Lee — Residents and local officials and representatives had their phones out on the morning of April 15 as the whirr of an excavator started up, aimed for the Airoldi Building at 45 Railroad Street. The bystanders busily videotaped the structure’s demolition as part of the town’s new $36.7 million public safety complex and public works facility. Lee voters overwhelmingly approved the measure in May, and construction is set to begin in late summer or early fall, with the project’s completion expected in March 2027.
Demolition of the former home of the Tri-Town Boards of Health that also once housed a pub, state and town representatives’ offices, and local polling station began with a 9 a.m. ceremony supported by key players of the project. The venture will add a new 37,661-square-foot public safety building, incorporating fire, police, and emergency services into a single structure, and offer a community room that can accommodate 75 to 100 people.
The adjacent Quonset Hut housing the Department of Public Works is also slated to be taken down, with that agency having relocated to its new site at 1185 Pleasant Street.
“This is a real historic moment for the town of Lee,” Town Administrator Christopher Brittain told The Berkshire Edge. “We’ve got some older buildings that have served the town well over the years. Today, we’re going to be tearing those buildings down, but it’s the start of something new for the town of Lee.”
State Rep. Leigh Davis (D – 3rd Berkshire District) was on hand to mark the occasion, recognizing that the standards of emergency medical and fire services are in jeopardy, even across the Commonwealth, given the age of such facilities and a measured decrease in volunteer staffers. She noted that, in October, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal (D – Mass. 1st Congressional District) earmarked $1 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Congressionally Direct Spending (CDS) bill for Lee’s public safety complex project.
Following in the footsteps of her predecessor, William “Smitty” Pignatelli, Davis is part of a regional task force exploring shared emergency medical services and mutual aid, recognizing that “we’re stronger as a village.” After taking office in January, she has already filed five bills in the Statehouse related to modernizing and funding such critical services.
“This really represents the coming together of local, state, and federal partnerships and what can be done when we all pull together and realize that emergency medical services is something that we really need to invest in,” Davis said. “It’s a wonderful day for the town but also for the region and for all of the towns that rely on Lee for mutual aid.”
The project has been in the planning phase for the past two years, Brittain said, and is intended to serve the town of Lee “for decades to come.”
“This morning, we’re here to not just witness the demolition of a building but we’re here to mark the beginning of a new chapter for the town of Lee,” Davis said to the crowd. “It’s a piece of our shared history, but its time has passed. Now we make way for progress. This new space will strengthen the community’s ability to protect and to serve.”
She emphasized that investment in local first responder efforts is critical and “needed more than ever.” “This facility is part of that broader commitment to ensuring every resident has access to timely, high-quality service and care,” Davis said. “We’re not just tearing something down; we’re building something better.”
Lee Select Board Chair Gordon Bailey paid homage to the milestone symbolized by the day’s event, representing the end of a “long road to providing a new home for our police, fire, and building safety departments.” Two of the buildings incorporating these services were constructed in the 1800s, he said, and are “inadequate for today’s needs,” but plans are in the works to repurpose the sites for other town uses.
Select Board member Sean Regnier said he tried to identify town needs when he took his seat on the dais, with the new public safety complex on the list. “Really, it’s a big step forward in the growth of Lee, updating our facilities and doing something for our first responders to make them proud of where they work and serve the community to the best of their ability,” he said.
For Select Board member Robert “Bob” Jones, the day was “bittersweet,” as he recalled the prior tenants of the property over decades—the “families, friends, neighbors, people who worked here, people who utilized the facility, all of the activity here, how this was really the center for the town of Lee.” “We’re saying goodbye to that,” he said. “It’s an eye on the past but we’re here also for an eye to the future.”
Jones noted that two-thirds of the town voted for the project knowing it would mean an increase in their taxes but “saw the need” for a modern facility for the town’s essential services. “They stood behind all of our firefighters, all of our police officers, all of our [emergency management services] workers,” he said. “So, we can be very proud of ourselves for what’s happening here today.”
