HADLEY – A Westfield company will be the general contractor building the town’s new 10,350-square-foot senior center.

Thursday February 28, 2019

The Daily Hampshire Gazette

by Scott Merzbach 

 

The Select Board Wednesday voted to sign a letter of intent with Forish Construction Co. Inc. to take on the project after the company submitted the lowest bid, at $4.65 million. Nine other companies submitted bids that ranged from $5.03 million to $5.78 million.

The total cost of the project is budgeted to be $7.1 million

Phil Palaumbo of Colliers International, who is the owner’s project manager for the town, wrote a memo informing the board that Forish should be selected and that, once this happened, the process of executing a contract could begin. That contract should be in place by March 22.

Forish will handle the work of constructing the new building in a field behind the Hooker School building, which has been the home of the senior center since 1998. That building, named after Hadley native General Joseph Hooker, a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War, will be demolished to make way for a new town library.

Jane Nevinsmith, chairwoman of the Senior Center Building Committee, told the board that the current senior services will be closed during the last three days of the month, March 27, 28 and 29, to facilitate the move of offices, equipment and programs to the parish center at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, 120 Russell St.

All functions will resume April 1 and continue at the church for about a year, through the completion of the new building, which is expected to be ready by the end of April 2020.

The town will soon be receiving bids for the $8 million library project, as well. Select Board member Molly Keegan said that project will begin when Hooker is razed in early May.