A spark, a signal, a celebration: Essex Village groundbreaking in Holyoke
A message from Keith Fairey, President & CEO
On October 22, 2025, Way Finders gathered with our partners, funders, and supporters to mark the groundbreaking of our latest housing development, Essex Village in Holyoke, which we expect to lease up in early 2026. Essex Village brings 41 units of affordable housing across four building sites to the Churchill neighborhood. Its four buildings—three new townhome-style buildings erected on once-vacant lots, plus one renovated historic building known as “The Essex”—surround our 2021 Library Commons community of 38 units.
Interestingly enough, one of the stars of this event was a property unrelated to Essex Village or its sibling site. It wasn’t even the stately Neoclassical limestone building just down the street—the circa 1902 Holyoke Public Library, which occupies a block-sized park—whose energetic renovation in 2013 kicked off a ripple effect of transformation in the area.
An unlikely star
It was a house on Chestnut Street, located a stone’s throw from our event tent but not visible to attendees. For the decade-plus that we’ve been working to redevelop this neighborhood—once marked by vacant lots and buildings and the illegal activities that they beget—this house had stood proud. Someone had long been making a stand: by keeping it up, taking care of it, and calling it home. But just a few months back, it suffered a fire and was uninhabitable. I told my colleagues, “OK, that’s just going to sit there vacant, we’ve got to reach out and see if we can buy it and do something with it. We can’t be doing all this positive activity only to have a neighboring vacant building.”
But guess what? We didn’t need to buy it. The reinvestment happened on its own, without our involvement. Today, it’s a beautifully rehabbed house. And that’s exactly why we do the work we do.
We can’t do it all, but we can make a spark.
Our work is a signal that inspires others to see what we see: This is a place worth investing in. This is a community where people will find belonging and build their hopes and dreams. This is a neighborhood where families will thrive, whether they have been here for decades or just moved in.
Greater than the sum of its parts
This theme was captured powerfully in the remarks of Dana LeWinter, Chief Public and Community Engagement Officer at Massachusetts Housing Partnership, who spoke at the event:
“This investment in this community is such a good example of the phrase, ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ You’ve got each of these buildings, each of these investments… these are not little investments, they’re really big investments. And when you add them all up, you get transformative change and reimagining.”
The Essex: A peek into its eyebrow dormers and more
Our groundbreaking event for Essex Village included a field trip—hardhats required!—to tour the historic Essex building. Built in 1888 and located at 213-215 Chestnut Street, it is being renovated by Haynes Construction Company into 12 units of affordable housing. Some facts about this historic gem, as gleaned from the Holyoke Public Library’s Holyoke History Room:
- An elaborate Queen Anne-style Victorian, the Essex was one of the first multi-story brick apartments built in this part of the downtown.
- The earliest tenants of its 26 units were employed in the wool manufacturing industry (retailers, skilled workers, managers).
- The construction team is recreating the exterior ornamentation and patterns brick by brick, while modernizing and insulating from the ground up.
- The front corner tower is topped by a unique four-sided, eyebrow-dormer studded roof.
Such is the power of housing: Investing in housing creates community and opportunity.
We are so grateful to all our funders and supporters who helped us reach the shovel-holding, smile-flashing moment that is a groundbreaking. Without such support, there would be no new 79 new units of affordable housing in this neighborhood near downtown Holyoke. Without such support, the spark of reinvestment that we are witnessing would not be shining so brightly.
To all those who care about housing and the economic vitality of our region and state, please stand with us by supporting our work. We believe in what we do. We believe everyone deserves the chance to build a stronger future. And we believe our region thrives when we put housing first.
Sincerely,
Keith Fairey, President & CEO