecutive weekends of downtown design workshops to encourage Westfield residents to share their vision for living, working, and connecting in the downtown. The report's recommendations and action plan offer a prioritized pathway for moving forward with the downtown's revitalization.

Funding for the Re-thinking Downtown Westfield project is provided by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development’s Gateway Cities initiative to address housing and economic development concerns in the downtown.

For more information about the plan, contact Larry Smith, Westfield Director of Planning and Community Development, at (413) 572-6246, or Catherine Miller, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Principal Planner, at (413) 781-6045.