The MaxPak site is located on
the corner of Clyde and Warwick streets (56 and 61 Clyde Street). It
was the site of an old plastics factory that is now empty and
condemned. Despite its state of disrepair, this has not deterred people
from entering the property. This is a great concern for many residents
since most of those who have entered illegally are children. KSS Realty
Partners which currently owns the 5.5 acre site has taken the necessary
steps to have the buildings demolished.

The utilities for the
site are scheduled to be shut off on Wednesday, December 2nd. The
presence of asbestos in the buildings was a contributing factor why the
utilities had not been shut off previously. According to Sal Querusio,
the general contractor in charge of the demolition, the power was not
shut off because of the ongoing presence of asbestos. Querusio went on
to tell the committee that the water was not shut off because it was
needed to keep dust particles under control and the telephone remained
on because it is hooked into the fire alarm system which is connected
to the sprinkler system that is connected to the water and sewer system.

The
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) authorized the removal of
asbestos which began on November 16th. The committee reported that 100%
of the asbestos was removed from 56 Clyde Street and that removal for
61 Clyde Street was 50% complete.

Once the utilities are shut
off, a demolition permit will be issued to start the demolition of the
two buildings. The reason for the delay in issuing the permit was due
in part to the size of the buildings and ongoing safety concerns. There
will be a 24-hour fire watch once the demolition begins. The demolition
site has a six-foot fence around it to prevent people from wandering on
to the site.

The demolition is expected to take about four to
five weeks which includes about five to seven days of crushing bricks.
The crushing machines are very loud therefore crushing will only be
conducted between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. All that will be
left after the demolition will be the slab foundation.

Ted Tobin
of KSS Realty who is the site developer does not anticipate any
problems with the demolition. Tobin said that the project was
undertaken due to safety reasons. The development of the land after the
demolition however is still up in the air. Tobin said that due to
current economic factors it is difficult to get the financing required
to start construction of the 199 condominiums which will also include
an MBTA green line stop.

"Somerville has retained its value,"
Tobin told the committee. "Once the MaxPak site has been developed it
should be another boon for Somerville."