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12/18/2018 02:30 PMThe property at 33 Liberty Street—2.93 acres with a 2,624 square-foot building that was used for decades to fabricate wood screw eyes and screws—has seen better days. The boarded-up, vacant building has been vandalized, and the lot has been the site of environmental remediation that may or may not be complete, but it has a history and a connection to the town that may make it worth the limited-time purchase price of $1.
Chester will hold a town meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 27, at the Town Hall to discuss and vote on whether or not the town should purchase the property at 33 Liberty Street.
“This opportunity came up and I felt as though it was my responsibility to let the Chester residents know about the opportunity and get them all the information I could about the property, so a public conversation about the option to purchase the property could be discussed,” said First Selectman Lauren Gister, who has prepared a presentation of information for the meeting.
In short, the meeting has been called because the current owners (Cambria Trust Holdings, LLC) recently gave the town the option to purchase the former industrial property for $1. The current Realtor.com list price for the property is $599,000. It has been on the market for more than four years and it’s considered a blighted property. The town has had to request that the owners board up the windows, because vandals were getting inside, spray painting the walls, and skateboarding throughout the building.
The offer of purchasing the property for $1 is only good if the town is able to close by Dec. 31 so the seller can claim the maximum tax deduction for this year and they will have no liability for the January town tax installment.
“Typically, municipalities don’t operate like this,” said Gister. “However, I felt that the decision of what to do should be put out for public discussion, even though this is such bad timing, for so many reasons.”
She continued, “Having a blighted property in town is not good for anyone and we tried to get the owners to give us more time, but as it stands right now that is not an option. This is the deal that is currently on the table.”
Gister added, “This building has a lot of emotional and economic meaning to the town. Many of the residents’ grandparents worked there and it is part of the economic engine that helped make the town what it is today. So, if there is a chance to salvage and protect that history, we want to explore the options.”
The vote at the special town meeting has the potential for three different outcomes: the first is that Chester residents vote “Yes” to purchasing the property with all the risks involved, the second is to vote “No” and move on, and the third is to vote “No,” but keep the question open and explore future options.
One of the biggest concerns is the property’s past environmental status. There was a large environmental remediation project conducted on the property in the early ‘90s and approximately 2,000 cubic feet of soil was removed due to presence of metal shavings and oil, the result of the factory’s manufacturing past. Future action may be required depending on the property’s use.
Gister is in the process of investigating the property further at this point, speaking with the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection and getting advice about the environmental status of the property, as well as information on possible future uses for the property.
“I want to be able to give the residents all the information I possibly can at this meeting, so a vote on what’s best for the town right now can be made,” said Gister.