‘This is a huge victory for the town’
With more than $6M owed in taxes, Redding could soon own old wire mill
REDDING — The Georgetown Land Development Corporation has until February to pay the millions of dollars it owes in back taxes for the old Gilbert and Bennett wire mill property before its title is revoked and left to the town.
Redding officials are beginning to see the light at the end of a years-long legal battle with the development company. A Connecticut superior court granted the motion for a judgment of strict foreclosure in favor of Redding on Jan. 4.
“Again, this is a huge victory for the town. To be able to foreclose on the property and to finally be in the driver’s seat,” said First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton.
GLDC was assigned a Feb. 1 law day — the final date in which a debtor can pay off its debt or redeem the property to prevent it from being sold after foreclosure proceedings — by the court to pay back the $6,198,950.86 it owes. GLDC did not return messages for this story.
GLDC initially bought the property with the intent to launch a full-scale
project in the early 2000s, converting the site into a walkable downtown with mixed-use housing, commercial retail, and a downtown environment for Redding, according to Pemberton. But, when the Great Recession happened, private financing for the developers was no longer available, staging a major setback for GLDC and stalling the project.
In 2015 the town opted to
foreclose and went to court over it, resulting a yearslong legal battle.
“The debt continued to pile up and the past due taxes continued to pile up. And, there was no way forward but for the town to foreclose, to begin to clean up the title to the property and in the future to facilitate the potential for a successful redevelopment of this watermill site, which is a tremendous value to the town,” Pemberton said.
After Feb. 1, any other creditors with a stake in the property have a shot at redeeming the property for its taxes and taking over ownership, according to Pemberton.
However, if neither GLDC nor its creditors are able to redeem the property by Feb. 16, the title and ownership powers are transferred to the town, Pemberton said.
Going forward, the town plans to create a special revenue fund for the property’s incoming earnings and draw up policies for the use of those funds for the site’s expenses, Pemberton said.
When February rolls around the town will have to alter the tenants’ lease to reflect the change in ownership, but Pemberton doesn’t anticipate making any other changes to the document.
The town has also received a federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) exemption absolving any responsibility put on the municipality to clean up hazardous waste left on the property by the previous owner, according to Pemberton. She expects to get an exemption from the state’s Brownfield Liability Relief Program as well.
These exemptions will protect the town by liberating it from such responsibilities and helping it prepare the property for future redevelopment, Pemberton explained.
“It is very important for the town that this property be redeveloped in a way that reflects the historic nature of the property and its history,” Pemberton said. “And that it is redeveloped in such a way that it is an asset to the town, that it provides the housing and public spaces that will benefit the town, and not become a burden on the town, in other words, a drain on our revenues rather than a contributor.”