Conversion of Old Mill Progressing

Berkshire Eagle | May 19, 2005
By Christopher Marcisz

The progress report came from Robert Kuehn of Keen Development Corp. and Peter Lafayette of Berkshire Housing Development Corp. at a breakfast sponsored by the Williamstown Chamber of Commerce yesterday morning at the Williams Faculty Club.

83 housing units

The project will convert the old mill site into 83 new housing units, in the form of apartments, duplexes and townhouses, with an eye toward preserving some aspects of the mill and opening views to the Green River.

The plan is for 21 of those units to be classified as "affordable" units, for tenants who make less than 80 percent of the median income.

The development also calls for building commercial space. The entire project is seen as a way to revitalize another crumbling mill site and to give a boost to development of the Water Street area.

Kuehn said that five firms --three are local and two are from Boston -- have expressed an interest in submitting proposals for the general contracting work, with tomorrow the deadline. A decision is planned in June.

He said work at the site has gotten off to a "quiet start," with removal of lead paint and asbestos. The real work will begin over the summer as several sheds and outer buildings are demolished.

The renovations will begin in fall, and next spring major new construction on the site will begin. Kuehn said that they anticipate some units will be ready for occupancy in September 2006, and that the entire project will be completed by May 2007.

The process of marketing the units will begin late this summer. The partners said 60 people have already expressed an interest in buying. The prices have not yet been determined.

While fielding questions from the audience, the partners said that the condo fees would not be scaled down for the affordable units, which will cost about $300 per month.

"We're trying to create a community," Kuehn said. "There's always tension if there are different rates and categories."

They said they would be serious about keeping the affordable units reasonably priced, through deed covenants.

They also said there would probably be restrictions on the ability of purchasers to buy the units and rent them out.

The partners purchased the building in November 2003 from General Cable Corp. for $400,000.

The building process includes selectively "pruning" away nonhistoric parts of the complex, leaving only the original 1873 mill building and several new buildings on the site