OXFORD — The town is seeking proposals for new uses of a former woolen mill, which selectmen voted to take over earlier this year.

Selectmen on Thursday unanimously authorized Town Manager Michael Chammings to put out a request for proposals on reuse of the former Robinson Mill on King Street. The board also allowed Chammings to map the exact lines of the property and give a 30-day final notice to the former owner, state Rep. John C. Robinson, R-Raymond, to remove his property from the site.

The town foreclosed on the mill earlier this year for nonpayment of $244,920 in property taxes over a period of three years. The town later entered into a land installment contract with Robinson that allowed him to pay off a $162,970.88 lien by March to bring the mill out of automatic foreclosure.

Selectmen voted 3-2 to take possession of the 7.5-acre property after Robinson failed to make a scheduled $80,000 payment in October. A marina property at the site, which Robinson had split off and attempted to sell to help pay the lien, was retained by Norway Savings Bank the same month after there was no satisfactory offer at a foreclosure auction.

The property includes a three-story brick mill, dam, wastewater treatment plant and surrounding outbuildings. It was built in 1840, purchased by Joseph Robinson in 1849, and operated until 2004. Before the foreclosure and town takeover, Robinson had said he planned to redevelop the property into a mixture of residential and commercial space, including condominiums, restaurants and a textile museum.

Following its acquisition of the property, the town purchased liability insurance for the site and winterized the buildings. Chammings said power at the mill has been shut down following the equalization of tanks at the treatment center to prevent groundwater from lifting them out of the floor.

mlangeveld@sunjournal.com

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