ROCKINGHAM — Voters will be asked to approve raising $100,000 to demolish the long-standing TLR buildings on the southeast side of the rail tunnel beneath the Village.
The town has aggressively gone after a number of “unsafe buildings” within the Village over the past few years, in an effort to force landlords and building owners to maintain safety standards.
Municipal Manager Willis “Chip” Stearns II said that the town has been struggling to find someone qualified to take on the project of saving the TLR buildings and returning them to the tax rolls.
Since the town bought them in 1991, they are and have been “safety hazards,” he said.
Being “qualified” means that a party has experience with this kind of project, has the resources, and has a viable plan to carry out the necessary renovations and mitigation work on the buildings - qualifications that have been lacking in interested parties, according to Development Director Francis “Dutch” Walsh.
The Bellows Falls Downtown Historic District includes the TLR buildings, as does the town plan, in longstanding efforts to preserve its river mill heritage.
One building sits atop an old canal wall, which both Walsh and Stearns say has more cultural value for the town than the buildings.
Even with stabilization work carried out by the town in 1990s, the buildings “needs something done” to prevent further degradation, according to Walsh. This window of opportunity to save the buildings has gotten narrower over the years.
Walsh said none of the six “interested” developers he gave a tour of the site to in 2014 could “see the buildings as salvageable. It would cost too much [for a] limited site with no access to parking.”
But, Walsh said, the buildings' location on the other side of the railroad tracks “is the real issue.”
He made note of the lack of interest by even “one of the most successful development companies in southern Vermont.”
If someone with “that experience and means” can see no way to viably take on the project, then who else would be? Walsh asked rhetorically.
BFHS wants to lease TLR for one year
Walsh's office rejected Sustainable Valley Group (SVG) outright when calling for proposals in 2014 because, he said, he saw no evidence of a track record with similar successful projects when he looked back over the organization's qualifications.
The Bellows Falls Historical Society, however, is still “very” interested in owning the TLR buildings, with the intent to preserve them, possibly partnering with SVG, said spokesman Cathy Bergmann.
SVG Executive Director Gary Fox organized an informational meeting Monday night at the Windham Antique Center to go over adaptive reuse proposals for use of the buildings.
Walsh also noted that SVG and Bellows Falls Historical Society submitted a letter of intent (LOI) last year, but the request for proposals required a full proposal, not a LOI, according to Walsh, another reason it was rejected.
[The statement was submitted to The Commons as a letter and appears in the Voices section this issue.]
On Feb. 2, Bergmann told the Selectboard that the historical society would like to lease the buildings for $1 for one year to give them time to formulate a plan.
Bergmann told The Commons that the BFHS had not yet done so because the organization was still involved in finalizing the Riverfront Park.
She said that the Wyman-Flint building, which sits boarded up beside the TLR buildings, was stabilized by the society, as further evidence of preservation efforts.
She also noted that should the vote fail and the town accept the BFHS request, society members intend to partner with SVG and any other interested local groups to create and finalize a plan.
Contamination mitigation
Walsh said the mitigation of hazardous materials in the building likely includes lead-painted brick walls and interior, possibly more asbestos, and “possible” PCB contamination.
He noted that there had been hazardous waste cleanup just next door to the TLR buildings, but he said the site would have to have Phase 1 studies done again for further determination of brownfield cleanup.
Asbestos abatement has taken place already, according to Walsh, but testing for other hazardous materials still needs to occur, Stearns said.
“You have more contaminated soil. There may in fact be lead-based paint covering” exterior and interior walls, making demolition a “controlled” event, he said.
Walsh remains skeptical that the BFHS or the SVG has the separate or combined experience to pull such a project off. But citing the 10-year Riverfront park project nearing completion, Bergmann countered that that undertaking included brownfield cleanup, grant writing, and project planning.
Stearns said only a small part of the $100,000 on the town meeting warning would actually go toward demolition. He cited the mitigation plan and cleanup costs as the main cost factors.
If town voters approve the funds, the town is faced with a continuing dilemma of crumbling historic architecture, and not enough resources to save them in time.
“We can't insure them,” Stearns said. “If something happened, or if someone got hurt” climbing past the boarded up doors and windows into the building, the owner - the town - is still liable. For buildings unoccupied after 60 days, insurance lapses.
“They are already safety hazards,” Stearns said.