looks like the Robertson Paper Mill may be demolished as early as November, according to this article- Chroma talks continue as officials plan meeting next week By Chris Garofolo | Jul 03, 2014 Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printMore Sharing Services0BELLOWS FALLS — Municipal Manager Willis “Chip” Stearns said the fact that a locally based manufacturing firm has met with municipal officials shows the company’s plans to move its high-tech jobs into Bellows Falls are more than just a second thought. Chroma Technology Corp., an employee-owned manufacturer of interference filters for the ultra-violet, visible and near-infrared portions of the spectrum, made public their plans to potentially relocate to the village downtown Tuesday night during a joint meeting of the Rockingham and Bellows Falls boards. The news was first reported in Wednesday’s edition of the Eagle Times. The company currently has about 106 employees and reported it has outgrown its present-day facility on Imtec Lane. Relocating to the Island, just a block from the village downtown, would immediately triple the number of workers coming into Bellows Falls each day. “And I was totally sincere when I said they’re not looking at this as a bottom-line choice, this is a community investment choice that is much larger than their bottom-line,” Stearns said. “The biggest thing is not the tax dollars that this is going to generate, it’s the economic trickle down of dollars being spent and moving the economy. The tax base is very, to me, insignificant to this move,” he continued. “It’s the economy having 100 people who all of a sudden are available to overwhelm the lunch counters five days a week, that is huge.” Stearns sent out letters last week requesting property owners on the Island attend the Tuesday night meeting. While the town and village boards have little power other than to help swing public momentum, Stearns said his office is “keeping positive about a real serious impact and making whatever steps are necessary to get people together to make it go forward.” While the municipal boards have little authority in the move to bring the business downtown, the Bellows Falls Area Development Corp. can continue its long-running partnership with Chroma to complete the agreement. Rockingham Development Director Francis “Dutch” Walsh said he is meeting with Chroma officials next Friday to discuss future financial and architectural plans for any relocation to the Island. Four conceptual designs have already been presented, but nothing has been finalized. “We’re going to move quickly, it’s not pie-in-the-sky,” he said. “The perception of Bellows Falls right now — I wouldn’t say it’s very high on the charts; it has a nice downtown, but [the Island] has always been the detriment to any development in downtown.” The Island is roughly 30 acres of mixed industrial and commercial use; it is also serves as a reminder of the region’s history as a longstanding paper manufacturing hub. Paul Millman, president and co-founder of Chroma, during Tuesday night’s meeting said the company did not pay much attention to the downtown when the idea was first presented several years ago, but now recognizes the employees could walk to the facility and have the kind of workplace they need. “There are only options than the downtown, but maybe because I’m from a downtown that I like being in a downtown,” he said. “And so maybe we’re crazy, but we have a vision of a new facility in an emerging town and we want to be a part of Bellows Falls emergence.” Walsh said he has not heard at this time any grumblings from property owners on the Island. Some have gleefully approved the measure, but others, such as recently relocated artist Duncan Johnson, worried about the future of their buildings. There would be assistance to find secondary sites for any business displaced, Walsh said. The likely exemption is the Robertson Paper Co. building, which the development corporation will close on later this month and tear down. The Rockingham Selectboard approved a five-year, zero interest $90,000 loan to the development corporation to purchase the long-idle building. The old mill, approximately 43,000 square-feet, dates back to 1890 and has a group of individuals in the area who would like to save and redevelop it into a local museum or light manufacturing center. It is likely to be demolished, although Millman spoke of possibly saving some of the skeletal structure of the oldest portions. “That was always the plan, we needed to get rid of it for a lot of reasons,” Walsh said. Many people are willing to sacrifice the building in favor of significant economic development at the site, he added. “As soon as we can, the next step is to have in writing a contract and agreement with Chroma and then we’ll start to move forward. This is all going to happen in the next few months, then we need to secure the other properties and I’d like to see the ‘Robbie’ down by Thanksgiving. It’s not just going to sit there,” Walsh said. Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailShare on printMore Sharing Services0Comments (0) Post Comment
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 20:43:04 +0000
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