Properties such as this building located on Elm Street near Arnold Street are being targeted for demolition to make way for a major downtown renovation project. (File photo by chief photographer Frederick Gore)
WESTFIELD – City Advancement Officer Jeff Daley said Friday that city officials will review nine bids for the environmental remediation of contaminated soil at the proposed Elm Street construction site. The bids range from a low of $175, 525 to a high of $386,795.
“We’ll go through the bids to make sure the paperwork is correct and the bid proposals satisfy the specifications of the contract advertised by the city,” Daley said.
“I hope to award the bid next week, but the city can’t spend a nickel of the grant until it has control of the privately help property,” he said. “I hope that process is completed this fall. I would like to have the building, owned by the Hampden Bank, in city ownership by September or October.”
The City has been awarded a “brownfields” grant to remove petroleum and lead from the soils beneath the site. The state has notified city officials of a commitment of $480,200 to remove contamination for the Elm Street property. Mayor Daniel M. Knapik said the brownfield grant is being issued to the city through MassDevelopment.
“There is a pretty extensive environmental cleanup for such a small property,” Daley said. “Nothing can be done until the buildings come down.”
The buildings cannot be demolished until their single store commercial building, now vacant, is under city control.
“Hopefully, the buildings will be taken down by late fall because the environmental work is recommended to be done during the cold weather,” Daley said. “I’d love to get that remediation done before winter.”
The Pioneer Valley Transportation Authority, in conjunction with the city, has hired a Boston-based consulting firm, HRS, Inc., to conduct a feasibility study for the project to replace the present commercial buildings on Elm Street next to Arnold with a new building which will have retail, business office and residential space.
The bids were submitted by Geeleher Enterprises, Inc., of Southampton ($172,525); Corporate Environmental Adv. of West Boylston ($229,378); Standard Demolition Services, Inc. of Trumbull, Conn. ($234,050); Red Technologies LLC of Bloomfield, Conn. ($237,750);RC&D Inc., of Providence, R.I. ($250,925); W.L. French Excavating Corp of North Billerica ($277,745); EQ Northeast Inc., of Wrentham, ($285,260); Associated Building Wreckers of Springfield, ($360,812) and Solid Waste Solutions Corp., of Evanston, IL ($386, 795).
“We’re excited because the bids are competitive,” Daley said. “We won’t know that final cost of the remediation until we award a contract next week.”
