Demolition but not construction coming soon for Southington Ideal Forging

The Ideal Forging buildings in the downtown may be demolished in the next few weeks but that doesnt mean the retail and housing proposed for the site will be constructed soon.

Representatives of a proposed 250-unit condominium building, Greenway Commons, are scheduled to meet with town building officials today to plan the demolition of the Ideal Forging buildings. The plan involves a $70 million retail and residential complex in the Southington downtown.

Building Department John Smigel said a representative would present some of the documentation tomorrow needed for a demolition permit.

Theyre still working on giving us the required paperwork, he said.

Meridian Development Partners, a firm from New York, owns the property. The company could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The project to use the former factory complex between Mill and Center streets has been in the preliminary stages for about a decade.

The industrial site also required environmental remediation. In 2013, Weston Solutions Inc., an environmental consultant and redevelopment advisor, supervised the removal of manufacturing chemicals, oils and florescent light ballasts on the site. Groundwater remediation was done in the same year.

Some of the buildings have already been torn down. Smigel said the demolition permit currently requested would mean the destruction of five main buildings and three or four smaller accessory buildings.

Theres still more cleanup needed on the property though, according to Town Council Chairman Michael Riccio. A special tax district was formed called the Greenway Commons Improvement District that will provide remediation funding in return for property tax sharing between the town and the state. The tax district helps to fund projects that are difficult to finance privately.

Once Meridian has the demolition permit, the buildings can come down and remediation done. But Riccio said the company will likely wait for the market to improve before starting work.

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Demolition but not construction coming soon for Southington Ideal Forging