Of the $303 million that Gov. Maura Healey announced will support economic development and housing projects across the state, $16.6 million is coming to Franklin County municipalities and organizations.
“We’re investing in communities across Massachusetts to create the housing, jobs and economic growth our state needs,” Healey said in a statement. “These awards will turn underused properties into new homes and businesses, strengthen downtowns, create good jobs and unlock billions of dollars in private investment. That means more opportunity for families, workers and businesses in every part of our state.”
Greenfield
The city of Greenfield, and other organizations based within the city, have been awarded a total of $4.36 million. In a statement, the city said the funding will support the development of 327 new jobs, more than 40,000 square feet of new commercial space and 93 new housing units in Greenfield.
The city will use more than $1 million to support water and sewer infrastructure upgrades at Greenfield Country Estates on Adams Road. On the Community One Stop for Growth dashboard, the project description details that about three-quarters of the infrastructure at the manufactured home park, featuring 65 affordable residences, has been replaced already. This funding will support infrastructure upgrades for the remaining quarter.
Another $165,000 will be put toward the installation of signs downtown, with a focus on parking, including a large-scale mural on the side of the Olive Street Parking Garage; $85,000 will be used to update the city’s Master Plan, which will include a review of demographic, housing and economic data; and $50,000 will be used for a vacant storefront program that will offer refundable tax credits as an incentive to help fill vacant commercial spaces in Greenfield.
“We’re excited to get to work on these projects,” Community and Economic Development Director Amy Cahillane said in a statement. “Bringing businesses and vibrant activity to our downtown is a top priority, and this funding will help us make it happen.”
In addition to city-led projects, other Greenfield-based organizations are receiving grants.
Redevelopment of the former Wilson’s Department Store on Main Street will benefit from $2.4 million, with the Franklin Community Co-op being awarded $1 million to support masonry, fire protection, electrical, plumbing, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) work to transform the first floor into a space for Green Fields Market, and $1.4 million going to The Community Builders to put toward interior demolition and the renovation of the upper floors into 61 units of affordable housing.
Additionally, Rural Development Inc. (RDI) received $500,000 for hazardous materials abatement, demolition and construction preparation work at 176 Main St., where RDI plans to build 32 affordable housing units. The Franklin County Agricultural Society was also awarded $135,000 to install a sprinkler system and expand the capacity of the grandstand at the Franklin County Fairgrounds on Wisdom Way.
West County
Shelburne received $1.11 million for repairs and replacements of deteriorated or obsolete infrastructure at the Deerfield Avenue Wastewater Pumping Station. Another grant, for $1 million, will go toward the reconstruction and resurfacing of 1.7 miles on South Shelburne Road, which also involves the replacement of 10 to 12 culverts.
Highway Superintendent Jeff Johnston told the Selectboard in June that this road project should break ground early next year, with construction slated to take about three months.
“I think it’ll be beneficial to everyone out there. It’s a pretty rough road,” Johnston said at the time. “[There’s] not a lot of driving surface. … It makes it harder for us to patch it when it’s like that — there’s nothing to hold to. So, I think it’ll be beneficial to everyone who lives on that road, those who don’t and then … when Bardwell’s Ferry Bridge opens, it’s probably going to be heavily used.”
Neighboring Buckland received $1 million for Phase 3 of the Charlemont Road project, which will rebuild the deteriorated portion of the road near the Charlemont town line.
In Charlemont, $765,000 is slated for the redesign and reconstruction of the intersection of Tower Road and Route 8A. Town Administrator Sarah Reynolds said grant programs like this are how the town does a majority of its larger-scale road reconstruction projects.
In this redesign, the town aims to address unsafe road conditions at the intersection, with Reynolds saying the road acts as a detour route. It’s often large trucks that navigate this road, but the trucks “get kind of hung up there,” according to Reynolds.
Heath is another town that was awarded funding. With its $500,000, Heath is focusing on safety improvements on Route 8A, including drainage upgrades and slope stabilization. Scour countermeasures will be applied at the intersection with Brunelle Road, where there is a history of scour and erosion during heavy rain events.
In Ashfield, Double Edge Theatre received a $250,000 grant, to be put toward design, engineering and a feasibility assessment of 225 Main St., with the hope that it can be used to provide 10 new units of affordable housing.
Affordable housing is one of the nonprofit’s six core initiatives, along with sustainability, food justice, community partnerships, conversations and youth programming.
