Plainville Moves Forward With Plan To Test White Oak Construction Site – Hartford Courant

The "for sale" sign outside the 14-acre parcel where White Oak Construction had its office and kept its huge fleet of highway and bridge equipment has gotten the town's attention.

"It's a key piece of downtown property, a cornerstone parcel," Mark DeVoe, the local economic development director and town planner, said Monday of the 1 West Main St. site.

The company, founded by the Toffolon family, ceased operations a decade ago and sold off the heavy equipment that used to fill the complex's 10-bay garage. The parcel is listed for $1.4 million with a commercial real estate agent.

Town Manager Robert Lee said the White Oak property, next to the municipal complex, "is the key parcel in the town center."

Potential buyers have concerns about possible contamination of the soil from years of construction equipment storage, and the town is seeking state grant money to test the soil. The council has given permission for staff to pursue an "access agreement" from the property owner so the land can be accessed and tested.

"We want to take away the unknown about the site," without using town funds, Lee said.

Testing the site is crucial before any decision is made to pursue the property, DeVoe said.

For years, White Oak was one of the biggest bridge and highway construction and repair contractors in the region. The company once had its own tugboat to work on marine bridge projects.

The lobby of the closed main office building is lined with enlarged photographs of highway and bridge projects done by White Oak.

The real estate property listing says the site has 60,000 square feet of space in three buildings on the site, including 12,000 square feet in a two-story office wing built in 1991.

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Plainville Moves Forward With Plan To Test White Oak Construction Site - Hartford Courant