Holyoke, City of Dreams?

Yesterday I had an awesome tour of Holyoke, a planned industrial city in the Pioneer Valley. I connected with Brendan Ciecko online, a Holyoke native and young entrepreneur, and he offered a tour to me and my friend Emily. His knowledge of the city's buildings and its history was outstanding. I'm very grateful that he took an hour and a half out of his day to show us around! Thing is, it will probably pay off. He cares deeply about his city and wants to see it rise to its former glory in a post-industrial age. After that tour, (excuse the double negative) I can't see how my future couldn't include working for that city. I am a serious fan of late 19th century downtown buildings and in Holyoke there are beautiful examples everywhere. Many of them are unoccupied and in dire need of renovation. One eight-story building at 400 High Street, built in 1880, featuring outstanding facade detail and a 360 degree view of the valley on the upper floors, is for sale for just $125,000. Brendan described it as more of a liability than an asset, needing a complete gut-rehab. Still, it's just one example of the city's potential.

From what I saw, Holyoke is on the way up. The downtown is full of life, mostly from the large Latino community. Walking around you see people of all ages socializing, relaxing in the parks, listening to music with a great beat, and just going about their business. The city hall is gorgeous and in good shape. In 2006, the Holyoke Health Center opened in a building restored with marble floors, tin ceilings, and a beautiful reconstructed balustrade as the cornice. Open Square, a series of former mills on the canals summing 685,000 square feet and producing far more electricity from the dams than it can use, offers affordable space for offices, retail, artists, live/work lofts and more.

One day after leaving the city, I find myself dreaming about making a living by saving and restoring the historic buildings downtown. I won't claim to know a lot about business, but at such low prices, I don't think the barriers to entry for historic rehabilitation work could be much lower anywhere else. For now it's a dream, but someday soon I hope I can call it a goal.