“We’re an arts and culture organization; that’s the root of what we do,” said Adam Bright, executive director of Double Edge Theatre. “The leaves and the branches, or the shoots coming out from those roots, can be all kinds of things. … We’ve got all kinds of affordable housing that we work with, subsidizing housing from our own budget, for people to be able to live in Ashfield.”
Double Edge Theatre offers subsidized housing to low-income residents as well as performers that stay with the theater company for a set season. Right now, the nonprofit has 21 residences available to artists and cultural workers, according to its website.
Meanwhile, the town of Ashfield received $45,500, which will be used to develop a housing production plan, the first of its kind in town.
In Colrain, $100,500 is allocated for development of a Comprehensive Plan. Colrain’s last Comprehensive Plan was completed in 1992.
Updates to the plan include establishing strategies for housing, economic development, infrastructure, climate resilience, natural resources and municipal service.
Gill, Montague and Erving
Montague is receiving a total of $705,000 for three projects, including engineering design work to redevelop the former Farren Care Center into housing; installation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant ramps for businesses in the area of 102 to 112 Avenue A in Turners Falls; and a wayfinding design and planning project in Turners Falls.
“We got about $700,000 from the state through the suite of programs they offer each year — that’s a 100% success rate,” Assistant Town Administrator Chris Nolan-Zeller told the Montague Selectboard last week. “I’m very proud of the work we were able to accomplish on that. … A crucial step toward future redevelopment of the site is being able to get that engineering work done.”
Last week, Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Juana Matias and other state officials toured Montague and the former Farren Care Center site. In a statement, local and state officials said the Community One Stop for Growth funding would help the town move forward on the project, which could see the development of up to 150 housing units.
“The Farren property is the site of a former hospital that has been cleared and planned for village housing development,” Montague Town Administrator Walter Ramsey said in a statement. “With bike path and bus access, the Farren site is a tremendous opportunity to develop much-needed housing in Franklin County. Montague is thrilled to be working with EOHLC to bring this community-supported vision to reality.”
“MassDevelopment is pleased to administer the Site Readiness Program on behalf of the commonwealth and award $456,000 through this year’s round of Community One Stop for Growth to fund infrastructure and civil engineering design work that will advance redevelopment of the former Farren Care Center property in Montague,” MassDevelopment President and CEO Navjeet Bal said in a statement. “This funding builds on prior multi-agency technical assistance that our team engaged in, building toward the goal of converting this underutilized site into a vibrant, mixed-use village center.”
Gill has been awarded $1.15 million, which will be used to evaluate and design improvements to the aging Riverside Sewer Pump Station, and fund final design work, survey analysis and a traffic study for an improvement project on Main Road.
“That’s funding for design engineering for full-depth reconstruction and drainage improvements for the 2-mile section of Main Road, just north of Route 2 up to the intersection of Mountain Road,” Gill Town Administrator Ray Purington told the Selectboard last week. “So it’s design engineering for full-depth reconstruction and drainage improvements following the MassDOT design process.”
The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) was awarded $150,000, which will be used for an Erving-based outdoor recreation economy roadmap.
North County
In Warwick, the town received $1 million for the resurfacing of Northfield Road — an “important tie” to nearby schools, according to Assistant Town Coordinator Diana Noble.
The road also leads to Interstate 91, and Routes 63 and 10, connecting residents to Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield and neighboring towns.
The resurfacing will entail milling, a new tack coat, new pavement, line painting and the replacement of culverts along the road “as needed,” according to the state’s description on the Community One Stop for Growth dashboard.
“I’m impressed with the teamwork in the Highway Department that led to this grant,” Noble said.
In Northfield, the town got $307,000 for engineering for a possible sewer expansion at Rustic Ridge.
According to Board of Sewer Commissioners Chair Karen Boudreau, fewer people are summering at Rustic Ridge, and they’re instead becoming year-long residents. With this expanded population, the town plans to work with engineering firm Weston & Sampson to study what the process would look like if the town expanded its sewer coverage.
“In the past four to five years, we have been working very diligently to address all of the needs,” Boudreau said, adding that, along with rising water costs and climate change, many privately owned septic systems are “aged out.”
While this grant won’t install a new sewer system at Rustic Ridge, it will give the town a blueprint for what steps should be taken to accomplish that goal.
