NORWAY – As many as five of 13 buildings on the former C.B Cummings property may be razed, according to a conceptual site plan created by Western Maine Development.

Brett Doney, WMD’s chief executive officer, said Monday that the conceptual plan was needed to create a budget to apply for a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant.

Doney said to qualify for the grant, issued by the Department of Economic and Community Development, the town is going to have to declare the property blighted. Blighted, in this sense, means there is not enough parking to make the project economically feasible.

The grant would pay for parking, green space, storm water management, demolition of buildings, debris cleanup and exterior lighting.

Doney said the project is controlled by the town’s requirements for parking for office, retail or residential use.

The requirements are:

• Office – one space per 200 square feet of building.

• Retail – one space for every 350 square feet of usable retail space.

• Residential – 1.5 spaces per unit.

“Parking is the biggest limitation of the site,” Doney said.

The H.L. Turner Group, an architectural and engineering firm with an office in Harrison, was hired to do a facilities assessment report on the Cummings mill property.

The report recommended eliminating the dowel mill, but the fate of that building has not been determined.

According to Doney, two warehouses, a sawdust storage building and a boiler room are sure to be eliminated. The first three will be razed to make room for parking.

The boiler room, alongside Pennesseewassee Stream, will be removed to allow for a pedestrian bridge. The bridge will be an access to the property for people who want to enter between the Odd Fellows Building and the Opera House.

Doney made the point that the final use of buildings will be determined by the investors.

Suggested uses for the remaining buildings were offered by a Oct. 30 brainstorming session attended by about 40 residents and town officials.

Doney said the office building on Bridge Street could continue as office space. The 2,800-square-foot machine shop could offer a retail, dining or museum possibility for investors.

He said the sawmill is a potentially flexible space and may be best suited for artisans, crafters or light manufacturers and associated retail components.

The plane mill in the center of the property could be used for light manufacturing.

“There’s been some talk of a shared commercial kitchen there,” Doney said. “It would meet U.S.D.A. standards and would be shared by people making jellies, jams or perhaps salsas.

“Something that might take a month to do at home could be done in a couple of days here,” he said.

The major buildings along Pennesseewassee Stream would not be razed. The project would lose about 20 to 25 percent of land use to rebuild them to adhere to state zoning rules requiring a 75-foot buffer zone between buildings and bodies of water.

He said the three-story cinder block building could be used for loft-style housing, office, retail or a mixture of the three.

“If the cinder block building was used entirely for housing it would need 28 parking spaces,” Doney said. “If it was used for offices it would need 70 parking spaces.”

Doney said there could be room for a town commons area to use for events like concerts and art shows.

jsmedley@sunjournal.com

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