RiverMills Presentation

RiverMills at Chicopee FallsRedevelopment of the Former Uniroyal and Facemate Properties

Chicopee Historical Society - April 18, 2012Lee M. Pouliot - Planner & Administrator, Office of Community Development

H.E.A.L Chicopee

H.E.A.L ChicopeeHealth, Ecology, Activity, Legacy...

Cornell UniversityCollege of Agriculture and Life SciencesDepartment of Landscape Architecture

A Strategic Plan for Chicopee’s Factory Village

Spring 2010

Student Team:

Lee M. Pouliot, Master Candidate Christian Gruber, Master CandidateChristopher Hardy, Master CandidateChristopher Horton, Master CandidateDeclan Keane, Master CandidateDeni Ruggeri, Professor

H.E.A.L ChicopeeHealth, Ecology, Activity, Legacy...

Cornell UniversityCollege of Agriculture and Life SciencesDepartment of Landscape Architecture

A Strategic Plan for Chicopee’s Factory Village

Spring 2010

Student Team:

Lee M. Pouliot, Master Candidate Christian Gruber, Master CandidateChristopher Hardy, Master CandidateChristopher Horton, Master CandidateDeclan Keane, Master CandidateDeni Ruggeri, Professor

Uniroyal Buildings 1-6 Demolition

Uniroyal Buildings 1-6 Demolition

RiverMills Vision Plan

Note: The illustrative plan and massing views shown are conceptual.

Massing ViewLegend

New Building

Existing Building Reused

POTENTIAL PROGRAM (APPROXIMATE)

Commercial / Retail 33,500 sf

Residential 131 units

Office 131,000 sf (or 69,000 sf + 52 residential units)

Recreational Fields 1 Soccer

Recreation Center 34,500 sf

Senior Center ±20,000 – 23,000 sf

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Senior Center

Residential45 Units

2 Story Office30,000 SF

Existing Building6,750 SF Retail

Soccer Field

Levee Wall

Green

Bikeway

Terrace

Gazebo


or Residential

25 Units

Recreation Center34,500 SF

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Townhouses28 Units

1 Story Retail3,000 SF 1 Story Retail

6,000 SF

1 Story Retail8,750 SF

New Parking

Townhouses8 Units

Retail9,000 SF

Existing Building

Converted to Residential

50 Units


or Residential

27 Units



Existing Building 6,000 SF Office

Perspective

lan and massing views shown are conceptual.0 150 300 Feet May 05 2011

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Chicopee Fire and Police Departments

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CITY OF CHICOPEE

RiverMillsVisions for Redevelopment A RESOURCE GUIDE FOR DEVELOPERS

Conceptual Redevelopment Vision—Two


Massing ViewLegend

New Building









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Senior Center

Residential45 Units



Soccer Field

Levee Wall

Green

Bikeway

Terrace

Gazebo


or Residential

25 Units


ee

Townhouses28 Units


6,000 SF


New Parking

Townhouses8 Units

Retail9,000 SF

Existing Building


50 Units


or Residential

27 Units




Perspective


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CITY OF CHICOPEE




Massing ViewLegend

New Building









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Senior Center

Residential45 Units



Soccer Field

Levee Wall

Green

Bikeway

Terrace

Gazebo


or Residential

25 Units


ee

Townhouses28 Units


6,000 SF


New Parking

Townhouses8 Units

Retail9,000 SF

Existing Building


50 Units


or Residential

27 Units




Perspective


MAIN STREET

OAK STREET

WES

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CITY OF CHICOPEE



Brownfields 2011Massachusetts

At ‘the Crossroads of New England...’ City of Chicopee

City StatisticsGovernment: Mayor/City CouncilSquare Miles: 23.9 Population: 53,799 (2009)Labor Force: 28,029 (2011)Total Households: 23,038 (2009) Median Income: $44,295 (2009)

Leading Employers: - Westover Air Reserve Base: 2,700- Chicopee Public Schools: 1,212- City of Chicopee: 750 - Walmart: 500- Valley Opportunity Council: 400- Covidian Products: 350- Riverbend Medical Group: 312- Callaway Golf Company: 300- Avery Dennison Corp: 287- J. Polep Distribution Service: 250

FY 2011 Tax Structure: - Residential: $14.66 / $1,000 assessed value- Commercial: $30.30 / $1,000 assessed value

Infrastructure Major Transportation Access:- Route 141- Route 33 (Memorial Drive)- I-90 (MassPike) via Exit 5- I-291, I-391 & I-91

Distances to Major Cities: - Boston, MA: 91 miles- Hartford, CT: 31 miles- New York, NY: 146 miles- Providence, RI: 88 miles- Springfield, MA: 4 miles- Worcester, MA: 52 miles

Utility Services & Providers: - Cable: Charter Communications - Electric: Chicopee Electric Light (CEL)- Natural Gas: Columbia Gas of MA- Sewer: Chicopee Water Pollution Control- Telecommunications: Verizon - Water: Chicopee Water Department

Major Water Bodies: - Connecticut River- Chicopee River

City History Chicopee adopted the motto ‘Industriae Variae,’ which means ‘Industry Varies.’ Chicopee was home to many types of industries including cotton mills, woolen mills, textiles, brass and iron foundries, paper making, leather products like boots and shoes, the first lucifer matches and ship building for the nearby South Hadley Canal, firearms company Crescent-Davis, which specialized in double barrel shotguns. The Ames Manufacturing Company made many machines and bronze cannons, and more swords than any other American manufacturer at the time. Ames cast Thomas Ball’s monumental bronze equestrian statue of George Washington, installed in Boston’s Public Garden. The Stevens Arms plant (later Savage) was responsible for most of the Number 4 Enfields manufactured for the British under Lend-Lease. Chicopee was home to the first gasoline-powered automobile made in the United States, Duryea.

