GREENFIELD — The Greenfield Garden Cinemas requested a two-month extension on the deadline to install a chairlift, which is on the agenda for the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board’s (AAB’s) Monday meeting.
Last June, co-owners George Gohl and Bill Gobeille faced potential closure if they didn’t update the mechanical chairlift, which was not accessible to motorized wheelchairs, even though they had made multiple changes to comply with accessibility laws, including adding handrails and changing seating arrangements. The chairlift was installed in the early 1980s.
Since 2012, the AAB — which develops and enforces regulations designed to make public buildings accessible to and safe for people with disabilities — and the Commission on Disability Access in Greenfield have been working with Gohl and Gobeille to make changes to the cinemas to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The original order from the AAB required the new chairlift to be installed by July 19. However, at Gohl’s request, the AAB granted an extension through Wednesday, Jan. 15.
On Dec. 31, Gohl requested another extension, this time for two months, due to the recent sale of the business to Isaac Mass. Gohl and Gobeille still co-own the building itself.
According to the December report Gohl submitted to the AAB, Gohl and Gobeille have “a purchase and sale agreement with Isaac Mass on the sale of the Garden Theater Block, (with a) tentative closing in mid-February.”
Mass purchased the business in November with anticipation of buying the block, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, at some point this year.
“As a condition of the purchase and sale of the building, replacement of the chairlift is a top priority,” Gohl wrote in the report. The contractor for the project is Renaissance Builders, of Turners Falls.
The city placed the order for the lift in December and “the goal is to have the lift installed and inspected by Feb. 15,” Gohl wrote. “We would like to ask for a two-month extension for this project just in case there are unforeseen problems.”
The AAB last met on Jan. 6, and the Greenfield Garden Cinemas project was on the agenda for that meeting, but the board tabled the issue and several others until its next meeting, set for Monday.
Greenfield’s Community Development Administrator Lindsey Rowe said a commercial improvement loan through the city’s Community Development Block Grant program was signed with Gohl for up to $52,000 to fund the construction and installation of the chairlift.
“It’s not as simple as tossing in a piece of equipment,” Rowe said on Wednesday. “The work is estimated to be completed before the end of February.”
A sale or transfer would trigger the loan repayment, Rowe said.
As a condition of funding for the lift provided through the Greenfield Planning Board, Gohl and Gobeille were also required to make roof repairs. Roof repairs were completed in September.
Neither Gohl nor Mass could be reached for further comment.
Reach Melina Bourdeau at mbourdeau@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 263.