Renovations under way on 3 buildings

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Thursday, August 7, 2008

Renovations under way on 3 buildings

Worcester Telegram - Worcester,MA*

By Lynne Klaft CORRESPONDENT

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080807/NEWS/808070403/1003/NEWS03

LANCASTER— Work will start this month on long-vacant buildings on

the Town Green, and if all goes according to plan, they may be

occupied next year.

Selectmen voted unanimously yesterday to support the Town Green

Buildings Advisory Committee's plans and timetables for renovating

the Prescott, Tercentenary and Memorial school buildings.

Noreen Piazza and Piermarini, members of the advisory

committee, updated the board on work already completed and on the

plans for all three buildings.

" All of the furniture, except for 200 desks, and all of the debris

have been removed from the Prescott, the oil tank removed, walls,

ceilings and floors have been stripped, and only hazardous waste

such as asbestos tiles are left to be removed, " said Ms. Piazza, who

is also the town's planning director.

The committee had preliminary architectural plans drawn up showing

municipal office space on the main floor, storage in the basement

and offices on the second floor that will be made available to the

public as rentals.

Mold is prevalent in the basement, but now that the building has

been secured, it has not progressed to the rest of the building.

" We had an analyst come in who said that the mold we have is not

toxic. He called it a `garden-variety mold,' and visual inspection

showed that it is not getting any worse, " said Ms. Piazza.

Roof repair and mold mitigation bids came in higher than

anticipated, and will need to be rebid.

Debris and old furniture has been removed from the Tercentenary

building, and the roof repair work and installation of new gutter

downspouts will begin in two weeks.

The committee plans to use the main upper level as a community

center for recreational purposes and hopes to use the space as a

center for senior activities.

Funding for the roof repairs was appropriated at annual town

meeting.

Town officials learned that the Memorial building is not deed-

restricted and can be used according the town's zoning bylaws, and

potential tenants are being researched.

The Memorial building's roof will be replaced next week to take care

of major leaks.

" There are ponds of water in the hallways and mold will be rampant

once the building is buttoned up. We need to remove drop ceilings,

dry out and clean out the building immediately, " said Ms. Piazza.

The Nashoba Regional School District has told the town the

elementary-middle school needs to be expanded, and committee members

are looking at the Memorial building as an alternative to building

an addition.

" We have a building that can be utilized, if we are forced to build

a new addition. There is 15,000 usable square feet in the Memorial, "

said Mr. Piermarini, who is also a member of the Finance Committee.

The committee has estimated it will cost $200,000 to make the

Tercentenary and Memorial buildings usable in the short term.

The committee intends to discuss this with the Finance Committee

next month.

The overall cost to fully renovate the three buildings has been

estimated at $1.3 million.

The town has applied for state funding from the Department of

Housing and Community Development, which will announce approvals in

the next few months.

The committee has been working since 2002 on plans for the three

buildings, which were vacated in 1999.