Mercedes-Benz Breaks Ground in Chicopee

CHICOPEE, MA – Earlier this year, Mayor Richard J. Kos announced Chicopee’s City Council had approved an incentive for a Mercedes-Benz dealership. The 35,000 square foot dealership would be developed on the site of the former Plantation Inn and will employ a minimum of 30 permanent, full-time jobs.

Peter Wirth, Managing Partner of Springfield Automotive Partners, Inc. hired BETA Group, Inc. to assist with the demolition oversight and site/civil engineering needs on the project.

“The property line is unique. It runs through the middle of the building,” says John Henry, PE, who is a Civil Engineer at BETA.  On one side of the line is the site of the former Plantation Inn. On the other is AMF Chicopee Lanes, which will remain open during both the demolition and building construction phases of the project. The buildings currently share utilities such as water and sewer lines, which will be separated as part of the project.

Real estate easement agreements and the presence of asbestos and other regulated building materials throughout the former Inn has substantially delayed the project, but demolition work is now scheduled to commence by the end of this month. Groundbreaking for the demolition took place on September 21, 2016, with Mayor Richard Kos and other state and local officials in attendance.  Peter Wirth and Rich Hesse of Springfield Automotive Partners also participated in groundbreaking ceremonies.

“The project will remove a vacant building filled with hazardous materials and attract new jobs,” says Mayor Kos.  The company is initially expected to hire 30 people but that number is expected to expand as the business grows.

Demolition is expected to be completed in October and construction of the new dealership will commence shortly thereafter.  The Mercedes Benz car dealership is scheduled to open in the summer of 2017.

For more information about this exciting project, read the MassLive.com press release here.