Utile is excited to be starting a study of the Round House site in Northampton, as reported in the Northampton Gazette:
The mayor said the Round House lot has been generating “buzz” this spring, including from a few developers who have contacted his office inquiring about the property.
“I’m excited about it,” [Mayor] Narkewicz said Friday. “Economic development has been one of the priorities of my administration … and we want to redevelop the property in a way that maximizes economic development benefits and keeps with character of downtown.”
Under the agreement with MassDevelopment, the agency will bring in a Boston urban design firm called Utile to study the site, meet with key community stakeholders and develop a request for proposals.
In addition to studying market conditions, primarily in the areas of housing and office markets, the firm will examine the city’s zoning and the site’s previous development effort before making recommendations.
The design firm will do this in consultation with the community, including neighbors and downtown businesses. Narkewicz said he hopes the resulting request for proposals will allow the city to meet its many goals for the site, including boosting tax revenue, creating jobs and enhancing the downtown business climate.
