BY TIMOTHY LAROCHE
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — With analysis complete on the scope of clean-up work needed for one of Claremont’s downtown historic properties, city officials say they are ready to move ahead on remediation efforts that are part of an estimated $1.8 million overall renovation .
As the May 9 deadline for public comment on a proposed remediation at 56 Opera House Square draws near, Department of Planning and Economic Development Director Nancy Merrill said she expects no major obstacles in gaining Environmental Protection Agency approval for the project.
The project is listed by the EPA as a brownfields site requiring environmental abatement. If approved, the remediation would include asbestos removal, opening the door for further development of the space.
“Generally, in these brownfields projects like this, they are a larger scale and there’s usually some sort of soil contamination or something on the exterior that we need to deal with,” Project Manager Judd Newcomb of Creder Associates said. “In this case, we don’t really have that … we’re basically removing hazardous building materials like asbestos and lead.”
Funding for the asbestos removal is arranged through a Capital Regional Development Council subgrant of $70,000 – with $56,000 slated for the clean-up and administrative fees using the remainder.
The city has also been awarded a $150,000 Northern Borders Regional Commission grant for further redevelopment efforts at the site, as well as a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant to install an elevator shared by 56 Opera House Square and a neighboring building.
Should the project advance, the West Claremont Center for Music and The Arts is eyeing the building as its future home, with plans for a major redevelopment of the space as a visual and performing arts hub for the city.
The planned downtown expansion would renovate the 10,000-square-foot, three-story building into a comprehensive arts and music space only a short walk from much of the city’s multi-family housing. Aside from the benefit of filling an empty space downtown, WCCMA Executive Director Melissa Richmond said last year, the project is intended to be a major step in building a creative arts economy in Claremont.
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