GREENFIELD — As the city’s Main Street redevelopment project is expected to bring sweeping changes to the Central Commercial District, the Greenfield Business Association is creating a Property Owners and Landlords Cohort to garner feedback on how downtown development impacts local property owners.

With plans to host the first cohort meeting in early March, GBA Executive Director Hannah Rechtschaffen said 10 property owners have already expressed interest in joining the group.

Rechtschaffen referenced the city’s Main Street redesign project, which is slated to begin in 2029 and will include repaving and reconfiguring a portion of Main Street from Colrain Street to High Street, as one of the upcoming changes to the city’s downtown on which property owners should collaborate.

“For many years there was more collaboration and communication between property owners in Franklin County. Over the years, I think it kind of shifted. … We just have been encouraged in this moment of redevelopment and reinvestment in Greenfield, especially looking ahead to the Main Street redesign and other housing development projects on the horizon,” Rechtschaffen said. “We feel that it’s a really critical moment to pull this group together and once again have a really robust communication pathway around the vision that we all have for Greenfield.”

The GBA notified 35 property owners — most of whom Rechtschaffen said are GBA members — to inform them of the cohort’s creation. She added that the GBA is planning its second annual Business Community Listening Session on April 29 and wants the Property Owners and Landlords Cohort to meet before then.

“When we think about the vision for redevelopment in Greenfield, we want to know what property owners are thinking. We want to know what they’re thinking for their own property, what they would like to see downtown and in other businesses around Greenfield. We want them to be able to share best practices with one another,” Rechtschaffen said. “We deal with a lot of the challenges around redevelopment, market-rate opportunities, different opportunities for development. We want them to be able to share ideas with one another and practices with one another, so that we can all get on the page and be moving toward a cohesive vision.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.