Assistance needed to develop property

By Pamela Metexas

07/21/2008- The Republican

BELCHERTOWN - Members of the Economic Development Industrial Corp. and the Board of Selectmen said it is time to link up with MassDevelopment or some other state agency to obtain professional help in developing the former Belchertown State School property.

"We need to hook up with MassDevelopment. They have staff. They have professional people," said William A. Terry, chairman of the town development corporation.

Northampton Economic Development Coordinator Teri A. Anderson told Terry and other Belchertown officials Wednesday that her city's redevelopment of the former Northampton State Hospital property was done in conjunction with MassDevelopment, the state's quasi-public development authority.
"We have to reach out to those folks. That is what their role is," Terry said Thursday.

In a separate interview, Selectman James A. Barry said, "I think we recognize that the Belchertown EDIC, working alone, would have a much more difficult time than if we linked up with MassDevelopment or some other agency."

Barry also suggested it is time to move down two tracks simultaneously, seeking assistance for a plan on the best use of the school property.