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07/12/2017 09:00 AMEmpty since its December 2012 closure, the Unilever facility in the town’s center may soon see some activity as the town attempts to ease the way for possible development. On June 21, the Board of Selectmen authorized a grant application to conduct environmental site testing intended to assuage potential developers’ concerns.
The board voted unanimously at a June 21 meeting to apply for a Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) program grant for $55,000 that would go toward a soil investigation and a study of various wastewater issues on the site.
The largest issue the grant will help address is the septic system. At the June 21 meeting, Consulting Town Planner John Guszkowski said “the single greatest factor preventing redevelopment or preventing developers from getting deep into the acquisition process is the lack of a septic system and the state’s regulatory process for it.”
Guszkowski said the process for obtaining permits from the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) can take years, which makes potential buyers or developers reluctant to invest their money in the process.
A TOD grant comes from the state and it provides money for projects that allow development near transit hubs. The Unilever property is located adjacent to the Clinton train station on John Street Extension. The hope is to turn the property into a mixed-use retail space that could incorporate residential and commercial use of the property. Guszkowski noted that a decision on the grant won’t be made until fall.
“It’s not as if we submit it on Friday and get a check cut on Monday,” said Guszkowski.
The Unilever lot has been vacant for five years and consists of roughly 20 acres of land. When it was in business, the plant manufactured cosmetic products such as Dove, Axe Suave, and Vaseline. In July 2011, Unilever announced to the public that the company’s Clinton plant would be closing by the end of 2012. The plant had more than 100 years of history in town and in 2012 provided approximately 200 jobs in town and was the town’s second-highest taxpayer with an assessed value of $26,100,040.
In 2015, the planned sale and redevelopment of the former Unilever property into Clinton Station, a recreational complex with indoor skating rinks and possibly an indoor soccer field, golf academy, pro shops, and more, stalled as a result of financing issues on the part of the developer David A. Mack Properties, LLC.
Earlier this year, the town formed an ad hoc committee to consider revising regulations for the Unilever area in an effort to boost development options.
According to Ad Hoc Committee Chair Christine Goupil, the recommendations made by the committee will be drafted by the consultant planner and brought to the Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC).
“There will be public hearings noticed once the PZC has agreed upon those recommendations and drafted regulation changes,” Goupil stated.