“It’s tough country up there,” Boudreau said. “Previously, there had been lots of hopes and dreams of expanding sewer there, but it couldn’t quite get off the ground.”
Boudreau added that the Board of Sewer Commissioners is very grateful to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the state government for working with the town “through this trying time.”
North Quabbin
The Orange Economic Development & Industrial Corporation (OEDIC) is getting $200,000, a major boost to its efforts to redevelop the former Butterfield School at 94 South Main St.
OEDIC was recently notified that it had received two $100,000 grants. Chair Tom Sexton explained that one of the grants will enable the OEDIC to undertake a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment to determine if hazardous substances, petroleum products or other environmental contaminants are present in the 2.1-acre property’s soil or groundwater, while the other grant can be used to advance the redevelopment effort through pre-construction feasibility, planning and design work.
Butterfield School, built in 1878, was closed in 2015 due to declining enrollment and the town’s financial issues. OEDIC assumed ownership of the site following a vote at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting.
Sexton said the latest tranche of funding will complement roughly $9,900 that Orange received through FRCOG in 2024. The earlier grant, he mentioned, identified underground former heating oil tanks and an apparent groundwater monitoring well. He said the more recent grant will likely make the property more appealing to a buyer.
“Hopefully, it increases the value of the property,” he said.
Based on the work that the OEDIC has done so far and on conversations with government officials and potential developers, reuse of the Butterfield School will need to include housing, due to the availability of funding for that purpose and the opportunity to address an identified community need. Other complementary uses, such as a senior center for town residents, could also be built into the upcoming request for proposals. The project could also include refurbishment of the school’s auditorium and gymnasium, together with public use of those facilities and outdoor recreational space on the grounds.
As the next step in the process, OEDIC is planning a community engagement effort. This is expected to include a public tour of the former school in November, a meeting on Nov. 17 at Town Hall to review the project and seek public input, an online community survey, and a community engagement summary report. OEDIC’s board of directors recently voted to partner on the community engagement work with Resilience Planning, which managed a similar effort as part of the Grow Orange 2035 long-range comprehensive plan.
The community engagement results will help feed the development of the formal RFP that is expected to be released in the first few months of 2027. The intent is to generate redevelopment proposals by midyear and to select a developer later in the year.
Also in Orange, $2.3 million is heading to support Phase 2 of the South Main Street project. This money will fund roadway improvements and installation of new water main, sewer, drainage and stormwater management infrastructure.
In connection with the redevelopment of the former Butterfield School, state officials say the reconstruction of South Main Street will catalyze housing production and economic development by removing the infrastructure constraints that currently exist, both at the former Butterfield School and the surrounding area.
“I’m hopeful that the redevelopment of Butterfield School is the first step in creating housing and a more vibrant downtown,” state Rep. Susannah Whipps, I-Athol, said in a statement. “We need to look at this robust investment from the state as the beginning of an exciting era in Orange.”
Meanwhile, New Salem got $500,000 for the replacement of deteriorated culverts on West Main Street. These new culverts, in addition to being modern, will be climate resilient.
South County
Leverett plans to channel $1 million toward stabilizing Dudleyville Brook and Dudleyville Road. The grant will fund bank armoring, improvements to the roadway embankment, replacement of the roadbed material, drainage work and the installation of safety barriers.
Another $75,000 grant will benefit Leverett by kicking off a Town Center Improvement Plan geared toward pedestrian safety, accessibility, circulation, parking and connecting community destinations.
Deerfield was awarded $100,000 to carry out feasibility studies analyzing potential updates to the South Deerfield Wastewater Treatment Plant, at 150 Sunderland Road, that could help the town use the plant to its fullest potential, as Deerfield’s Public Works Superintendent Matthew Morse said.
According to Morse, the town separated its stormwater system from its sewer system in the early 2000s, significantly reducing the daily flow into the Wastewater Treatment Plant from 850,000 gallons per day to 330,000 gallons per day.
“Now having roughly 500,000 gallons of availability, we want to dive into our options on how to utilize it,” Morse said.
The feasibility studies and research will look into potential paths for accepting new septage from nearby towns or Deerfield residents who use private waste systems. Morse hopes the town could cut costs for these Deerfield residents by accepting their sewage at a “much lower” price.
“If we can successfully get this service up and running smoothly,” Morse said, “it will save all our residents in the long run by helping to keep our sewer rates from increasing significantly.”
