Chelsea plans to redevelop downtown’s Longworth building

The city of Chelsea is close to closing on the Longworth building in downtown. All city officials need to do is cross the t’s and dot the i’s in the last bit of paperwork for the $395,000 purchase.”We expect to close on the property by the end of the year,” says John Hanifan, city manager for Chelsea.The city wants to acquire the building so it can speed up its redevelopment. City leaders want to put out a request for proposals for the small commercial structure on Main Street just south of Jackson Street. The idea is to turn the vacant structure into the home of a business that will accentuate downtown.”There is so much potential with Jackson Street that there is a great opportunity to do something with it,” Hanifan says.The 11,800-square-foot industrial building served as the home to Longworth Plating Service. The structure is divided into three main sections of varying ages. The oldest section of the building dates back to the mid-1800s. Source: John Hanifan, city manager for ChelseaWriter: Jon Zemke