GREENFIELD — Seven years after Bank of America closed its Federal Street location, the site is seeing a new purpose as the home of Longwood Eye & LASIK.
Dr. John Warren and Dr. Howard Ying said the space at 208 Federal St. is larger than the former office on Riddell Street, allowing Longwood Eye & LASIK to see more patients and modernize the practice. The new space also keeps Greenfield as the home base for the company, which has additional offices in West Springfield, Fitchburg and Gardner.
“Greenfield has been the nerve center, the administrative center, the focus of the growth of our practice for decades,” Warren said. “I joined Greenfield Eye Center 21 years ago at the start of my career. … We practiced on Riddell Street, a very nice office, for many years.”
Warren explained that the center was founded about 50 years ago when Dr. Jose Peczon, Dr. Jane Winchester and Dr. Robert Bousquet merged their practices. Over the years, as the business expanded across western and central Massachusetts, the name was changed to reflect that it operates outside of Greenfield as well.
“We still view Greenfield as our home base, and this building has been vacant for several years, and we thought it was the perfect location to expand our services here in Greenfield,” Warren said. “It allows us to continue to drive our vision forward, which is to provide the highest-quality eye care and the most modern-quality eye care. … We’re really proud that Greenfield has been our home base since we started and we’re really proud to have this building as a cornerstone of our business.”
When he first joined Longwood Eye & LASIK eight years ago, Ying said he told Warren his goal was to make Greenfield the premier destination for eye care in western Massachusetts.
“This is a great location. The building is perfect for what we need and we just hope to help everyone in the community with their eyesight,” Ying said.
Longwood Eye & LASIK offers surgery services that include LASIK, cataracts and oculoplastics, and has specialists in retinas, corneal diseases, glaucoma and routine eye care.
The new center has 14 treatment rooms, an increase from the eight at the previous office. The new office is nearly double the square footage of the old location, and according to front desk staff, could see as many as 100 patients per day.
According to the property card and real estate transactions, the 1.3-acre parcel on Federal Street was purchased for $635,000.
Longwood Eye & LASIK held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, which Franklin County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jessye Deane said took place exactly seven years after the bank closed.
“What was once a vacant eyesore is now a state-of-the-art medical facility, which is bringing real jobs [and] the highest-quality patient care,” Deane said. “And of course, a new investment here in Franklin County.”
Mayor Ginny Desorgher said the renovated bank, now an eye care center, is a perfect example of how unused spaces can be revitalized and repurposed. Greenfield Business Association Executive Director Hannah Rechtschaffen added that the center also serves as a reminder that businesses do exist outside of Main Street.
“I think we all get very focused on Main Street and downtown, and that is important in Greenfield and in our business community, and sometimes we forget to look to our professional businesses,” Rechtschaffen said. “We love seeing the community grow.”
Warren noted that Longwood Eye & LASIK purchased a lot of new modern eye equipment to outfit the center and he hopes patients appreciate the investment in their care.
“We’re committed to our mission of delivering the best eye care to the community, and our investment in this building and the expansion, I think it shows our commitment to that,” Warren said. “I’m hoping that the community appreciates and shares our desire to advance the medical community here.”
