Alina Rose Chen Photos
The Winchester buildings set to be demolished, as viewed from the parking lot of Highville Charter School.
Science Park’s redevelopers are scheduled to begin on Friday the year-long process of tearing down the remaining vacant, toxic former Winchester Repeating Arms factory buildings.
The process will begin with the brick buildings closest to Highville Charter School and Change Academy at 1 Science Park, where summer session is still in effect from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“We want to do it right,” Science Park Development Corporation CEO David Silverstone told the Independent in a phone interview Thursday about the demolition’s imminent start.
Abatement of the site’s hazardous materials — which include asbestos, lead paint, and PCB sealants — will occur hand-in-hand with the demolition, Silverstone stated. Site workers will move from room to room, removing any of these materials and other waste before starting demolition, which will have the buildings fall in on themselves.
The project is set to conclude in summer 2026. It will be carried out by Stamford Wrecking Company and will be overseen by environmental consultant company Langan, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Information about the demolition schedule, the abatement process, and safety measures have been made available on the Winchester Center website.
That website states that, “if any environmental or structural concerns arise [during demolition], work will be stopped immediately for assessment and mitigation.” It also states that water misting will be used regularly to control dust, and that air quality will be continuously monitored.
Parking availability and local traffic near the demolition site may be impacted, although the redevelopers aim to minimize the issues by scheduling most of the “heavy lifting” during off peak hours. The website also emphasizes that the project will “strictly follow all local ordinances related to noise levels and permitted hours of construction.”
After the demolition of the site, the Science Park Development Corporation must put up no less than 100 units of housing, at least 20 percent of which must be affordable, or at least 100,000 square feet of life science labs or commercial space by December 2030, according to the terms of their grant through the state.
Click here and here to read more about the demolition project, which will take down the vacant dilapidated former factory buildings still standing near Munson Street and Mansfield Street, right next to the Winchester Lofts and Winchester Works complexes.
Alexandra Martinakova contributed to this report.
Thomas Breen file photo
Science Park Dev Corp Prez Silverstone: "We want to do it right."
Alina Rose Chen photos
