GREENFIELD — The building that houses the Greenfield Recorder at 14 Hope St. is under a purchase-and-sale agreement with local developer Mark Zaccheo.
The agreement was reached in late March and closing is expected in May, according to Recorder Publisher Shawn Palmer. The sale is not contingent on any permits from the city, he said.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s great for the Recorder, great for Greenfield,” Palmer said, calling Zaccheo “a prominent developer who’s done great work throughout Greenfield and throughout Franklin County.”
The Recorder will remain at 14 Hope St., which Palmer said is important. He said the building has been on the market for several years, but a few other potential deals have fallen through. Palmer declined to disclose the sale price until after closing.
Zaccheo, owner of Olive Street Development LLC, said he took several tours of the building when the opportunity arose and loved the possibilities he envisioned.
“I love that it’s right downtown, kind of in the heart of where everything is happening,” he said, “right across from the new courthouse, next to Hope & Olive (restaurant).”
Zaccheo said he has immediate plans to move his office into part of the building’s older section and restore its facade, breathing some life back into the alleyway between the structure and All Souls Church. He also said he loves the building’s incorporation of two architectural styles and that it can be accessed from different sides. Also appealing, he said, are the 16-foot ceilings on the first floor and 60 parking spaces.
Zaccheo said he is looking for a business, perhaps a machine shop, interested in being a first-floor tenant and he might even add some residential spaces.
“I saw a lot of opportunity,” said Zaccheo, who has been a developer the entire 20 years he has been in Greenfield. “I’m really excited to be working with the Recorder. We’ve always subscribed to it and read it because we just love the fact that it has local news.”
Palmer said this sale will enable the Recorder’s staff to concentrate on advertisement sales and local journalism.
“It can allow us to focus on what’s important,” he said.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.