Walpole’s Rapid Recovery Plan
Part of the Massachusetts Rapid Recovery Plan Program
Walpole, like thousands of communities across the country, experienced major disruptions in business and personal activities due to the Covid19 pandemic. Recognizing that city and town centers throughout Massachusetts were all facing similar economic challenges and impacts due to COVID-19, the Baker-Polito Administration developed the Rapid Recovery Plan Program to support downtowns, assist local businesses and prioritize data-driven strategies and actions.
Walpole’s Rapid Recovery Plan, a document outlining steps the community can take to minimize the impacts from Covid19 and position downtown Walpole for long-term growth, was submitted to the Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) in October 2021. The 100-plus page report offers implementable projects that have been vetted and prioritized by the community. With these projects, the downtown is poised for continued growth and to become a regional destination.
Every municipality in Massachusetts had the opportunity to apply for an individualized, actionable, project-based Covid19 recovery plan through the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative and the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). Walpole was among more than 120 communities around the Commonwealth that were accepted into the program.
The Rapid Recovery Program projects will aim to:
Provide technical assistance to downtown businesses
Create a comprehensive wayfinding and branding system for downtown
Improve pedestrian corridors with lighting, street trees, benches and/or public art
Increase the use of the Town Common by improving amenities on the Common
Improve Main Street sidewalks to better support pedestrians and outdoor dining
Increase the mix of active storefront businesses to enhance the pedestrian environment
Improve building facades, business signage, and storefronts
Since the plan submission, Destination Downtown and the Town of Walpole have been working together on several projects identified in the Rapid Recovery Plan. One such project is a Wayfinding and Branding Program for downtown. Walpole was awarded a technical assistance grant to develop a unique brand, recommend wayfinding and provide cost estimates for sign fabrication. A community advisory committee was formed in early 2023 and is working with the consultant Favermann Designs. Design options are expected to be presented this by the committee this fall, as described in this Destination Downtown News Spotlight on the Walpole Wayfinding Advisory Committee.
All participating communities sought information from the local business community to guide the Recovery Plan and to inform statewide programs and policy. Baseline data was gathered to assess the vitality of downtown Walpole. The Diagnostic Framework collected data in four areas: Physical Environment, Business Environment, Market Information, and Administrative Capacity.
Prospects for strategic investments in the downtown’s physical environment were identified by the data and assessed a grade. For example, in the categories of lighting, street trees and benches, wayfinding, business signage, and business windows, Walpole received a grade of “C”, indicating opportunities for improvement.
The Plan Facilitator, Destination Downtown, and the Director of Community and Economic Development worked closely together to review the data gathered, met with town staff and department heads, downtown business owners and the community. The identified critical needs and constraints of the downtown guided the project recommendations.
The Walpole Team also worked with three Subject Matter Experts to take a focused look at three areas: Small Business Assistance, Wayfinding & Branding, and Zoning. The experts offered guidance in prioritizing projects and in seeking funding.
Destination Downtown is a volunteer-based, community-led organization with the mission to revitalize downtown Walpole by creating a welcoming environment where people want to spend their time. Their goal is a downtown that is inviting, interesting, and pedestrian-friendly with useful public amenities – a destination for the entire Walpole community.
For more information or to get involved, contact Sarah Khatib with Destination Downtown at ddwalpole@gmail.com or Patrick Deschenes with the Town of Walpole at pdeschenes@walpole-ma.gov.
Links
Destination Downtown: @DowntownWalpole on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
Massachusetts Rapid Recovery Plan Program
