Innovate Holyoke

Holyoke City Councilor Aaron Vega says people frustrated about lack of details about planned high-performance computing center

InnovateHolyoke — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:47:22 +0000

HOLYOKE – Ten months after the governor declared it was coming, details have been scarce about where a planned high-performance computing center will be built here and what residents can expect from it in terms of jobs and revenue.

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February 18, 2010 Task Force Meeting Presentations

InnovateHolyoke — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:47:50 +0000

Presentations were presented regarding three topics related to the Innovation District Design and Development. To view, click on the presentations below.

Much More Than a Black Box: What is a High Performance Computing Center? Presented by James Kurose, Distinguished Professor Department of Computer Science – University of Massachusetts, Amherst

A primer on an Atypical Approach to Site Selection: Understanding the Higher Education Consortium’s Customer Centric Role in the Holyoke HPCC Site Selection Process. Presented by Kenn Delude, President Westmass Area Development Corporation

Reinventing Local and REgional Economies: Reflection from North Carolina’s Research Triangle Region and the City-Region of Tampere, Finland. Presented by Robert Kispert, Director of Cluster Development and Carlos Martinez-Vela, Director of Innovation Policy John Adams Innovation Institute/MTC

Next Innovation District Task Force Meeting to be held April 8, 2010

InnovateHolyoke — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 21:09:03 +0000

The third meeting of the Holyoke Innovation District Design and Development Task Force will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 8, 2010 in the Visitors Center Exhibit Hall at Holyoke Heritage State Park, 221 Appleton Street, Holyoke. All are welcome. Meeting information, including an agenda when available, can be viewed here. Task Force members were asked at the last meeting to think about the following questions. To respond to the questions, see link to comments below.

Food for Thought – Three Questions for the Development of a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Consultant to Help Assemble the Proposed “Innovation District” Strategy:

What does reinventing the local and regional economy mean to you?
What are some ongoing efforts to reinvent the economy that need to be accounted for and integrated into a comprehensive reinvention strategy?
What are the key categories of assets and aspirations of the city/region that could be incorporated into the Request for Proposals (RFP)?

Inside Holyoke’s Victory Theater The historic Victory Theater in Holyoke has new owners and is on track for a grand reopening in 2012.

InnovateHolyoke — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 12:13:34 +0000

Last September, the Holyoke City Council unanimously voted to hand ownership of the Victory Theater over to the not-for-profit Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA), a group that hopes to reopen the building, which has stood derelict since 1979.

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UMass chief makes fiscal case

InnovateHolyoke — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:36:28 +0000

AMHERST – University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson made another pitch for state funding Monday as the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing at UMass in preparation of the Fiscal 2011 budget.

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Site selected for high-performance computing center in Holyoke

InnovateHolyoke — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:12:00 +0000

HOLYOKE – A preferred site has been selected for an $80 million high-performance computing center being planned in Holyoke by a partnership of state, public and private colleges and private firms, but officials are not ready to identify its location.

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Officials mum on computer center site in Holyoke

InnovateHolyoke — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:03:33 +0000

HOLYOKE – Officials on Thursday were unwilling to identify the exact location, but they said a preferred site has been chosen for an $80 million high performance computing center being planned here by a partnership of state, public and private colleges and private firms.

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Cisco and the City of Holyoke Sign MOU for Smart+Connected Communities Project

InnovateHolyoke — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:35:11 +0000

Cisco Systems, Inc. and the City of Holyoke signed a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this month to establish Holyoke as a pilot for Cisco’s Smart+Connected Communities vision. The project aims to establish a vibrant 21st Century neighborhood in downtown Holyoke that creates economic opportunity, improves education and services, and stabilizes the community.

Innovation District Task Force to Meet on February 18, 2010

InnovateHolyoke — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:04:36 +0000

The second meeting of the Holyoke Innovation District Design and Development Task Force will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 18, 2010 in the Visitors Center Exhibit Hall at Holyoke Heritage State Park, 221 Appleton Street, Holyoke. All are welcome. Minutes from the first meeting of the Task Force and an agenda for Meeting #2 can be viewed below.

Minutes – Innovation District Task Force – 01-14-10

Agenda – February 18, 2010 Task Force Meeting

Meeting Location Map

Cisco Plans to Make a Massachusetts City Smarter, Rather Than Build One From Scratch

InnovateHolyoke — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:14:23 +0000

Cisco signed a deal on Wednesday with Holyoke, Massachusetts to transform the onetime mill town into a “Smart+Connected Community” over the next six-to-twelve months. Cisco has moved aggressively into the smarter city business in the last year as it chases IBM, which started the vogue for wired cities just as the world’s governments were earmarking billions of dollars in stimulus funds for infrastructure. (See “Cisco’s Big Bet on New Songdo: Creating Cites From Scratch” from the February issue.) The strategy has paid off handsomely for both companies thus far–public sector sales are IBM’s strongest, while Cisco considers SC+C one of its most promising new lines of business.

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