Nov 8, 2007
Redding
Former G&B site:
Remedial action plan is in hand,
on-site road work begins soon
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by SUSAN WOLF
pilot@thereddingpilot.com
On-site road work will begin at the former Gilbert & Bennett wire mill site off Route 107 next month thanks to the recent state approval of the Georgetown Land Development Co.’s Remedial Action Plan.
The company is developing the site into a pedestrian-friendly village of mixed uses. The project will include housing, commercial and retail spaces, restaurants, a performing arts center, a new Georgetown campus for the Wilton Family Y, a new Georgetown train station on the Danbury branch of the Metro-North line with service to Norwalk, Stamford, Greenwich, and New York City’s Grand Central Terminal, and a medical facility for Norwalk Hospital. It was notified of the remedial action plan approval on Oct. 5.
Remedial action plan
The state Department of Environmental Protection approved the remedial action plan for the redevelopment of the site. The approval means that work necessary to implement the approved master plan for development may begin. “This will address the remaining environmental concerns that were the result of previous manufacturing at the site,” the company said in its release.
The factory was at this site for more than 150 years, so there are waste by-products of the manufacturing process. Extensive testing has been done to identify the contaminated areas.
The plan applies to the manufacturing area of the former wire mill facility north from Route 107 and to the southern parcel, south of Route 107 and home to the Georgetown sewer plant.
Certain buildings on the site have already been demolished, following their decontamination to remove dust and asbestos. Areas of soil contamination will either be excavated or capped.
There will be a dust monitoring plan in place and ongoing monitoring of wind and weather, along with air quality monitoring, particularly for lead. Groundwater will continue to be monitored.
The plan was presented to the public at an information meeting on July 12.
Road work
On Monday Stephen Soler, company president, said the plan’s approval means his company can now put in roads and infrastructure. The first phase of roads will include North Main Street, the new Station Place and the “front door” to the project, the intersection of Portland Avenue with Route 107. Off site road work is not planned until spring.
In December, said Mr. Soler, the existing North Main Street will be ripped out and rebuilt as required by the state Department of Transportation. All three road areas have been designed, put out to bid, and contracted out.
All of the utilities on the property will be placed underground.
Slab removal
While the road work is in progress, said Mr. Soler, the slab over the Norwalk River will be pulled out. This is part of the process to “daylight” the river, which was covered over in places while the mill was in operation.
Another slab that remains after a building’s demolition will also be removed and will be recycled on the site. Mr. Soler said the DEP has granted its approval to recycle and reuse this slab. His company is awaiting approval on a slab from a second building.
The company has also redesigned the new Bennett Street that will go by the park service (Weir Farm) building, the senior housing planned at the site and the performing arts center. Bennett Street is contained within the property and will be off Portland Avenue.
Mr. Soler said the retail plan for the site is now in the works.
Sewer plant
William Penn, the company’s financial adviser, said Phase III of the sewer plant on the south side of Route 107 is now online with a 125,000- gallon-per-day capacity. By the end of January, he said, the renovation of Phases I and II will be complete, yielding a total 245,000-gallon-per-day capacity. At the end of January, he added, the plant will be ready to be transferred to the town.
Georgetown Land Development Co. is paying for the plant’s expansion and renovation. The sewer plant expansion is necessary for the company’s redevelopment of the former Gilbert & Bennett wire mill site. The plant now has the capacity to treat 75,000 gallons of water per day; the company’s expansion gets the capacity to 245,000 gallons per day.
“We will have infrastructure in place to support development activity by 2008,” said Mr. Soler, adding that he expects “to go vertical” with buildings in the spring.
By the end of the year, he said, one will start to see “definition” at the site. Also in the works for January are plans for the train station at the site.
Water
In a related matter, the state DEP has approved Aquarion Water Co.’s requested permit to divert a maximum of 1.78 million gallons of water per day from the Aquarion main system to the Georgetown section of Redding and Ridgefield to provide public water supply.
The diversion will supply up to a maximum of 1.30 million gallons of water per day to Ridgefield and a maximum of 480,000 gallons of water per day to the Georgetown section of Redding. Not all of the water diverted to Georgetown is for the Gilbert & Bennett redevelopment project. Mr. Soler said his company has reserved 170,000 gallons per day for its entire development.
Recently the U.S. Green Building Council selected the Gilbert & Bennett redevelopment project to participate in its inaugural Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development program. The project has been recognized by U.S. EPA with a National Smart Growth Award, and the U.S. Treasury has designated the project a Green Building and Sustainable Design Development.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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