CHD-led Building Restoration Wins Historic Preservation Award

The historic Sears Building in Greenfield, now the Greenfield Center for Wellness—co-run by CHD and the Community Health Center of Franklin County (CHCFC)—was one of nine buildings recently honored with awards by the Preservation Massachusetts organization.

In 2017, CHD, along with Architectural Insights, Inc. and Epsilon Associates, began work restoring and rehabilitating this building with the goal of adapting the space into a community health center while retaining its historic significance. The Greenfield Center for Wellness opened in 2018.

The renovated art deco-style building, which housed the department store Sears and Roebuck from 1929 to 1993, earned the 2022 Paul & Niki Tsongas Award, which is Preservation Massachusetts’ highest honor. A celebration recognizing the recipients was held on May 11 at Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston.

The building at 102 Main Street was abandoned for some time before CHD, Architectural Insights, and Epsilon Associates began a $6 million project to stabilize the structure with new supports and restore the look of the building’s past, including brickwork and black and white signage on the second story that resembles the original Sears sign.

The Greenfield Center for Wellness delivers primary, emotional, and dental care to better serve the needs of the community. By partnering with CHCFC under one roof, CHD has been able to offer a wide range of services in one location. Working closely together, CHCFC clinicians and CHD social workers design care plans that complement one another.

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