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Date: 3/23/2022
CHICOPEE – The Chicopee School Department’s century-old former administration building lies in a dormant state on 180 Broadway St., with years of decay and handicap inaccessibility forcing the department to lease a new space in the Westover district. With the building lacking a further use, the City Council voted to accept the surplus property under the city’s control during their March 15 meeting.
Mayor John Vieau introduced the item as a part of his mayor’s briefing, stating that the 180 Broadway building, which is on the historical register, remains in a deficient state.
“It needed major upgrades … It’s been deemed by the School Committee and by our facilities director that the space will no longer house the district’s office in the future. The right thing to do now since it’s vacant is to send it along to the City Council for you to make it held as a corporate entity by the city,” said Vieau.
The mayor shared his ultimate plan for the space will be eliciting Request for Proposals (RFP) bids to renovate the space, with renovations expected to cost around $16 million. Once the building switches ownership, the city will conduct a study to assess its deficiencies and decide if a full demolition is necessary, according to Director of Maintenance Scott Chapdelaine.
The item caused some divide among City Council members. Ward 6 Councilor Derek Dobosz expressed his disapproval of the item, stating that the city should place greater importance on keeping the land due to the lack of available land.
“I don’t necessarily oppose this going to city control, but I think the city is going to sell the property and I don’t agree with that. The land in Chicopee is valuable, and if we lose city-owned land, we are never going to get it back,” said Dobosz.
The councilor also stressed that the School Department’s lease for their new administration building is “extremely expensive” at its $285,000 cost per year, stressing that the department should develop a long-term plan for a new administration site. Ward 9 City Councilor Mary Elizabeth Pniak-Costello said she also sees the benefit in the city keeping the space for in-house developments.
Ward 2 Councilor Shane Brooks said that the transfer is essential in finding an avenue to revitalize the space. He also stressed that if the city places an RFP for the space, the council will ultimately have final say once the accepted applicant seeks permits and final approval from the City Council.
“Ultimately, this board will have the final say on whether this building gets put in the hands of a private developer,” said Brooks.
Councilor At-Large James Tillotson said the only way for the space to grow is for the city to take ownership. He argued that the longer the space sits dormant, the higher cost it will take to revitalize the space. Councilor At-Large Frank Laflamme and Ward 5 Councilor Fred Krampits agreed with Tillotson’s perspective.
After discussion, the City Council accepted the surplus property in a 12-1 vote.
Terminated TIF Agreement
Vieau also introduced an item that would terminate the city’s Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) agreement with Prima North America, which has been in place with the city since 2004. The mayor shared that terminating the agreement will allow the city to move forward with it’s new TIF agreement with Agilent Technologies, which was introduced during the Jan. 18 City Council meeting.
Dobosz said that the former TIF agreement property has since sold it’s property, making their TIF agreement invalid. After brief discussion, the City Council approved the termination of the TIF agreement in an unanimous vote.