Chimney a ‘liability’

Owner’s rep, mayor: smokestack may cost far more to repair than estimated; demolition delayed

By Owen Boss

GARDNER — Though a group of about 20 concerned residents present at Wednesday evening’s meeting to save the Heywood-Wakefield smokestack from impending demolition by its owner, Mountain Climber LLC, was able to produce several fundraising ideas that would benefit the preservation of the 72-year-old chimney, all of them required the owners to allow adequate time to raise the money. Paul DeMeo, a local real estate agent who arranged and moderated the meeting at Levi Heywood Memorial Library, said that the forum was organized to see what could be done to save what he considers a historical landmark. “The whole purpose of this meeting tonight is to gather your thoughts and ideas about the Heywood chimney that means a whole lot to us, and I know that is why you are all here tonight,” said Mr. DeMeo. “When I heard the chimney was due for demolition within the next couple of weeks, I was distressed because it’s part of the character and the heritage of the community.” Among the recommendations residents suggested were fundraisers that would sell memorial bricks from the chimney to raise money that could be used to preserve other historical landmarks in the area, and the applications of cell phone antennas to the tower. Mayor Mark Hawke said that when he first heard that the building was being considered for demolition in the fall, he began looking for grant money to keep it standing, but because the city didn’t own it and it had never been deemed a historical structure, there was little he could do. “The problem with saving this building is that it was never put in writing as historical,” said Mr. Hawke. “The demolition has been delayed from June 9 until June 23rd so that ownership could see what came out of this meeting, which shows that they are open to other options.” Mr. Hawke also noted that the base estimate of $185,000 to preserve the chimney is just that — a base estimate. “We have been given an estimate of $185,000 by someone who came and looked at the building with a pair of binoculars. It could easily end up being much more expensive,” said Mr. Hawke. Also in attendance was Sean Higgins, a real estate consultant and representative to the owner of the Heywood Place apartment complex, who said that because of structural problems with the chimney, there is much more to consider than just the historical significance. “When we first came up here one of the first things the owners wanted to do was put up a fence to protect the parking lot from the chunks of mortar and chips of brick that were constantly falling from the chimney,” said Mr. Higgins. “And based on a survey from the ground we got a minimum estimate of $185,000, and he said it could be double that or more.” Mr. Higgins also said that when a structural engineer observed the chimney, it became clear that it would have to be either torn down or repaired in the near future to avoid a possible collapse. “In addition to significant cracks along the outside of the stack, we didn’t know whether the outer layer had separated from the inner layer,” said Mr. Higgins. “A structural engineer said that we had to do something quickly because he said that he couldn’t tell whether or not it was going to fall over just looking at it from the ground, but he knew for a fact that if it wasn’t either torn down or repaired, those chunks of mortar that are falling down are just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.” According to Mr. Higgins, a meeting was held sometime ago between ownership and city officials, which included former mayor Gerald E. St. Hillare, as to what could be done to preserve the chimney. “As a result of that meeting, we checked with the Historical Commission and checked into cell phone companies to see if there may be a way to put antennas up to make some money on it and it turned out no one was interested because there were already chimneys being used for that purpose,” said Mr. Higgins. “When we heard back from the historical commission, we found that while the chimney is in the historical district is was never made a historical landmark.” Although the ownership of the building seems to be set in its decision to destroy the chimney, Mr. Higgins stressed that it was not because of a lack of concern for the preservation of the heritage of the surrounding community. “This is not a situation where we are saying ‘Hey we don’t care, we’re taking it down anyway’ — in fact it has been the opposite,” said Mr. Higgins. “This is not a pleasant thing to have to do, but every day that chimney is left standing is a liability for the owner.” Mr. Hawke also asked the residents present to consider saving other dilapidated buildings in the area that could be renovated to once again serve the community. “We have structures such as the Orpheum Theater that have been run down for more than a decade,” said Mr. Hawke. “We may want to prioritize, because there are still a lot of buildings in the area that are old and could use some repairs.” The chimney, which was originally constructed in 1936 as part of a power plant that provided energy to the factory and a substantial part of the city, towers 190 feet above Lake Street and is considered by many residents to be a historical part of the city’s skyline. oboss@thegardnernews.com

Appeared on Page 1 on 6/5/2008 (Vol. 206 No. 133)