Uniroyal Property Summary

Site Address
154 Grove Street
Chicopee, MA 01020

Site Narrative
The former Uniroyal Tire Complex property consists of approximately 28 acres of land, originally developed during the late 1800s. In 1870, the property was used as a lumber yard by the Chicopee Manufacturing Company. From 1896 to 1898 the property was owned by the Spaulding and Pepper Company, who manufactured bicycle tires. The Fisk Rubber Company, which later changed its name to United States Rubber Company and then to Uniroyal, Inc., manufactured bicycle, automobile and truck tires and adhesives from 1898 to 1981.

Uniroyal, Inc. closed their plant in 1980 and sold the property to the Facemate Corporation in 1981. Facemate leased portions of the Uniroyal buildings to various companies for manufacturing, printing, machine shops, office, storage and health care facilities. Eleven vacant buildings remain at the site

Smoke stack on Uniroyal Property

Smoke stack of a building on the Uniroyal property
Michelin North America Acquisition
Michelin North America, Inc. (MNA) acquired the assets of Uniroyal, Inc. circa 1990 and is considered a partner at the Uniroyal property.

In 2010, the city initiated a master planning process that resulted in the development of 2 redevelopment visions for the Uniroyal and adjacent Facemate properties. These visions, derived from a recent market analysis and community input, both define a mixed-use community redevelopment scheme. These visions were developed to be flexible frameworks and the city is willing to work with interested developer’s to realize the most appropriate development scheme for the property.

Property Specifications
  • Acreage
    Approximately 28 acres 
  • Asking Price/Appraised Value
    Negotiable / Not recently appraised 
    Additional Price Notes     - Price negotiable / Not recently appraised: Price will not be the sole factor when considering a developer’s interest.
  • Existing Zoning and Property Land Use
    Mill Conversion and Commercial Center Overlay District / Land currently vacant
  • Ownership Status
    Property owned by the City of Chicopee
  • Square Footage
    Approximately 1,219,680 square feet
  • Surrounding Land Uses
    • Commercial
    • Easy access to:
      • I-291
      • I-391
      • I-91
      • Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90)
      • Memorial Drive (Route 33)
      • Route 141
    • Office and civic uses within close proximity
    • Residential
Site Characterization Status
  • All known underground storage tanks (USTs) have been removed and all transformers have been drained and removed from the site.
  • Eleven (11) exposure units have been established to distinguish areas of environmental control.
  • In 2010, the city demolished buildings 1-6 to their foundations.
  • One (1) Release Tracking Number (RTN) is currently active at the site (1-0436), which has been linked to other RTNs.
  • PCB-impacted soil was consolidated and relocated between existing buildings under a cap. It is likely that this consolidation area will be relocated to the basement of Building 28S.
  • Phase I Environmental Site Assessment completed in March 1991.
  • The excavation and off-site management of contaminated surface soil has been completed at several locations.

Supplemental Phase II Investigations
Supplemental Phase II investigations were completed during January 2011. Currently known residual contamination includes PCBs, heavy metals, EPH, SVOCs & VOCs in soil and EPH & VOCs in groundwater. PCBs have also been identified in accumulated sediment in on-site stormwater drainage systems and in the toe drain system for the flood control dikes that border the westerly boundary of the Site. Phase III Remedial Activities are currently being evaluated.

The city is working in cooperation with MNA to help prioritize site cleanup activities; however, "unknown subsurface conditions" remain under existing buildings and related structures. As additional buildings are demolished at the site, MNA has indicated they will be implementing supplemental subsurface investigations. It is important to note that MNA’s obligation for response actions may not fully achieve redevelopment requirements and that additional environmental cleanup will likely be required.

Buildings on Uniroyal Property

Uniroyal factory building