Millville voters OK project to clear site of former Mug Pub
MILLVILLE – Special town meeting voters this week unanimously approved a deed in lieu of foreclosure agreement between the town and owners of the former Mug Pub property on Central Street, which now paves the way for the town to demolish the condemned building.
A small gathering of about 46 voters came out for the Monday meeting and approved the deed in lieu of foreclosure proposal in a majority voice vote.
The boarded-up building and dilapidated property at 35-37 Central St. has been vacant for more than 15 years and is one of the town’s biggest blights. The selectmen opted not to foreclose on the property, but decided instead to negotiate a deed in lieu of foreclosure agreement with the property owners, who are
listed as Kenneth and Suzanne Beale and Patricia J. Spencer and Nicole Y. Beaudet of Slatersville.
A deed in lieu of foreclosure is a transaction where the property owner voluntarily transfers title to the town in exchange for a release from any the tax obligation. As part of the agreement, the town will acquire the title without the need of going through the cost and time required to obtain a judicial foreclosure.
With voter approval now in hand, the next step is for the town to go out to bid to hire a demolition company, which would take a wrecking ball to the building before the end of the year.
According to Town Administrator Jennifer M. Callahan, the tax-title property is not only a major eyesore, but a public safety hazard. The town has recently cordoned off the property with orange highway barrels to prevent pedestrians from using the sidewalk in front of the building and motorists from using the parking lot.
The 6,216-square-foot mixed-use building is zoned residential/commercial. The first floor housed a tavern years ago and then became Benoit’s on the Hill, a family restaurant that was in operation in the 1950s and 1960s. The restaurant later became known as the Candlewood Restaurant in the 1970s and 1980s.
The restaurant was ran and operated under other names and owners as well, including Suzanne’s Inn and Fieldstones before it became the Mug Pub.
The building sits on 0.118 acres and the value of the structure is listed at $192,500.
The demolition work would be paid for with grant money Callahan was able to secure through the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office Abandoned Housing Initiative Strategic Demolition Fund, which has awarded the town a matching grant of up to $20,000.
Millville was one of only four communities in Worcester County to get the grant, which funds strategic demolition projects across the state in an effort to help communities reduce blighted properties.
Municipalities that apply for funding must demonstrate an immediate community need for demolition and an absence of any other viable remediation measures for the property. Those applying must also show plans for post-demolition site redevelopment.
As for what the town intends to do with the property after the building is demolished, Callahan said the selectmen will discuss those options in the coming weeks.