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EASTHAMPTON — A portion of the former Manchester Hardware downtown was razed Friday to make way for a behavioral health and support center.
The hardware store, which was first incorporated in 1911 and located on Liberty Street before moving to Union Street, closed in November 2020.
The Center for Human Development purchased the 55-69 Union St. building last June for $1.4 million to redevelop it as a behavioral health clinic for children and adults.
The human services nonprofit organization, which has an office at 332 Birnie Ave. in Springfield, operates several programs throughout western Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut, including Amherst, Chicopee, Easthampton, Greenfield and Northampton.
Earlier this month, the organization opened a new Community Behavioral Health Center in Chicopee. The center serves Chicopee, Holyoke, Ludlow, South Hadley, Belchertown, Granby, Monson, Palmer, Southampton, and Ware; as well as individuals from any region who are already receiving CHD services.
Once the new Easthampton building is open, all services will transition from CHD’s existing clinic at 179 Northampton St. to the new Union Street center.
The new outpatient behavioral clinic will offer counseling and therapy services for both standard appointments as well as mental health urgent care, according to Ben Craft, vice president of community engagement for the CHD.
“The new center will also be the community hub of the children’s behavioral health services, which are delivered into homes,” Craft wrote in a statement. “We anticipate that this location will allow us to significantly increase access to mental health and supportive services for children in the Easthampton, Hampshire and Hampden County communities.”
Prescribing services and nursing services will be available at the new center, but at this point, there will not be dispensing of medications there.
The center will also offer support for recovery, which includes clinicians and recovery coaches providing on-site and mobile counseling.
Services will not include any overnight or residential treatment services. Methadone will also not be dispensed.
Throughout the years, the 17,900-square-foot commercial building has seen multiple renovations. Prior to becoming a hardware store, records from the Massachusetts Historical Commission show that the portion of the two-story brick building that was demolished was originally constructed in 1909 and was home to the F.C. Haynes Hack and Livery Stable, according to the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The proprietor of the livery stable, Frank Hayes, left the business around 1917.
Ten years later, Frank Manchester constructed the attached building, Manchester Hardware, records show.
The city’s Historical Commission approved the demolition of the front half of the building and the rear of the building in November 2022 following a public hearing. A Nov. 1, 2022 letter from project architect, Alfonso Nardi of Uncommon Architectural Places, describes the building as not having “unique architectural features.”
The Center for Human Development is expected to go before the Planning Board in February for its site plan approval, according to City Planner Jeff Bagg.
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
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