Foster Means of Regional Competitiveness

Number of Pre-Permitted & Shovel-Ready Sites or Buildings within the Region that are ready for Development

Description:

Pre-permitting and shovel-ready designations are made to increase the expediency of development on properties by reducing the amount of work necessary between the purchase of land and the start of building.  Sites with pre-permitting need only the final site plan review and permitting related to environmental preservation (if applicable).  This process can take up to 90 days to complete.  Sites are designated shovel-ready after all permits have been acquired and a complete build out analysis has been completed.  The only steps still necessary are acquiring a building permit and making minor amendments to prior permits if necessary.  This process takes up to 30 days. In 2006 there were 12 pre-permitted sites and 2 shovel-ready sites in the Pioneer Valley. The regional data on this indicator is only available for 2006; therefore, there is not yet an annual trend to be analyzed.  The urban core had 1 shovel ready site in 2006 which was located in Springfield.

Data Source:  WestMass Development Corporation (Chicopee not included in Urban Core for this measure)

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Annual Dollar Value of Transportation Improvement Projects Advertised for Bid that Rely on Federal and/or State Financial Resources

Description:

Transportation Improvement Projects included in this value are highway improvement projects identified through the Transportation Improvement Program report by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and Franklin Regional Council of Governments and advertised by Mass Highway. Between 2006 and 2007, the total value of transportation improvement projects advertised for the Pioneer Valley decreased from $39,672,448 to $38,356,132 representing a 3.3% decrease.  In the urban core, trends were positive for transportation improvement projects, with an overall increase of 17.6 percent. However, this increasing trend was only found in Springfield as there was no transportation improvement project funding in the Holyoke or Chicopee urban core areas in 2007.

Data Source: Pioneer Valley Planning Commission and Franklin Regional Council of Governments

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 17.6%

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Access to High Speed Internet Service for Business & Residents

Description:

To measure high speed internet access, municipalities are broken down into three levels of available service which are those where 0% of households have broadband access, towns and cities where 50% or less of households have broadband access, and those places where greater than 50% of households have broadband access. Progress is measured by the number of municipalities that increased their access enough to be categorized at least one level higher.  The region experienced a small number of municipalities that moved up a level of access from 2006 to 2007 (1.4 percent). 
The urban core did not experience an increase in levels of broadband access, as all of the municipalities already have more than 50% of households with access.

Data Source: Western MA Connect, Inc.

Indicator Trend Percent Change Rating 0.0%

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