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Uniroyal sales agent cries foul

The fate of the long vacant Uniroyal/Facemate properties is presently in Land Court and Mayor Michael Bissonnette said he expects the properties to come under city control later this year. He rejected the claims of two developers who said the city has been blocking progress on developing the property. Reminder Publications photo by G. Michael Dobbs
City expects to take property this year



By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



CHICOPEE A pair of developers say they haven't been treated well by the Bissonnette administration, which has stalled their plans to build an assisted living facility in the city as well as to sell parcels of the Uniroyal/Facemate properties.

Mayor Michael Bissonnette responded stating the developers have not done what the city has asked them to do.

Erik Kaiser and Yves Demers contacted Reminder Publications to present their cases about an assisted living development on a parcel off of Granby Road as well as Demers' plan to work with Uniroyal/Facemate owner Walter Mrozinski on a plan that would sell off parts of the property in order to pay off some of the $2 million tax lien owed to the city.

Demers who described himself as the sales agent for the property said he has three customers lined up to buy the parcels. He wouldn't identify them, but said one would be used for housing, while the others would be used for manufacturing and storage.

Demers said he could give the city between $500,000 and $600,000 towards the taxes from the sale.

The city, Demers said, wants all of the money at the same time.

"We are not running away from the city. We are willing to work with the city but the city has to work with us, too," Demers said.

Bissonnette said, "Walter Mrozinski has run a shell game against this city for years."

The mayor explained that Mrozinski has paid taxes on unpolluted parcels of the former industrial area so he could possibly sell them. The sale of two of those parcels would result in only $29,000 in tax revenues to the city, he added.

Bissonnette said his goal has been to develop a complete development plan for the property rather than going "piecemeal." He wants a "properly planned development in the city and we're not going to cut corners."

He called the property "a nightmare legally and environmentally" and that he "wasn't going to brush it off to make money for Walter's friend."

The Uniroyal/Facemate property not only has a municipal and a state tax lien on it but a federal one as well through the Environmental Protection Administration and a lien from the state as well, Bissonnette said. There had been discussions between Mrozinski's attorney, the city and developers from New York interested in the property but those fell through, he added.

The city is now awaiting a decision from Hampden Superior Court on how much Mrozinski actually owes and to whom. That decision will be followed by an action in Land Court that would transfer ownership of the property to the city without any of Mrozinski's financial obligations, Bissonnette said. He said the transfer should happen this summer.

On the issue of the assisted living senior housing, Kaiser said he offered part of the property to the city for a new senior center. Kaiser said he met with Bissonnette and has been trying to complete the deal for the past two years.

"It's very hard to do business in the city of Chicopee," Kaiser said.

He said a mayoral staffer told him in December an ordinance change that would light a green light for the project was ready, but he hasn't heard anything since.

"It gets to be frustrating," Kaiser added.

Bissonnette confirmed that he had met with Kaiser on the project and that he liked the idea of an assisted living center and the new senior center at the same location.

The hold-up is the project requires the filing of a special permit since the property is zoned industrial and the developers haven't wanted to take that step, Bissonnette said.

He said he has had "frank discussions" with Kaiser and Demers on the senior housing project for the last two years. He explained that of the 32 acres owned by Demers about 12 of them could be developed. The two owners, though, have not wanted to commit to a developer and Bissonnette said the city wouldn't sign off on approval for the project without a named developer.

The other concern Bissonnette has for the project is the traffic flow through the neighborhood that the assisted living project and the senior center would create. He said he is trying to find a solution.

Kaiser said that shouldn't be a problem since the current senior center is in a residential neighborhood.

Noting how long the issue of finding a new location for a senior center has taken place, Kaiser said, "The city is holding older residents hostage. It's that Mike isn't getting what he wants."

Speaking of the developers, Bissonnette said, "It's unfortunate, but these guys have got caught in their own tangled web."