Commercial Distributing Co., Inc. located at 46 South Broad St. could soon be expanding their Westfield operation. (Google Earth photo)
WESTFIELD – A South Broad Street company is relocating to Chicopee next month, selling its property to a neighboring firm that has expressed interest to city officials in expanding.
Day Lumber, which has been at that the 34 South Street location for decades, is owned by South Broad Street Realty, LLC of 61 Prynne Ridge Road, Longmeadow. The limited liabiwlity corporation sold the South Broad street property to Commercial Distributing Inc., of 46 South Broad St. for $845,000.
Day Lumber President Neal Churchill said the company is relocating to an Orange Street location in Chicopee controlled by the same owner as the South Broad Street property.
“The owner of this building is also the owner of the Chicopee property,” Churchill said. “This building has a mortgage, while he owns the Chicopee building free and clear.”
Churchill said that the owner had a tenant at the Orange Street location for the past twenty years, but that tenant purchased property and is relocating.
“In the long run it’s best for (Day Lumber’s) business to relocate to the Chicopee site,” Churchill said. “All of the current 18 employees are going to Chicopee. The transition should take place during the month of August.”
Mark Plasczek of Commercial Distributing confirmed the purchase of the Day Lumber property, but declined to speak about plans, at this time, to expand that business.
South Broad Street Realty, LLC purchased the Day Lumber property for $1,150,000 in October of 2007 according to records at the City’s Assessor Department. The assessed value of that Day Lumber property, which includes two buildings, for tax assessment, is $464,800.
Mayor Daniel M. Knapik submitted an order of appropriation for $25,000 in April of 2013 to purchase an inactive railroad spur owned by Sullivan Transportation. The intent of purchasing the former rail spur, which is between the Day Lumber and Commercial Distributing properties, was to provide access to the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail from South Broad Street. Knapik’s request also presented an order of taking for the rail spur property to the council in that motion.
That purchase was never acted upon by the city because Commercial Distributing approached Knapik about negotiating directly with Sullivan Transportation to purchase the rail spur, according to city officials who presented a modified rail trail access plan this spring.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti presented a plan to purchase two parcels of land between the rail trail to Coleman Avenue for $19,600, and two orders of takings. The City Council approved that appropriation from free cash and the takings at its May 15 session.
Cressotti said the construction of the access to Coleman Avenue is not part of the current project to extend the Columbia Greenway from where it currently terminated south of Little River to East Silver Street. That phase of the trail construction includes replacement of the bridge over South Meadow Road and rehabilitation of the bridge over Little River. The bridge over East Silver Street was also removed and will be replaced as part of the next phase through downtown.
