ADAMS — First to go was the smokestack.

Now, there's talk of demolishing four of the main structures at the former Curtis Fine Papers mill site.

But first, town officials will need to secure millions in federal funding to clean up and redevelop one of the most prominent eyesores along Route 8.

The town-owned Curtis Fine Papers site on Howland Avenue in Adams includes building 4, left, and building 5, right. The town is seeking a $4 million federal grant to fund demolition of the site.

Neglected, boarded up and collapsing in on itself, the dilapidated site at 115 Howland Ave. has been broken into by vandals and contains drums and containers of hazardous waste as well as contaminated soil.

The demolition proposal hinges on whether Adams can secure a highly competitive $4 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Cleanup Grant, which would fund the removal of hazardous materials and crumbling structures at the 11.8-acre site and clear the way for future commercial redevelopment.

Some of the buildings at Curtis Fine Papers mill have gaping holes in the roof.

The plan is to clean up the site so that it can be redeveloped for commercial use, creating jobs, mitigating a public health threat and expanding the tax base in Adams.

"Obviously, this is a huge site for our town and quite the eyesore when you're driving down Route 8,” Select Board member Jay Meczywor said. “It's unfortunately one of the entrances into the town, so we get questions on this property quite a bit.”

It’s also one of the largest potential sites for redevelopment in Adams. While Route 8 forms one border to the site, an active railroad runs past it. In addition, a small portion of the site is located within an identified high-risk floodplain.

Cailyn Locci, team leader at engineering firm Weston & Sampson, presented an analysis of three alternatives for the former EPA Superfund site at the Select Board meeting Wednesday.

The Select Board endorsed the plan, but a public comment period on the draft analysis and draft grant application to the EPA ends at 4 p.m. Friday.

The cleanup process would take two years, with planning in spring and summer of 2027 and cleanup starting about a year later with the goal of completion in 2029.

The three options Weston & Sampson presented included doing nothing; renovating two buildings, known as the shop and the offices, and demolishing the other three; or renovating only the offices and demolishing the rest.

Locci recommended the third option, renovating one of the five buildings and demolishing the rest. It allows for the most remediation of soils. Renovating two buildings rather than one would also cost $1.1 million more, an estimated $5.49 million.

“In its current condition, the site is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events and poses a real hazard,” Weston & Sampson noted in the draft application.

The town would commit $100,000 to the project and has initiated a request for a $500,000 loan from the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund to make up the difference between the grant amount and the estimated full cost of cleanup: $4.48 million.

Weston & Sampson's work was paid for out of a $500,000 grant Adams won in 2023 from the EPA that has also gone toward the assessment of other Route 8 sites.

Developed in the late 1800s, the complex operated as a specialty paper manufacturer from the early 1900s to 2003 under the names Royal Blue Papers, Crown Paper, and James River, as well as Curtis Fine Papers.

Curtis filed for bankruptcy in 2003. Manufacturing equipment was removed and the property was bought by MJD Real Estate in a bankruptcy sale in June 2009. The price was $15,000.

Several industrial tenants occupied the building using petroleum and chlorinated solvents.

While MJD attempted to secure the site, “trespassers frequently entered the building and there is widespread evidence of vandalism,” according to Weston & Sampson.

A trucking company used one of the buildings as a warehouse from 2009 to 2018.

A drone was used last March to assess the roof and exterior conditions of the former Curtis Fine Papers mill in Adams. The five buildings' conditions varied from “fair to significantly damaged.”

The town took the property in a tax taking, which was affirmed by Massachusetts Land Court in June 2023.

The site contains two groundwater extraction well houses, a 100,000-gallon No. 6 fuel oil storage tank, and a pond.

On Nov. 20, 1995, there was a release of 40 to 50 gallons of diesel fuel, which was cleaned up.

On Nov. 16, 2007, DEP again responded to the site based on “potential threat of release of unknown chemicals” and found “large quantities of hazardous materials and waste … in poor storage conditions,” according to Weston & Sampson’s analysis. An April 22, 2009, follow-up inspection noted similar conditions.

An aerial photo shows holes in the roof at the Curtis Fine Papers mill in Adams. The town is seeking a $4 million federal grant to demolish most of the buildings on the site for eventual redevelopment.

In May 2010, EPA listed it as a Superfund site, and in October of that year Weston Solutions did a preliminary investigation and removal. It collected seven samples from drums and totes, three surface water samples, including two from the pond and one from a basement trench. Lead, chromium, nickel and semi-volatile organic compounds were detected.

Weston Solutions conducted a second investigation in August 2019, collecting 26 samples. That turned up volatile organic compounds, semivolatile organic compounds, pesticides and metals.

EPA determined that a time critical removal was appropriate with acids, caustics, combustibles and flammables of concern. That took place from October 2019 to April 2020. Lead contaminated soils and demolition of the smokestack took place at that time as well.

“Some containers remain at the site and are located throughout the buildings,” according to Weston & Sampson.

In 2021, engineer TRC conducted an environmental site investigation. Metal concentrations found included arsenic, lead and mercury.

A 2023 investigation by TRC identified “numerous drums/totes of hazardous materials with nearby staining still remaining at the site.”

Weston & Sampson conducted a visual inspection of the site on March 13, 2025. A drone was used to assess the roof and exterior conditions. The five buildings' conditions varied from “fair to significantly damaged.”

The five main structures on site are identified as building 1, the shop; building 2, the warehouse; building 3, the beater room, boiler room and machine shop; building 4, the finishing room; and building 5, the offices.

In addition to the other substances found in previous investigations, Weston & Sampson noted the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and asbestos-containing materials as well as lead-based paint.

The former Curtis Fine Papers site on Howland Avenue in Adams were "in terrible shape" when he toured the site a few years ago, said Select Board Chair John Duval. "I'm sure they're in worse shape," he said.

“Severe deterioration has compromised the structural integrity of the onsite buildings and has prevented access to potentially impacted soils beneath the building footprints,” the engineer wrote.

It recommended demolition and bulk removal of hazardous building materials and disposal as asbestos waste as well as removal of remaining drums, totes and tanks of hazardous substances.

Select Board Chair John Duval said he toured the site seven years ago.

"The buildings were in terrible shape back then, and it's [been] a few years, and I'm sure they're in worse shape," he said.

Duval, Meczywor and Select Board Vice Chair Ann Bartlett voted to endorse the project. Select Board members Christine Hoyt and Joe Nowak were absent.

“I think this is going to be a great project for us, and this is a great economic development project," Duval said. "I'm looking forward to the next step in this process.”