Cities move forward

Date: 10/27/2009

Chicopee receives grant for the start of demolition of Uniroyal/Facemate

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE -- After 30 years of discussions of re-use, damage due to neglect and the passage of time, a Chicopee landmark will finally have a future.

A major step forward in the redevelopment of the former Uniroyal/Facemate properties was announced last week with Chicopee awarded up to $100,000 to assess the contamination levels at the complex.

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development authority, made the award. The site has been designated as a priority project by the state's finance and development agency and could receive up to $2 million in brownfield remediation funding.

Mayor Michael Bissonnette said the goal was to redevelop the 65-acre complex into a mix of housing and retail. He pointed over toward the Chicopee River and the Facemate section of the property to where the proposed new senior center was going to be built.

Bissonnette was praised by the CEO of MassDevelopment Robert Culver as having motivated Chicopee to be an "energized town when it comes to planning."

"This award marks another successful collaboration between the agency and the city of Chicopee, which has recently shown its ability to attract up-and-coming businesses like Qteros," Culver said. "Redeveloping this 65-acre site is another push in the right direction to spark developer interest in what Chicopee has to offer. The brownfields fund is a proven economic development tool, and in this case, cleaning up these properties will have a profound economic impact on both the city and the region."

MassDevelopment plans to demolish six of the 16 buildings at the Uniroyal property, most of which are more than 100 years old. The agency will provide construction oversight and GZA GeoEnvironmental will help remove and dispose of asbestos and demolition debris. Project bids opened last week and demolition and clean up is scheduled to be completed by April 30, 2010.

Culver recalled that discussion on MassDevelopment's involvement started several years ago.

"This is massive," he said of the project. "This is an extraordinary undertaking."

Bissonnette emphasized the site's location next to the Chicopee River and mentioned how the river is now clean, giving the site an additional appeal for development.

After the press conference, the gates to a roadway leading down to the river were opened and attendees were invited to walk down to the river. The buildings are very close to the dike that protects the area from flooding. Walking past the buildings allowed observers to see just how deteriorated they are with columns of bricks at broken window areas stacked perilously.

Bissonnette said he had received an e-mail from a woman whose father had worked at the tire-making plant who expressed her happiness that something was going to be done with the property almost 30 years after the company's closing.

The mayor said that in Chicopee everyone knew someone who worked at Uniroyal.

"When Uniroyal closed it was a devastating hit to the city's and region's economy," he said.