BSLA Fieldbook BSLA 2015 Spring Fieldbook | Page 59

space. Our team desperately wanted to pursue
the preservation and redevelopment of the site’s
structures as endless case studies presented,
but we realized this would never be a realistic
plan as market and developer interest simply
did not exist. So, our focus shifted to developing
a plan to preserve the neighborhood’s rich
industrial heritage, while visioning for long term
development in low, moderate and high market
demand scenarios.

motion surprisingly wasn’t a detriment but
rather an opportunity to slow down and focus
on quality versus quantity.

We decided to pursue a community process in
developing our visions, which itself could have
been the focus of our project. With many back and
forth trips to Chicopee from Ithaca we collected
enough data through surveys, one-on-one
interviews and through student activities in the
public schools to develop a clear understanding
of the community’s thoughts for the project.

By year two the first successful grant firmly
established Chicopee’s Brownfields Program.
With more successes, I (unofficially) became
the City’s Grant Writer. Part two of grants
is the need to manage projects, so my focus
shifted again. With growing experience and
the opening of the Planning Director position,
I was appointed Acting Director.

And there was another unexpected path: the
enigmatic world of Grant writing. This was a
skill not taught in school, but learned through
experience, and mostly through failure. Not a
single grant proposal I wrote for my first year
was funded.

The completion of H.E.A.L. Chicopee included a
Two months in, our focus has shifted and we
presentation to Chicopee’s Mayor and Senior Staff,
have begun re-structuring ourselves to meet
followed by a requested public presentation. The
the needs of a contemporary Chicopee. Rather
project was over, we had
than focusing on
I f i n d t h a t my c u r r e nt wo r k zoning, subdivision,
delivered our plan to the
City, and at that point
me e t s my g o a l o f p o s i t ive l y and site development
it was out of student
regulations, we are
i mp ac t i n g p e o p l e’s l ive s
hands...or so I thought.
looking to define
a role more suited
The Mayor of Chicopee had directed his staff to
to the future. While I still struggle with
offer me an internship with the City’s Community
wanting to call myself a Landscape Architect,
Development Office to continue working on the
I find that my current work meets my goal
Uniroyal and Facemate Plan. That internship
of positively impacting people’s lives. I am
lasted through November of that year, when an
planning for and thinking about the future
offer came to work on a full-time permanent basis
while trying to conceptualize a process by
as a Planner & Administrator with the Community
which the small City of Chicopee can rebrand
Development Office, which I accepted.
itself and find a contemporary identity that
not only celebrates an amazing history, but
This was a new position, with a broad description
also embraces a future that is ours to define.
allowing me to focus on what was most needed.
Regardless of the title on my business card,
The first efforts were with the City’s Community
what carries the most weight right now is
Development Block Grant (CDBG) program—a
that I am working to help make people’s lives
federal grant completely managed by our office. I
better through urban design and planning.
learned the new language of “government,” which
illuminated that the fast pace of academic deadlines
If I stay true to this original passion, what else
did not extend into the public realm. But the slow
can I ask for?

Started Out
Education
Now

Chicopee, MA
BS, Delaware Valley College(Ornamental Horticulture); MLA, Cornell University
Acting Planning Director, Office of Planning & Development, City of Chicopee, MA

Boston Society of Landscape Architects Fieldbook

57