Developer submits master plan for Gilbert & Bennett site

A development company that proposes a $100 million plan to turn a poluted, 150-year-old wire mill in Redding into a model community for new urban planning has submitted its master plan to the town Zoning Commission.

The Georgetown Land Development Co. got the property by purchasing about $1

The company worked with community leaders, residents, architects, environmental experts and planned community specialists for the last several months to develop its plan.

The Zoning Commission has scheduled public hearings for July 28 and August 11.

"When we began this process we wanted to ensure that the community had a voice in deciding the final outcome," said Stephen Soler, president of the company.

"Since then we have actively encouraged and solicited feedback from the community. Last fall we held seven days of public meetings dedicated to understanding what residents and neighbors would like to see built. Today's master plan is the culmination of this open dialogue and represents what the community has said they would like to see here."

The master plan was submitted to the commission June 7 and accepted at the regular meeting June 9.

The community would be pedestrian friendly, with all the necessary services housed locally to de-emphasize use of cars.

The master plan details the redevelopment of the 60-acre site of a former wire mill in the Georgetown section.

It contains: 416 residential units; 109,771 square feet of retail and restaurant use; 113,525 square feet of office space; 88,488 square feet of civic use; 38,428 square feet of light industrial use and 18,258 square feet of hospitality use.

The developer is already working with state and federal environmental agencies to piece together a remediation plan for the contaminated portions of the former plant.

Major contaminants found at the site include metals, such as zinc and lead as well as and petroleum-based substances. However, the company claims the sampling completed thus far indicates the contamination is contained within the boundaries of the site.

The length of the cleanup will depend on the options approved by the state and the pace of redevelopment, but is estimated to range from two to three years.

When the project moves to the development stage, the company would bring in different developers to finance and construct different aspects of the project.

The company also plans to take advantage of whatever public funds that might be available to this project. That may include brownfields grants, historic preservation funds, economic development funds or incentives and affordable/subsidized housing funds.