Umass Project

Gleasondale Village Revitalization Planning (From the pages at stow-ma.gov website)

Gleasondale Past, Present and Future
Gleasondale Village, affectionately known as “Rock Bottom,” is unique among Stow’s neighborhoods. No other place in Stow can you find the region’s industrial heritage amidst some of the most picturesque agricultural and riparian landscapes. Gleasondale Village is a close community, both socially and physically, with it’s dense concentration of historic mill housing anchoring strong community ties. Over the past year, graduate level students from the UMASS Center for Economic Development worked with residents of Gleasondale and greater Stow to develop a three phase community plan centered around the revitalization of the Gleasondale Mill.

Through many charrettes (interactive planning workshops), focus groups, interviews, tours and meetings, Stow officials and residents worked through a variety of challenges and opportunities to mill redevelopment, focusing on the asset of Gleasondale’s landmark structure (the mill) and the ability to leverage its attributes to spur wider neighborhood revitalization. The reports linked below are a culmination of each of the project phases, beginning with an assessment of the current status, a “Strength’s-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats” assessment driven by public input and expert feedback, and a final phase dedicated to visualizing the possibilities that lay ahead.

Although the project with UMASS has come to a close, the work is far from done. Currently a group of dedicated Gleasondale residents have continued to meet to discuss various opportunities for attaining short term goals, such as beautification efforts, wayfinding and improving access to open spaces. We in the Planning Department are grateful for the community excitement for the project and will be continuing the more long term efforts to secure the future of this unique village. Please see the links below for more information. And if you would like to be added to the Gleasondale Resident mailing list please contact Assistant Planner, Jesse Steadman at planning2@stow-ma.gov.

Gleasondal_Phase I_Final_Report
Gleasondale_Phase_II_Final_Report
PhaseIII_Final_Report

Please feel free to comment with any thoughts and/or ideas !!!