Montague officials: Farren demolition could start by end of March

Published: 03-15-2023 2:37 PM

MONTAGUE — Trinity Health of New England is poised to begin exterior demolition of the Farren Care Center as soon as late March, Assistant Town Administrator Walter Ramsey informed the Selectboard on Monday.

“Interior demolition has begun and we could start seeing exterior demolition within the month, is what I was last told,” Ramsey said.

Selectboard Chair Rich Kuklewicz said progress toward demolition has been evident recently.

“It looks like they’re definitely moving forward on asbestos abatement down there,” he said. “You see activity, lights on, things being hauled away and so forth.”

According to Christine Looby, national communications manager for Trinity Health Senior Communities, the company does not yet have a demolition permit. The company’s subcontractor will obtain the permit once all utilities have been disconnected. At this time, power, water and sewer utilities remain functional, while phone and internet utilities have been cut off.

Trinity Health did not confirm whether external demolition would begin in March when reached by the Greenfield Recorder on Wednesday, with Looby declining to provide a more specific timeline.

The former long-term care facility on Montague City Road, which closed in April 2021, received a demolition recommendation in November of that year, with parent company Trinity Health of New England getting the go-ahead to proceed on Dec. 6, 2022 when the Historical Commission opted not to invoke the town’s demolition delay bylaw. Once demolition is complete, the plot of land will be loamed, seeded and given to the town. Either the Selectboard or the Montague Economic Development and Industrial Corporation — a semi-public town organization that can buy and sell property — could take possession.

The Complete Neighborhoods Initiative, a regional project Montague entered into on Feb. 13, provides grant funding that will help envision the site as “a mixed-use village center,” according to the proposed project scope.

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