HADLEY — A defunct gas station at the western end of Route 9 near the Coolidge Bridge is being revived as a site from which portable storage containers can be rented.
The Planning Board Tuesday voted 4-0 to waive a site plan hearing for the 13 Russell St. property, which was last used as the Lakeside Getty Mart and gas station.
That decision will allow Northampton businessman Todd Marchefka to reuse the 12,000-square-foot, triangular-shaped site, which has a small building, a canopy over the former gas pumps and a sign stanchion.
Marchefka said he intends to renovate the existing building into an office and have one portable storage container on site, to show the type of container that can be reserved. These containers are kept at a property in the Northampton Industrial Park.
The site, bordered by Route 9 and Bay Road, has been vacant for at least five years, when the gas tanks were removed, and the building has been subject to frequent graffiti. It is adjacent to the Pride gas station that opened late last year.
Marchefka, as Triangle Park Brothers, LLC, purchased the property for $205,000 from B&B Brothers, LLC of Florence in November.
“We’re prepared to start beautifying the site,” Marchefka said.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
