House Candidate Bloomberg Opposes Pittsfield's Walmart Plans
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Democratic candidate for state representative Michael Bloomberg says retail on the William Stanley Business Park is a detriment to future economic growth.
Bloomberg has become vocal in his opposition to the plans to bring a Walmart Supercenter to the former General Electric land. The Pittsfield Economic Development Authority has granted Waterstone Retail permission to seek city permitting to buy and develop what is known as the "teens parcel" on the park. The use of the site for retail has been hotly debated in the past and will likely continue with the newest proposal.
"This pattern of big-box, shot in the arm, Band-Aid development doesn't play out well. We've seen that around the country. This model came about in the '60s and '70s, really proliferated in the '80s and '90s, and it is adding to the problem," Bloomberg said.
"The Walmart we already have isn't helping the community's economic needs. It doesn't help in lifting people out of poverty. It doesn't help support local businesses. It doesn't help support the community at the level a local business does."
In an interview on Wednesday, Bloomberg argued that despite increased jobs and tax revenue, the city's long-term economic picture is hindered by such a development. He would rather the city took a more aggressive approach at bringing in light manufacturing and other higher-paying jobs to the site.
"Everything we do has an effect on the property value. The big issue we are facing is that property values are not going up. It is not that we don't have developed land it is that property values are not going up. Property values go up when it is an attractive place to live for families who are looking to buy higher-end homes, who have good-paying jobs. When you have higher-paying jobs, you have people looking to buy higher-end houses and it brings the property value up," Bloomberg said.
One of the selling points Waterstone has tried to make is that it will spend some $12 million on the foundation work, $6 million of which alleviates a contamination problem with the outdated stormwater system. Bloomberg questions that figure but also says if that site work is what is keeping a manufacturer from the location, then PEDA or the state should do it.
"This is not about PCB laden soil. GE did have to clean up that site to an magnitude that meets the soil standards. The issue we have here with the site is an old stormwater system well below the site. It was one of the original ones built with brick and mortar," Bloomberg said.
"Forget the opportunities we had in the past that they may have had to clean that up, that's what we are talking about now. We are talking about plugging up an old stormwater system and putting in a new stormwater system."
By fixing up the site, the price for a manufacturing company to relocate there drops. Bloomberg said there is an interest in the William Stanley Business Park, but the contamination left by General Electric drives the price up for development.
"There are PEDA funds allocated to market the site. If the No. 1 thing that we hear when we are marketing this site is that 'we don't want to put the money into the site work,' then I am questioning why aren't we using some of the funding to do the site work," Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg's background is in finance and urban development and he says cities which have successfully turned around struggling economies did so by focusing on the urban core and working outward. He sees the Transformative Development Initiative, which gave the city a fellow to focus solely on the Tyler Street area, will be a driver for the emergence of small businesses.
"We just got this TDI fellow. She's been here two months. It is a three-year planning project. Let this parcel be part of that," Bloomberg said. "It encompasses that area. It goes out to that area. Let that be part of the discussion."
He is calling for more information from experts in the field to weigh in on the long-term impacts of the proposal. He says it isn't about Walmart specifically but rather using the site for any big-box retail operation that he opposes.
"We have heard Waterstone pitch a lot of things. We have heard them pitch more jobs. We've heard them pitch more tax revenue. We've heard them pitch a lot of things for the city. What we haven't heard is something from the other side. We haven't heard any people who specialize in Brownfield development, who specialize in urban planning, who specialize in land use, who specialize in urban economics say whether this type of project is good for the site, good for Pittsfield, or good in general," Bloomberg said.
He said the 16.5-acre parcel could be subdivided and lead to the development of manufacturing companies paying wages in the $40,000 to $50,000 range instead of the $10 an hour wage offered to many Walmart employees. While the days of one large manufacturer relocating the city may be gone, there are plenty of specialized, small manufacturing companies needing space.
"It is specialty manufacturing. It is not large-scale, 500-people firms, but it is 50, 50, 50, 50. And I do believe there is demand for that space," Bloomberg said.
By focusing and successfully bringing in higher paying jobs, Bloomberg feels that will go a long way toward solving a second problem in the city: demographics.
The city's population is both aging and shrinking. Particularly, the city is losing its youngest population. What will bring them back, Bloomberg believes, is the creation of quality jobs and a high quality of life.
"We have something special here and I think we should build on those strengths instead of just adding to our weaknesses," Bloomberg said.
He wants the city to lower the cost to develop the site and market it to manufacturing companies aggressively. If elected, he said, he would be seeking state funds to do the foundation work being touted as a hindrance to the land.
"If what this city needs is funding to do some site work because that is what is going to create quality jobs in this community, then that's what I will be out there advocating for. I don't need the big shiny projects. I want what is going to be best for the city of Pittsfield. Right now, it sounds like that is site work on the PEDA site," Bloomberg said.
"Every indication I've had is that there is a price point in which that site is very attractive to light industrial, manufacturing, commercial space, and it just needs a stormwater drainage system."
He also refutes the claim that the area is a "food desert" and needs the supercenter's grocery options because that term is based on larger cities. He said by that definition, most of the city would qualify.
"Their label is not having a grocery store within one miles and that is in the most urban district. In rural, a food desert is having one every 10 miles. If you look at Pittsfield in the urban to rural scale, even if you consider us a two out of 10, the second most urban, then there is only spots far away in West Pittsfield that would ever be considered a food desert," Bloomberg said.
Despite being in opposition, Bloomberg did say he supports the mayor and PEDA's opinion that any development should have the opportunity to make a play for it. And so far, he doesn't believe this particular project is the right fit.
"I had quite a few advisers recommend that not speaking up against this would be better politically, for trying to get elected. But it didn't take me long to decide that wasn't something I was willing to do. I am running because I believe in a positive future for the city of Pittsfield. I believe this project as proposed represents a defeated, negative vision for the city of Pittsfield," Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg is seeking the Democratic nomination for the state House of Representatives 3rd District. He is challenging incumbent Tricia Farley-Bouvier, and the winner will face Ward 4 City Councilor Christopher Connell in the general election.
Tags: #PittsfieldElection, election 2016,
