The old Housatonic Wire Co. property has been on the market for years with no interest, according to the property owner.
SEYMOUR – A self-storage facility proposed for the former Housatonic Wire Co. site on River Street could clear its final hurdle this week.
The Seymour Planning and Zoning Commission will continue its public hearing on the Brink Self Storage proposal at 6:15 p.m. Thursday (June 9) at Seymour Town Hall. The commission will then meet for its regular meeting at 7 p.m. to vote.
The Seymour Inland Wetlands Commission (a separate board) at its May 23 meeting unanimously approved the project, placing nearly 30 conditions on the applicant to ensure the 100,000-square-foot facility complies with the “protection of the health, welfare, and safety of the community and the wetlands environment on the subject property.” Most of the conditions were standard protocol regarding wetlands regulations, while others were put in place to ensure the environmental clean-up of the contaminated site follows state DEEP protocol.
A full list of the conditions can be viewed online in the May 23 meeting minutes.
Because the site contains contaminated soil, property owner Alex Budzinski is working with DEEP in its “voluntary remediation program” which would monitor clean-up efforts.
“All reports, tests and procedures follow DEEP protocol,” Budzinski said. “We cannot deviate from their program. DEEP will have eyes on everything that goes on at the site.”
Budzinski said he’s thankful for the wetlands approval and is setting his sights on a green light from the PZC.
“I’m excited to see a 21st century building going up in a high traffic area of Seymour,” Budzinski said. “The magnitude of this facility shows the thousands of people passing through that we are in the game, too. Costs are going up and people are struggling. I hope this project will lead the way.”
Budzinski and attorney Mark Ziogas, representing the Florida investor — Willow Partners Redevelopment, which is on track to purchase the 4.5‑acre site for $1.2 million — said the facility is expected to generate upwards of $315,000 a year in taxes.
The plan calls for construction of a four-story, 100,000-square-foot building on just under two acres. Each of the four floors would contain individual self-storage units. Ziogas had said storage facilities are not high traffic generators and will likely see four to five car trips to the facility per day. He also said the facility would not put an increased burden on town or school services.
If the PZC grants an approval, Budzinski said he’s unsure when construction will start. Clean-up efforts, however, are slated to get underway this summer, he said.
“I would hope to be digging out the bad soil in July,” Budzinski said. “The bad dirt gets shipped up to Clean Earth in Plainville where it gets documented and burned clean. It does not come back to Seymour. The whole site is not contaminated, only areas here and there.”
Budzinski said when he and his late father purchased the site in 1978, they inherited a contaminated site. He said the contaminants date back to World War II when the former Seymour Products was making magazines.
The site at 109 River St. has remained vacant since 2010 when a fire consumed most of the historic building. During its heyday, Housatonic Wire produced steel wire for paperclips and notebook bindings from the late 1970s until it closed in 2008. Budzinski began demolition shortly after the fire, but a series of delays and red tape with insurance claims halted remediation efforts until 2014, when the former burned out eyesore was finally leveled.
Budzinski said he has tried for the better part of 14 years to market and sell the property. One nibble from Wendy’s came along, but because it was a corner lot, Wendy’s built elsewhere. He believes a self-storage facility is a good fit for the property, despite a deluge of negative comments on social media. Many have said they’d prefer to see apartments, a restaurant or a park there.
“Another misconception is this will hide the waterfalls,” Budzinski said. “This facility will expose more of the falls than the old factory hid for 150 years. The buyer has already said he is investing money in the falls. Ground crews will be manicuring the site much more often than my once a month visit with a weed whacker.”
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis herself has said she’d prefer to see something other than a storage facility there, but realizes the property is privately-owned and as long as the proposal complies with all town zoning regulations, there’s little the town can do.
“It’s privately owned property, and the owner has the right to do what he wants,” Drugonis had said. We have to grow the Grand List. Storage units aren’t what I envisioned there, but it is an allowable use. I’m glad Alex is doing something with his land.”
