The buildings have been vacant for at least 15 years.
Some of the vacant apartment buildings which were former Westover Air Reserve Base housing units, these are off Stephens Street.The City of Chicopee is seeking a developer interested in reusing the property.CHICOPEE — The city is starting to take requests from developers who are interested in redeveloping a 25-acre parcel of land with 128 housing units on it that was once owned by the military.
The city acquired that land off Kelly Drive and a separate four-acre parcel with five single-family homes off Fredette Street near Westover Air Reserve Base from the U.S. Navy in April. All 133 buildings have been empty for at least 15 years but maintained by the military.
The City Council voted Aug. 2 to sell the property on Fredette Street to Waycon Inc. developers, who will renovate the homes and sell them as single-family homes. The larger parcel was more complicated to handle, so it has taken more time to prepare it for development.
Over the past year the city has had multiple meetings with residents of condominiums who live near the 25-acre parcel to discuss how the property should be used. It could be for residential, business or a combination, Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said.
“At one point that complex had 600 people and 200 cars. That will not be acceptable for the renovation,” he said. “We may see a mixed bag of some demolition and some renovations.”
In the first meetings with the condominium associations, people were happy to tell officials what they did not want, but it was harder to get them to focus on what they would like to see on the property, said Kathleen A. Lingenberg, project manager for the Community Development Department, which has been working on the project for more than a year.
At least one member of each condominium association will now sit on the board that will evaluate the proposals when they are submitted.
The group has worked out a system that will score the developers’ proposals based on the neighbors’ and city’s interests and priorities, she said. The deadline is not until November, but an open house for the buildings is being held this week for interested developers, Lingenberg said.
City Councilor William M. Zaskey asked if it will be possible for a developer to simply come in and renovate all the units and turn them into a condominium or rental property.
“To just renovate it will be impossible,” Lingenberg said, explaining those proposals would score very low on the scale.
Bissonnette said the city is under no obligation to sell the land if an acceptable project is not submitted by any developer. Improvements to the roads and other infrastructure also will be required.
“We may get something unique and interesting. You are not tying someone down with this,” Councilor James K. Tillotson said.