WESTFIELD—The city is in the process of demolishing a Lewis Street property that was deemed a public safety hazard.
Westfield’s Building Inspector Carissa Lisee said the property at 8 Lewis St. will be demolished by early next week and according to Public Health Director Joe Rouse, the house has sat condemned and vacant for at least five years. Lisee reported that the house had asbestos within it and was also structurally unsound.
“The property was taken for tax title foreclosure,” Lisee said. “Before we even acquired the property it was abandoned and left structurally unsound.”
The property at 8 Lewis St., set for demolition next week.
Lisee said that once the city had acquired the property, it was found to have asbestos materials within it. So, in order to safely demolish the home the asbestos had to be removed and testing had to be done on the house.
The process, according to Lisee, includes a company that collects the potentially contaminated materials and they are tested at a laboratory, which cost about $1,000. Once its determined what materials are contaminated, then removal and abatement of the material occurs, which costs the city about $7,350, Lisee said.
Demolition, which Lisee noted may happen as early as Monday, Dec. 18, will cost the city about $9,500.
The city acquired the property in July, according to Lisee, and though it was considered a public safety hazard due to structural issues and the potential for it to fall in the public way, the process carried until now to complete.
According to Lisee, the timeframe for such a project is acceptable based on circumstance.
“It’s an acceptable timeframe. Situations like this it takes time without fully condemning and not asking for emergency labors,” she said. “We want to go through the proper steps to avoid that route because that could drive up costs.”
Once the demolition is complete, Lisee expects to have the property up for auction at some point in the spring, which may help to recoup the costs incurred by the city.