Chicopee is home to Westover Air Reserve Base, built in 1940. It has one of the largest runways on the east coast at 11,597 x 301 feet.

Sources: Chicopee wesbite & Wikipedia

Images: (top to bottom, left to right) 1. Chicopee City Hall (www.city-data.com)

2. Ames Privilege & Historic Canals (www.rent.com)

3. C-5B at Westover Air Reserve Base (www.westover.afrc.af.mil)

4. Fireworks over the former Chicopee High School (www.city-data.com)

Available Incentives- One-stop, fast-track permitting - BEDI - BRAC- Brownfields Priority Project- Brownfields Support Team Initiative - CDBG & Section 108 Loan Guarantees- CEDS- EDIP - EPA Brownfields Clean-up Grants- Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits- MassWorks Infrastructure Program - Tax Increment Financing

Facemate PropertyAddress: 5 West Main Street, ChicopeeSquare Footage: 609, 840 Acreage: 14 (2 parcels)

Ownership Status: City of Chicopee Asking Price: Negotiable Appraised Value: No recent appraisal Notes: Price will not be the sole deciding factor when considering developer interest

Existing Zoning: Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay DistrictCurrent Land Use: Vacant Surrounding Land Use(s): Residential, Commercial, Office and Civic

Site Assembly: Yes- Former Uniroyal Tire property- Other adjacent parcels

Uniroyal PropertyAddress: 154 Grove Street, ChicopeeSquare Footage: 1,219,680 Acreage: 28 acres

Ownership Status: City of Chicopee Asking Price: Negotiable Appraised Value: No recent appraisal Notes: Price will not be the sole deciding factor when considering developer interest

Existing Zoning: Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay DistrictCurrent Land Use: Vacant Surrounding Land Use(s): Residential, Commercial, Office and Civic

Site Assembly: Yes- Former Facemate property- Other adjacent parcels

CharacterizationPhase I: Completed April 5, 2010 by BETA Group, Inc. Phase II: On-going since December 1, 2010 by BETA Group, Inc. - Other than surficial contamination associated with historic rail lines, the only other significant subsurface contamination identified to date is associated with the removal of 3 USTs slated for completion in April 2011.

Estimated Cleanup Costs: Unknown

CharacterizationPhase I: Limited Site Investigation completed March, 1991 by ECSPhase II: Comprehensive Site Assessment completed August, 1997 by ECS- Additional Phase II Investigations since 1998 by ECS, Gannett Fleming & GZA

Phase III & IV: Under development

Estimated Cleanup Costs: Unknown

Uniroyal

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Uniroyal/Facemate

Chicopee, MA

Property Aerial

RiverMills Properties

Facemate

View towards Uniroyal

Uniroyal

At ‘the Crossroads of New England...’

Vision Objectives Mixed Use Development: “...a diverse and complementary mix of uses that will directly and indirectly enhance the area as a place to live, work, shop, dine, visit and to connect with recreational amenities...”

Site Legacy: “...how the site’s industrial past can be incorporated into its reuse, remembering the site’s history...”

Environmental Connections: “...surround proposed buildings with a series of green spaces linked with pedestrian walkways, greenways or trails with connections to the Chicopee River...”

Neighborhood Connections: “...reintegrate the site into the surrounding neighborhood and enable new connections to Chicopee Center and Memorial Drive...”

Green Development: “...support sustainable development practices...with respect to energy efficiency, materials, building systems, construction methods, long-term building operations and site planning...”

Effective Public-Private Partnership: “...with City, state and federal investments nearing $3 million, redevelopment should not place disproportionate requirements on City resources... RiverMills Development Brochure

Redevelopment Vision“The City of Chicopee envisions the creation of a mixed-use, energy conscious, walkable community integrated within the historic framework of Chicopee Falls. With expanded business and job opportunities and new living options for residents, redevelopment will re-connect the neighborhood to its rich environmental context while re-forging links between Chicopee Falls and Chicopee Center…” - RiverMills Development Brochure

ProcessThe City of Chicopee plans to issue an official Request for Proposals (RFP) soliciting development proposals for the Rivermills site in late summer 2011.

Chicopee, MARiverMills Vision Plans At ‘the Crossroads of New England...’

Facemate UST Removal



Rails to Trails Project



Facemate Demolition

Facemate Demolition

Facemate Demolition

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes...”

- Marcel Proust

Documents

RiverMills Presentation