South Hadley — It even caught the town administrator by surprise.
Friday saw the awarding of a $1,025,800 MassWorks Infrastructure Program Grant to the town to improve Gaylord Street and the underground infrastructure there.
“We’re very excited,” Town Administrator Mike Sullivan said.
Sullivan said that the town had applied for the grant, but were “very much surprised” to have received it.
Indeed, when the governor’s office called him on Wednesday asking him to set up a press conference, they would not tell him for sure that the grant was being awarded.
Sullivan said that most of the grant will go toward updating water and sewer lines to build more capacity for housing. However, it will also help with streetscape and parking improvements.
He also said that this work mirrors work being done to improve the streetscape in nearby Holyoke.
Gaylord Street is part of the South Hadley Falls neighborhood, which has recently received more than $2 million in private investment. The funding will support this investment, which includes 12 multifamily units and six condos.
Sullivan said that between the grant and the private investment, South Hadley Falls hasn’t received investment like this in decades.