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Chicopee Mayor John Vieau, second from left, and city staff stand with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, center, at the opening ceremony for The Hub at Market Square on Sept. 13.
The former home of the Chicopee Public Library has reopened as a multifunctional community space for residents that will host community events, pop-up entertainment, and educational opportunities.
The restored building, now called The Hub at Market Square, was constructed in 1907 and served the community as a library for nearly 100 years. The building was left vacant after the city moved to a new library building on Front Street in 2004.
The city considered numerous options for the building’s future as it sat vacant, including a museum, brewery, or municipal offices, Chicopee Mayor John Vieau said in a prepared statement. None of these ideas materialized, Vieau said, “due to the building’s lack of accessibility and the high cost of necessary upgrades.”
The building needed a new copper roof and sprinkler system as well as accessibility upgrades to make the space compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act. During the period of vacancy, the city was able to separate the building’s mechanical system from City Hall’s and remove lead paint and nearly all of the building’s plaster, which had been mixed with asbestos.
The City Council at one point authorized funding to replace the roof, but opted to delay that project until plans were in place for a full renovation.
Chicopee officials routinely included the property as a focal point in local planning efforts targeting downtown revitalization, a move that Vieau said “laid the groundwork for future redevelopment and emphasized the importance of revitalizing the site as a community and economic asset.”
Those planning efforts incorporated community and stakeholder engagement into their decision-making processes, which Vieau credited with generating a vision for a flexible, inclusive community space downtown. Aligning community and planning goals “ensured that The Hub would be responsive to the evolving needs of Chicopee residents while honoring the building’s historical significance,” Vieau said.
As a result of community input, the city opted to oversee a full renovation and retain the property as a community space. Residents’ vision for the space meant that the majority of the Hub’s interior was designed as adjustable open space, depending on community needs. The design choices, Vieau said, highlight “the importance of flexibility and adaptability when considering community spaces.”
“It’s essential to understand both the historical value and current potential of a property, and to build a reuse plan that reflects the needs of the people it is meant to serve,” he said.
Chicopee used $6.7 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds, secured by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, to complete design and engineering work for the building, as well as to finalize the construction budget.
“This is just what the ARPA money was supposed to do,” Neal said at The Hub’s opening ceremony. “It was about an investment in the future.”
The city also leveraged funds from the Community Development Block Grant program and a Massachusetts Underutilized Properties Grant to complete the project, in addition to its own funds.
The renovation project replaced the roof, added an elevator with access to all three floors, upgraded all mechanical systems, and installed new fire suppression, security, and life safety systems.
Chicopee’s Planning and Development Department, which coordinated the project, is also managing the space in its initial stages.
Vieau said The Hub is part of a larger effort to revitalize downtown Chicopee by reactivating underused properties and encouraging new investment in the area. The building, Vieau said, will serve “not only as a community gathering place but also as a catalyst for future development in the surrounding district.”