By Paul Tuthill
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Ludlow, MA – Officials in Massachusetts have announced the largest initiative in New England to redevelop a polluted former mill. They expect it to serve as an economic model for re-using other abandoned industrial sites throughout the region WAMC's Paul Tuthill reports.
A private non-profit development corporation has announced the first two projects in the redevelopment of a sprawling mill complex with more than 60 buildings on 170 acres of riverfront property in Ludlow Massachusetts. Ken Delude, the president of Westmass Area Development Corporation says the former textile mill will again contribute to the region's economy.
The redevelopment of the entire Ludlow Mills site is planned to take place over 15 years. Work to clean pollutants from the property and put in new infrastructure is taking place now. Construction is expected to start next year on the first two projects: a new rehabilitation hospital and a senior independent housing development. Delude says it represents a total investment of about 70 million dollars.
Both projects will have sustainable and energy efficient designs.
WinnDevelopment of Boston plans to take one of the drafty old former mill buildings and turn it into a state of the art energy efficient housing development that will attract seniors looking to downsize their current homes, according to WinnDevelopment president Lawrence Curtis
Curtis said much of the 20 million dollar project will be financed by state and federal tax credits for the redevelopment of historic buildings
HealthSouth , a national healthcare company, is planning to build a 53 bed rehabilitation hospital on about 10 acres of the mill property. A company official declined to say how much the construction would cost. HealthSouth operates a rehabilitation hospital in Ludlow now, which will close when the new facility opens.
Grants from the state, totaling more than 5 milllion dollars have helped pay to clean up the site and put in new infrastructure including a natural gas line extension, according to the Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Envinronmental Affairs, Richard Sullivan.
Local officials recently approved new zoning for the Ludlow Mills project, and the chairman of the town board of selectmen, Aaron Saunders, says he's elated by the progress
The Ludlow Mills was built in 1907, and at its peak , employed 4 thousand people. Its been largely unused since the 1960s.