SHELBURNE FALLS — Business owners say 2024 was a challenging year, with the Bridge of Flowers closed and other village infrastructure projects, though foot traffic data from the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce shows the total number of visits throughout the year actually rose.

Tighe & Bond began work on the Bridge of Flowers last June, marking the first major structural improvement project on the historic bridge since 1983. Combined with roadwork throughout Buckland and Shelburne over the summer, it was a slower season for businesses dependent on summer tourism. A few businesses ultimately closed.

“Shelburne Falls is an incredible community, but it’s a seasonal community,” said Kate Winans, owner of Cat & Crow.

Winans closed her thrift store on Deerfield Avenue, citing economic challenges and a slow summer tourism season. Cat & Crow opened in 2021, offering the village a curated selection of home, garden and antique gifts. Winans said the Shelburne Falls community showed “tremendous support” for her and the business, but it was not enough to make it sustainable.

Continuous construction in the village over the past few years hit the business community hard, Winans said. The Bridge of Flowers is a major draw for tourists; without it, there were not as many customers strolling through the village during the summer. Additionally, the sidewalk on Deerfield Avenue by her shop was closed, so visitors were less likely to venture that way.

“It was hard enough for me,” Winans recounted. The Bridge of Flowers closure “made it clear this wasn’t a sustainable business.”

According to foot traffic data from Placer.AI, a tool used by the Greenfield-based Franklin County Chamber of Commerce to track visitors to the county and the success of marketing campaigns, the number of visits to the Shelburne Falls Historic District during the summer months dropped in 2024 when compared to 2023, but the total number of visits throughout the year actually rose.

Throughout 2024, the Shelburne Falls Historic District saw a total of 428,800 visits. During the summer months, the number of daily visits hovered at around 1,600 visits, with a few spikes throughout the season. By comparison, in 2023, the district saw a total of 412,800 visits throughout the year, and the number of visits during the summer months was higher, closer to 2,000 per day.

“There’s actually more activity in 2024 than 2023,” said Jessye Deane, executive director of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce. “Tourism overall in Franklin County continues to rise.”

Deane said it is important to note that the data does not encapsulate all of Shelburne Falls, just the Historic District, and the data counts visits, not visitors. The data looked at not just those vacationing in the district, but also those who live outside it and come for a day trip, go shopping, eat at a restaurant or just enjoy what the village has to offer.

The chamber has invested $200,000 in expanding marketing campaigns to grow tourism in Franklin County, Deane said. Campaign and event work with other community organizations also helped grow tourism, with a key driver of foot traffic being November’s Moonlight Magic celebration.

“When we look at the trends, the biggest day was Moonlight Magic,” Deane said. “That brought 4,600 visitors on that one day.”

Cate Chadwick, a volunteer community organizer and manager of ShelburneFalls.com, which highlights destinations and events in the area, said the chamber’s data is interesting and that many factors could have contributed to how businesses have fared amid the Bridge of Flowers closure.

“Recent tourism metrics from the FCCC’s analytics revealed a surprising but encouraging trend. Despite the closure of the Bridge of Flowers for renovations in 2024, downtown Shelburne Falls experienced a slight overall increase in foot traffic compared to 2023,” Chadwick said. “While overall foot traffic was up, business experiences varied. Some saw an increase in visitors and sales, while others struggled. Anecdotally, there appeared to be more foot traffic on the Shelburne side than the Buckland side in 2024.”

Chadwick said it is possible some tourists still came not realizing the bridge was closed, and upon their discovery, left early and did not explore the village as thoroughly as they would have if the bridge was open. The closure of Conway Street and lack of signs alerting visitors to The Mill at Shelburne Falls and other businesses on the Buckland side could have also deterred shoppers, Chadwick added.

For some businesses, growth in the off-season months was not enough to make up for the lack of summer visitors. Winans said while the summer’s construction “killed” tourism in the village, and inadvertently her business, she hopes the summer ahead will be better and the rest of the Shelburne Falls business community will pull through.

Michelle “Mo” Olanyk, owner of Mo’s Fudge Factor on State Street, agreed that 2024 was challenging, but as long as the Bridge of Flowers repairs stay on schedule and it reopens by the beginning of summer, her business should survive.

“I hate to complain about it because I know the projects were good. It’s still disruptive, no matter how good it is,” Olanyk said. “As long as it gets open by the time school gets out we’ll be OK, but if it’s after that, it’s going to be heartbreaking again.”

Olanyk said she had to temporarily lay off her staff for the month of January, something she typically avoids. After a slow summer, she said she could not afford to keep them working during the slow post-holiday season.

“I don’t usually lay off my crew during January and we had to this year,” Olanyk said. “It sucked.”

Some businesses weren’t hit as hard by the bridge’s closure. Shelburne Springs, an inn located on Route 2, roughly 4 miles away from downtown Shelburne Falls, still saw a fair amount of visitors. The inn opened last spring and was able to use the excitement of being a new hotel and the draw of the various outdoor recreation opportunities in the region to bring in visitors.

“We were very busy last summer at the hotel, although several guests were disappointed by the Bridge of Flowers being closed,” said Brolin Winning, general manager of Shelburne Springs. “Hopefully it will be back this year, as I know that’s a big draw for out-of-town visitors.”

The arts community at The Mill at Shelburne Falls fared well, too. Molly Cantor, potter and founder of The Handle Factory pottery studio, explained the studio relies more on its members and students who come for classes or rent studio space, rather than tourists visiting the shop.

“I don’t think it’s really affected us, other than being so annoying to have to do that detour on Conway Street for so long,” Cantor said.

Buckland town officials admit that the constant construction was not easy for the business community.

“It’s been a tough time for the businesses with the Bridge of Flowers closed. I’ve been going into stores and they say it’s been a really hard year,” Buckland Selectboard member Joan Livingston said during a Jan. 14 meeting where the board discussed initiatives to help businesses.

Jessica Atwood, director of planning with the Franklin Regional Council of Governments, told the Buckland Selectboard that FRCOG is working in collaboration with Turners Falls, Shelburne Falls and Northfield on a downtown revitalization project. FRCOG was awarded a $100,000 grant from the state Executive Office of Economic Development to hire a downtown coordinator for a 12-month pilot program.

“Any initiative where we can use grant funds to organize downtown revitalization efforts is money well spent,” Deane said.

Chadwick agreed that more marketing efforts to highlight the village are needed. Between Moonlight Magic, workshops and classes at The Mill at Shelburne Falls, Pothole Pictures and the various other community events and businesses, there is much to do for tourists and Franklin County residents alike.

“Since the closure of the Greater Shelburne Falls Area Business Association in 2020, no single organization has focused on the marketing and coordination of the village as a whole. This gap has led to a decline in public awareness of all that Shelburne Falls offers,” Chadwick said. “Ideally, businesses and cultural organizations can collaborate to find a solution. As a volunteer, I do my best to help lay the groundwork for better coordination, and I hope that 2025 will bring renewed efforts to strengthen the village’s visibility.”

While the idea of a downtown coordinator is being further developed to determine how to best aid the business community, town officials say that at the very least, businesses will not have to deal with any more construction once the Bridge of Flowers repairs are complete.

“I have made a solemn vow: no more construction downtown for the foreseeable future,” said Buckland Town Administrator Heather Butler.

Deane added that while the bridge may be closed for a few more months, Shelburne Falls has more to offer than just the Bridge of Flowers.

“The bridge may be the reason people are interested in coming to Shelburne Falls, but it’s not where they spend their money,” Deane said. “We still have all these great businesses.”

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.