By james art 
Northampton – The view through the window of a corner apartment over 92 Maple St. In Florence, it includes many remarkable enterprises that any future resident there would have easy access. Under the apartment is a pizza house A-1 and Zen Frog, with tandem Gevrek, and Miss Florence Diner just steps off.
Central was a major factor in the Patriot Property Management decision, a real estate group in West Springfield, to invest almost $ 2 million to buy and renovate more than 100-year-old building on Maple Street and hosted several housing And commercial spaces known as Parsons Block. The building was acquired by the group in 2022 and recently renovated, with some of its nine apartments already available.
Jordan Hillie, one of the Patriot Property managers, said that with the completion of the repair, the group hopes to breathe a little extra life in the center of Florence.
“I think this is a spark for a little revival here,” Hillie said. “With the pandemic, the Northampton Center has obviously had some challenges and we think this may be the spark that returns Florence to the map.”
The interior of the apartments has different layouts, including kitchens and spacious living rooms with new boards. Some have walls made of the open original brick of the building, and fireplaces, which, although they do not work, provide an additional aesthetic component.
“We could go and do everything to look brand new, the most modern and all that,” Hillie said. “But we really wanted to keep some of the historical pieces, to keep the appearance of the windows, the floors, to keep the fireplaces, just try to emphasize the whole story here.”
Three of the nine apartments in the building are available, with prices ranging from $ 1800 a month for one bedroom to $ 2500 per unit with three bedrooms.
In addition, the property has 11 commercial spaces, 10 of which are busy. In addition to the cafe and Pizza Place, other companies in the area include a Bird’s store, Bookends Book Shop, Yoga Studio and The Sphere, a co-operation and innovation laboratory with a focus on women and non-rating businesses.
Hillie said that for a free trade space, they seek to hire him at $ 20 per square foot, but also emphasize that they will be “extremely elective” in what kind of business the building will be considered.
“We have to be sure that we have the right tenant mix to transform this area,” Hillie said. “A cafe is mixed with a bookstore, a bookstore is mixed with a yoga studio, a yoga studio is mixed with a cooperation space. There are synergies in the business. “
Kevin Jennings, a real estate broker who works with Patriot Property in commercial spaces, said a shorter: “We are looking for conveniences in the community.”
Parsons Block is not the only development that is happening in the center of Florence. Exactly on the other side of the street is another building from Keiter builders, which plans residential and commercial spaces.
“For such a long time, Florence has just been doing its own thing,” Hillie said. “He is small, passable and more oriented to the neighborhood-this is a slightly different mentality in the city.”
The Parsons Block was previously owned by the business owner Tim Shee, who died in 2018, transferring ownership of confidence, for the benefit of the four Shea children before being sold to the Patriot Property Management in 2022.
The group has made several other acquisitions in Northampton in recent months, acquiring nine properties, right north of the roundabout on the streets of Conz and Pleasant, Central Business Gateway, Pleasant and Conz Streets, near the Interstate-91 entrance and within the central business portal of the city region. These properties of a total value of 5.8 acres were acquired by Patriot Property for $ 7.04 million.
Alexander McDugal can be found at [email protected].