The Brockton Historical Commission

The Brockton Historical Commission is the official agent of municipal government responsible for City-wide historic preservation planning.

The Commission works in cooperation with other agencies to ensure that the goals of historic preservation are considered in planning and development activities throughout Brockton. It is staffed by the Planning Department.

The Historic Commission meets the second Tuesday of every month at 3 p.m. in the Planning Office, located on the third floor of City Hall, 45 School St.

Historic Sites

Brockton City Hall
(added 1976)
45 School St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Central Fire Station
(added 1977)
40 Pleasant St.
Brockton, MA 02301

D.W. Field Park
(added 2000)
331 Oak St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Curtis Building
(added 1982)
105-109 Main St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Dr. Edgar Everett Dean House
(added 1978)
81 Green St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Howard Block
(added 1982)
93-97 Main St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Gardner J. Kingman House (Sampson Funeral Home)
(added 1977)
309 Main St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Edison Electric Illuminating
Company Power Station
(added 1987)
70 School St.
Brockton, MA 02301

South Street Historic District
(added 1980)
South Street from Main Street to Warren Avenue

Snow Fountain and Clock
(added 1977)
Intersection of North and East streets

Moses Packard House
(Dahlborg-MacNevin Funeral Home)
(added 1978)
647 Main St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Lyman Block
(added 1982)
83-91 Main St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Franklin Block
(added 1989)
1102-1110 Main St.
Brockton, MA 02301

U.S. Post Office - Brockton Branch
(added 1978)
(now the Central Office for the School Department)
43 Crescent St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Goldwaite Block
(added 1982)
99-103 Main St.
Brockton, MA 02301

Little Red School House
(added 1982)
Grounds of BHS

Photo of Brockton City Hall and the Strand Theatre Firefighters Memorial in foreground

ABOVE:Brockton, Massachusetts, USA - June 6, 2016: Daytime view of the Strand Theatre Firefighters Memorial outside City Hall dedicated to the fallen firefighters who died in the Strand Theatre fire. Sculptor Robert Shure.

Map of National Historic Register sites in downtown Brockton

Downtown Urban Renewal Plan

This Downtown Brockton Urban Renewal Plan, referred to in this document as an Urban Revitalization Plan, was prepared pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 121B and 760 CMR 12.00. It is submitted on behalf of the Brockton Redevelopment Authority (the “BRA”) with their unanimous approval on January 6, 2016 to the Brockton City Council and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (“DHCD”) for approval and action.

Plan implementation is proposed to proceed in three phases, over the course of approximately twenty years, with additional public actions identified for which the timing is not specifically programmed.

The City of Brockton, acting by and through the Brockton Redevelopment Authority, in accordance with the powers granted by Chapter 121B of the Massachusetts General Laws, as amended, and in recognition of the need to remove certain decadent conditions in the downtown section of the city, has caused this Urban Renewal Plan (URP) to be created for the 65.8 acre Urban Revitalization District.

The Brockton Downtown Urban Revitalization Plan proposes to build a strong, diverse, attractive downtown that can establish itself as a major economic force in the city and the metro south region. Redevelopment proposed pursuant to this URP will remove the decadent conditions that exist, and revitalize and stabilize the Urban Revitalization Area through a combination of strategic public action and incentives for private enterprise.

This Urban Revitalization Plan serves in part as an implementation mechanism for the strategies identified in the recently completed Brockton Downtown Action Strategy (“Action Strategy”), which identifies ways in which Brockton can attract new businesses and residents that contribute to the financial viability of the City, increase the vibrancy of downtown, and attract a broader socio-economic mix of residents and businesses.

Brockton URP voted by City Council

Downtown District Improvement Financing Program

The City of Brockton created the Downtown Brockton DIF Invested Revenue District (District) on July 20, 2015 as part of a public-private collaborative process to promote redevelopment in downtown Brockton. DIF enables the City to allocate a defined percentage of revenue accruing from the improvement of properties in the DIF district to fund eligible projects in the DIF District.

The DIF District establishes a dedicated revenue stream to support investments within the District, with the expectation that the resulting public improvements will be a catalyst for greater new private investment than would occur without the public improvements. For many years, the city has planned public improvements for downtown – including streets and sidewalks, off-street parking, lighting, landscaping and enhanced services. DIF creates a predictable funding mechanism to help make these improvements a reality, and these improvements are expected to make Downtown Brockton a more attractive location for new private investment.

This DIF Program implements Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 40Q District Improvement Financing in Downtown Brockton. This Program outlines the processes by which the City of Brockton will estimate DIF Tax Increment for the purposes of budgeting; certify the change in Assessed Value within the District from year to year; establish accounting procedures in order to segregate DIF revenues and allocate them in accordance with this Program and approved annual budgeting; and the manner by which the City Council shall establish a DIF capture percentage within the DIF annual budgeting process.

Brockton DIF Program Document

Housing Development Incentive Program (HDIP)

The Downtown Brockton Housing Development Zone and Plan, approved by the Commonwealth in December, 2014, incentivize the creation of Market Rate housing by providing tax credits to qualified projects. The credits can be used for both new construction and for the restoration and redevelopment of existing buildings. To be qualified projects must contain first floor retail or commercial uses and 80% of the units created must be Market Rate.

