The town plans to demolish the factory and turn it into a parking lot to meet increased demand for parking.
HUDSON – An environmental consulting firm is wrapping up the second phase of an environmental assessment on a vacant Broad Street factory the town hopes to demolish and turn into a parking lot.
Woodard & Curran, an environmental consulting firm, began the second portion of the assessment at the defunct H. LaRosee & Sons metal plating factory last fall. A report on the findings is expected to be completed and presented to town officials soon, said Kristina Johnson, assistant director of Planning and Community Development.
The second phase includes testing soil samples throughout the property at 15 Broad St. Test results will determine if the town has any liability and the best course of action for the property.
Work on the first phase included a review of the history of uses at the building and an assessment of the structure. The evaluation did not reveal any major problems.
“Those are the two requirements that need to happen,” Johnson said of the assessment.
The building – constructed in 1890 – was ordered closed by the town due to code violations. The facility still contained various chemicals after its closure. A chemical spill occurred in 2017 as crews were cleaning up the site. One chemical, leaking from a deteriorating barrel, was spilling onto another barrel. The chemicals never mixed, however.
Hudson was awarded a $400,000 grant from the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development last spring to demolish the former factory. The grant covers the cost of the environmental assessment and will ensure any future use of the property is feasible.
The LaRosee family still owns the property and owes the town about $120,000 in back taxes, which combined with interest and fees totals about $391,000.
David LaRosee plans to deed the property to the town. He sold H. LaRosee & Sons to Worcester Manufacturing Inc. after the building was shut down and told the Daily News last summer he has no desire to fix the crumbling 24,000-square-foot building. All 10 of LaRosee’s employees were hired by Worcester Manufacturing Inc.
The company was established in 1905 and moved to Hudson in the mid-1960s.
Parking in Hudson town center is at a premium – particularly on weekends – with new restaurants, breweries, nightlife and attractions on Main Street. The Broad Street factory is less than a half-mile away.
“It certainly would help,” Johnson said of the additional parking.
A 2014 parking study, conducted by Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates and included about a half-mile area around Main and South streets, found Hudson technically has ample parking, but much of it is inconvenient or unknown. Only about 56% of the town’s parking is occupied, according to the study.
Jeff Malachowski can be reached at 508-490-7466 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JmalachowskiMW.
