image description — Youth Center Executive Director David Rempell looks over the hundreds of children who attended the groundbreaking.

Williamstown Youth Center Breaks Ground On New Building

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
04:23PM / Tuesday, March 20, 2012Print Story | Email Story

Students and the Youth Center's Board of Trustees shared shovels to throw the first piles of dirt.

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — With a parade and singing, the town's youth was forever changed on Tuesday as the Youth Center broke ground on a new building.

The nonprofit organization began construction on a new 12,000 square foot building on Elementary School land after three years of planning — an achievement Youth Center Executive Director David Rempell calls "historic."

"These two buildings are a clear indication of the importance you are to us," Rempell told hundreds of Elementary School pupils at the construction site on Tuesday. "This is happening because the adults in this community care about you."

Scores of students marched from the school to the fenced-off construction area chanting "together, we did" — a play off the center's capital campaign slogan, "together we can." They gathered around former baseball fields where officials held a short ceremony to commemorate the occasion.

The children even sang their own song about the center and the event concluded with they and the Youth Center's board of directors tossing the first shovels of dirt while the rest of the students cheered they on.

"In my opinion, this whole event is about community," Rempell said. "We are making history here today."

Construction is expected to last until Oct. 1 with occupancy on Oct. 31 and provide a new and closer partnership between the school and the center's programming.

"This represents a new lease on life for the Youth Center," President Paul Jennings said. "These shovels really are the beginning of digging and the machines will start digging tomorrow."

The new center is expected to open at the end of October.

During the construction center officials said they have set up a camera to document the progress and they are currently planning new programming to go with the new building.

"This is going to be a new building that is used by you guys to enhance your learning in many, many ways," Jennings said.

The building replaced their former building on Cole Avenue that had been worn into deplorable conditions and for years the center was seeking a new location and had their eye on a partnership with the Elementary School when the town built the new school in 2002.

In 2009, center officials received preliminary permission to build on the school's land and embarked on a capital campaign to raise more than $3 million from more than 1,000 donors for the construction.

A groundbreaking was scheduled in 2010 but was delayed two times — once because of debate over the playground and another time to give architects more time to plan.

In February, Youth Center officials received the final nod of approval when they signed a 100-year lease with the school — setting the stage for Tuesday's event.

More photos of the ceremony can be found here and below is a "fly by tour" created by the architects, Black River Design, of what the final building will looking like.

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Your Comments

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This is wonderful news for the Youth Center. What I don't understand is the youth center building was given by the Town to the Youth Center, why isn't the Youth Center GIVING back to the town, it's building? GOD knows we need housing for the low and moderate income people in town, it would only make sense that they donate it back???
from: Mary Murphy	on: 03-20-2012 05:44PM I Agree (11) - I Disagree (4)

See Berkshire Trade & Commerce magazine. They are taking bids for the Youth Center Building. Didn't Mr. Rempell tell us in his fund raiser video that the building was worthless and unable to be repaired? Bidding ends before Town Meeting, too!
from: Cole Ave Building	on: 03-21-2012 08:29AM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (2)

It should be returned to the town as it was a gift to start. After all the town has given the Youth Center a 100 year lease for a buck a year! Nice gift again to WYC!
from: ab williamstown	on: 03-21-2012 11:48AM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (0)

The building is a mess! Why would the town want it? It would have to be completely redone or better yet, demolished, in order to do anything with it. It would probably be cheaper to buy land and build housing from scratch than it would be to redo that building.
from: hello	on: 03-21-2012 06:31PM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (2)

Don't forget the $1,000,000 chunk of land that could have been used fr a high school or affordable housing.
from: Cole Ave Building	on: 03-21-2012 07:27PM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)
Editor: Where for a high school?
I Agree (1) - I Disagree (0)

The youth center building on Cole Avenue has the same possible low to moderate income housing as Church Corners. Who says the building should be demolished....the building inspector and other builders think it's a fine building, historical, worth preserving and not to be demolished...The bones are good, building inspectors and builders are better qualified to say if the building is worth preserving dont' you think? The building needs to come back to the Town?
from: Mary Murphy	on: 03-21-2012 08:58PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (0)

