The 24-foot-wide road with a sidewalk would be completed when the planned assisted living facility at the former state school site is done.
By JIM RUSSELL
BELCHERTOWN – Town Meeting approval of a $1.25 million roadway bond is the key to finally unlocking the full economic potential of the remaining 60 acres of land and buildings that for years have stubbornly resisted development efforts at the former Belchertown State School, local officials said at a public hearing Wednesday.
The town’s willingness to build a new road attracted a private company that has agreed to clean up the environmental mess at a portion of the land on its own dime.
To date, the Patrick administration has refused to release any money from a $10 million bond approved by the legislature to clean up the remainder of the former state property. The pollution occurred when the state owned the property.
Concerns about cleanup costs and the attendant liability have thwarted efforts to attract private development, and frustrated town officials who want the land sold so it can be placed on the tax rolls.
According to an arrangement with the town and Weston Solutions Inc., the company will spend $2 million of its own money to remove the four buildings contaminated with lead paint and asbestos at an 11-acre parcel known as Pad 1.
Members of the town-appointed Belchertown Economic Development and Industrial Corporation said Weston would create at least fifty construction jobs for three years to remediate Pad 1 then build a 150,000-square-foot, 170-unit, assisted living facility that would permanently employ more than 100 in a wide range of positions.
“We have a good strong partner, we have a good development plan,” the development corporation’s chairman William Terry said at the May 2 public hearing sponsored by the board.
The board said Weston has identified a business associate to build the assisted living facility. The company, which would run the housing project, would pay Weston to oversee the construction.
The development board said Weston has asked that the name of their business associate remain confidential until the deal becomes a sure thing. The board did not disclose its name at the hearing
Before the housing is built, a plan calls for the town to spend up to $1.25 million to build a new road leading to the site from Route 202.
The 24-foot-wide road with a sidewalk currently planned on one side would be completed when Weston finishes construction of the assisted living facility, town officials said.
The roadway project also includes drainage work, piping for water and sewer access, and electrical and cable work.
Selectman Ronald Aponte and Town Administrator Gary L. Brougham said the $1.25 million bond voters will be asked to approve at the May 14 annual town meeting includes some initial outlays but would eventually be paid from property tax money, and ultimately cost taxpayers nothing.
They estimate the 15-year payout will cost the town $125,000 the first year, reducing to $75,000 by year 15.
Town officials say that if Weston reneges on its remediation and development promises, no road would get built by the town.
“We are not going to build this highway to heaven and have nothing on the other end,” Brougham said at the hearing.
Aponte said that if Town Meeting approves the roadway bond, Weston is expected to take title of the 11 acres “within weeks.” Because of the pollution on the property, and the $2 million cost estimate to clean it, the development board said the land currently has a “negative value.”
Although few attended the May 2 public hearing, residents Max Bock and Fred Fabbo peppered the board with questions at the 90-minute meeting.
They wanted to know what happened to the $10 million promised by the state to remediate the property. The men also reminded the corporation about previous ideas for the site that went nowhere. The corporation is legal owner of the state school land.
Aponte said that success building the assisted living quarters should convince the governor to release the $10 million bond.
The $10 million would be used to clean up the remainder of the property so it can be developed, Aponte said. He said Weston hopes to remediate the remainder of the property using money from the state bond.
Brougham said revenue estimates from the proposed assisted living facility show the town would not lose money building the road. He also pointed to Keystone Commons in nearby Ludlow.
Keystone Commons opened in 2008 on West Street with 90 units. Saying there was a waiting list, the company asked the town for permission to add ten apartments in November, which the Ludlow Planning Board approved the next month.
The Ludlow collector’s office said the town received $170,280.53 in the past year from the property taxes owed and the five-acre parcel is assessed at $10,028,300.