Norwich harbor board tours former scrapyard
Riverfront property set for auction sale July 29 as the final step of dissolution of business
Norwich — Three Harbor Management Commission members waded through poison ivy, pushed aside bittersweet vines and walked through crushed and broken bricks, broken glass and bits of metal and plastic Friday afternoon to reach the heart of the former Shetucket Iron & Metal scrapyard at the edge of Norwich Harbor.
There they found several tall piles of unprocessed scrap metal, including numerous propane grill tanks, plastic debris, large truck tires, empty drums labeled for hydraulic oil, and abandoned vehicles. Several buildings in varying degrees of disrepair dot the 3.68-acre property at 7 New Wharf Road.
Waterfront condominiums on South Thames Street stand directly across the harbor from the biggest open scrap piles.
At one point, the group turned around to face the scrapyard entrance.
“Look back at the city,” commission member and Alderman H. Tucker Braddock said, pointing out the prominent view of the historical Jail Hill neighborhood, and the realization that residents there had an equally prominent view of the scrapyard.
The scrapyard closed a year ago amid a bitter family dispute among the owners. A court-ordered auction sale is set for noon July 29 as the final step in the dissolution of the business, controlled by Walter Seder and his nephew, Stephen Seder.
The harbor commission toured the former scrapyard as part of its research into whether the city should attempt to purchase the 3.68-acre property to prevent another scrapyard from buying it and starting another such operation there. Along with Braddock, commission Chairman and Alderman Gerald Martin and member Michael Gualtieri visited the property Friday.
The property now is zoned for waterfront development, but a scrapyard would be allowed as “an existing nonconforming use,” according to city Planner Deanna Rhodes.
The entire property has been designated as a high-hazard floodway by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. No new structures would be allowed in the floodway, and any existing building renovated to more than 50 percent of its current value would have to be flood proofed, Rhodes said.
Martin will give a presentation during Monday’s 7 p.m. council meeting that will consist of an overall vision for the waterfront and the work to update the 20-year-old Harbor Management Plan. The presentation will not include specific discussion of the scrapyard or another waterfront property in the former Shipping Street industrial district.
Martin said the council could go into executive session later Monday to discuss those properties.
City leaders have been divided on whether Norwich should pursue purchasing the former scrapyard property at auction. Democratic Mayor Deberey Hinchey and Republican Council President Pro Tempore Peter Nystrom are among those opposed to acquiring the property.
An existing waterfront vision plan calls for creating a public park, fishing piers, and a possible music venue on the New Wharf Road property.
While cleanup of the scrapyard could be costly, Martin said the City Council’s goal of boosting the city’s tax base would be forwarded by removing the scrapyard and cleaning the property.
“All these properties would rise in value,” Martin said of the harbor area and properties that overlook the harbor.
City leaders have been divided on whether the city should pursue purchasing the former scrapyard property at the auction. Democratic Mayor Deberey Hinchey and Republican Council President Pro Tempore Peter Nystrom are among those opposed to acquiring the property.
The unknown cost of both the purchase and future cleanup are major obstacles the council leaders cited. The active Providence & Worcester Railroad that traverses the property, and the floodway designation severely restrict potential uses.
Braddock, a mayoral candidate along with Nystrom, has been leading the effort to pursue the property to prevent it from becoming another scrapyard. But Braddock said his top choice in that effort would be for a private entity to buy the property for a boatyard or possible RV park with fishing piers and public concerts with food trucks and vendors.