HDIP Map

Smart Growth Zoning – MGL 40R

The Department of Planning and Economic Development and the Brockton Planning Board have submitted a zoning amendment to City Council that would expand and improve the current Downtown Smart Growth District. The amendment calls for increasing the number of residential units per acre and reducing the parking requirement in this transit oriented district. The Downtown Core, Arts and Culture and Corcoran sub-districts would all expand in size to cover all of downtown, and a new Perkins Park sub-district would be created to spur redevelopment north of Pleasant Street.

Smart Growth

Transformational Development Initiative (TDI)

Downtown Brockton has recently been selected by MassDevelopment as Transformational Development District. MassDevelopment, the Commonwealth’s economic development and finance agency, chose Brockton’s application in a competitive process, beating out a dozen other Gateway Cities.

A partnership led by the City, Brockton 21^st Century Corporation and Trinity Financial, the developers of the Enterprise Block, is spearheading a growing coalition of stakeholders that include representatives from Downtown Business Association, Metro South Chamber, Brockton Arts, Brockton Garden Club, BAT, Old Colony Planning Council and others. As a TDI Community, Brockton is receiving additional technical assistance and is eligible for program funding and select equity like investments.

TDI Placemaking Grant

One of the first projects funded from MassDevelopment’s TDI efforts is a “Placemaking” grant to support the Farmers Market on City Hall Plaza.

This $5,000 grant is being used to promote the Market, engage the community in market day activities, and provide entertainment for market goers.

TDI Report

Downtown Parking Study and Plan

The Brockton Parking Authority has released its 2017 Parking Study and Plan for Downtown Brockton prepared by the consulting firm NelsonNygaard. The study began with a count of all parking spaces available in downtown Brockton, as well as a utilization count. In addition, the team conducted interviews and an online survey that reached a broader audience. These two efforts helped the team identify issues and opportunities in the current parking program. A more in-depth financial and land-use based modeling exercise provided additional insights and strategy refinement. The Brockton Parking Authority and its Board reviewed preliminary strategies and guided the selection of the strategies in this document.

Parking Study

Two Way Main Street

The City has submitted a Project Needs Form (PNF) to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to initiate the planning process to convert Main Street and Warren Avenue to two-way traffic. The PNF was accepted and MassDOT has requested the City to submit a Project Information Form (PIF) The next step is to create a computer model to analyze the current and projected traffic flows to complete the PIF.

Downtown Gateway District Map Mass Development

Downtown Urban Renewal Plan

This Downtown Brockton Urban Renewal Plan, referred to in this document as an Urban Revitalization Plan, was prepared pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 121B and 760 CMR 12.00. It is submitted on behalf of the Brockton Redevelopment Authority (the “BRA”) with their unanimous approval on January 6, 2016 to the Brockton City Council and the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (“DHCD”) for approval and action.

Brockton URP voted by City Council (39.5 MB)

URP Annual Report

Feasibility Findings

Location Analysis: Based on the building and locational analysis 60 Main Street was considered the best option for further analysis due to its existing level of redevelopment and location. Two sites (15-25 Douglass and 53 Legion Way) required extensive rehabilitation to be brought to a point for conversion to a restaurant space. 275 Main Street was considered too far to serve as a catalyst for the downtown.

Market Analysis: The market analysis assumed the Incubator based on its design and unique dining experience would become a destination able to draw from a wider market area. The analysis revealed the greater Brockton market (20 minute drive-time) had $479 million in potential spending. Looking more closely at Brockton, on a city-wide basis $113 million of total estimated out of home food spending with an estimated $18 million in unmet demand existed. However, within walkable distance to downtown total market size was approximately $1.0 million to $1.4 million.

Development Costs: Development costs totaled approximately $3.3 million. This cost can be influenced by a number of variables including the level of finishing, the number of cooking stations and other related costs.

Incubator Revenue: The base case for the revenue analysis suggested stabilized annual revenue of approximately $2.5 million. The restaurant tenants generate profit levels of approximately $160,000. The Operator under the base case have profits of approximately $62,000. Revenues are highly sensitive to customer volume and average meal price from customers. A table turn decrease, a measure of customer volume, from 1.5 to 1.0 leads to losses for the operator. Table turn increase from 1.0 to 2.0 leads to an increase in profit margins for the incubator (including operator and tenants) from $900,000 to $1.1 million. An increase in average check size by 11% takes profit margins from $900,000 up to almost $1.3 million.

Supportable Debt: Based on the estimated cash flow the facility could support approximately $609,000 in debt. Given the $3.3 million in development costs there is a substantial capital gap that would need to be addressed through grants, tenant allowances and other sources of capital.

National Benchmark Comparison: Comparing the projected performance to national benchmarks suggests the Incubator will perform at best at the mid-level in sales per seat.

Other Downtown Implications: Given the required performance and the disposable income of the present and foreseeable downtown residents, the incubator will be dependent on greater Brockton to generate the level of sales required to support the facility. This suggests that in addition to the Incubator, a series of other place-making initiatives and addressing perceptual issues such as safety will also need to be addressed.

Brockton Culinary/Food Incubator Feasibility Study