TURNERS FALLS — While condominium apartments and offices are envisioned for one of the former Strathmore Paper buildings, in May town officials will consider doing a study to determine which of the other nine mill buildings could be candidates for demolition, according to Town Planner Walter Ramsey.
Ramsey plans to ask at the annual town meeting for permission to do an engineering study, which would include a cost analysis of demolition. The study would also pinpoint which mill buildings are worth preserving and which are beyond repair.
“The idea is to save the part of the mill that is most developable and historic,” said Ramsey. He said there is simply too much square footage for any developer to work with on the island between the Power Canal and the Connecticut River.
Last week, the town accepted a proposal from Obear Construction Co. to build condos in the one standalone building, with about 32,280 square feet, which leaves the town officials wondering what to do with the remaining 237,720 square feet of the long-vacant complex. The demolition of some of the remaining mill buildings could make room for additional parking for the proposed 16 to 20 condos, said Ramsey.
Since the town requires 1.5 parking spaces per unit, finding the space to satisfy the need for parking could be a struggle.
“As every study of the complex has noted, access to the island and parking are major issues that need to be resolved,” said developer Robert Obear in the proposal.
The developer plans to satisfy some of the need for parking by building a deck in an empty lot next to the condos.
The proposal also mentions the possibility of constructing a garage.
“We do not see these issues as unresolvable and we are willing to work with the town to help solve access and parking,” Obear said in the proposal.
There are already about 19 parking spaces on the island that could accommodate the need.
A pedestrian bridge also runs straight to the site of a planned public parking lot on the corner of Canal and Third Streets, which could accommodate visitor parking.
The new plans for the mill come nearly six years after the town took ownership of the complex after a developer failed to transform the mill into a film production company.
You can reach Lisa Spear
at lspear@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 280