Source: http://www.gazettenet.com, August 7, 2015
By: Rebecca Everett

City officials believe the cleanup of contaminated soil at the former Northampton Honda dealership on King Street is another step toward preparing the vacant property for a new commercial use, a year after the building was condemned and demolished.

Mayor David J. Narkewicz said Friday that GZA GeoEnvironmental of Norwood notified him in mid-July that the firm would be cleaning up soil at the site contaminated with arsenic, lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The work, now underway, is expected to continue until the end of August.

The 5.35-acre site at 171-187 King St. has been vacant since 2005.

“We’re happy it’s actually moving forward because this is one of the steps required for getting the site ready for development,” Narkewicz said.

Narkewicz added that he called property owner Don Lia in New York to thank him for moving the process along. “He’s interested in finding a developer or development,” Narkewicz said.

The cleanup comes after Lia settled a lawsuit he filed against Environmental Compliance Inc., the company that he alleged failed to find or report the contamination during an inspection when he purchased the property in 2001 for $710,000. The parties notified Hampshire Superior Court in November that they had worked out a settlement, but did not provide details. The suit was officially closed in March.

The property is zoned entryway business, which allows for retail, restaurants, hotels — and, above the first floor, residential units.

“It’s a key site. King Street is one of our major commercial corridors, and this is one of the final big pieces,” Narkewicz said.

The property was home to car repair and dealership businesses beginning in 1946, and before that to a machine shop, lumber and coal yard, and junk yard. A northern parcel was leased by the Massachusetts Electric Co. until 2001. It has been vacant since 2005, when the Northampton Honda dealership was sold and relocated to 239 King St. as Lia Honda.

Don Lia is not affiliated with the current 239 King St. dealership.

A property inspection done in 2005 when Lia tried to sell the property revealed that the site was contaminated. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection began regulating the site, and the environmental issues contributed to the demise of plans to build a mixed-use retail and office development there in 2007.

The former dealership showroom and service buildings were demolished last summer by order of the building commissioner, due to structural and safety issues. The site was paved over — an approach the Department of Environmental Protection considered a safe way to prevent exposure to the contaminated soil.

GZA GeoEnvironmental officials wrote in a letter to Narkewicz that the company would remove approximately 1,000 cubic yards of soil from five contaminated areas on the property until the levels of contamination are low enough not to pose a risk. To complete the work, they will fill in the excavated areas and pave them with three inches of asphalt, the letter states.

“I think there has been a lot of interest in the property,” Narkewicz said — not only from prospective developers, but also from residents calling his office to find out what might move in there.

The property is assessed at $984,000.