Ames Shovel Works in the Boston Globe
When a local developer purchased a site in North Easton, Massachusetts that used to house the Ames Shovel Works, the Ames family took notice. As lifetime owners and operators of the Shovel Works (they sold the complex in 1972), they had strong emotional ties to the site and were uniquely positioned to create awareness about its’ storied history.
The Village of North Easton is one of the most important industrial sites in Massachusetts, home to National Landmarks designed by H.H. Richardson, Frederick Law Olmsted open spaces, other significant period architecture and of course, the Shovel Works. As one time producers of 60 percent of the world’s shovels, the Ames wealth fueled all the aforementioned building.
When it became clear that the granite buildings that once housed the Shovel Works were in jeopardy of being demolished or, at best, irreparably altered in the planned Chapter 40B redevelopment, the Ames sprung to action. Along with other concerned residents, agencies and commissions, they formed The Friends of the Historic Ames Shovel Works at North Easton. The group hired an expert team to take up their cause: Utile, Inc. as urban designers and master planners, Noble and Wickersham as regulatory lawyers, Milford and Ford Architects as preservationists, and GLC Development Consulting as financial analysts.
Utile was tasked with creating a set of guidelines both sensitive to the historic importance of the site and realistic to potential redevelopment under existing 40B regulations. Under the new guidelines, Utile designed an alternative development scheme that kept density low and allowed for the preservation of significant buildings, primarily by using historic tax credits to meet the developments financial objectives.
The process is ongoing, and Utile remains an active and open participant. An article written by architecture critic Robert Campbell on the situation (including the image you see above) appeared in the Boston Globe on November 30.
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