Published: 11/7/2021 5:07:39 PM
GREENFIELD — Following last month’s Fire Station Building Committee meeting, during which the schematic design for the building was first shared with the public, some members of the committee have expressed a desire for a look that is more “traditional Greenfield.”
“I’ve had numerous phone calls and comments from people that just don’t like the design of the front,” said committee member Ed Jarvis at a recent Fire Station Building Committee meeting. “I get the constraints — I see invoices every day on a construction site, so I know the cost of construction — but I think we need to soften up the front and make it feel a little more like traditional Greenfield. That’s what I’m hearing from the taxpayers. … It’s their money.”
Committee member Jennifer Stromsten, who noted she has received “a lot of positive feedback” on the designs, said she agreed the front was “unceremonious.”
“I do want to say it’s the suburban aesthetic that bothers me,” Stromsten said. “It’s actually oriented to the parking lot, which is not right for a town.”
Co-Chair David Singer echoed Stromsten’s concerns for a front entrance that doesn’t face Main Street. The sale of the properties, located at 33 to 39 Main St. and 10 to 12 Coombs Ave., from Andrew and John Musacchio to the city, was finalized late last month.
“In my mind, there are some traditions to these structures, and I’d like to see them incorporated in a creative way, so I get a feeling when I look at the building that makes me think I’m in Greenfield,” he added.
Committee member David Moscaritolo said he doesn’t believe it is necessary to have two signs, as was depicted in the designs.
“I think one sign announcing the fire station is plenty … and would look nice,” he said.
After the comment portion of the meeting, Architect Kate Pacheco of Pacheco Ross Architects said the firm had new designs reorienting the front entrance onto Main Street.
“We don’t know the materials and the glazing yet, but having the main door there helps to address those concerns,” she said.
Fire Chief Robert Strahan, however, said he preferred a design that keeps the front entryway at the driveway.
“Typically, in New England, you’ll see a firehouse that has an apron and then the bays discharge into the main road,” he said. “This site doesn’t permit that, and I’m glad it doesn’t permit that because the driveway that we come and go down gives us enough space where we can drill, we can do our checks; we have space for things we can do operationally. I think that needs to be in context.”
He added that the design presented originally is better for handicap accessibility.
Some of the comments from firefighters at the meeting included adding another drive-thru bay at the back of the building, and whether there is potential for an additional dorm room.
The committee discussed upcoming meeting dates for further discussion on current and revised plans, which are scheduled for several Mondays and Thursdays throughout the month. Pacheco noted that the firm is working back from a target bid date of April 15.
“Working back from there,” she said to the committee, “we need to be wrapping up our schematic design with your input by the end of November.”
The city expects to use the temporary fire station on Hope Street for about two years, while the new station is being built. The former Main Street fire station, which was fenced off in September, is being demolished to make way for the construction of a new library on the same property.
Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne
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