MONTAGUE — After about a year of planning, the Strathmore Mill Demolition Design Project is complete.
While there is not a funding source for the demolition itself, the town does have funding for removing hazardous materials and securing the grounds through a Massachusetts Development Grant for $250,000 and an additional town appropriation from a few years ago, according to Town Planner Walter Ramsey.
“We’re planning to demolish a portion of buildings, not the entire thing,” Ramsey said. “The intent is to preserve the majority of the structure and cull the least developable parts so that they may be better positioned for adaptive re-use.”
The Strathmore mill complex, on the island between the power canal and the Connecticut River, is owned by the town, which had to take ownership of it for back taxes several years ago. The factory has been mostly empty since, and a large section of the complex, building No. 10, was destroyed by arson several years ago. The town has had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to protect the building from vandals and intruders.
With $115,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding and $25,000 from the town, the planning project took about a year to complete.
In a presentation Monday from Tighe and Bond, whom the town contracted to design and prepare bid-ready plans, specifications and permitting documents for the demolition of the old paper mill, engineers Marc Richards and Brian Day provided an overview of the project to the Selectboard.
With the Swift River Hydro Company, a privately owned business operating out of and with rights to part of building No. 9, as well as buildings No. 1, 2, 4 and 11 intact, the aim is a partial demolition while keeping Swift River Hydro standing, Richards said.
The 100-foot-tall chimney, which earlier this year was losing bricks, is also going to be demolished, according to the plans.
The project poses some challenges, Richards said.
“Access is fairly challenging through Canal Road, which is operated and maintained by First Light,” Richards said. “There are weight restrictions and width restrictions on that road, which creates premiums for access and removal of debris. It makes it a challenging project from that aspect as far as the size of equipment you can bring onto that property.”
The entire project would cost about $2 million, not including contingency, according to Richards. He said the plan also includes cost-saving measures.
“One of the cost measures was reusing demo debris as some backfill,” Richards said. “When buildings come out, there will be a large 25-foot drop from canal road down to the lowest elevation — that needs to be backfilled. It will help improve safety for the site. We’re going to make use of the coated and uncoated brick and concrete materials.”
He added that by using the material on the site, it will save a couple hundred thousand dollars.
The building abatement will be done in the 2020 fiscal year, but funding for the demolition itself is not currently available, Ramsey said, although the town is speaking with local legislatures about the potential for grant funding through a development bond bill.
The demolition is standard from an abatement standpoint, Day said. He noted there are various asbestos-containing materials like roofing and window glazing compounds, which is very typical for these types of buildings and ages of buildings.
“Additionally, we have transidal cement boards that are nailed to the ceiling areas throughout the whole building, those will have to come out,” Day said. “There are several boiler systems that will have to be dismantled and demolished in place in order to access interior components that are all asbestos-containing. The good news is that all these areas are all accessible for the contractor.”
Town Administrator Steve Ellis said the town is taking steps forward on the Strathmore with a larger picture in mind, noting that it’s “important that we continue to make progress on the eventual redevelopment of the Turners Falls Canal District.”
“From the onset, we knew to reinvigorate this historical district with all of its amazing and historical qualities, it is not done quickly,” Ellis said. “It must be done well.”
Reach Melina Bourdeau at 413-772-0261 ext. 263 or email mbourdeau@recorder.com.