MONTAGUE — The Selectboard is hopeful that a $35,000 state grant will fund technical assistance in undertaking structural and property reuse assessments of the former Strathmore mill.
The mill building is regarded by many as a town icon, with its potential redevelopment having been a hot topic in the community for years. The town has owned the building since 2010, when it took ownership for back taxes. Last year, it started a cleanup worth $450,000, part of which was funded by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, better known as MassDevelopment.
As opposed to a request for direct funding, the most recent grant application, which was due Aug. 6, is a request for MassDevelopment to fund $35,000 worth of technical assistance. Should the application be accepted, the town would acquire the resources necessary to determine next steps for construction.
“This is really the latest innovation in the town’s efforts to develop the Canal District,” Town Administrator Steve Ellis explained. “There’s no question that the Strathmore mill is the largest and most complex in that project.”
Activity in the Canal District picked up in 2019, with a state grant to replace the failed Fifth Street pedestrian bridge, and a new developer, Tom Cusano, buying the old Southworth mill building. The town also moved to take ownership of the former Railroad Salvage building, which had languished for years before being ruined in a fire in 2016.
Town Planner Walter Ramsey said new resources are needed to evaluate the Strathmore property because “conditions have deteriorated significantly” since it was last assessed in 2007. Ellis said the services and consultants that would be possible through the MassDevelopment funding would provide “actionable information that informs our decision-making.”
Ramsey added that specific acquisitions would include a structural engineer and a sustainability report that would identify what must be done to stabilize the structure. Eventually, the town hopes that either a redevelopment effort or complete rebuild would make the property more attractive to investors.
“You have to know what your problems are and what your opportunities are,” Ellis said.
Ellis said the town can expect to hear back from MassDevelopment regarding whether it has received the grant “in a couple months.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.