Landmark's backers have high hopes.

Byline: George Barnes 

GARDNER - They have only until about mid-July, but residents advocating saving the 190-foot-tall Heywood-Wakefield smokestack from demolition are optimistic.

"We're having a lot of good conversations and a lot of good dialog," said Paul DeMeo, a member of a committee formed to find ways to save the smokestack, which he says is a symbol of the city. "We have until mid-July to come up with a solid business plan."

Mr. DeMeo said his group has had positive discussions with representatives of Mountain Climber LLC, owners of the smokestack, and the apartment and business office complex in the former Heywood-Wakefield furniture factory.

Supporters of preserving the smokestack learned at the end of May that the owners planned to tear it down. The city was told it is a safety hazard and too expensive to repair. It is estimated it would take $180,000 to repair it properly and about $40,000 to tear it down.

The smokestack serves no purpose other than as a symbol of the city's furniture-making past.

The building it was once housed in was long ago leveled and a parking lot built around its base to serve the business offices and apartment in Heywood Place, one of two sections of the factory that have been renovated.

Mountain Climber LLC bought the property in May 2007 for $31.3 million. The property has 171 apartments and 15 offices. The company is looking at tearing down the smokestack because it is concerned bricks could fall on people or cars in the parking lot next to it.

When Mayor Mark D. Hawke learned about the plans, he said he looked into whether there was historic preservation money available to the city or owners to have the smokestack repaired. He said there is money for buildings, but not for something like a smokestack.

Mr. DeMeo said he is not only confident something can be done to save the smokestack, he believes it could spill over into preserving other properties in the city now that a group is focused on historic preservation.

He said the importance of the smokestack to the community is obvious.

"It's just about the center of the community and you can see it for miles and miles," he said.

It also represents Heywood-Wakefield Co., which was at one time the largest furniture making company in the world.

When the company closed in the 1970s, the event signaled the beginning of a decline in the woodworking industry in the city.

At the end of this month, Nichols and Stone Co., the last of the large furniture making companies in Gardner, may close.

Mr. DeMeo said he believes the hazards posed by the smokestack may be overstated.

"It's been here since 1936," he said. "I don't think it is the gloom and doom that has been projected."

The committee to save the smokestack, which includes Mr. DeMeo and Gardner residents Kerry and Ernest Bettez and Michael Tracy, is hoping to look more closely at an engineering report to see if the repair cost will really be $180,000.

Mr. DeMeo acknowledged the concern of the company over liability, but indicated he hoped a way would be found to remove the liability from the company, preserve the smokestack and make it safe.

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) The former Heywood-Wakefield complex is seen in an aerial photograph shot last week. (2) It would cost an estimated $180,000 to repair the smokestack.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff Photos/RICK CINCLAIR