City leaders are considering whether to purchase an unused administrative building from Ansonia Copper and Brass.
The company is willing to sell the building if Ansonia wants to buy it, according to Ansonia Copper and Brass owner Ray McGee.
McGee said he approached the city about the building recently, but discussions are still preliminary.
“It’s a discussion,” McGee said. “There is a potential interest on the city’s part. If we’re able to come to terms, quite possibly there would be some form of transaction there.”
Ansonia has eyed the property as a possible site for a new police station, according to Mayor James Della Volpe.
The question is whether the city can work out a deal with Ansonia Copper and Brass — and if the building is in good enough shape to be worth whatever money Ansonia Copper and Brass is asking for.
“We haven’t gotten to any specific numbers yet,” Della Volpe said. “We have to make sure the numbers work if we want to buy this.”
The building is located across the street from the Liberty Park apartments. It is a two-story 46,000 square-foot building assessed at about $2 million.
The current police department is operating out of a 16,000-square-foot building on Elm Street.
“This is much larger,” Della Volpe said of the Ansonia Copper and Brass building. “It has more space, and a lot more parking.”
Progress
Last week, a land-use subcommittee of the Board of Aldermen met to start talking about the property. City leaders will tour the office building in early July, Della Volpe said.
“There are some environmental issues in terms of what you would expect from the building — tiles, floors, insulation encased in asbestos,” said Board of Aldermen President Stephen Blume. “The city would be responsible for renovations and conversions if we do anything with it.”
Blume said there do not appear to be other environmental issues at the site.
McGee said one possible deal the city and company could work out is to waive unpaid back taxes and some future taxes in exchange for the building. Or the city could buy the property outright, he said.
Ansonia Copper and Brass owes about $54,000 in taxes on the administrative building.
It owes about $170,000 on all its Ansonia buildings, according to corporation counsel Kevin Blake.
Blake said the city is reviewing the tax trade-off possibility.
Ansonia Copper And Brass
The company processes copper and brass. It has operated in Ansonia since 1845, and in its heyday employed thousands of people.
McGee said he bought the company in 2002, when it was in bankruptcy and on the verge of closing. It continued to operate for several years, but recently Ansonia Copper and Brass had to cut much of its staff facing rising electric and materials costs.
Today, about 15 to 20 people still work in one of the Ansonia factory buildings, McGee said.
More workers continue to process materials at the company’s Waterbury site. That’s also where the company offices are now located — hence the empty administrative building on Liberty Street.
McGee said he has tried to bring new life to the factory buildings — including an unsuccessful plan to bring a power plant to the site.
“We’re looking to sell the other balance of properties, and bring in some kind of economic opportunities to Ansonia,” McGee said.
