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| By G. Michael Dobbs Managing Editor CHICOPEE Interested in a commercial property in Chicopee? The Gold Club building is for sale with an asking price of $2.5 million. John Williamson of Williamson Commercial Properties officially put the property on the market with a press conference on Nov. 30. Williamson said the interior of the building was "pretty much intact" and the furnishings come with the sale. The much disputed strip club failed to open with its original management and was closed when the second management team was caught selling liquor without a license. William Harty of West Springfield had initially applied to re-open the club, but did not complete the application process. Alderman George Moreau, who has been prominent in the fight against having a strip club in the city for the past eight years, expressed relief that the property is now up for sale. "This is a victory for me and for the original 9,000 people who signed the petition [against the club]," he said at the press conference. Mayor Michael Bissonnette said the city would assist in the marketing of the property by making sure the permitting process is quick. "We're happy to be a partner to bring some economic development to the site," he said. Bissonnette added the owners of the building, Chicopee Entertainment Company, LLC, had recently turned down a proposal by another management team to place a strip club at the location. Bissonnette said the property is current with its tax obligations to the city. When Williamson was asked who were the principals in the company, he said he did not know. The records at the Secretary of State's web site only lists Edward Loiko of New England Real Estate Service in Hampden as the manager of the property. Williamson said the location of the building, which comes with 20 acres of land and 210 parking spaces, would be ideal for a food-oriented business such as a banquet house. The building was opened with a full restaurant kitchen and walk-in refrigerator and was initially designed to have a restaurant on the second floor. Williams also said the building, which is easily reached from both Interstate 291 and the Massachusetts Turnpike, could also be an office complex. He said, "In our business we call this a 'a 100 percent' location." |