America’s oldest seaport has a new hand on the tiller when it comes to guiding the city’s Community Development Department.
Mayor Greg Verga has announced Alex Koppelman as Gloucester’s new Community Development director. He officially started June 17.
Koppelman arrives to the City Hall Annex on Pond Road with more than 10 years’ experience in planning and community development with a background in project management, policy development, community engagement and communications.
“We have a lot of significant projects happening right now in our Community Development Department, and I feel confident in Alex’s ability to lead this critical department,” Verga said in a prepared statement. “Alex has the experience, skills, and knowledge to succeed in this leadership role — I look forward to working with him as we continue to move our community forward.”
Koppelman fills a vacancy left by former Community Development Director David Fields, who took a job as assistant town administrator of Newbury in March.
Fields had been in the role for about a year and a half after coming to Gloucester from Danvers as that North Shore town’s former director of planning and economic development.
Koppelman, whose salary will be $115,843, holds a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a master’s degree in urban and community planning from the University of Cincinnati, which he earned in 2015.
He most recently served as the senior regional housing and land use planner for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, according to his resume and cover letter on file with the City Council and a statement from the mayor’s office. He had worked for the MAPC since 2018.
He has led regional planning efforts for 21 cities and towns surrounding Boston, including Brookline, Somerville and Cambridge, as the Inner Core Committee subregional coordinator. During his time at the MAPC, Koppelman supported a variety of municipal planning projects, providing project management for the Topsfield Downtown Revitalization Plan and the Essex Economic Development Plan, among others.
He also guided the allocation of more than $90 million in annual state grant funding from the MassWorks and Housing Choice programs toward projects in Greater Boston advancing affordable housing, economic development and smart growth goals.
His communications experience includes the creation of a video series called “Homes for Salem” that advocated for the adoption of inclusionary zoning in the North Shore coastal community. The video series won the 2019 Southern New England American Planning Association Award for excellent communications, according to Koppelman’s resume.
The mayor said his extensive experience in project management, policy development, and community engagement would be instrumental in the growth and success of the department.
“After planning in municipalities throughout the country and greater Boston, I could not think of a better place to land than Gloucester,” Koppelman said in a prepared statement.
“I will work diligently to meet the community’s needs by fostering collaboration across the Community Development Department and Mayor Verga’s administration. I aim to build relationships with staff and community partners that are essential to the city’s progress.”
The Community Development Department encompasses the divisions of Planning, Sustainability, Conservation, Economic Development, Grants and the Stage Fort Park Visitor Center.
Koppelman comes to Gloucester during a busy summer with ongoing initiatives including the update of the city’s master plan called the Comprehensive Plan, the crafting of multifamily zoning districts to bring Gloucester into compliance with the state’s MBTA Communities Act by the end of this year, and the update to the Municipal Harbor Plan.
Other initiatives in the department include the Gloucester Energy Challenge and a downtown traffic circulation and parking assessment.
At its most recent meeting on June 25, the City Council voted to refer Koppelman’s appointment to fulfill Fields’ unexpired term through February 2026 to the Ordinances and Administration Standing Committee for its recommendation. The mayor has also forwarded Koppleman’s appointment to the Planning Board for its review and recommendation.
“His experience working with municipalities nationwide and his background in planning, zoning and economic development make him the ideal candidate for this position,” Verga wrote to Planning Board Chair Richard Noonan on June 20.
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.