EASTHAMPTON — Construction has begun on a $45 million private redevelopment of the vacant mill buildings at 1 Ferry St., paving the way for a mixed-use complex featuring 152 housing units and space for offices.
This week, demolition began on an old mill structure known as Building 3 to make way for a parking lot, while Building 1, which is closest to Ferry Street, started to undergo renovations. The cupola from Building 3 has been removed and will be preserved.
“To see this starting, to see bricks coming down, it’s a little surreal,” Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said. “It’s really exciting.”
Except for minor traffic delays due to construction crews moving equipment into the site, city residents do not have to worry about traffic changes on Ferry Street for the next few weeks, said City Planner Jeffrey Bagg. But starting near the end of August, one of the lanes will be closed for months as the developer installs Jersey barriers and begins to renovate the facade of Building 1, he said.
“We expect visible public infrastructure, like road closures and laying conduit,” LaChapelle said.
The 310,000-square-foot project is slated to hold 152 housing units across multiple buildings, with 60 of those units designated as affordable workforce housing, according to a 2018 MassWorks Infrastructure Program grant application. The developer also plans to include commercial office spaces, a fitness facility and a rooftop pool, the application states.
Although the city has envisioned the mills being repurposed for years, LaChapelle said her administration began sitting down with developer Michael Michon, who also owns and developed Mill 180, in January 2018. Later that year, the city landed the MassWorks grant for $3.5 million toward utility upgrades and road construction around the area, which has not started yet.
Securing those funds enabled Michon to go ahead on the development because the new infrastructure will allow for proper sewer and water upgrades to the site, according to the application. Michon could not be reached by phone on Thursday.
The grant money covers part of a $5.1 million public project that will install a roundabout at the intersection of Ferry, Lovefield and Pleasant streets, Bagg said. The Manhan Rail Trail will also be reworked to fit the new streetscape, he said, along with parallel parking, utility work and a multi-use path along Lower Mill Pond on Ferry Street.
The remaining money for the infrastructure project will come from tax revenue generated from the site’s classification as a District Improvement Financing (DIF) district, Bagg said. As the property increases in value, the tax revenue will offset costs incurred by the city when paying for the remainder of the project.
According to Bagg, the city is looking to put the road and utility improvement project out to bid for private contractors by late August, with a contract hopefully finalized by Oct. 1 and work beginning by mid-October. He said the city and the developer have been working closely to coordinate with one another on the projects because they will both be happening at the same time.
“The city has really been in lockstep with the developer on this project,” Bagg said. “So much of our work and the city’s MassWorks grant is interconnected with the private development.”
But Bagg did tame expectations of a quick turnaround time for the mill buildings’ redevelopment. He said the developer plans on eventually developing on the entire site, but for now has only begun work on the west side of a canal that splits the property.
“I think it’s important for people to realize that this is really the beginning and will likely take many years until the entire site is completed,” he said.
LaChapelle recalled the days when the mill buildings were active with workers, saying that she’s heard positive feedback from older residents — along with younger residents who are excited to see a vacant landmark become something new.
“This is really a capstone project,” she said. “It’s generational.”
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.