Business wooed in Belchertown - Belchertown State School News Articles at Opacity

BELCHERTOWN - The owners of Grand Lumber Co. chose a site near the intersection of Routes 202 and 21 for what will be their second retail store because it is central to a customer base they have developed in 15 years of doing business from Suffield.

Richard A. Staples doesn't need to be close to the manufacturers and machine shops he sells imported parts to. He picked Belchertown to expand his business, RAS Machine Tool Technologies, because he lives in town and wants his warehouse and office near home.

With these businesses and a few others scheduled to be built and operating on former Belchertown State School property later this year, the town will still be a mostly residential community, but town officials are welcoming each addition to the commercial tax base.

"We have a good population base now and people are noticing," said Douglas F. Albertson, Belchertown's town planner.

"There is more business interest," Albertson said.

For much of the 20th century, Belchertown was a rural, farming town, with a population under 4,000 spread out across the second largest municipal area in the state with Belchertown State School operating on about 200 acres in the middle.

Since the state school closed in 1992, Belchertown's Economic Development Industrial Corp. has been working to attract business to that property.

Much of the town development officials' efforts over the past two years were involved with negotiations with Paul T. McDermott, of Chicago, who had plans for a health-theme resort on 150 acres.

Talks with McDermott fell through after he missed several deadlines for buying the property and completing a master development agreement and then bounced a $100,000 deposit check to the town last fall.

The town development team started this year still hoping to find a new resort developer and bring in a health spa and assisted living facility that were being planned in conjunction with the resort proposal, but the future of the 150 acres is uncertain.

A few dozen old, dilapidated brick buildings on the former state school site and the presence of asbestos make development there problematic.

As the town development corporation continues to work on attracting business to the largest portion of the old state school campus, some previous sales of land on the edges are turning into new Belchertown businesses.

David W. Kenniston, a co-owner of Grand Lumber, plans a grand opening sometime between early July and Labor Day.

"It will be a full lumber yard and hardware store with tools, electrical supplies, plumbing, pool supplies, doors and windows" Kenniston said.

He expects his customer base to be evenly split between contractors and homeowners.

Kenniston describes Belchertown as a growing area.

"We do a lot of business there already. We have a truck out there at least once a week," he said.

The store will be 150 by 100 feet and will cost about $1.5 million to build. About $1.5 million in inventory will be stocked.

Tractor Supply Co., a national chain selling ranch and farm equipment and clothing to small farmers and ranchers as well as those with related hobbies, plans a branch store on land next to Grand Lumber's.

Robert L. Bolduc, whose Pride stores and gas stations are found at key intersections in several Western Massachusetts communities, said he plans to seek permits for a gas station and convenience store at the triangle closest to the intersection of Routes 202 and 21.

Bolduc is hoping to have a fast food restaurant chain franchise on adjacent land just west of his gas station site.

Staples is building his warehouse close to Route 202 at 30 Business Technology Drive East.

Staples' 6,500-square-foot building is up and interior work is underway. He plans to be operating there by March or April and will have 2,000 square feet with an office in the building to rent to another business.

Two new government functions coming to Route 202, a community corrections center and the Eastern Hampshire District Courthouse, are also part of the town's business expansion because they will be tenants, leasing space in new buildings from Towline Development, LLC, a for-profit limited liability company.

Matthew J. McDonough, one of the Townline owners, said there are plans to rent business space in these buildings as well.

This article was written by John Appleton and published by The Republican on Sunday, February 10th 2008 and NOT owned by nor affiliated with opacity.us, but are recorded here solely for educational use. The photographs featured in the article are randomly selected from the Belchertown State School galleries on opacity.us unless noted otherwise; they may not directly relate to the article subject matter except for the site location - any other relation is purely coincidental.


	Business wooed in Belchertown Sunday, February 10th 2008 John Appleton The Republican BELCHERTOWN - The owners of Grand Lumber Co. chose a site near the intersection of Routes 202 and 21 for what will be their second retail store because it is central to a customer base they have developed in 15 years of doing business from Suffield. Richard A. Staples doesn't need to be close to the manufacturers and machine shops he sells imported parts to. He picked Belchertown to expand his business, RAS Machine Tool Technologies, because he lives in town and wants his warehouse and office near home. With these businesses and a few others scheduled to be built and operating on former Belchertown State School property later this year, the town will still be a mostly residential community, but town officials are welcoming each addition to the commercial tax base. "We have a good population base now and people are noticing," said Douglas F. Albertson, Belchertown's town planner. "There is more business interest," Albertson said. For much of the 20th century, Belchertown was a rural, farming town, with a population under 4,000 spread out across the second largest municipal area in the state with Belchertown State School operating on about 200 acres in the middle. Since the state school closed in 1992, Belchertown's Economic Development Industrial Corp. has been working to attract business to that property. Much of the town development officials' efforts over the past two years were involved with negotiations with Paul T. McDermott, of Chicago, who had plans for a health-theme resort on 150 acres. Talks with McDermott fell through after he missed several deadlines for buying the property and completing a master development agreement and then bounced a $100,000 deposit check to the town last fall. The town development team started this year still hoping to find a new resort developer and bring in a health spa and assisted living facility that were being planned in conjunction with the resort proposal, but the future of the 150 acres is uncertain. A few dozen old, dilapidated brick buildings on the former state school site and the presence of asbestos make development there problematic. As the town development corporation continues to work on attracting business to the largest portion of the old state school campus, some previous sales of land on the edges are turning into new Belchertown businesses. David W. Kenniston, a co-owner of Grand Lumber, plans a grand opening sometime between early July and Labor Day. "It will be a full lumber yard and hardware store with tools, electrical supplies, plumbing, pool supplies, doors and windows" Kenniston said. He expects his customer base to be evenly split between contractors and homeowners. Kenniston describes Belchertown as a growing area. "We do a lot of business there already. We have a truck out there at least once a week," he said. The store will be 150 by 100 feet and will cost about $1.5 million to build. About $1.5 million in inventory will be stocked. Tractor Supply Co., a national chain selling ranch and farm equipment and clothing to small farmers and ranchers as well as those with related hobbies, plans a branch store on land next to Grand Lumber's. Robert L. Bolduc, whose Pride stores and gas stations are found at key intersections in several Western Massachusetts communities, said he plans to seek permits for a gas station and convenience store at the triangle closest to the intersection of Routes 202 and 21. Bolduc is hoping to have a fast food restaurant chain franchise on adjacent land just west of his gas station site. Staples is building his warehouse close to Route 202 at 30 Business Technology Drive East. Staples' 6,500-square-foot building is up and interior work is underway. He plans to be operating there by March or April and will have 2,000 square feet with an office in the building to rent to another business. Two new government functions coming to Route 202, a community corrections center and the Eastern Hampshire District Courthouse, are also part of the town's business expansion because they will be tenants, leasing space in new buildings from Towline Development, LLC, a for-profit limited liability company. Matthew J. McDonough, one of the Townline owners, said there are plans to rent business space in these buildings as well. This article was written by John Appleton and published by The Republican on Sunday, February 10th 2008 and NOT owned by nor affiliated with opacity.us, but are recorded here solely for educational use. The photographs featured in the article are randomly selected from the Belchertown State School galleries on opacity.us unless noted otherwise; they may not directly relate to the article subject matter except for the site location - any other relation is purely coincidental.