MassDevelopment provides $1.532 million to Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee for teen center

Chicopee, MA MassDevelopment has issued a $1.532 million tax-exempt bond on behalf of Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee, Inc. (BGCC), which will use proceeds to build and equip a teen center on the organization’s existing campus at 580 Meadow St. The new 4,500 s/f building will provide a permanent home for the teen center, which currently operates in a leased space off campus, and will offer safe, structured programming for teens to learn life, social, and workforce-readiness skills. Construction began in March 2024 and is expected to be completed in October 2024. 

The tax-exempt bond, purchased by PB Partners, Inc., an affiliate of PeoplesBank, helped Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee achieve a lower cost of capital.

“The Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee has been supporting young people in Western Massachusetts for more than a century,” said acting MassDevelopment president and CEO Dan O’Connell. “MassDevelopment is proud to partner with PeoplesBank on tax-exempt financing that will help the organization build a new state-of-the-art teen center on its campus, where it can deliver important programming to help generations of teenagers find success.”

“We are proud to support the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee in their ambitious undertaking,” said PeoplesBank president Brian Canina. “In addition to assisting with the tax-exempt bond, we have donated to their capital campaign, to their ongoing programming, and have volunteered at numerous Club events over the years. Their focus on the teens of Chicopee is urgently needed, and will pay dividends now, and far into the future.”

Incorporated in 1912, the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee promotes the health, social, educational, vocational, and character development of young people by providing community services and youth activities throughout greater Chicopee. The BGCC is built on the belief that all children deserve a safe place to learn and grow and that success is within reach of every child. Today, BGCC serves boys and girls ages 5-18, providing them with dedicated mentoring, hope, and opportunity for a great future.

“Nothing the Club does is possible without the support of our partners in the community,” said Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee executive director Jason Reed. “We have been dreaming of this teen center for decades. We are both proud and thankful to have MassDevelopment and PeoplesBank in our corner as we continue our mission of providing great futures to the young people in Chicopee.”

MassDevelopment, the state’s development finance agency and land bank, works with businesses, nonprofits, banks, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2023, MassDevelopment financed or managed 545 projects generating investment of more than $2 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are estimated to create or support 10,522 jobs and build or preserve 1,583 housing units.