Base housing now open to developers

Date: 5/10/2011

May 11, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE — City residents, neighbors and several developers came to the former "General's Row" housing on the perimeter of Westover Air Reserve Base (WARB) on Friday to tour the five single family homes available for redevelopment.

The five houses were built in the mid-1940s and were the homes of Air Force generals deployed to the base when it was an active duty facility, Sgt. Andrew Biscoe explained to Reminder Publications. The last time the housing was used by Air Force personnel was in 1989, he added.

Kathleen Lingenberg, the city's housing director, said a Request for Proposals (RFP) to developers for the five homes has been issued, which is due back to city officials by June 23. The five homes are on a single deed and will be sold to a developer as one unit. The developer would then have to split the five homes into separate properties for sale. The houses would remain single-family homes, she said.

The RFP is available for viewing on the city's Web site at www.chicopeema.gov.

Lingenberg said the houses would need "moderate rehab," which would include painting, flooring and modernizing the kitchens and bathrooms. Although she said they are structurally sound, the homes do have some lead paint and some non-deteriorating asbestos issues that would need to be resolved.

She added the row of houses was designed with a common driveway in the rear that linked the homes with stand-alone garages. She thought developers would want to put driveways in the front of the homes.

People who toured the buildings saw homes that had been maintained by the Air Force, but clearly needed work. The house that had been reserved for the highest-ranking officer had four bedrooms on the second floor, one of which was a master suite, and another with a large cedar closet. The home's first floor had a large living room with a fireplace, a formal dining room with two built in corner cabinets and a kitchen with a pantry and an informal dining area. The hardwood floor was buckled in several areas and pieces of duct tape were used throughout the first floor on the walls.

The five homes on Fredette Street border several successful condominium projects that converted former base housing into private residences. Mayor Michael Bissonnette told the crowd the other part of the real estate package transferred to the city was a group of duplex homes, which will also be developed. He stressed they would be developed to be compatible with the existing condo projects.

Lingenberg said she, Bissonnette and City Planner Kate Brown would be meeting with the condo associations within the next 30 to 45 days to discuss these projects.

Bissonnette credited both Congressman Richard Neal and WARB Commander Col. Robert Swain Jr., for their assistance in making the land transfer possible.

Neal lauded Chicopee officials and City Hall staff for their part in the project.

Swain added that his goal when taking command of the base three years ago was to be a good neighbor.

"If Chicopee is doing well than Westover is doing well," he said.