That question will be asked in the coming months after the Select Board voted to retain the property at its Nov. 18 meeting. The 0.24-acre site, located in the heart of Shrewsbury Center, has been an abandoned property – and eyesore – for years.
Founded in 1972, the cleaner closed in the 2010s. The property owned over $300,000 in taxes and fees, leading the town to foreclose on the property. The case sat in Land Court for several years, but the foreclosure was finalized on Nov. 6.
The building was appraised at $280,000.
Since the property is now town-owned, the Select Board had a choice to make Nov. 18. The board could’ve sold the property – listing it within 180 days, marketing it for a year, and potentially going to a public auction – but instead unanimously opted to retain the land.
Now, the board will consider what to do with the property.
“We’ve had some time to think about this. We talked it out at our workshop last week. … There’s a lot of movement in the Town Center, I’m starting to see a lot of momentum. … I would be in favor of retaining this parcel. I think there are people in the community anxious to share their input on this parcel,” said Select Board Vice-Chair Beth Casavant.
“This presents us with an exciting opportunity to engage with the community,” said Select Board member Carlos Garcia.
Empire Dry Cleaning is a brownfield site, contaminated with Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from operational use, accidental fuel releases, and spills. The plot has been through the MassDEP process, and there is “minimal risk,” said Mizikar.
“This is not a property that would require significant investment to ‘clean-up,’ but there’s ongoing mitigation that would have to be done depending on the type of use. That ongoing mitigation could be nothing if there’s a very-minimal use if there’s no structure on the property. But if there’s a structure, then it’d require subsurface depressurization,” said Mizikar.
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