Economic Benefits of River Restoration
Studies indicate that cities which bring their downtown rivers ‘back to life’ have many benefits, transforming their urban areas into vibrant, healthy, economic engines for businesses, recreation, and neighborhood vitality. The Hoosic River Revival’s goal is to restore its river and to revitalize our city. Currently, we are focused on Phase One, a 1/2 mile section of the entire 2.5 mile project.The economic benefits of the construction of Phase One is highlighted in the report below from the Center for Creative Development, based in Williamstown, MA and directed by Steven Sheppard, Economics Professor at Williams College.
The Center’s work is based on a preliminary budget for the construction, about $9 million dollars. Since then, the design has changed and the budget now is closer to $20 million. Mr. Sheppard’s assessment of that change is:
‘The new budget is larger by a factor of 2.39. It would be approximately correct to multiply the impact figures we provided in our report by this amount, suggesting a total local economic impact of $32,913,000 and a employment impact of 258 (over the course of the construction). These amounts would apply to all of Berkshire County, although the majority of the impacts would be experienced in and around North Adams.’
Click here to view the complete report.