EAST HAMPTON - The mills that once were the town’s economic lifeblood are largely nearly all gone.
A few remain either vacant or re-purposed for new generations of dreamers and doers.
But the town would like to others of the silent sentinels of the bygone era of manufacturing rehabilitated and returned to the tax rolls.
Now, Town Manager David E. Cox is bringing forward one of the properties and is seeking ways to remediate any damage done to the property.
His test case is 1 Watrous Street, which was used for a variety of activities beginning in the 19th century.
Like other former factories in the state, 1 Watrous was vacant, fell into disrepair and ultimately became the property of the town in 2016. When the town acquired the building it did clean portions of it both inside and out.
But an attempt to sell the property foundered.
Cox came before the Town Council this week to seek the council’s thinking about ways to reinvigorate the effort to clean the site and put it back on the market.
Doing so could perhaps involve linking the property to the nearby 13 Watrous in what could create a more viable option.
And it will likely involve a joint public/private cooperative effort to make this happen, he said.
In his appearance before the council via Zoom, Cox said 1 Watrous is “a fairly dilapidated building.”
“There are some significant issues with the building,” he said.
On the interior of the building, where issues include asbestos, lead paint, and PCBs, according to Cox.
On the outside, the issues include PCBs and components related to petroleum products, Cox said. And there is also PCB contamination in the groundwater, he said.
“The town is probably in a better position to get outside sources (of income),” Cox said. An environmental group is compiling an estimate for the cost of cleaning the site and Cox estimated it could cost $500,000 to remediate the site.
The town did receive one bid when it put the site on market. But at $160,000, the bid was far below what the town was asking for the property, Cox said.
He proposed the town solicit requests for proposals to get a sense of interest in the property and ideas from would-be developers about what they would to do with the site.
“Such process would include solicitation of proposals that include discussion of the proposed reuse of the building and related development of the 13 Watrous site along with the terms of a transaction that would likely include Town involvement in the clean-up and some financial involvement by the developer along with an assessment of the financial capabilities of the developer,” Cox said in a letter to the council.
Specifically, Cox asked that the RFPs include: Potential reuse of the building and potential development of the extended site including 13 Watrous.
He also wants it to include a proposed near-term and long-term financial arrangement, including support of the town’s grant efforts, support of remediation costs, building/site redevelopment, off site or extended site development and future joint use of the site, sale of the building/site and financial abilities of the developer
“I believe we can build on that effort and utilize the contacts that have been made regarding the property as well as the efforts of the real estate professional to solicit interest that will give the town the opportunity to actively understand and control the future of the site,” Cox said.
Councilman Dean Markham said he assumed “the town would look beyond the state (government)” for financial support for the project.
“We will try not to leave any stones unturned,” Cox said.
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East Hampton looks to redevelop former factory site - Middletown Press
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