The Valley Opportunity Council is hoping to purchase the former Kendall Building in Chicopee.
Stephen C. Huntley, executive director of the Valley Opportunity Council, stands outside 42-54 Center St. in Chicopee, a property the council has purchased last summer, is renovating and been renting out to small businesses.The Valley Opportunity Council is expanding its real estate holdings with the recent purchase of three multi-family homes in Holyoke and last summer’s acquisition of an office and retail building in Chicopee.
Now it is finalizing the purchase the Kendall Building in downtown Chicopee and hoping to eventually renovate the boarding house, said Stephen C. Huntley, Valley Opportunity Council executive director.
The idea is two-pronged. By buying and renovating the properties, the non-profit agency helps communities. At the same time it can use rental income it generates to fund its adult education, day care and other programs, he said.
“Non-profits are going to have to include entrepreneurship in their businesses,” said Heriberto Flores, president of the New England Farmworkers Council, which has purchased many properties in Western Massachusetts including the Paramount and The Fort buildings in Springfield.
Non-profits rely on grants, but they aren't enough, especially in an atmosphere in which federal and state lawmakers are cutting back on human services spending. Also, grants may fund the program, but not the administration needed for it, Flores said.
“He understands what he has to do. He has a good business head and he is not afraid to ask questions,” Flores said, adding Huntley calls him for advice on occasion.
Most recently the Valley Opportunity Council purchased three multi-family homes in Holyoke that had been foreclosed on by Fannie Mae. The total cost was $359,000.
“We buy if the right value comes along. The board (of directors) will meet and we decide if it is the right fit for us,” Huntley said.
The Council closed on the three Holyoke buildings, located at the corner of Pearl and Hampden streets, Harrison Avenue and the corner of Worcester Place and Commercial Street, on June 1.
The Council is now converting the three from oil heat to natural gas and will update the apartments as tenants move out, he said.
They will use the rents from the properties to pay bank loans used to buy the homes and then use proceeds to make improvements and fund programs. “They will be paid off pretty quickly,” he said.
The same philosophy was used last year when the Council purchased the Ferris building at 45-54 Center St. in Chicopee. The three storefronts on the first floor were occupied, but the second floor, which has 26 small offices, was vacant.
The council, which used some of its reserves to buy the $225,000 building, immediately replaced the roof and has slowly renovated the second floor and one-by-one has been renting out the offices. One room can be had for $150 to $250 a month depending if furniture is provided. The council will also rent out two side-by-side rooms as a suite.
“We have 10 rooms filled out of 26. It has been really great, we have a professional photographer who is doing sittings in his room, a massage therapist, an attorney, an architect,” Huntley said.
Along with upgrading the building, it also brings new professionals and their customers downtown to increase the foot traffic and patronage of existing businesses, he said.
Now the council is hoping to finalize a deal by December to buy the Kendall building at 4 Springfield St., which is owned by HapHousing Inc. It would acquire the mortgage that the other non-profit is having a difficult time paying and then sell tax credits to raise money for renovations, Huntley said.
“We are buying it because it needs some attention and we would like to give it that attention. We are planning to completely renovate that building,” he said.
The building is currently home to HAPHousing offices, Quicky’s Restaurant and 38 single occupancy rooms with shared bathrooms and a common kitchen, Huntley said.
The restaurant will remain and the plan is to slowly convert the rest of the space into 35 studio apartments that would each have a private bathroom and a kitchenette for low-income residents.
The project would be done slowly, likely as people move out of the rooms. In some cases the turnover is frequent and in others there are people who have lived there for a dozen years, Huntley said.
The work will not happen quickly, especially since the Council has not finalized the sale and does not have funding for the renovations yet, Huntley said.
As the Valley Opportunity Council buys and converts that building, it also hopes to eventually close the boarding house it owns at 288 Front St., next to City Hall, where 17 people live.
“It is smaller and it is not possible to renovate it in an economical manner, he said.
Some of the long-term tenants will likely move to the Kendall building as it is renovated, he said.
Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said he hopes the city will be able to eventually purchase that building, demolish it and use it for parking.