Two Photech RFPs: Housing or Elderly Care and Jobs
Williamstown - A pair of proposals offering Photech site redevelopment options are vastly different, with one focused on up-scale condominiums and the other focused on elderly long-term care and local employment.The proposals were submitted to town officials in response to a request for proposals that targted the former mill site at 330 Cole Avenue.
Proposals From Scarafoni, EBY Group
A proposal to erect 16 condo units within the existing Cole Avenue structure was submitted by Scarafoni Associates of North Adams and the firm's managing partner David Carver. The proposal includes building one "affordable housing" one-bedroom unit and one "affordable housing" two bedroom unit in addition to the more costly living quarters.
The Scarafoni proposed purchase price is $1.
The Scarafoni proposal titled the complex "Station Mill Condominiums".
A proposal submitted by the EBY group, headquartered in Olathe, Kansas, includes a proposed purchase price of $179,000. The proposal seeks to build 46-unit assisted living center for what is termed "the frail elderly" and named "Bickford Cottage."
According to the proposal, the proposed center would employ 30 full-time and two part-time employees, including four center directors, four registered nurses, 24 certified nursing assistants, and four kitchen and dietary staff members. The total yearly salary, wage, and benefits costs are expected to total about $750,000, according to the proposal.
Scarafoni Proposal Details
The Scarafoni proposal would build a 38-vehicle capacity parking lot at the building's east side and utilize an existing curb cut for access to both the site and the parking lot. Each condo would host a small outdoor balcony, according to the proposal. A chain link fence erected around the site would be removed and the footprint of the portion of the site that was demolished in 2005 would be earmarked for future residential or commercial use.
"Until this section is developed, it will be graded, seeded, and maintained as open lawn. The sloped area along the sewer easement will be planted with trees and shrubs as shown in a manner that will not interfere with the abutting properties," according to Scarafoni's proposal.
The Scarafoni firm would hire an licensed entity to conduct ground water testing, river sediment testing and other tests as a means to gauge the scope of any remediation work necessary to meet proposal development needs.
"If the total estimated cost of this work exceeds $100,000, the developer may cancel the developer agreement," according to the Scarafoni proposal. Copies of all test reports will be provided to town officials.
The proposal is expected to generate an estimated $48,000 in yearly town property tax revenue with potential for property tax revenue increase if future development were to occur. One full-time property maintenance employee would be hired if the proposal were to be erected. The construction payroll is estimated at about $2 million, according to the proposal.
Permitting and testing would begin in March, with construction expected to begin in April 2008 and project completion estimated at June 2009. The first unit would be built by December 2008, according to the proposal.
EBY Proposal Details
The EBY proposal calls for demolition of the existing structure "followed by remediation of contaminated areas identified during previous environmental assessment of the site as questionable," according to the proposal. "The area east of the Photech building will be covered with topsoil to remove risk associated with surface contact with residually impacted soils."
A new, single-story 25,000-square-foot building would be built at the site. The center would include seven living units dedicated to "memory care," and would host an enclosed courtyard for those living in the seven units, according to the proposal.
"The average age of the Bickford Court resident is 83, and these folks do not typically generate any significant noise," according to the EBY proposal. "The residents of Bickford Cottage facilities typically go to bed early in the evening and during the daytime hours spend most of their time indoors. Most of the noise generated by the Bickford Cottage will be from employees at shift change and daytime deliveries. Periodically, an ambulance service will be required for one of the Bickford Cottage residents, however, most ambulance calls are for transfer and do not require red light and siren."
The EBY proposal states that all company employees undergo criminal background checks, drug screenings, and elder abuse registry investigations.
An EBY time schedule estimated 30 days for contract negotiations and execution, 120 days for zoning, topographic surveys, site design and approval, financial approval and acquisition of a building permit. The proposal did not offer a specific construction start date but did state that construction would require an estimated 285 days. The estimated yearly property tax revenue to the town was estimated at $68,000 with no impact on the town school system.
View Both Proposals In Full
Both proposals may be viewed in full at a http://williamstown.net/town_manager.htm Internet web site.
Photech
The site once hosted a trio of buildings used most recently by the Photech firm, whose owners abandoned the buildings, a photographic paper manufacturing enterprise, and a slew of unpaid town utility and property tax bills in 1989.
The site has undergone U.S. Environmental Protection Agency clean-ups; one in 1997 that removed about 188 tons of sludge, 1,800 pounds of lab-packed materials, 500 empty drums, 32 drums that contained hazardous materials, 40 cubic yards of asbestos, and eight compressed gas cylinders that contained chemicals such as Freon, methanol, hydrogen, and ammonia from the site at a cost of about $552,964, and an EPA-funded 2005 building demolition that occurred following a partial roof collapse at the site. That effort cost about $878,000. EPA clean-ups did not generate cost to the town, nor did a 2002 site clean-up that was overseen by town officials and funded with revenues from a state grant of $750,000.
During the 2002 clean-up, a variety of hazardous metals were removed from the site, a portion of the Hoosic River riverbank was stabilized, and accessibility to the site was restricted.
