Mixed-use development will occupy former manufacturing industrial site near the Chicopee River
By David Malone, Associate Editor
A former manufacturing industrial site located alongside the Chicopee River in Chicopee, Mass., is set to become a new mixed-use development. Plans for the project were recently approved by the City of Chicopee’s Department of Planning and Development.
The sustainable mixed-use masterplan, designed by Paul A. Castrucci Architects (PCA), includes multi-use retail, a sports complex, and a residential complex. The project features the conversion of the 11,000-sf Basking Building into a new brewery that will include a pub and office space.
A new multi-sport indoor facility will be built and accommodate two soccer/lacrosse fields, an elevated running track, and a climbing wall. An affordable Passive House residential building with a lobby, common areas, and approximately 100 “workforce housing” apartments is also planned.
Sustainability elements will include low-carbon materials, solar panels, car-charging stations, and native landscaping. The project seeks to be a net-zero, carbon-neutral development.
