Houghton Street Buildings Being Razed in North Adams
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — They lasted more than 170 years. But now the decrepit former mill houses on Houghton Street will soon be a memory.
Berkshire County Construction on Monday began the demolition of the four two-family units, 198-214 Houghton St., near the bottom of Houghton Street. A fifth building, a former corner store at the intersection of Liberty and Houghton, will also be ripped down.
"It can't come soon enough," said Mayor Richard Alcombright, who has been working for years with the trust that owns the properties.
"I want to thank the Romeo family for working with us in getting this done. This has saved the city $80,000."
The properties had initially been targeted for wrecking more than two years go, until the Historical Commission rescinded its approval and instituted a year's demolition delay to give time for members of the local Historical Society to come up with a plan to save them.
The proposal had been to demolish one or more of the four units and salvage some of their parts to fix up the two units in the best shape. They would have been returned to as close to their initial look as possible and used only as a static presentation of how mill workers had lived in the early part of the 19th century as the Hodge Mill Museum Houses.
The residents of the homes had been assumed to have worked at the Otis Hodge Foundry & Box Factory, part of which is still standing across the street from the properties.
Neighbors, however, were angered that the buildings were left standing another year, saying the long vacant, blighted properties were attracting pests and unwanted people.
The museum proposal was unable to get off the ground for lack of funds and delayed access the properties. Last year, the museum's organizers gave up and the houses were back on the demolition list.
The city had planned to use Community Development Block Grants to take the five buildings down but the Romeos agreed to take on the burden. Permits were pulled last month and pest controls put in place in the following weeks to ensure anything living in the buildings didn't flee to neighboring properties.
Demolition is expected to take about a week because of the buildings' close proximity to the road. The contractor is taking time to ensure the razing is done safely and with little impact on traffic and the neighborhood as possible, said the mayor.
Alcombright said the CDBG funds saved in this instance will be used to knock down the former Modern Liquors building on State Street that the city recently purchased.
The mayor also said the Romeos are continuing to work with the city on other properties that may have to be demolished. The late William R. Romeo owned several other apartment buildings as well as what was likely a former mill gate house in Willow Dell.
Tags: CDBG, demolition, historic buildings,
