The three site options to consider represent a variety of conditions found throughout the Pioneer Valley Region. Each site offers a unique opportunity for development and together they represent the most common conditions found in our towns across the region. Participants are free to focus on one, two or all three sites when submitting designs.  Similar strategies might be used for all three but there should be a unique approach to each one.  Each community has needs for affordable and attainable housing. Consideration should be given to incorporating housing options on each site.

All sites are ready for development and stakeholders have the option to contract with any of the participants to further develop and implement ideas. It is also the hope of the Council that other communities and stakeholders will engage participants for designs on other sites in the future.

The map below shows the location of each community: Palmer, Southampton and Hadley.

The Pioneer Valley

The Pioneer Valley region, defined by Hampden and Hampshire County, encompasses 43 cities and towns in the Connecticut River Valley in western Massachusetts, an area framed on the west by the Berkshires and on the east by the central uplands. An estimated 608,000 people live in the nearly 1,200-square-mile region, which includes the fourth largest metropolitan area in New England. The Pioneer Valley’s diverse economic base, its renowned academic institutions, and its wealth of natural resources make it a unique and special place to live and work. The Connecticut River, its fertile agricultural valley, and the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains wrap the region in scenic beauty and recreational opportunities. Residents live in downtown areas, suburban neighborhoods, quiet villages, historic areas, and rural homesteads. People work in downtown offices in Springfield, the region’s cultural and economic center; in plants and factories in Holyoke and Chicopee, the first planned industrial communities in the nation; in academic halls in Amherst, Northampton, and South Hadley, home to venerable colleges and a flagship university; in tobacco fields in Hadley, where families have worked the land for generations; in distribution centers in Westfield, near the crossroads of two interstate highways; and in offices of Internet service providers scattered throughout the region.