Stakeholders elected officials and residents gather for a groundbreaking ceremony for Wright’s Block on High Street.
Reminder Publishing photos by Tyler Garnet
HOLYOKE — Stakeholders, elected officials and residents gathered on Dec. 9 for a groundbreaking ceremony for Wright’s Block on High Street.
Wright’s Block is a full block restoration project located at the heart of Holyoke’s historic downtown.
The development will revive four storefronts from 106-120 High St. and add 19 residential apartments above.
The units will mainly serve people with mixed income, but there will be some market rate and affordable units. The project is estimated to be finished by summer 2027.
The restoration will simultaneously respect the original architecture and integrate modern infrastructure and energy efficiency.
Wright’s Block and other urbanist development projects on High Street are named after historic visionaries that shaped Holyoke.
Steven Wright immigrated to the city in the 1840s and helped build the walkable, vibrant, human scaled downtown at the turn of the century.
“We see ourselves as stewards of that legacy, restoring this block with dignity and the purpose it once had,” said Urbanist Development Design and Development Director Bill Womeldorf. “This building once had single room occupancy for mill workers and bustling storefronts at street level. Holyoke strived as a true walkable city and became stagnant after the turn of the automobile fractured many of these historic districts across the country. We’re here to carefully design and historically ground new, affordable and market rate housing above small storefront businesses.”
The project is just a block away from City Hall and the bus terminal.
According to its website, Urban Development’s mission is to “restore Holyoke and the surrounding Gateway Cities to their former luster using ‘New Urbanism design principles.’”
Wright’s Block is one of several restoration projects the company has either begun or completed on High Street in Holyoke.
Urbanist Development President Vadim Tulchinsky sarcastically joked about the cold temperatures but stated how the turnout for the groundbreaking ceremony was important.
“We figured ‘why do it when it’s warm,’” he said. “This really shows the kind of commitment that this town has to these kinds of projects.”
Tulchinsky thanked many supporters of the project, including Mayor Joshua Garcia, who was at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Garcia talked about the project in his remarks, stating, “When [Urbanist Development] arrived on to the scene, Wright’s Block was mostly abandoned. I grew up in this city; there was nothing on this side of High Street. Congratulations to you all, and I’m looking forward to being here on the ribbon cutting.”
Garcia noted that the city and state both helped support the project through various funding sources and will continue to collaborate with private developers to improve the city’s neighborhoods.
In 2023, the Holyoke Community Preservation Act Committee awarded the project $250,000 in CPA funds to assist with the restoration.
The Holyoke City Council also approved the redevelopment of the project under the state’s Housing Development Incentive Program in 2024.
Holyoke’s Planning and Economic Development Director Aaron Vega stated that this project will help mitigate the housing crisis and boost economic development.
“Yes, it’s so important right now to have new housing stock come online; we know we’re in a housing crisis, but when you think about housing, it’s the pillar for economic development,” Vega said. “As jobs are created, people need a place to work; as families grow, they need a place to live. Without housing, nothing else happens. So, as we bring five units, 10 units, 50 units, 100 units back online, that’s so important.”
Vega also talked about how important it is for the project to also include the four new storefronts.
“What’s so critical about this project from my perspective, is not just the housing, it’s also retail and mixed-use and restaurants, and bringing community, people together. That idea that housing can’t just happen in a vacuum, you need the ancillary events around it, whether it’s restaurants or retail opportunities,” Vega said.
