Energy & Sustainable Development CommitteeThe Partnership is pleased to welcome Beth Wierling, Planning & Construction Manager for The Kraft Group, as our new Private Sector Co-Chair. Beth will join our dedicated Public Sector Co-Chair for the ESD Committee, Kristen Las, Assistant Town Manager/Economic Development Coordinator for the Town of Shrewsbury. We would also like to thank the outgoing Co-Chair Kathleen Freeman of Eversource Energy for her years of service as Private Sector Co-Chair of the Committee. If you are interested in receiving notices for the Partnership's Energy & Sustainable Development Committee, please contact Deputy Director, Jessica Strunkin and write "ESD Committee" in the subject line.
April 24, 2018 April's topics included New England Forestry Foundation's Build It With Wood Initiative with Nicole St. Clair Knobloch and a detailed presentation on the Baker/Polito Administration's Housing Choice Initiative by Chris Kluchman, FAICP. Nicole is the project leader of the Build It With Wood Initiative and as such shared her insights on "mass timber," a class of engineered wood products that have the structural capacity to replace concrete and steel in taller buildings. According to New England Forestry Foundation, interest in using mass timber in buildings is growing in New England for its sustainability, durability, energy efficiency, faster construction times, and emergence as a new locally-sourced building material. Check out her presentation below.
A familiar face to the Partnership and the 495/MetroWest region, Chris Kluchman, FAICP, gave a presentation about the Baker/Polito Administration's Housing Choice Initiative. Chris is the Housing Choice Program Director, overseeing a program that provides tools for communities to meet the goal of creating 135,000 new housing units statewide by 2025. The program rewards communities that are producing housing and encourages local governments to expand housing options through new legislation, coordinated grants and technical assistance. Communities that meet certain criteria related to producing housing over the last 5 years qualify for "designation" as Housing Choice Communities, similar to the Green Communities program. Designation applications from local governments are due April 30, 2018. For more information see the website at https://www.mass.gov/housingchoice¿ and the presentation below.
December 7, 2017 The Committee's December meeting included two speakers from MassDevelopment on two topics. Claire O'Neil, VP Planning & Development, gave a presentation on their Real Estate Technical Assistance Services, for which the request for proposals is currently out and submissions are due on December 15th. Following detailed Q&A on Real Estate, Wendy O'Malley, VP MassDevelopment and PACE Program Manager, discussed Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a new financing mechanism created in the energy legislation signed by Govenor Baker in August 2016, and administered by MassDevelopment and the MA Department of Energy Resources. Click on the images below for their full presentations.
October 20, 2015 Mill & Main in Maynard Attendees were treated to an exciting presentation about the new ownership and vision for Mill & Main in Maynard by Jill Minkin, Vice President of Business Development, Programs & Partnerships, and Henry St. Hilaire, Director of Development & Construction for Saracen Properties. We also heard from Kevin Sweet, Maynard's Town Administrator, on how the town worked with the new owners of the 1.1 million square feet complex formerly known as Clock Tower Place. Check out the link below for a great video that brings the vision for Mill & Main to life!
August 26, 2015 MassWorks Infrastructure Grant Program The Partnership greatly appreciates the timely presentation by Erica Kreuter, Director of the MassWorks Infrastructure Program for the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, about the current application process, which opened on June 8th. Applications are due Friday, September 4th. In addition to Erica's insights, we were also joined by Bill Sedewitz, P.E., Chief Engineer for the Town of Framingham. Bill offered details on their successful MassWorks application and an update on the progress of their project.
July 29, 2015 - coUrbanize Presentation Helping developers, planners, and residents work together to build better cities and towns. The Partnership's ESD Committee reconvened in July 2015 for an exciting presentation on a relatively new community development platform called coUrbanize. Residents use coUrbanize to learn about real estate and development projects in their communities. Project developers list projects on coUrbanize to share information and gather broader resident feedback to supplement the in-person meeting process. In the Partnership's service area of 35 communities, coUrbanize has been used by the Town of Ashland and by MassDevelopment for Devens re-zoning efforts. We heard from the Co-Founder and CEO of coUrbanize, Karin Brandt, as well as from Erikk Hokenson, Assistant Project Manager at MassDevelopment. The Town of Ashland was well represented by Matthew Selby, Director of Community Development & Health, and Nat Strosberg, Town Planner, who spoke about their experience with coUrbanize. For your convenience, we have provided links to their presentations below: |
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