The top floor will provide “great views,” she promised. Carports will also be provided. Each of the units will consist of approximately 1,700 square feet of living space, she estimated.Work Under Way on Conversion
Of Florence Building to Four Condos
By Edward Shanahan
As winter settles over Florence, there are signs of life as work resumes on renovations to the former Everybody’s Market Building on Main Street, which has been standing vacant since its sale to out-of-town developers a few years ago.
In the last few months, the boarded-up property was back on the market for a brief period, but has since been removed by its purchasers, who are now moving ahead with the conversion project, which was originally intended to provide rental units.
According to Ilene Berezin of Murphy’s Real Estate, work is now going full steam ahead to convert the building to “four really beautiful high-end” three-level condominiums. They will be pretty much identical, she said, consisting of two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, fireplaces, and space on the third floor – which many years ago was a ballroom – for office or loft use. The top floor will provide “great views,” she promised. Carports will also be provided. Each of the units will consist of approximately 1,700 square feet of living space, she estimated.
As of now, no selling price has been settled on for the units, which should be ready for occupancy this summer, Berezin said. But “Florence is the next hot spot,” she said.
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Also moving forward on Main Street under somewhat difficult weather conditions is the construction of the new Florence branch of the Northampton Cooperative Bank along with a second commercial structure on the bank site.
There is even some reason to believe that work may start soon on the renovation of the former West Clothing building on the corner of North Main and North Maple streets, now that an agreement has been struck by antagonistic parties on eliminating any residential use of ground floor space.
And, of course, down Maple Street, Grey Angell is having a reopening celebration to mark changes he has made over the last two weeks to the interior look and feel of Bookends used book store, which he purchased last November. With so much activity in downtown Florence these days, can we expect municipal parking meters will be next. Let’s not get carried away. Florence isn’t ready for that kind of radical experiment.
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