The Elm Street parcels have been vacant for several years
WESTFIELD – City officials are preparing application for as much as $25,000 in Brownfield Redevelopment Funding to complete environmental inspection of three downtown sites.
Funds, distributed through the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, will also be used to create an mitigation plan necessary to clear the properties for future development.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said the target sites are the long-vacant J.J. Newbury site on Elm Street, a large block building at 88-94 Elm St. and a former dry cleaners building at 47 School St..
The goal is to proceed with a proposal submitted earlier this year for the study by Springfield consultants O’Reilly, Talbot & Okum Associates Inc.. The firm was one of three proposals received by the city, Knapik said.
Jeffrey R. Daley, the city’s new advancement officer, said Monday the immediate focus will be on the Elm Street parcels.
“This is the first of two steps to see what is located on these parcels and then plan for any mitigation that may be necessary,” said Daley.
He said he expects a decision by MassDevelopment on grant funding in about two months and work to begin and hopefully be completed by the end of the calendar year.
“We need to get an assessment and then apply for additional funds for mitigation of the parcels,” Daley said
The Elm Street parcels are expected to become a new transit center to be developed by the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority and Westfield, a plan that has been on the drawing board for about the past 10 years.
The former Newbury site has been a vacant lot since fire destroyed the building more than two decades ago.
The city already has ownership of 47 School St. and the building at 88-94 Elm St.
The City Council, last Thursday, authorized Daley to apply for grants to finance site assessments of downtown properties.
Ward 2 City Councilor James E. Brown Jr. called the Elm Street parcels the “downtown’s biggest eyesore.”