The building should be given back to the town, and let the town decide what to do with it. If someone is willing to buy the property, as stated in the article, the money should go into the town coiffers.
from: resident	on: 03-21-2012 10:06PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (1)

Whoa. Give the building back to the town? The building isn't in good shape for a youth center and in a good size and configuration but hat isn't to say it couldn't be converted to housing by a developer. The Youth center through a lot of vision hard work and a real angel with the seed money will have built the new youth center without tax money and I think the youth center should not give the building back but put what is realized by the sale of the old building to benefit there program or building expenses.
from: Long time town resident	on: 03-21-2012 11:28PM I Agree (3) - I Disagree (1)

If you give it to the town, you are giving them another headache to deal with. That building has a mold problem in the basement and lord knows where else. That alone is a huge issue to deal with if you are trying to remodel. And for all we know, maybe the YC did offer to give it to them and they said "no thank you"! Unless they demolish and start over, I personally, would never want to live in a place that had a mold problem.
from: hello	on: 03-22-2012 06:00AM I Agree (2) - I Disagree (0)

If the building is in that poor of condition then why hasn't the Building and Health inspectors closed it? We still have children using it everyday. There must be some value as the WYC has a nice price tag on the property as they prepare to sell.
from: ab williamstown	on: 03-22-2012 12:06PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (0)

ab williamstown....that is the question of the century. I would not send my child there because of the condition of the building, but many people do. Maybe the price tag has to do with just the fact of where it is located (business section)? Not sure. I think a place has to be pretty horrible to get shut down. Maybe the YC stayed just north of horrible to avoid that.
from: hello	on: 03-22-2012 06:17PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (0)

If the WYC has mold and is falling apart, then why are children still allowed to go there? Just goes to show that it depends on who you are in this town. The building and health inspecter seem to have looked the other way when it comes to the WYC. As for turning the building into affordable houseing, there is no such thing in Williamstown as affordable housing. The former church was supposed to be affordable housing, take a look at the people that can "afford" to live there......
from: just wondering	on: 03-22-2012 10:40PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (1)
Editor: "Affordable" is considered at 80 percent of the median income of the area.
I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

How does anyone know the situation of folks living at the Church Corners? Affordable housing isn't just for the "poor: (or what one deems the people going in and out should appear to be). Someone making a decent living can qualify if they have multiple dependents.
from: wondering what, exactly?	on: 03-23-2012 03:59PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (0)

Why would the town want the property. It has failed at selling Photech, the old town garage site, Cornish Wire is a huge mess, just look at it, the town shoud be ashamed, no pressure on the builder and what over one million dollars of tax payers money, we should be outraged. Church Corners was the only successful affordable (moderate) housing project in too many years. Let's get going here town?
from: very concerned citizen	on: 03-23-2012 09:58PM I Agree (1) - I Disagree (0)

Williamstown Planners Green Light Initiatives at Both Ends of Route 7

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
12:26PM / Tuesday, January 20, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Jack Miller Contractors has received the town's approval to renovate and expand the abandoned gas station and convenience store property at the corner of Sand Springs Road and Simonds Road (Route 7) to serve as its new headquarters.

Last Tuesday, the Planning Board voted, 5-0, to approve a development plan for 824 Simonds Road that will incorporate the existing 1,300-square-foot building and add an approximately 2,100-square-foot addition.

"We look forward to turning what is now an eyesore into a beautiful property and hope it will be a great asset to the neighborhood and to Williamstown," Miller said on Friday.

Charlie LaBatt of Guntlow and Associates told the Planning Board that the new addition will be office space while the existing structure will be converted to storage for the contractor.

The former gas station, most recently an Express Mart, was built in 1954 and, as of Friday morning, was listed with an asking price of $300,000 by G. Fuls Real Estate on 0.39 acres of land in the town's Planned Business zoning district.

"The proposed project is to renovate the existing structure and create a new addition of office space," LaBatt told the planners. "So it's both office and, as I've described in the [application], we have a couple of them in town: a storage/shop type space, more industrial as opposed to traditional storage."

He explained that while some developments can be reviewed by Town Hall staff for compliance with the bylaw, there are three potential triggers that send that development plan to the Planning Board: an addition or new building 2,500 square feet or more, the disturbance of 20,000 square feet of vegetation or the creation or alteration of 10 or more parking spots.

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