HOLYOKE, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A $200 million project promised jobs and new revenue for Holyoke, but the City Council voted Tuesday night to ban it. Now, the developer says a communication breakdown may have sealed his fate.

Applause inside Holyoke City Hall Tuesday night said everything. Residents don’t want data centers in their backyards and now, because of that vote, they won’t have one. However, if you live in Holyoke, what happens next with that empty mill and the city’s finances is still an open question.

“It was really wonderful seeing...I want to say there was at least 30 people from the community that came in and talked and gave their opinions,” said Holyoke City Counclor Patti Devine.

While the community was talking, the developer behind the 100 Water Street project - the old Hampden Paper Mill – said says he was listening from the sidelines, realizing too late that he had lost the room.

“I needed to be on social media to tell people what we were doing and I didn’t do that as a real mistake,” said developer Benjamin Marshall.

Marshall said that silence allowed fear to take root. He claimed Wednesday his project wasn’t a large-scale operation, but a small facility that would reuse the mill without straining the power grid. However, councilors said they couldn’t vote on “what ifs.” Rather, they had to vote on the concerns sitting right in front of them.

“To be honest with you, I have not heard from him. I haven’t received any calls and, usually, when it’s a business like anything in Holyoke, I would hope that they would contact us,” Devine noted.

Marshall argued the project would have brought revenue to the city’s municipal utility and jobs to local unions. He also said the technology he planned to use would recycle water, not drain the watershed, though those claims were never formally presented to the council. Still, he said he isn’t ready to walk away.

“We’re not interested in fighting the city. That’s for sure. So there, we, we’d rather rebuild trust than pick a battle,” Marshall noted.

The city has now entered a moratorium - a pause to study the technology before any future decision. For now, the Water Street mill remains empty and Holyoke is left to weigh whether this ban is a protective shield or a missed opportunity. The moratorium committee will include members from Holyoke Water Works and Holyoke Gas and Electric. The developer said he hopes to finally get a seat at that table to show residents exactly what he’s planning.

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