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12/20/2017 07:45 AMCould the nine long-vacant properties on Route One east—numbers 306, 330, 332, 334, 338, 340, 342, and 344—become an attractive target for redevelopment? The answer may be dependent on whether potential redevelopers could manage the site’s potential clean-up costs.
Until now, the magnitude of those costs were unknown, but with the release of a Nov. 27 Tighe & Bond report, uncertainty about the scope and cost to clean up the nine parcels has been substantially reduced, which town officials have indicated will make the possibility of redevelopment more probable.
The Preliminary Opinion of Probable Costs (OPC) report provides estimates of how much it will cost to make these parcels clean enough for reuse, in compliance with the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) remediation standards and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Substances Control Act.
The first category of costs includes soil remediation, including the transportation and disposal off-site of impacted soils; providing backfill with clean fill; and preparing needed reports to submit to DEEP to comply with state requirements. According to Tighe & Bond, the cost for soil remediation, lab testing, and preparing reports would be $430,891, an estimate that includes a 20 percent contingency of $71,832.
“Based on the findings of [environmental site assessments] conducted to date, as well as previous investigations[,] remediation activities will be required to comply with the DEEP Remediation Standards Regulations. Due to the shallow nature of soil impacts, a conventional remedial approach consisting of remediation by excavation and off-site disposal has been evaluated for this preliminary OPC,” wrote Tighe & Bond.
The second bucket of clean-up costs includes the removal and disposal of hazardous materials found in the site’s buildings, and demolishing the buildings after they are clean. For the abatement of residual asbestos, the firm provided an estimate of $118,874 and for PCBs, $211,420. A $32,169 charge was estimated for universal waste removal and reclamation. The demolition cost for all of the buildings was estimated to be $533,587. To these charges are added a consulting fee of 20 percent of the contractor’s fee or $215,052.
“The [Hazardous Building Materials Assessment] included surveys for asbestos containing materials (ACBMs), lead based paints, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and an inventory of universal wastes. ACBMs were identified in each of the buildings and included common building materials such as floor tiles, caulks, mastics, cement boards, and some roof materials including flashing and shingles,” wrote Tighe & Bond. “PCBs were identified in building materials at 330 Boston Post Road and included various paints, caulking, and glazing compounds. PCBs were also identified in shallow soil and surface samples (asphalt) collected around the perimeter of the building.”
This puts the cost of soil remediation and disposal at $430,000 and hazardous building materials abatement and demolition at $1,290,000.
The report also includes a parcel by parcel breakdown of the clean-up costs. Some of the nine parcels, due to the nature of prior operations conducted in the building or on the site, are more expensive to remediate than the others.