Holyoke Continues to Ride a Green Wave
Community Spotlight
Aaron Vega calls them ‘meet and greets.’ And they are, well … just what that name suggests. They’re meetings between city officials and small-business owners, many of them representing ventures in the emerging ‘climate tech’ sector who have heard about Holyoke and the companies that now call it home, and want to hear more with an eye toward following them.
“They’re hearing about Clean Crop, they’re hearing about Sublime Systems, they’re hearing about Simple Pack, and they want to know what’s going on,” said Vega, director of the city’s Office of Planning and Economic Development, referring to three cutting-edge businesses we’ll get to back to later that are either already in Holyoke or advancing plans to locate there. As city leaders listen to these business owners, a common thread — and a real challenge for the community — emerges.
“The biggest challenge for these companies that want to come to Holyoke as they move from their startup space is that there’s no built, ready space for them,” Vega noted. “There’s no white-box office space to move into. These guys don’t want to get involved in a rehab project; they want to be able to move in and get to work.”