HOLYOKE — Housing affordability, gentrification and the potential displacement of longtime residents were among the issues discussed June 3 as Governor Maura Healey’s Advisory Council on Latino Empowerment launched its statewide community tour with a housing-focused forum in Holyoke.
The forum was the first stop on LEAC’s statewide listening tour, which aims to gather community input on issues affecting residents and use that feedback to inform recommendations to the Healey administration.
Housing was selected as the focus of the Holyoke event because of ongoing concerns about affordability, neighborhood change and economic development in gateway cities.
“One thing Holyoke has been doing for a long time is keeping its finger on the pulse on concerns and issues around gentrification,” said Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia. “We have the tools that are in place, the partnerships, the strategies, from the old master plan and the updated comprehensive plan, and also lessons learned from just our history on this issue. It’s very intentional and strategic in how we make these investments to make sure that the tides are rising together.”
The council’s three Holyoke-based members — Garcia, Planning and Economic Development Director Eric Nakajima, and Holyoke Housing Authority Board Chair Theresa Cooper Gordon — emphasized that the city’s redevelopment efforts are intended to improve neighborhoods without displacing residents who depend on affordable housing.
Addressing concerns about gentrification, Garcia said city officials are mindful of the issue as redevelopment projects move forward.
“When we talk about concerns on gentrification, we are paying attention to that,” Garcia said. “As we continue to navigate, because it’s a moving target and these projects are complex, the goal is to look at what’s in that neighborhood, what we need to preserve and what’s missing so that we’re creating a mixed economic situation.”
Council members pointed to several redevelopment projects they said demonstrate the city’s efforts to revitalize neighborhoods without displacing existing residents. Among the examples discussed were redevelopment plans at Lyman Terrace, the decision not to demolish housing in South Holyoke’s Flats neighborhood after residents and activists raised concerns about displacement, investments in the Churchill neighborhood and the conversion of vacant paper mills into housing for residents 55 and older.
Garcia highlighted one former mill building that was preserved and repurposed to help elderly Holyoke residents.
“We took an old mill building that was about to be demolished completely,” Garcia said. “It’s part of the fabric of our city’s history, around the Industrial Revolution time, that has been redeveloped for housing for 55 and older. So again, that’s the city and its partners thinking intentionally and making sure that we’re not displacing anyone. When there are opportunities to add, what is it that’s missing that we need to add so we can make sure that we’re building an ecosystem that’s living and growing together.”
As housing costs continue to rise across Massachusetts, panelists acknowledged concerns about demographic change and emphasized the importance of ensuring current residents benefit from the city’s growth.
“When we talk about what it costs to live in Boston, yeah, those people are moving out here because it’s cheaper for them to move out here. We have our own municipality in terms of our utilities, so they’re coming in. There’s no doubt about it, but at the same time, we should make sure that those who are here now, that we take good care of them,” said Cooper Gordon. “We did gentrification without displacement.”
