Published: 12/4/2020 4:39:33 PM
Modified: 12/4/2020 4:39:20 PM
GREENFIELD — A high-end machine shop, which intends to move its headquarters to Hope Street, received a positive recommendation from the Planning Board on Thursday, and will appear before the Zoning Board of Appeals next week.
Shaft Current Solutions is a prospective buyer of 14 Hope St., the building that houses the Greenfield Recorder and that has been on and off the market for several years. The Florence-based business produces shaft grounding brushes, which protect large-scale machinery — any machine with a rotating component — from creating electrical charges that can lead to limiting the effective operational life of the machine.
“We assemble them,” said Rui Fernandes, president of Shaft Current Solutions. “We make certain components for them ... and we export these throughout the world.”
He said the product requires milling machines and welding, as well as hand labor.
Isaac Fleisher, an attorney speaking on behalf of Shaft Current Solutions, said the company would primarily be located in the basement of the building.
“The majority of (Shaft Current Solutions’) space would be taken up with professional offices, where they do sales and consulting work,” Fleisher said.
A special permit, however, is sought to allow a small machine shop for the purpose of testing and conducting quality assurance on grounding brushes for sale.
The Greenfield Recorder would remain in the building, Fleisher said, and the long-term plan would be to bring in other professional office tenants. Recorder Publisher Michael Moses believes approximately 5,000 square feet of the building will be used for newspaper offices.
“It was a perfect fit for us,” Fernandes said. “It allows us to have our research and development and consulting space right next to where we have the milling machines … because we’re very hands-on with our operations.”
Fleisher explained that the company has a three-phase development plan, which would take place over three to four years.
“There’s really not a lot of changing happening to the interior of the building,” he said, noting that a majority of the work would involve general repairs, including bringing lighting up to code. “The big change on the site is going to be Building C, which is a three-story wood frame building, as opposed to the other two, which are two-story, brick-and-mortar.”
He said the plan is to demolish the three-story building and replace it with a grass lawn that will be accessible to employees.
“The building is beyond repair,” Fernandes said. “There’s substantial water damage through the main structure. It’s not economical to repair.”
Planning Board members asked for clarifications on the proposed design of the site, as well as if noise would be a potential problem, to which Fernandes said he thinks air conditioners produce more noise.
Charles Roberts, chair of the Planning Board, said he thinks the company’s plans for the site appear to be a “good fit,” though he was “sorry” to learn the old, wood frame building would be lost.
“But I guess at a certain point, you go beyond a point of no return with those structures,” Roberts said.
In response to the Planning Board’s decision, Moses said Friday he is “excited about the opportunity.”
“We’re looking forward to building a partnership with Rui, who is a good guy and has a very good business plan,” he said, “and has a fabulous business to bring to Greenfield.”
In hopes of receiving the required special permit, Shaft Current Solutions will next present its plans during a virtual meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne
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