LONGMEADOW –  Earlier in the year, on Jan. 25, Longmeadow hosted a Special Town Meeting where residents voted to afford The Longmeadow Preservation partners, also known as Dr. Andrew Lam, Chris Orszulak and Henry Clement, the ability to re-zone the Brewer-Young mansion property at 734 Longmeadow St. from residential to professional. Since the vote, the three have been involved in the beginning stages of restoring the historic mansion.

Recently, Longmeadow’s Planning Board as well as Zoning Board of Appeals have unanimously approved the site and parking plans.  At the May 2 Planning Board Public Hearing, the partners presented their re-development plan, which featured one change involving parking.

“Certainly, obtaining unanimous approval from the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals for our plans was very gratifying because we’d worked very hard to create an aesthetically pleasing site plan that satisfies all the necessary zoning and code requirements,” Lam shared.

The group increased on-site parking from 27 parking spots to 36. A concern that was expressed by residents at the January Special Town Meeting was that people using the mansions new services might overflow to park in the available spots on the town green. The increase in parking was in response to concerns.

 “We did decide to increase the number of parking spots in our plan from 27 to 36 spots just so that we can be even more confident that our site will have more than adequate off-street parking,” Lam said.

Moving forward, Lam estimates that the project will take roughly a year to complete.

“It will call for a lot of patience, but I have no doubt the end result will be beautiful and a place we can all be proud of,” Lam said.

“Next week we plan to start power-washing the mansion’s entire exterior which will be necessary before re-painting the building,” he explained. “Our partner, Henry Clement and his construction team are going to start restoring the porches and lots of the rotting woodwork that ornaments the roofline.”

Over the winter, the group conducted interviews with sub-contractors and gathered bids for paint work, landscaping and asbestos removal. Additionally, the partners shared that they’re engaged in negotiations with potential tenants.

“After all the leases are signed we will be able to announce who will be occupying the building,” Lam said. “So far, all our prospective tenants are local residents with very successful businesses. They like the idea of working close to home in such a beautiful and unique setting.”