WESTFIELD—The city has received money from the state to begin the process of taking a piece of land that has been dormant for about 28 years, and turning it into an industrial park.
Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan and others were on hand to accept a $300,000 site readiness grant, given by Sec. Jay Ash and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (MEOHED). The grant will help the city go through pre-permitting requirements for a 66-acre piece of land between Cabot Road and Turnpike Industrial Road.
Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan (L) shows a concept of the industrial park to Sec. Jay Ash (R). Photo provided by Joe Mitchell
“The grant will let us do everything to get it shovel-ready,” Sullivan said of the land. “It’s a great opportunity right now.”
According to Joe Mitchell, city advancement officer for Westfield, the land was previously set to become a landfill in the 1980s, but that plan didn’t come to fruition. From there, the land had been dormant since 1989 until recently.
Mitchell originally sought $93,000 in grant money for the project but he said that EOHED decided to offer more. According to Mitchell, they liked the project enough and wanted to add tasks to the plan, so they offered $300,000.
The money will be used to put the site through the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) process, Mitchell said.
“What that does is we do some surveying and preliminary design work of what we want to do there,” he said.
From there, it will go through a number of state departments and receive comments on the plans. Then, updates and changes will happen, if needed.
According to Mitchell, the park is expected to be 66 acres, with availability for an estimated eight to fourteen parcels that can be used for businesses. There are residences nearby, but Mitchell said that initial drawings are providing buffer zones between homes and the property.
“We realize that there are residential properties nearby and all of our concept drawings encompass very generous buffers so as to minimize the impact on the residents in the area,” he said.
