Page 62 - BusinessWest August 7, 2023

Dawn DiStefano stands at the site on Main Street where Square One had a facility — and will again.
Staff Photo
that the agency, which soon started leasing space at 1095 Main St., would rebuild in that section of the city.
But fulfilling that pledge has proven to be an enormous challenge.
Indeed, although other options were looked at early on, it quickly became clear that, if the agency was going to rebuild in the South End, it would have to be on the property it owned, DiStefano said. And this property is fraught with challenges because of its small size, odd dimensions, contamination in the wake of the tornado,
and other factors.
But, in a measure of its commitment to the
South End, the agency is taking on all those challenges and moving forward with plans for a 26,000-square-foot, $12 million, three-story facil- ity that will be built on the east end of the property that fronts Main Street.
Plans call for erecting a Butler-style building on the property, one that features a number of pre- fabricated elements, which serves to reduce the overall cost of designing and building a structure, DiStefano said.
“We’re savings millions of dollars because we’re not doing a traditional brick-and-mortar building,” she explained, adding that the agency is working with One Development & Construction LLC in Westfield, which specializes in Butler-style con- struction, on the project.
The current timetable calls for construction to begin late this year, probably November, with the new facility slated to open its doors in the fall of 2024.
The agency is in the early — also known as the ‘quiet’ — stage of a capital campaign for the new
building, with nearly $3 million committed to date — $950,000 from the city in the form of ARPA money, and a $2 million commit- ment from the state.
DiStefano said early indications suggest a strong measure of support for Square One’s initiative, and she expects the nonprofit will be able to open its facility with little, if any, debt.
“The most enjoyable, and most encouraging, part of this project has been how many people and institutions are compelled to give or have shown promise,” she explained, adding that the agency undertook a feasibility study on the campaign, one that surveyed 42 individuals and companies and revealed “100% intent to support the project.”
For this issue and its focus on the region’s nonprofit sector,
“This land is so awkward and small and weird that we didn’t want to buy it if we couldn’t build a building on it.”
AT LEAST THERE’S THE REST OF THE DAY.
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62 AUGUST 7, 2023
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