Cost estimates come in for demolition of blighted Milford warehouse – Milford Daily News

Alison Bosma abosma@wickedlocal.com @AlisonBosma

FridayJan24,2020at7:38PMJan24,2020at7:39PM

TOPLINE: It could cost the town $160,000 to demolish a vacant and badly run-down warehouse at 72 Depot St., according to early estimates.

A LITTLE BACKGROUND: The town has been trying to take a wrecking ball to this building for years, but the owner is in failing health and company funds necessary for demolition are tied up in court, the town's attorney has said. The town took matters into its own hands at the beginning of the year, after the property owner failed to meet a final deadline. That means the town will have to take on the cost of the demolition, but will try to recoup money through litigation or foreclosing, owning, then reselling the property.

WHAT'S THE HOLDUP? The town is working through a checklist of things that need to be done before demolition, from shutting down utilities, to working with the state on asbestos, to eradicating an out-of-control rodent infestation.

WHAT'S NEW? An estimate for getting rid of the asbestos came back for $9,835, but that's only for the part of the building that inspectors could access. Based on that and quotes from other companies on the rest of the work, Highway Surveyor Scott Crisafulli said partial demolition could cost the town $160,000. If officials want to take down more, the town is going to have to figure out how to get a more complete estimate.

CRUCIAL QUOTE: "As soon as I get the OK from the finance director, we should be able to move forward," Crisafulli said.

TANGENT: This isn't the only worrisome property in town. Milford is trying to get a handle on a backlog of more than 100 foreclosed or soon-to-be foreclosed properties in town, many of which are vacant. For a couple dozen properties, the town isn't even sure who owns them. Read about that here.

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Cost estimates come in for demolition of blighted Milford warehouse - Milford Daily News