A key parcel on Spring Street has, as long expected, been given to Williams College. The college yesterday announced the completion of the gift of the former B&L service station property from financier Herbert A. Allen, a 1962 Williams College graduate.
And last week, eminent architect and urban planner Denise Scott Brown talked about the overall college planning process, and sought opinions from college and community members. Scott Brown said her particular interests are the intersections between colleges and their communities.
In yesterday’s release, Williams President Morton Owen Schapiro said, “The college is extremely grateful to Herb Allen for this timely and important gift.
“He has long been committed to Williams and to the health of the business community in Williamstown, especially on Spring Street. This gift is a wonderful example of both, as it clears the way for further development of the street’s south end to complement the attractive and functional new home for the American Legion.â€
Planning will now begin in earnest for the B&L parcel, located at the corner of Spring and Latham streets, the college said.
“We will be talking with those involved with the town planning processes for their input on the uses and the look of what gets built there,†said Vice President for Administration and Treasurer Helen Ouellette.
“Given the needs and opinions that have already been expressed, though, I anticipate a building that combines retail on the ground floor and residential units above. The project might be able to address the need in the area for public restrooms.â€
Allen’s longterm support of the college includes a gift of $20 million for a planned performance center for theater and dance. He purchased the B&L property from Arthur LaFave, who had operated the service station for 33 years.
At last Thursday’s discussion on planning at the college’s Griffin Hall, Scott Brown addressed the issues of expanding the town’s central business district, with the related issue of connecting Spring and Water streets, and, a traditionally touchy issue, expanding campus buildings.
Although the town is undergoing its own master planning process, Scott Brown had her own observations. She recommended public uses, and perhaps sculpture, to draw pedestrians from Spring to Water street north of Latham.
Connecting the two is difficult because of topography, she said.
“There’s very tricky topography,†said Scott Brown, citing particularly the escarpment that restricts access to Spring Street to the west.
“There’s difficulty reaching Spring Street. The town is surrounded by large mountains, and the hills in town recreate that landscape in miniature. That may make social aggregation difficult, but it makes the town very beautiful,†she said.
Anita Barker of the town’s Planning Board said “we understand the college plans to expand its athletic facilities, and it makes it difficult for us to plan (for a Water-Spring street connector) if we don’t know what the college is planning for Latham Street.â€
Scott Brown said the town’s center is “very small and very limited.â€
She said she believes the new retail will be farther along Water Street around the former General Cable building.
“I believe something here will be the new retail,†she said, gesturing toward that section of a town map. “But it has to be studied and understood. Look at all the impediments, a park, river, floodplain.â€
She recommended incorporating public uses in buildings along a proposed connector way, saying “when retail continuity ends, stores have had a hard time surviving.â€
“There’s a very big problem here getting some of that continuity,†she said. “That’s what I’d say to the town’s planners.â€
Ouellette introduced Scott Brown, saying “we’re not at this point doing a full-fledged campus plan.â€
Areas to be considered, said Ouellette, are circulation (of traffic, services, bicycles, pedestrians); the three big building projects — the theater and dance center, the expansion of Baxter Hall into a comprehensive student center, and the enlargement of Stetson Hall; and management of the upheaval that these construction projects will entail.
In planning construction, Ouellette said, “we need to determine the characteristics that matter to us. What are our sacred spaces?â€
Scott Brown said the Philadelphia-based architectural firm — which includes architect Robert Venturi — in the mid 1980s began addressing college and university campus planning — “Particularly campuses which interact with towns.â€
“We need to understand the characters of Williams College and Williamstown. We’ll be learning about them and learning from them, with our receptors as open as we can,†she said. “We’ll talk a lot about patterns,†she said. The result, she said, will be “not a plan but alternatives.â€
“We’ll try to look at a pattern that includes town and gown.â€
She noted that Williams is “not a pure campus. . . There’s a main route right through campus. That’s your uniqueness, your joy, and also your difficulty.â€
The area of Sawyer Library and Stetson Hall is key land for the expansion in the liberal arts, she said.
And she spoke of approaches to expansion on college campuses. One way, she said, is to leave the historic center, and add more densely at the periphery, the way facilities for athletics and the sciences have been expanded at Williams.
“Some building can and should be dense so it doesn't intrude,†she said.
Scott Brown noted that the campus is organized very loosely, with “a long, green public park (the town green) through it.â€
“Every time you build buildings the view changes. You need to know which views should not change. It’s a weighing of values.â€
And in response to Stuart Shatken’s remark on the need to consider the large, seasonal influx of visitors, so essential to the town’s economic survival, Scott Brown remarked that the theater and dance performance center is in “the right location. It draws them to the edge, and makes them pedestrians sooner.â€
The center had originally been planned for Dennison Park by the foot of Spring Street, a location that drew heavy criticism from townspeople, and many faculty as well. Schapiro, shortly after becoming president, announced the change in location.
Scott Brown said, “Spring Street is very important.â€
Many small town main streets have been taken over by chains, but “that hasn’t happened on Spring Street,†she said. “You should be trying to keep the privately-owned retail businesses in little old buildings. Growth should be near it.â€
And the difficulty of access and small scale of the street have helped preserve that mix, she said.
Other college and university campuses her firm has worked on include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, the University of Michigan, UCLA and the University of California at Santa Barbara.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Winter Storm Warning Issued for Berkshires
Another snowstorm is expected to move through the region overnight on Friday, bringing 5 to 8 inches of snow. This is updated from Thursday's winter weather advisory.
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has posted a winter storm warning for all of Berkshire County and parts of eastern New York State beginning Friday at 4 p.m. through Saturday at 1 p.m.
The region could see heavy to moderate snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour overnight, tapering off Saturday morning to flurries.
Drivers should exercise caution on Friday night and Saturday morning, as travel conditions may be hazardous.
Saturday night should be clear and calm, but warming temperatures means freezing rain Sunday night and rain through Monday with highs in the 40s. The forecast isn't much better through the week as temperatures dip back into the teens with New Year's Eve looking cloudy and frigid.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
click for more
