WBZ ID at the Hotel!

[Bill Welch]

Demo has begun not sure if the towers are coming down or not they were 
still standing two weeks ago when I drove by on I 291

He's a link to the company doing the demo.

http://www.nasdidemo.com/Projects/NASDI-demolition-projects.aspx

The site was purchased in November by O’Connell Development Group of 
Holyoke for $4.2 million.

Francesca Maltese, development manager for O’Connell, said the 
long-range plan is for a mixed-use retail and office project. The work 
this year will involve demolition of buildings, except for the office 
building, which will remain standing.

And as someone mentioned Penn National Gaming has expressed an interest 
in the site for a possible casino.



A Joseph Ross wrote:
> On 10/5/2011 9:56 AM, Martin Waters wrote:
>
>> >A. Joseph Ross wrote:
>> >I believe they were planning to retain only one of the towers.
>> Based on news coverage I've seen over several years, the 
>> redevelopment plan always has called for demolishing all the 
>> buildings, including the one with the towers on the roof, except the 
>> office building at the front of the site (about 40 acres total).The 
>> plans, calling for a shopping mall, did go into limbo when the 
>> economy crashed, but the property was sold earlier this year to 
>> O'Connell, based in Holyoke, a major developer in the area. According 
>> to a Springfield Republican article in April, O'Connell said it also 
>> plans demolition (supposedly "this year") of all but the office 
>> building and construction of a mall. A couple weeks ago, the 
>> Republican reported that one of the wanna-be casino developers in 
>> Massachusetts is considering the Westinghouse site.
>
> You've jogged my memory. I think the plans were for demolishing the 
> buildings and both towers, but after some public protest, someone 
> proposed a compromise to demolish one tower and leave the other 
> standing. Of course, the entire plans went on hold because of the 
> economy.
>