The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Lambert Kay sale approved
Town residents to make ultimate decision
WINSTED » The property at 32 Lake St., commonly known as “Lambert Kay,” was abandoned in 1993. The town bought it in 2002 for $1 and has unsuccessfully sought to find a buyer for it for more than a decade.
It took a step toward selling the Lambert Kay property this week as the Board of Selectmen unanimously voted to accept an offer to sell the property to Parker Benjamin Real Estate Services and set a special town meeting for July 20, where residents will have the final say on whether the transaction will be completed.
“We’re appreciative of all the efforts everyone has made to bring
this project forward,” Mayor Althea Candy Perez said.
According to documentation provided to the board, Parker Benjamin is planning to “repurpose the property into shops, galleries, and (offices),” and add “service businesses such as a coffee/tea shop, a low turnover restaurant, and brewery/tasting room” to compliment those already in the area.
It is expected to take approximately three years to complete construction and find tenants to take up residence in the building, according to the documentation.
Approximately 30 jobs will be created during the construction effort, according to Parker Benjamin, and about 150 will come to be once businesses begin operating on the property.
Managing Broker Brian Lyman offered to buy the property from the town for $1,000 in March, according to the documentation.
The town vetted Parker Benjamin in the months following the offer and completed the process in recent weeks.
The location of the former Lambert Kay facility on Lake Street was one of the factors that attracted the group’s interest, Lyman said earlier this month, as traffic flows through the area from Route 44 on the way to Highland Lake.
The “idyllic New England” quality of the downtown, the proximity to the Mad River and the presence of Northwestern Connecticut Community College were also attractive aspects, Lyman said.
The group specializes in re-purposing old mill buildings, he said, and was looking for a new endeavor after completing a successful project in Unionville.
Lyman made a presentation to the Board of Selectmen Monday evening, according to Perez, and is expected to do the same for town residents on July 20.
The town has tried to sell the property on multiple occasions. This included an attempt in summer 2014, when a bid by XS4D Entertainment Holding Co. was sunk by the involvement of David Viens, who brokered an agreement between the company and Winsted, but was found to have previously defrauded investors to the tune of $2.3 million in 2011.
Environmental remediation has gone on over the years on the site — according to Town Manager Robert Geiger, four tanks were removed from the property this past fall, and both asbestos and soil were cleaned up.
The town received a $500,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant for the remediation of the site in June 2014.
“These are funds that will have a lasting effect on the towns they reach for years to come,” said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy at the time.